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Senate Democrats Obtain 60 Votes on Health Care Cloture; D.C. Snow Storm One of the Worst on Record for the Area

Aired December 19, 2009 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST, ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Saturday morning. Not only do we have a storm, we have breaking news out of Capitol Hill. Good morning. I'm Rob Marciano in for T.J. Holmes.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. You're looking right now at Senator Ben Nelson. We want to take a listen to him because he is the key vote in health care reform there on the Senate. Take a listen.

SEN. BEN NELSON, (D) NEBRASKA: Well, let me say that at the outset, change is never easy. But change is what's necessary in America today, and that's why I intend to vote for health care reform.

On the floor of the Senate, in town hall meetings throughout our states and in one-on-one meetings with our constituents, we've all heard heart-wrenching stories of people who have been left behind or forced into bankruptcy or caught in the grip of a health care system that just didn't work as well as it should have.

And while each of my colleagues may differ on how to fix the system, I know of no members who are suggesting that the current system is satisfactory. I know of no member who doesn't think that we need to change our health care system.

Where we differ, and I say to with great respect to all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, is in the way we fix our health care system.

And I believe in the free marketplace as the foundation of our economy and as the primary focus that should drive our health care system and your debate. And that's why I opposed the public option and yet support the market exchanges.

I truly believe that a competitive health care system will lower costs and provide better health care for the American people.

And I'd like to touch on the issue of abortion. As you know, I have strongly held views on the subject, and I have fought hard to prevent tax dollars from being used to subsidize abortions. That is long-standing at least 30 years of federal law under the Hyde amendment. I believe we have accomplished that goal.

I also have fought hard to protect the right of states to regulate the kind of insurance that is offered and to provide health insurance options in every state that do not provide coverage for abortion.

I know this is hard for some of my colleagues to accept, and I appreciate their right to disagree. But I would not have voted if this bill and would not vote for this bill without those provisions.

I'd like to acknowledge the assistance of the administration in working with us, as well, and perhaps the most remarkable of all has been the leadership of majority leader Senator Reid. To craft this landmark legislation and to shepherd it through the legislative process and deal with the many competing interests associated with this legislation and acquire the necessary votes to end the filibuster is an accomplishment of historic proportions.

I truly believe this legislation will stand the test of time and will be noted as one of the major reforms of the 21st century, much like the social -- much like Social Security, Medicare, civil rights legislation were milestones of the 20th century.

And because of Senator Reid's dedication and hard work, the lives of millions of Americans will be improved. Lives will be saved and our health care system will once again reflect the better nature of our country.

I'd like to take a moment to talk about something that will likely fall on deaf ears. The debate about health care debate has been passionate, and I believe it's been good for the country in many ways. From the far right to the extreme left, the American people have voiced their opinion. That is good. That is part of our democracy.

What has been disheartening about this debate are the reckless and ludicrous claims that have been hurled at one another from both sides in the heart of the debate. Opponents of this legislation are not less patriotic or insensitive to the health care crisis we face in America, and supporters would not be standing here today if for a moment they thought this legislation would cause harm to the American people.

But yet if you turn to the news and read some of the statements and listen to others coming from both sides of the debate, you would think otherwise. The quality of this debate has not always measured up to the quality of the American people. We can do better.

There's still much work to be done before this legislation becomes a reality. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make it an even better bill.

And without in any way intending to be threatening, to be more in the mode of promising, let me be clear, this cloture vote is based on a full understanding that there will be a limited conference between the Senate and house.

If there are material changes in that conference report different from this bill that adversely affect the agreement, I reserve the right to vote against the next cloture vote -- let me repeat it -- I reserve the right to vote against the next cloture vote if there are material changes to this disagreement in the conference report. And I will vote against it if that is the case.

I know it's hard for some of my colleagues to accept, and I appreciate their right to disagree, but it's clear I wouldn't have voted for this bill without these provisions.

QUESTION: Other concerns about this bill, how are those summed up and what might be in this for you?

