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American Morning
Health Care "Greed" or Costs?; Fixing America's Schools; Gun Show Sting; Chemical Exposure Harming Kids?; Uneasy Credit Card Payments
Aired October 08, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, we're coming up to the top of the hour now. Thanks so much for being with us. It's Thursday, October 8th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Good to have you with us. Here are this morning's top stories. We will be covering them for you in the next 15 minutes. Deciding the next move in Afghanistan. An official request for more troops now on President Obama's desk. It comes from his top general. Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon where there are new questions this morning about the President's approach to the war.
CHETRY: Also, more calls from house republicans for New York Congressman Charlie Rangel to step down as chairman of the powerful committee that writes tax laws. The heat is on after a year long ethics investigation. Our Brianna Keilar is tracking this one from D.C. this morning.
ROBERTS: And Washington is still looking for a fix on the make- or-break push for health care reform. We know insurance premiums and co-pays are going up, but what's the reason for that? The cost of care or greedy insurance executives? One case is made is taking that question all the way to court.
But first this hour, breaking news out of Afghanistan. The Taliban reportedly claiming responsibility for a suicide car bombing this morning near the Indian embassy. At least 12 people were killed and 60 injured in that attack. The explosion shattering car windows and knocking down walls, paramedics digging through debris and searching for survivors.
Our Atia Abawi in Kabul has the very latest for us.
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive in front of the gates of the Indian embassy this morning in the heart of Afghanistan, the capital of Kabul.
Kabul has been fairly immune to the violence that has been going on throughout the country for the past eight years. But in the last two months alone, they experienced five suicide attacks.
The Taliban trying to prove that they have the might to infiltrate the capital city and have reinforced the notion, and many people here in Afghanistan that the Taliban and the insurgency are gaining strength and has them questioning if more troops will help -- John, Kiran?
ROBERTS: Our Atia Abawi in Kabul for us. That bombing underscoring the urgency here at home. The White House now confirming President Obama is studying a written request from his top general in Afghanistan to send in more troops.
CHETRY: And his National security advisers could begin discussing troop levels as early as tomorrow. Barbara Starr has been following all of the latest developments on this from the Pentagon. And Barbara, are we seeing a shift now in the president's approach to the war?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: We don't really know at this point, but it is awfully interesting, because now they are discussing troop levels, and we haven't heard anything about a strategy yet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Suddenly President Obama is looking at the request to send ten tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan even though he has not yet announced a decision about a new strategy for the war which is exactly what the president said he would not do.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to put the resource question before the strategy question.
STARR: Last week just before the president met in Copenhagen with his Afghanistan war commander General Stanley McChrystal, the president asked for a copy of McChrystal's troop request, which is believed to have called for as many as 40,000 additional forces.
It is not how the military usually makes plans for war. The president hasn't yet heard troop recommendations from his top military advisers who would normally be part of such a massive decision. Are the top officers being shut out now?
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: I think I'm getting from your line of questioning that there's some concern the chain of command is being cut out of the process. No, no, no, no, no, no.
STARR: But Morrell readily admitted while the Pentagon is working on the ideas for more troops, it may be meaningless.
MORRELL: I think things work in parallel to the sense it can operate through the chain of command for formal vetting and comment and so forth. But ultimately it means, frankly, nothing until there is a decision made about the way ahead.
STARR: One reason for all of this, the Pentagon was worried the highly classified troop request just like McChrystal's assessment report, would get out in public.
MORRELL: I think we wanted to avoid any opportunity for leaking of this before the president had an opportunity to see it himself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: So are we really talking now something entirely different? Has the president privately made up his mind on a new strategy what he wants to do in Afghanistan and is now thinking about how many troops he wants to send without waiting to hear from his chain of command through the Pentagon -- John, Kiran?
Barbara Starr for us this morning, thanks.
ROBERTS: President Obama and his advisers may be considering a change in war strategy. They are discussing deemphasizing the Taliban in Afghanistan and focusing more on Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
Administration officials say that approach could help the president avoid a troop surge in Afghanistan. In less than 10 minutes we are joined by Pakistan's ambassador to the United States to discuss his nation's role in the conflict.
CHETRY: Well, to Capitol Hill, where Republicans want to strip the top lawmaker in charge of writing your tax laws from his position. Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel is chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. He's also in the middle of an ethics investigation.
Rangel has admitted that he owes Uncle Sam some cash. Our Dana Bash asks Congressman Rangel if there is a conflict of interest here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why is it that you do not think it's appropriate considering that you're being investigated from tax issues to resign from your post that dictates tax policy in this country?
REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, (D) NEW YORK: Because the allegations have been made by newspaper reporters, and I asked the Ethics Committee to review it and report become to the Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So for more now let's bring in Brianna Keilar live from the D.C. Bureau. What went on yesterday as the pressure seems to be growing right now on Congressman Rangel?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republicans proposed a resolution, Kiran, and this resolution did not pass and Republicans didn't expect it to.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Republicans' third attempt in a year to bump the Democratic chairman of the House tax-writing committee from his powerful perch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will be a 15-minute vote.
KEILAR: It failed but made their point, keeping a spotlight on Charles Rangel's acknowledged failure to pay taxes on $75,000 he earned renting out his beach house in the Dominican Republic. And there are several other alleged ethics related violations.
REP. JOHN CARTER, (R) TEXAS: Representative Rangel acknowledged his failure to pay and publicly disclose at least half a million dollars in cash assets, tens of thousands of dollars in investment income, and his ownership of two pieces of property in New Jersey.
KEILAR: Rangel has called some of the violations mistakes. As the Ethics Committee continues its yearlong investigation, Rangel continues to defend his post on the committee that's instrumental in drafting legislation on important issues like health care reform and climate change.
QUESTION: Will you continue to serve as chairman during the ethics investigation?
RANGEL: Yes, I can. The way it works in the House is that when allegations are made and referred to the Ethics Committee, what is normally done is members wait in the Ethics Committee completes its investigation and report.
KEILAR: Rangel has the backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: We asked for the investigation. We all support the investigation, and the ethics process works its will.
KEILAR: And her deputy Steny Hoyer says Democrats are awaiting the Ethics Committee's find.
REP. STENY HOYER, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: Prior to that any action with reference to Chairman Rangel would be premature.
KEILAR: But as Republicans keep up their steady drumbeat against Rangel, political analyst Stephen Hess says he has become a liability for Democrats.
STEPHEN HESS, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: These charges are serious. And they keep adding more charges. So they are going to have to be met and dealt with and voted upon. They can't be swept under the table.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: But Hess says this is a minor liability for Democrats, though it does give Republicans an opportunity politically.
And Kiran, I have to tell you, this is one that Republicans are relishing. Sources tell me that if Democrats stand behind chairman Rangel as they're doing now, they can continue to make noise about it. And if he is bumped from his chairmanship, then they can claim victory. So a win-win as they see it.
CHETRY: You can also just picture the campaign ads now, right, using Charlie Rangel as an example of, you know -- I guess not paying -- not following the rules you are making. I can just see it now with the GOP.
KEILAR: Exactly. And you see them laying the groundwork for them, saying that Speaker Pelosi said she was going to, quote, "drain the swamp," and this is a prime example of how she hasn't done that. That's what Republicans are saying, Kiran.
CHETRY: We will have to see how it plays out because in the walls of Congress, you never know what will happen. Thanks, Brianna.
ROBERTS: Eight minutes now after the hour.
Other stories new this morning, the Supreme Court appears to be divided over a case involving a cross standing on a national preserve in California's Mojave Desert. The seven foot cross was erected 75 years ago as a World War I memorial.
Now opponents say it violates the separation of church and state and should be taken down.
The justices heard arguments on Wednesday. It is not known when they will issue a ruling.
CHETRY: Movement to legalize marijuana in California is growing. Advocates are trying to gather enough signatures to put three pot legalization measures on the ballot next year.
That could put the state on a collision course with the federal government over drug policy. California, of course, already allows marijuana for medical purposes.
ROBERTS: And President Obama shoots some hoops tonight with four of his cabinet secretaries and 11 members of the House. They will be playing on the White House basketball court on the south lawn.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we are going to be speaking with Jeb Bush. He made it his mission now that he's no longer governor to talk more about schools and improving schools and improving education for kids.
So we will ask him about some of the ideas the Obama administration has floated out there, longer school days using classrooms and schools as community centers in at-risk communities. What does he thing about those plans?
It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
According to several current and retired U.S. generals, America gave $6.6 billion to the Pakistani army between 2002 and 2008. But of that, only $500 million actually made it to the military. They say that's because General Musharraf was both army chief and de facto ruling president of Pakistan and he spent most of the money elsewhere.
And Washington is once again promising money to Pakistan. A bill that triples aid to that country just cleared Congress last week.
So as President Obama wrestles with the next step in Afghanistan, Pakistan's role in the conflict is becoming a critical part of the equation.
Husain Haqqani is Pakistan's ambassador to the United States and he joins us this morning from Washington. Mr. Ambassador, good to see you. Thanks for taking the time this morning.
HUSAIN HAQQANI, PAKISTAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: It is a pleasure. I had to get up a little earlier than normal.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Well, we are sorry about that, but we do appreciate your joining us.