NELSON: Well, what's in it for me is what's in it for the people of Nebraska and the country. First of all, I have opposed any kind of public option that would undermine the private insurance of 200 million Americans. I didn't believe that the expansion or the buy-in on Medicare was an appropriate way to deal because that was more of a public plan rather than let the private market prevail as I believe that it will.

I raised certain concerns about other provisions in the legislation. And let me refer to a few of them. I was concerned about the flexible spending account cap, but that now has -- will be dealt with.

I was worried about both the rural hospitals and home health care and nursing homes. I believe that is being addressed.

These are all issues that affect not only my state, they affect every other state. But because of my experience and knowledge of it, both as a senator and a former governor, I requested changes, and I believe those changes will be made and will be announced.

I was concerned about Medicaid and the fact that that becomes an underfunded federal mandate. I believe that that will be addressed and there will be comments about that.

I think that there needs to be further work done on the so-called mandate to find a way to -- within the world of insurance to create open enrollment and closed enrollment periods rather than financial penalties to get people into the system to avoid the problem, the obvious problem you get with adverse selection, if everybody is not in the insurance package and you've eliminated the restrictions on preexisting conditions.

The concern about medical malpractice -- I believe we're going to work on a study to look to see what works in medical malpractice, tort reform, I should say, based on certain states to find more information out about it. I think there are a lot of thoughts about how this should work but not necessarily any data that would tell us what is the appropriate way to handle it.

QUESTION: Senator, on Medicaid, can you be specific? Just from reading, it looks like your state has been singled out to get full federal funding as opposed to the state federal...

NELSON: I'm going to leave it up to the -- to the leader to talk about the manager's package. He hasn't finished telling all the members of the conference about it. And I'm going to leave it up to him. I'm not going to talk about it.

I'm comfortable that it's taken care of in the best way that I think it can be. But I think it's important that other states are taken care of, as well.

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

NELSON: What?

QUESTION: When you look at the polls, they've been fairly universal the last few weeks, public opposition has run against this bill.

NELSON: Which bill? The bill that has been talked about with the manager's package or the bill that existed before? That's one of the challenges that is there.

This bill has been moving along every step of the way and changing. Now what we need to see is how people respond to the bill with the manager's package and the modifications.

There's an opposition -- well, there's opposition to public plans. I happen to know because that's what I heard in my town hall meetings. That's what I see, the concern about a public plan.

There are some people opposed to doing anything, absolutely opposed to doing anything. You're not going to change their mind by doing something. So that is something that has to be dealt with.

The abortion issue has been a concern, to make certain that the federal dollars are not used for abortion. The plan that we put together here that we have agreement on, in fact, walls off that money in a very effective manner and makes certain that the plans do not -- we use federal dollars to fund abortion.

So, I think as people begin to take a look at what a package is now, they may have some different opinions about it. I don't think the well is so poisoned. I think it has been -- efforts have been to poison it, but I don't think it's been so poisoned that people in most circumstances will take a close look at what the plan is today, at least from my perspective. I think that's what will happen.

QUESTION: Senator, there are a number of changes to the abortion provision. Can you talk about which of those was the most important in ensuring you that there is this separation you talked about?

NELSON: Well, the fact that the requirement is that in every -- first of all, there are 12 states that ban abortion in public plans and five that ban in both public and private plans.

We wanted to make sure in this legislation that it was clear that there was no preemption of the right of states to continue to make those bans if they choose to do so, and so that is spelled out that there's nothing that would restrict the right of states to do that.

We were concerned that some court would say because it wasn't addressed that, well, there must have been the intent to repeal.

The second thing is that each exchange will have to have in it at least one plan that doesn't offer abortion, that does not -- that doesn't require the exchanges to offer plans with abortion.

But if they do, then the premium is calculated as follows. Let me give an example. Let's say that my subsidy is 50 percent of the premium. That's the underlying premium for the basic benefits of the plan not including abortion.

So I would write a check for the other 50 percent, the second 50 percent of that coverage, and I would write a separate check or a separate transaction, if it's a credit card, for the portion of abortion coverage and the premium for that.

QUESTION: (inaudible)

NELSON: Yes. Well, yes, you get your choice between a plan that doesn't have it and a plan that has it. It's not about riders. It's not about anything like that. It's a plan that happens to be inclusive of abortion.

QUESTION: Is it your understanding that states, though, could ban private insurers ...

NELSON: Yes.

QUESTION: ... on the exchanges offering abortion, even if some of their customers don't get federal subsidies?

NELSON: They can do it right now. It doesn't change. What we want to make sure is that the current situation is the same.

QUESTION: (inaudible)

NELSON: Yes. Two separate transactions. It walls it. It makes it clear. No question about it. Now, the insurers will account for it accounting-wise in risk pools separating out the coverages, as well. Typically that's the way it's done.

QUESTION: Senator, can any state decide not to include a plan that's free of abortion coverage.

NELSON: No. No. If they have an exchange, they have to provide for at least one plan that doesn't provide abortion. That way you avoid the opt out.

QUESTION: What does Congressman Stupak think?

NELSON: Well, we've talked, but I haven't had a chance to talk to him this morning yet. But this is very, very similar. We think it's clearly like the Stupak language, but we think it's different.

There are other provisions to it, as well, that I think are important. First of all, the conscience clause will be included. There will be up to $250 million over ten years for essentially teen pregnancies and people who want to continue their pregnancy, go to school, support them to move away from putting people in a position where they believe they've got to have an abortion to be able to continue their lives. This -- economically, this would help with that.

In addition, the adoption credit has been increased, and in addition to that, it's been made as a refundable tax credit so that lower-income people, adoption is getting more and more expensive. It's not like when I adopted, much more expensive. And this will mean that lower income people would have the opportunity for adoption, as well.

So we think that when you look at this package together, that this is the package that we ought to have dealing with this.

QUESTION: Senator, over the last weeks and months, there were a lot of things in this bill that you lobbied and insisted come out. You know, most of the things that had to come away from the bill for you to support it.

Now that you've gotten an agreement, do you feel like this is a good bill or a less bad bill? Do you think this bill fulfills the imperatives that the leadership wants -- more insurance? I mean, do you think this is a good bill that if it popped up you would have supported it?

NELSON: I think it's good enough for us to move forward. If I had my druthers, I said earlier that I would have done it incrementally, I would have dealt with the cost containment first and extending coverage second.

That wasn't the choice that was accepted. You have to take the process that's in front of you and try to improve it. And that's what I've attempted to do, both constructively and productively improve this legislation to the point where I can support it with the caveat that I said, that we have to see what happens with a very limited conference, because we don't want any wholesale, substantive, or material changes, because my support is conditional.

QUESTION: To that provision, how was Majority Leader Reid able to give you assurances that the conference would be limited between the House and the Senate, and was there interaction across the dome with...

NELSON: Well, I don't know -- let's put it this way. I told the leader about my concerns and made it clear where I am, and he understood it. And I'm sure that he in doing his job will find a way to make that happen.

MARCIANO: You have been listening into a press conference held by Senator Ben Nelson, Democratic senator out of Nebraska, the swing vote, if you will.

NGUYEN: Yes, the lone holdout. Wasn't really sure if he was going to vote in favor of it, but today he says he, indeed, has decided to vote for this health care reform bill.

MARCIANO: A couple of things that he said that I found interesting. One, he wants the states to have the right to ban public funding, and the other --

NGUYEN: Dealing with abortion.

MARCIANO: In dealing with abortion, exactly. And the other thing in dealing with abortion, as well, there's -- he proposes two plans, or is that's part of the deal, two plans. If you choose, you can have a plan that has abortion and you pay a separate premium for that or you can choose not to. So that was news to me.

NGUYEN: Let's get the latest on this. Our Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar has been watching live from Capitol Hill. And you spoke a little bit earlier on the fact we had learned he was going to vote in favor of it.