HAQQANI: Yes. You also got up early, it seems.
ROBERTS: There you are. General McChrystal, as you know, stated in his report that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are finding sanctuary in the tribal areas of Pakistan from where they launched operations into Afghanistan. And many people may be wondering why Pakistan has tolerated the presence there over the years.
HAQQANI: First of all, let me just say that General McChrystal also said that India has been meddling in Afghanistan and that make Pakistan's military fearful about Pakistan border with Afghanistan.
That said, Pakistan has changed course after the return of democracy last year. We are acting against the Taliban. We have had a really successful military campaign in Swat. We intend to go after them in Waziristan.
So I think many of your complaints will be addressed over time, John.
ROBERTS: Yes, operations against militants in south Waziristan are underway to some degree. Can you tell us what the latest is on that opportunity?
HAQQANI: Well, the Pakistani military is, of course, preparing for a bigger offensive than in the past. But you realize that this is very difficult and forbidding terrain. It's like doing a military operation in the Grand Canyon.
And so a lot of preparation is needed. The guerrillas are people who are from the terrain and understand the terrain better. In the past there have been military operations. They were not fully conducted and they didn't have professional soldiers. They had local militias. So they failed.
This time we are putting in our best troops, better trained soldiers, and at the same time we intend to provide them air power, and we have all of these air operations to soften the targets. ROBERTS: It is believed, Mr. Ambassador, there could be 10,000 well-dug-in militants in that area in Waziristan. Do you believe that you'll have difficulty in uprooting them? I know that operations in the past in south Waziristan have not gone so well.
HAQQANI: Military operations are difficult in that terrain historically. But the most important thing that has changed since the previous operations is that the general mood in Pakistan is now against the Taliban. Polling data a year ago showed that only 33% of Pakistanis actually thought the Taliban were a greater threats to Pakistan than say for example, American occupation of Afghanistan. Now, an overwhelming majority, more than 73% of Pakistanis say that Taliban threatened our way of life.
We have a democratically elected government. And President Zavadi (ph) lost his wife to terrorism and did a lot of sympathy for rooting out terrorists in Pakistan that did not exist under the previous regime.
ROBERTS: Also, other recent polls suggest that public sentiment in Pakistan is going against U.S. anti-terror operations. Eighty percent of Pakistanis, according to our recent poll, don't want your government, the military to help the U.S. fight terrorism. What drives those numbers?
HAQQANI: Well, I think that -- anti-Americanism has been a global phenomenon. We saw an increase in it during the Bush administration. There was an assumption that the Bush administration was too muscular around the world. I did not care about other people's opinions.
In Pakistan, also, we have a similar sentiment. The Iraq war also fueled it. I think that now with democracy, more debate and we do have a more robust media; we have robust debate going on even now, I think that there are voices that stand up for the American position. There are people who say President Obama represents hope for the world.
I think that if the United States engages with the people of Pakistan and the bill you referred too for aid, a $1.5 billion of American taxpayer money comes for civilian purposes, building schools, clinics, roads for the ordinary people of Pakistan, which has not been the case in the past, and the United States supports democracy, then I think people will turn around.
That said, there will always be objection to foreigners in any country. After all in this country, you have the so-called immigration debate. In our country, it is about having American troops and nobody wants American troops inside our soil.
ROBERTS: Let me ask you about the aid package to which you alluded just a moment ago. It's $1.5 million a year, $7.5 million every 5 years, it's the Kerry Lugar bill, and as you're well aware Mr. Ambassador, that is provoked outrage in the Pakistani military because of the conditions that the civilian government needs to show that has oversight and control over the military that the military needs to show progress in the fight against terrorism.
Some of the words that have been used anonymously by military officials talking to "The New York Times." It's American arrogance. It is interfering in Pakistan's sovereignty. Do you find the terms of the aid package offensive and is this going to create a split between the United States and the Pakistani military and will it affect the anti-terror operations in your country?
HAQQANI: Well, the Pakistani civilian government fully supports the Kerry Lugar aid package. We realized that the language in it, of course, is the result of the sausage making process that passes off for legislation. Congressmen have to put in different clauses to -- to represent and voice the concerns of different constituencies.
And so the government, the civilian government, fully understands that, and we will engage in a dialogue with our military and explain to them that even in the past when their own commanders ran the country, at that time, too, there were similar language. It's just at this time because we have democracy, the language has been debated in parliament and there is greater outrage. That set the substance of the bill.
Forget about the language. The substance of the bill favors the people of Pakistan. After all, this is American taxpayer money going for Pakistani schools, Pakistani clinics, and Pakistani roads. And if the congress of the United States puts in a little bit of language that doesn't qualify as good literature, I don't think we should make such a big fuss of it.