The question is was how did they resolve the abortion sticking point, which was a major one for Senator Nelson? It sounds like we got a little bit of an answer to that.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And what they really had to do, pardon me, was thread a needle, because they have liberal Democrats who are for abortion rights, and then they have, you know, this moderate Democrat, this social conservative, Ben Belson, who is against abortion rights.

And we actually did speak -- Senator Barbara Boxer, who's considered one of the most liberal senators when it comes to abortion rights, she sad said, she was at the table basically brokering the deal, and she is on board with it as well.

So, this is very important in order for Democrats to move forward with health care reform. In fact, I would go as far as to say this is the most significant moment so far in all of the months the Democrats have been trying to push forward with health care reform.

This is really the most important moment for them so far, and it's really got a lot of drama around it. This happening the Saturday before Christmas. I mean, the Senate is never session at a time like this. An early morning session. It's happening as, you know, I look out the window here and it is just a blizzard outside as, you know, up to two feet of snow going to blanket the nation's capital.

So this is a very significant development, especially considering it was really looking dicey earlier in the week that Democrats, pardon me, would be able to move forward and have these votes on health care that they wanted to have before Christmas.

It's looking like they are going to be able to do this with Senator Ben Nelson saying that he's worked out this agreement with Senate democratic leaders in order to tighten up that language.

Did you hear him, guys, say, though, if this language gets changed back, because there is a whole other step, which is when the Senate and the House has to hash out their differences, he said he reserves the right to say nope, I'm not going to get on board again. He wants this language in the final bill. And I think that was really important to hear him say.

NGUYEN: Oh, yes. It was a bit of warning, too, from him.

KEILAR: It was.

NGUYEN: He has decided to go ahead and vote for it as long as it stays as they've agreed to it.

All right, Brianna Keilar, thank you so much for that. We'll continue to follow this story for you.

MARCIANO: Let's get to reaction from the White House. Dan Lothian is covering that beat.

President Obama, Dan, has met with Senator Nelson several times I guess in the last ten days. As Brianna put it, this is a dramatic event, not only because it's on a Saturday, but there's a snowstorm and this pushes the Democratic cause forward. What is the White House administration saying?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It really does. This really is a dramatic event. And as you pointed out, the White House had been working very hard behind the scenes and in public, as well, pushing Democrats to get this resolved. So it is a big day for this administration. No official comment yet from the White House.

But the president has talked about how it was important to get this bill moving forward, how it's not a perfect bill, it doesn't have a public option, which is what he wanted, but the president believing that this bill will hold the insurance companies accountable, that people with preexisting conditions will still be able to get coverage, that they won't be dropped, that it will be able to keep costs down.

In his weekly address, the president said, "Let's bring this long and vigorous debate to an end. Let's deliver on the promise of health insurance reforms that will make our people healthier, our economies stronger, and our future more secure.

And as this difficult year comes to a close, let's show the American people that we are equal to the task of meeting our great challenges."

Well, even though there's been a lot of Republican resistance to this, Democrats coming together, a key day for not only Democrats but for this White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think what some people are going to legitimately ask, well, if it's not legally binding, what prevents us ten years from now looking and saying, you know, everybody fell short of these goals, and there's no consequences to them? My response is that, a, that's why I think we should still drive towards something that is more binding than it is, but that was not achievable at this conference. The point -- and the second point that I'd make is that Kyoto was legally binding, and everybody still fell short anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: OK. There obviously a mistake. The president talking about climate change and the agreement that he was able to get their meeting with leaders of China and India and also South Africa.

So really, you know, this is a big weekend for the administration. The president going all the way to Copenhagen, not certain that he would come back with anything. Late into the day, it did not appear that he would get an agreement there. He does get an agreement. While it doesn't have teeth, it's nonbinding, he does come back with something in hand.

And then now, you know, there were a lot of questions about whether or not Ben Nelson would come on board, would be able to provide that 60th vote to move forward on health care reform, the president apparently getting that, as well. So a good weekend so far despite all this snow for the White House.

MARCIANO: Kind of two soft victories, you know. You've got the Copenhagen accord, which doesn't have much in the way of teeth, and you also have Senator Nelson saying if the details get hashed out and I still don't like it, I reserve the right to reverse my vote. So it looks like it's going to carry over into the new year.