ROBERTS: Husain Haqqani, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States. Thanks for joining us this morning. Good of you to get up early. We really appreciate it. And I'll work on not dropping any more words this morning. Thanks very much.
HAQQANI: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: All right. Nineteen minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-two minutes past the hour right now. Coming up in just ten minutes, we're going to be talking about what to do with America's schools. How do we fix them? Is the answer a longer school day, year-round school. We're going to be speaking with former Governor Jeb Bush who is holding a summit this week to take a look at the options. The former Florida governor is going to be with us in just ten minutes.
All right. Right now, we bring in Christine Romans who is "Minding Your Business" this morning. And we're talking about the track records for airlines. Have we gotten better or things gone downhill over the past few decades?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We have gotten a little better in the near term because with the economy means fewer people are flying, but we've gotten worse over the past couple of decades. For few different reasons, because these delays are - they're kind of tied to the concentration on short flights. With so many short flights in this country, that it is upping the delays for both the arrivals and departures. So these delays between big cities up. Just like curiosity, you guys know what the most traveled route is in this country? I was surprised by this.
ROBERTS: New York/Chicago.
CHETRY: New York/Miami. No, it makes me want to plan a trip. I've decided to go to Miami in February, New York/Miami. That's the busiest travel sort of.
ROBERTS: Some people joke it is the sixth borough of New York.
ROMANS: And that is true. But some of worst flight delays we found, New York, Chicago, Phili, Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco. This is according to research by bookings. And then the best on-time performance, some of these cities, Salt Lake City, Honolulu, Detroit, Phoenix, and Washington D.C.
Real interesting thing that this report also finds as the economy gets better, the travel delays will likely get worse because more people will be coming back in.
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: This is the call here that -- this is all - kind of underscoring the problem. I think there's infrastructure problems. You got all kinds of things that need to be fixed.
ROBERTS: Lack of air traffic controllers too.
ROMANS: Oh yeah, that's part of the problem too.
CHETRY: Also when you see the grid and you see how many planes are in the air, I mean -- red dot. The entire country looks like it is covered in red.
ROMANS: I know. Other really busy corridors, the Chicago/New York corridor, the Atlanta corridor to Miami and the second is L.A. to San Francisco. So -- you made a comment last hour about how they built in all this time of flights. I know that the flight to Chicago is like an hour and 50 minutes. They will take three hours and ten minutes for this flight. So they build in all this padding so they can be on time.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: But things will get better, I think, when they complete the seven-train extension here in New York City all the way to Biscayne Boulevard.
ROMANS: You think so? Oh yeah, the seven-train extension. That's right. I'll take that.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much. ROMANS: All right.
ROBERTS: Checking the headlines around the world this morning. The hunt is on. Police in Brazil searching for the host of a television crime show. He is accused of commissioning killing to boost ratings, but that's not why police want him. Instead, he's charged with drug trafficking, weapons possession, and for forming a gang.
CHETRY: Earlier this morning, across the South Pacific, three major earthquakes strike in just 70 minutes. They happened about 1,200 miles off of Australia's Eastern coast measuring between magnitude 7. 8 and 7.3. There's now a tsunami alert that was issued but then lifted for 11 countries and territories. There have been no serious reports of damage or injuries.
ROBERTS: All right. Here's the silliest thing you're going to hear all day. Japan's All Nippon Airways is asking passengers to use the restroom before they board. Why, you ask? It is part of a special promotion to reduce the airline's carbon footprint.
CHETRY: How, you ask? Don't.
ROBERTS: They don't want to be flying around with the weight of all of that -- whatever -- in their lavatories. It estimates that if half of passengers comply, they could reduce CO2 by more than four tons a month.
ROMANS: You could just carry, I think, less stuff out there
ROBERTS: Why stop them?
CHETRY: That's a much more lovely visual if you are eating corn flakes this morning.
ROBERTS: You know, use the bathroom -- usually you tell the kids to use the bathroom before you go on a trip so you don't have to stop, right. But where does this stop? You use the bathroom before you go. wear flip-flops instead of shoes, get a haircut, wear light clothing, don't bring as much stuff on the plane.
CHETRY: Lose weight, exercise at the gym a week before your flight. It's all for the environment.
ROBERTS: It's the most ridiculous thing you're going to hear today.
ROMANS: Imagine that jet (ph) you're going to say in front of everyone just using it.
ROBERTS: Everybody take a whiz before you get on the plane. I don't say this all. Come on.
ROMANS: Take a whiz. You don't hear that very often. (LAUGHING) I'm sorry. You don't hear it very often.
ROBERTS: I know.
CHETRY: In my house, we just say pee-pee.
All right. I don't even know what we're talking about next. Twenty-six minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. And the make-or-break push on health care reform. There's one thing that most people can agree on. We need to make things cost less.
Insurance premiums and co-pays and co-insurance are going up. But why? Is it the soaring cost of health care? Insurance company greed? Or maybe a little bit of both. Jim Acosta live in Washington this morning. He is tracking the specific case from Maine that illustrates this whole thing. Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (ph): Good morning, John. Advocates of health care reform are holding up this case as evidence the insurance companies will do just about nything, even in a recession. The attorney general on Maine calls it greed.
As a self-employed social worker, she has to buy her insurance on the open market.
ELIZABETH BEANE, ANTHEM BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD CUSTOMER: It went up from $450 a month to $550 a month. Yeah. $1,200 over the year.
ACOSTA: Which may explain why she is rooting against her insurance company, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield in a high-profile legal fight with the State of Maine. A fight that's been dragged into the center of the nation's health care debate. A fight Maine's Attorney General Janet Mills says, she'll win.
JANET MILLS, MAINE ATTORNEY GENERAL: We will go after them. We won't stand still for this.
ACOSTA: The fight boils down to this. Earlier this year, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield proposed their rate increase where it's individual policy holders of 18.5 percent. The State of Maine which has the power to regulate those rates said no. Lowering that increase to 11 percent. So what did the Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield do? They took the state of Maine to court.
MILLS: That wasn't enough for them. They're going back for more, and I just can't believe, basically, the greed of it in this context in this economy.
ACOSTA: This is greed?
MILLS: In my view, yes.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Mills says she was floored by Anthem's explanation. That 18.5 percent increase was what the company needed to make a small 3 percent profit. (on camera): And it seems like the gist of what you're saying is the nerve of these guys.
MILLS: Yes. I mean, it's outrageous. Hello? It is a recession.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Anthem is owned by WellPoint. One of the nation's largest insurance carriers, WellPoint made more than $2 billion in profits last year. In a statement to CNN a company spokesperson said, "The level of our increase reflected the medical cost trends for our individual market members and included a modest pre-tax operating margin of 3 percent to cover profit and unanticipated risks."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's fix health care.
ACOSTA: And the company the industry's call for health care reform measures now pending in Congress that would require all Americans to get coverage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If everyone is covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible.
ACOSTA: Anthem argues Maine's approved increase of 11 percent will result in no profits for the company. But Maine's attorney general says not so fast.
MILLS: In Maine alone, they paid -- they paid almost $1 million in bonuses to their Maine executives in one year alone. And that is an issue in this case.
ACOSTA: Elizabeth Bean says she's already spending a third of her income on health care. Leaving her nothing for retirement.
ELIZABETH BEAN, POLICY HOLDER: Where is my retirement account? The CEOs of Anthem? I'm sure they have no worries about their retirements because I'm funding it for them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: There are 12,000 individual policy holders in Maine who will be affected by this decision but the case has national implications. As it's about the government's ability to control health care costs. It goes to court next month.
And John, we were looking at that woman's bills yesterday. And not only is it $6,000 a year in premiums for her health care, she has to meet a $2,500 deductible and that is pretty low by Maine health insurance standards, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. Then there are the co-pays or co-insurance on top of that as well, I'm sure. Is there?
ACOSTA: Yes. It all adds up. And many cases, those individual policy holders who aren't employed, they don't get the health care through their employer, they're footing the bill themselves and if you add it all up for that woman alone, that was about $8,000 a year in health insurance costs. That's about a third of her income, John.
ROBERTS: That's amazing. Jim Acosta for us this morning. Jim, thanks so much.
Crossing the half hour now and here are this morning's top stories. The Taliban reportedly claiming responsibility for an attack aimed at the Indian embassy in Kabul. A car bomb exploded just as stores and offices were opening. At least 12 people were killed including one police officer. More than 60 people were injured.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the negotiating table. Well, North Korea is apparently thinking about it. Kim Jong-il reportedly telling China's prime minister the country is ready to renew nuclear talks if Pyongyang can go one-on-one with the United States. Now the White House has repeatedly said any talks need to be part of a six- nation process.
ROBERTS: And under the microscope today the way credit card companies do business. At a hearing, lawmakers will be focusing their attention on so-called interchange fees. That's roughly 2 percent -- roughly 2 percent that businesses are hit with every time you swipe your card. Those fees cost business's a reported $48 billion a year.
CHETRY: Well, our public schools are the path to achieving the American dream. But our system is failing far too many students. The numbers don't lie. A group surveyed 15-year-olds in 30 different countries and American students ranked 17 in science and 24 in math -- or 23 in math.