All right, Dan Lothian, thanks very much for that White House report.

NGUYEN: Our other big story this hour, that major snowstorm that's swirling over the mid-Atlantic states and heading into the northeast.

MARCIANO: Yes. The storm is dumping huge amounts of snow in a lot of spots. Some spots could see 20 inches. We've got it all covered.

At the bottom of your screen, you'll see travel updates and weather information throughout the morning. We've got CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf in Fredericksburg, Virginia, our Kate Bolduan is in Washington, Josh Levs keeping the fires stoked at home, talking about travel delays. We have a slew of those.

But first, Betty, we have something coming up.

NGUYEN: We've gotten word from American airlines and Delta airlines that they are canceling flights in and out of the D.C. area, that announcement coming just minutes ago. Virgin airlines canceled incoming flights to the D.C. area a little bit earlier today.

So let's get the latest from Tara Hamilton. She is the spokesperson for D.C. metro airport, which covers Reagan National and Dulles. And it seems like, Tara, that these airports may shut down if more and more airlines continue to stop flying in and out of there?

TARA HAMILTON, SPOKESWOMAN, DC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT: Well, we won't close the airports, but we will probably see fewer to probably no operations as the day continues. Our crews have been working all night into the morning, and we were able to provide runway capacity to those airlines that were able to schedule flights in and out.

So we had about I'd say a dozen or so flights early this morning in and out of both Dulles international and Reagan national. But as you've been reporting, the airlines are now canceling flights for the remainder of the day.

Other airlines were very proactive, as well. Yesterday in advance they canceled the bulk of their flights for today. So we are expecting that as the storm continues and intensifies we will probably not see any more aircraft operations as the day continues.

MARCIANO: So, Tara, what dictates when you actually shut down the airport? It sounds like the airlines are dictating it more than the airport itself.

HAMILTON: Well, the airlines are being very prudent. You're reporting the kind of intensity of this storm that we're seeing. They don't want to have their aircraft here and then stranded at, you know, the airports because they can't get out due to the storm conditions.

So that's why they cancel in advance so they can have their aircraft in other parts of the country and serve those parts of the country.

Once the storm goes through and we're able to clean up the airfield and have it ready for full capacity, then they'll be bringing those aircraft back in. That will, though, take some time, as we know. It will probably be a day or two before the airlines are able to get back on schedule when you have a storm of this size.

NGUYEN: So, Tara, for those flights that are still coming and going out of there, how bad are they delayed at this point?

HAMILTON: That I don't know. I think it's -- you know, frankly, in these conditions, the fact that we've been able to provide service to some of the flights and the passengers getting in and out today has been a lot of hard work on both the part of the airlines and the airport.

But as the storm is intensifying, I think it's wise to expect that you will not be flying in and out of the Washington area for the remainder of the day.

NGUYEN: Just today? Are you expecting this to carry over through tomorrow?

HAMILTON: Well, we're paying as much close attention to your weather forecasters as you are. We're hoping that the prediction that this storm will be out of here by early tomorrow are accurate. That would certainly help all of us.

And we know that people whose travel plans are being drastically affected would also like to be able to get back on their scheduled flight.

MARCIANO: Well, Tara, I can tell you with confidence that we do think the snow is going to end by tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I can also tell you with confidence that this is turning out to be a historic storm. So, you're going to have your hands full.

HAMILTON: We appreciate it. Believe us, we're seeing this first hand, especially our crews who are out there in those conditions that you've been showing.

NGUYEN: All right, Tara Hamilton with D.C. Metro airport joining us by phone this morning. As you're seeing on the bottom of your screen, 500 flights canceled in and out of that area, including Delta airlines and American airlines.

(WEATHER BREAK)

MARCIANO: Stay with us for continuing coverage of the other big story, a breakthrough in health care negotiations. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: All morning long we've been getting updates on this powerful snowstorm just rolling up through the middle Atlantic states and the northeast. And within the last hour, Delta airlines canceled all flights into and out of the nation's capital. So did American airlines.