President Obama is taking up education reform calling for more charter schools, greater teacher accountability and also parental involvement. But is that the answer?
Joining me now is former Florida governor Jeb Bush. He's the head of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, the younger brother of former President Bush. And today and tomorrow who will be hosting a summit on education in Washington.
It's great to have you with us, Governor. Thanks for being here.
JEB BUSH (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Thank you, Kiran. It's great to be with you.
CHETRY: So we just took a look at some o those numbers and we could go on with the numbers. The dropout rates, 1.3 million kids per year dropping out of schools. Why are we falling behind as a nation when it comes to educating our kids?
BUSH: Well, in the most dynamic country in the world, we have a very un-dynamic education system. It's focused on the adults. It really hasn't changed since the 1950s. It's organized the same way.
And I applaud both the secretary of education and the president for challenging this establishment. And we want to be part of that to come up with tangible ways that we can assure that a child entering our education system, any place in the country, gains a year's worth of acknowledge in a year's time and that they graduate prepared to get a job or prepared to go on and get a higher education.
And that will require systemic change and will require putting aside the partisan bickering that seems to go on in Washington these days. And I'm pretty optimistic that we can do that.
CHETRY: You know, one of the things that is -- a special challenge for our diverse country also is that there still is a gap based on race when it comes to this. I mean our numbers showed that minority students -- 50 percent or nearly 50 percent of African- American and Hispanic students are not completing high school on time.
What do you do about closing that achievement gap?
BUSH: Well, you start in pre-K and you move into -- in elementary school with a literacy-based program. You have one standard for everybody. You don't excuse away the fact that some kids are struggling. You actually pause and intervene with new strategies to make sure they learn.
In Florida, we were one of the few states over the last 10 years to narrow the achievement gap. There's still a lot of work to be done. But it can be done. And it -- it needs to be done because the burdens that are placed on families where you don't have that education excellence for the next generation of time is going to be unbearable.
And the cost to society are too high. So this should be -- I think apart from the challenge we face economically right now given the downturn in our economy, to me, this is the number one challenge our country faces and it's also an opportunity where we can solve it.
CHETRY: All right. There's been some things that the president has put out there as well as people in the administration. One of the things that he's been talking about, along with the education secretary, Arne Duncan, is extending the school day, saying that when you take a look at some of these countries that actually do better than us on math, on science, in reading, on the basics, they go to school longer.
And also, the summer breaks, maybe talking about year-round school. Are these things that you think are viable plans?
BUSH: I think they are. I think it ought to be the different strategies ought to be embraced locally with the -- by the leaders of the schools and the school boards across the country. We shouldn't have one-size-fits-all. We are a diverse country, as you say.
But we ought to have one lofty expectation for every child and we ought to try different things and we ought to have continuous improvement. I personally believe that embracing online learning as part of this is important.
Remember we spend more per student than any country in the world. That's not the problem. The problem is that systemically we're organized around the adults rather than focusing on a child's centered system. So what the president has proposed is one suggestion among many that could work.
CHETRY: Right. Well, it's interesting because you talk about this needing to be a high priority. When you take a look at what teachers make compared to other professionals in our country, it doesn't seem like it's a high priority. We have the stats from 2006. This is the latest year that there may be stats from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
And I mean, you can see there, teachers making $43,000 to $48,000. Lawyers making six figures, $102,000, medium salary. Doctors, anywhere from $156,000 to $322,000. If educating our kids is so vital why don't we pay the people doing it more?
BUSH: I think we should pay for effectiveness. There are fantastic teachers that are in that medium income level and there are some that really don't deliver what we expect which is the children learning years worth of knowledge and a year's time.
So moving towards a data-driven system that rewards teachers for excellence where they get paid double that amount seems to me ought to be part of the strategy. Now that takes on a very entrenched powerful political interest which are the teachers union but so be it.
I mean, it's important that we get the best teachers in the classroom and that we pay for their effectiveness in the best measure effectiveness is how students learn.
CHETRY: I want to switch gears and talk to you a little bit about another big debate that's going on nationally right now. And that's Afghanistan. The president's considering sending more troops as we know to Afghanistan and a lot of people say the reason the situation is so difficult eight years after we first went into that country is because we can't properly resource the war when your brother, President George W. Bush, was in office.
Did your brother make a mistake by focusing too much on Iraq at the cost of Afghanistan?
BUSH: No, I don't think so. And I think the president's first instincts in March when he advocated an increase in support in Afghanistan as the war in Iraq subsides was the right one. Now he is having second thoughts which creates a lot of uncertainty. I hope that there emerge as consensus for -- to provide the necessary moral and physical support for our troops over there.
CHETRY: Do you think they should send more troops to Afghanistan right now? Or scale it back?
BUSH: I think there's -- I think that we should follow the advice of the generals that lead our great armed forces.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Well, the advice of the generals is 40,000 more troops.
BUSH: They decided and I think the president ought to be very, very supportive of what their efforts are. But look, I'm no expert on that. And the president has got to make a tough decision. I hope once we makes it, though, he sticks with it.
CHETRY: All right. Well, I want to say thanks for coming on the show and good luck at your meeting that's taking place today, your education summit.
BUSH: Thanks, Kiran.
CHETRY: Because we all know how vital that is as well. Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida. Thanks for being with us.
BUSH: Thank you.
CHETRY: And stay with us. Coming up, 8:15 Eastern, we're going to be talking about President Obama's handling of everything from health care to the war in Afghanistan with our two favorite strategists, James Carville and Ed Rollins. That's coming up in just a moment. Forty minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: An undercover sting operation in three states appears to catch gun show dealers selling weapons to buyers who admit that they could not pass background checks. It was commissioned by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg who says the so-called gun show loophole is making it easier for criminals to get their hands on weapons and he's sending a copy of the report to every member of Congress.
Our Allan Chernoff is following that story for us this morning. He joins us.
Hi, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Yes, the mayor really wants to get Congress moving here. He's trying to prompt Congress to make it tougher for private dealers to sell guns illegally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED INVESTIGATOR: So no background, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's right.
UNIDENTIFIED INVESTIGATOR: Good, because I probably couldn't pass one.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): It's illegal to sell a gun knowing the buyer may not pass a background check. But on hidden camera at gun shows in Ohio, Nevada and Tennessee, it happened 19 out of 30 times. The undercover buyers were hired by New York City.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: What you saw, just saw, was willful disregard of the law. And it happened again and again and again.
CHERNOFF: Firearm dealers are regulated. But at gun shows, people who make what the law calls occasional sales from their collections can sell without a license. And sometimes, as the investigation illustrates, they ignore the law.
BLOOMBERG: This is real. This translates into people getting killed. Children, adults, police officers, civilians.
CHERNOFF: New York City conducted a gun show sting three years ago and even brought a civil lawsuit against some gun sellers. Mayor Bloomberg has long called for a crackdown on illegal gun sales.
The National Rifle Association, though, says the mayor who's running for reelection should be helping enforce existing laws rather than holding news conferences. "Bloomberg's priorities are clearly media first," said the NRA.
New York and 15 other states require buyers to have a background check before they can purchase a handgun at a gun show.
RAY KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: There's simply no reason why there shouldn't be background checks at gun shows.
CHERNOFF: Now, city officials are hoping to prod Congress to act to close what it calls "the gun show loophole."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much is it?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (on camera): Congress has had bills to address this issue for over a decade, but they haven't gotten to the president's desk. In fact, ten years ago, Vice President Al Gore cast the deciding vote to push such a bill through the Senate, but that bill, though, never made it to a House Senate Conference Committee.
ROBERTS: So the mayor did this three years ago, didn't close the gun show loophole. Why is he out there doing it again?
CHERNOFF: Well, he sees political opportunity here. He's certainly just pushing the issue. Obviously he's up for re-election, but...
ROBERTS: But it is (INAUDIBLE).
CHERNOFF: He doesn't, and this is - this is something that he feels very strongly about. The city has been cracking down on crime, making the state - the streets much safer. That is one of his big accomplishments. And a lot of those guns do end up on the streets and, of course, some even in New York City.
ROBERTS: All right. Interesting to see them playing the investigation without actually conducting an investigation. Allan, good story this morning. Thanks. CHETRY: It a chemical called BPA and it's in a lot of our household plastics that we use every day, especially pregnant women and young children. But now there is a new study saying that it could lead to aggression in young girls.
Out Elizabeth Cohen is going to explain, still ahead. Forty-six minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. It's 49 minutes past the hour right now.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 95 percent of us have the chemical Bisphenol A or BPA in our systems and many believe it's toxic. It is found in hundreds of every day products ranging from kitchen appliances to toys, pacifiers, baby bottles. Well, now a new study is suggesting that babies exposed to BPA in the womb can suffer years later as toddlers.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more details about how these kids are being affected by this chemical, as we said, that's found in a lot of common household items.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's found in so many household items, Kiran, that, as you said, virtually all of us - nearly all of us have some BPA in our system.