I want to take you live to our Kate Bolduan near the capital. And Kate, it may be pretty to look at, but, boy, there are some problems that are already brewing in that area.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They sure are. The National Weather Service, Betty -- that's how we get around right there weather what the conditions are like here in D.C., snowmobiles rather than cars on the streets right now.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for D.C. with the potential of wind gusts up to 40 miles an hour. We have been feeling some very strong gusts. More snow falling now than we've seen all morning as we've been out here.

D.C.'s mayor, Adrian Fenty, out within the last hour to say so far things are OK, no serious accidents, no major injuries that they've had in the district. But he also said very clearly that the brunt of the storm is yet to come.

A very similar story across the region, parts of Maryland reporting very strong wind gusts. In Virginia, emergency management saying there are 30,000 power outages in the state as well as one fatality linked to the storm. We're working on more details there on exactly what happened there.

But back here in Washington in the district, you can pretty much look at me. It really tells the story of what people are experiencing when they head outside today.

Right behind us is the capitol dome or what's supposed to be the capitol dome. You can't even see it at this point.

Let me show you the roads people are dealing with. The crews, the plows have been out here plowing all morning, trying to clear these roadways, but the snow continues to fall and they really face an uphill battle as the snow continues throughout the evening.

And look right here. The beautiful national mall, but what you should be seeing behind me right now, Betty, is the Washington Monument. You can't even see it from where we are. You could see it very clearly on a normal day here.

Crews are going to continue to be out here all day plowing, salting, trying to keep the roads clear. The mayor said himself we don't know exactly how much is going to fall, but he did say that they believe they will have it all clear for the Monday morning rush hour.

And he says is one good thing about this storm, not only is it beautiful if you're walking around here enjoying it this morning, but it's happening on a weekend. And he says that's one thing that is helping them out today -- Betty.

NGUYEN: That's a good point, but it's also the last weekend before Christmas and a lot of people want to get out there and shop.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

NGUYEN: So if they're afraid to get on the roadways, what about mass transit? Is that available?

BOLDUAN: Mass transit. They said it could change by the minute. So far, the metro, the subway system here is working. They said there would be some potential if snow would be eight, ten inches that they would really have to scale back services, because part of D.C.'s metro rail system is above ground and that would be a serious problem.

The public bus system they said is working, however with significant delays, clearly because of the snow.

So the major said state and local officials across the northeast are saying it -- stay indoors if you can. I talked to several people, tourists as well as people who live in this area, who are out this morning, and they said they've forgotten public transit and pretty much forgotten their cars and they really kind of gone out on foot and having a great time.

But, yes, there is a lot of snow falling at this point, and it's only starting at this point.

NGUYEN: We can hear in the background someone is enjoying it. I heard someone say "Yay!" Is that the person on the snowmobile?

BOLDUAN: Yes. A wonderful -- hi, everybody. How are you?

NGUYEN: They're braving the conditions with umbrellas in hand. That gives you an indication of how hard that snow is coming down. I can see it almost sideways in front of you.

All right, Kate, thanks so much for that. Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST, ANCHOR: All right, Better, well, some people are having fun, but those who are doing some travel might not be having fun right now. At one point, 400 cars and trucks were sitting on I-81 southwest of Roanoke, Virginia, and no one was going anywhere for hours.

Neil Turner is an EMS worker in that area. He's been hearing from crews now monitoring the situation. Neil, we're down to about 100 cars? What can you tell us?

NEIL TURNER, EMS COORDINATOR, MONTGOMERY CO, VIRGINIA: Well, hopefully we're down a few more than that. The folks have been working from both ends, from the lower end of the blockage, both fire departments and rescue squads have been trying to work with wrecker services, DDot, and the contractor for the interstate system.

And they're beginning to make progress, but it's been a lengthy, toiling task.

MARCIANO: We talk about numbers of cars, cars stranded, but, you know, we forget about the people in the cars. We heard of one family that had an eight-hour trip that turned into a 24-hour ordeal with kids in the back and running out of diapers and running out of food and water.