This new study is fascinating. What they did is they took 200 women and measured the level of BPA in their bodies during their pregnancy. They then went back two years later and, guess what? The women with the highest levels of BPA were the most likely to have 2- year-old daughters who were considered to be aggressive. It wasn't true for the sons, but for the daughters, high levels of BPA while pregnant correlated with behavior problems at around 2 years of age.
Now, this study was not done perfectly. There are some problems, and the American Chemistry Council, which is the industry group for the plastics - for plastics, says the results of this preliminary and severely limited study cannot be considered meaningful for human health. So, as you can see, BPA continues to be a hotly debated topic -- Kiran.
CHETRY: It's interesting. It is hotly debated, but at the same time, there are many companies that are now advertising on their labels - and I've seen it in the bottles and - PBA-free - or BPA-free on a lot of items. So if you do want to eliminate it, even if the science has not come down one way or another for sure, is that possible?
COHEN: You know what? I think it would be extremely tough to eliminate it altogether from your diet, but as a - as a pregnant woman, if you want to avoid BPA, here's what you want to do. You want to look at plastics, whether it's a ketchup bottle or a, say, like a water bottle like I have here, what you want to do is first of all make sure the top is on, flip it over and take a look at the number. There's always a number on plastic, in - usually a triangle. And so what you're seeing here is 7. When you see that number 7, you know there is a serious possibility that there's BPA in that plastic.
You can look for something that doesn't say 7 because that wouldn't have BPA. So that's the strategy you need to have. And of course, look and see if the label says BPA-free, then you can be sure that it doesn't have BPA.
CHETRY: All right. And then they also say things like if you heat it, it's more likely to leech into whatever you're drinking or eating, right? I mean, heating plastics and...
COHEN: Right. That's a concern. And that's why there was the concern about baby bottles, is that you heat up baby bottles. So, yes, heating definitely can make the situation worse.
CHETRY: All right. Very interesting stuff, Elizabeth. Thanks so much. We'll look for the 7.
COHEN: Look for the 7, and don't - don't get it if you're worried.
CHETRY: Exactly. All right, thanks. John.
ROBERTS: The war in Afghanistan is the focus of attention in Washington all this week as the Obama administration tries to forge the way forward in terms of the war. At the same time, a major car bombing at a diplomatic embassy today in Kabul. We'll have the very latest on that for you coming right up.
It's now coming up on seven minutes to the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. You pay on time, you've got a great credit history, yet the credit card companies are squeezing you for as much cash as they can before the government cracks down on them.
CHETRY: Yes. We first told you about the story earlier in the week, but after seeing Jessica Yellin's report, some lawmakers are trying to take action. Here's Jessica with an update.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, members of Congress saw the report we did about an Ohio couple that's feeling squeezed by their credit card company. They were enraged by the facts. They say many of their own constituents are going through the same thing. Now, these members of Congress are demanding banks do something about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): This week, CNN told you about Chuck and Jeanne Lane, a couple that's played by the rules, but their credit card company, like so many others, has jacked up their payments ahead of new regulations that go into effect next year. CHUCK LANE, CREDIT CARD CUSTOMER: I'm calling to find out why my payment jumped from $370 to $911 this month?
YELLIN: Through no fault of their own, the Lane's monthly minimum payment more than doubled. Now they'll have to decide whether to pay the card or get surgery Jeanne needs and support Chuck's son in college.
YELLIN (on camera): Do you have a message you'd want to give to Congress?
LANE: I'd like Congress to take a stand for the American people and stop credit card companies from making these kind of changes that do have major impacts in people's lives.
YELLIN (voice-over): Guess what? Congress is listening. Freshman Congresswoman Betsy Markey saw the story on CNN.
REP. BETSY MARKEY (D) COLORADO: It gave awareness to people like me and other members of Congress who saw that and were just outraged by the fact that credit card companies are just blatantly increasing rates, solely because they know that once the law takes effect, they're not going to be able to do this anymore.
YELLIN: She and 17 other members have since written the banks, calling on them to stop raising rates and changing policies ahead of the new credit card bill. Bank of America had already announced it's freezing its rates for now. But Chase, the company that holds the Lane's credit card, tells CNN they have no plans to do the same. And Wells Fargo, they're raising their interest rate 3 percent.
An industry representative says, the card companies are just trying to protect themselves in a rocky economy.
SCOTT TALBOTT, FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE: The industry is not making changes to interest rates or lines of credit in anticipation of the new law. It's simply a reflection of the changing economic times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: Today in Congress, there'll be a hearing about a bill that would actually move up the date when some of these consumer protections go into effect, but banks say they need more time. They say they have to update their computer programs for the new regulations and that will take months - Kiran, John.
CHETRY: All right, Jessica Yellin for us this morning. Thanks.