What are we looking at as far as how people are suffering here? Are people running out of gas, running out of heat? Are they in danger?

TURNER: We don't feel that they're in danger at this point. You know, of course, when we have a storm like this, it's dangerous. Let's just say that and clear the air.

But the fire service and EMS workers have been out all night providing gas, providing diesel fuel to folks who are -- were in any kind of jeopardy of running out of fuel, trying to provide any medical care that needed to be provided. And, you know, pretty much, I guess, you know, this is sort of our Midwest blizzard for Virginia.

MARCIANO: Sure.

TURNER: And, you know, a little new to us.

MARCIANO: Right.

TURNER: But I think we've done very well under the circumstances. We run all volunteer departments, and volunteers have brought their own four-wheelers and ATVs out and done a tremendous job of catering to the needs of these citizens.

MARCIANO: It sounds like you have got things fairly under control. But actions happen. What can you tell us as far as people being hurt? Have there been any serious accident where is your EMS crews have had to go to work medically?

TURNER: There have -- of course, you know, initially as the snow began to fall, there were traffic accidents everywhere. I mean, stacked up three and four at a time. After the initial impact of that from the stoppage of the traffic, there have been no further accidents now.

There have been some calls to assist diabetics who had taken their insulin with the anticipation of eating and of course became stranded and didn't get that accomplished. We had individuals who began to have chest pain who had a history of heart trouble, you know, that kind of thing, but not weather related accident injuries.

MARCIANO: We certainly hope that streak continues. Neil Turner, he's the coordinator of the EMS out of Montgomery County, Virginia, filling us in on what's going on there, especially along the I-81 corridor. Neil, I know you've got your hands full. Stay safe out there.

TURNER: Thank you very much, and merry Christmas. It's a white Christmas.

MARCIANO: That's right. Glass is half full.

TURNER: That's right. Thanks.

MARCIANO: Merry Christmas.

NGUYEN: Looking at that. It feels like Christmas with all the snow on the ground. We are back though in just a minute with tips to help you avoid the nightmares of getting stranded on the roadways in these conditions. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Trying to rockabilly your way through this snowstorm across D.C.

NGUYEN: A sleigh ride -- we already saw a snowmobile there in D.C. on the roadway, mind you.

MARCIANO: Yes. They're making the best of this one, the storm rippling across the country, having ripple effects for travelers for sure. You definitely want to check it out before you might be heading to the airport if you are traveling by air.

NGUYEN: No doubt. And our Josh Levs is here to show you some important websites that will help you avoid some of the snags out there today. Hey, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, guys. Quick question, Rob. Is this as bad as a storm in 1966 that got Billy -- just got a couple of tweets about this, people saying it are reminds them about '66?

MARCIANO: I don't know, josh. I wouldn't have been alive back in 1966.

LEVS: I'm not saying you would know because you were there. It's historic. It's pretty big.

MARCIANO: I can tell you this -- if they get over 20 inches of snow in D.C., they've only done that twice in the over 100 years of keeping records. So certainly -- and the two-day total of 12 inches, that's the record, and I think we'll blow that out with no problem. So it's definitely record breaking.

NGUYEN: Take that information, Josh. What now?

LEVS: You got yourself covered now.

(LAUGHTER)

Let me explain what's going on here. We understand that this storm that's largely hitting the northeast is going to have ripple effects all over the country for anyone who's trying to travel by plane anywhere today, plus everyone in that region could be affected on your roads.

So what I'm going to do is show you key websites to use to find out about the air and the roads wherever you might be. You don't need to write anything down. At the end of this, I'll show you where everything is posted for you.

All right, let's zoom right in. Take a look at this. This is our story on CNN.com. These are some key websites to use. Acuweather.com -- everywhere you see the yellow, they're expecting delays and in some cases cancellations throughout the entire day. Red, they are saying it will be at least that way through the morning hours but you can expect it to continue.

The FAA has a Web site, as well, with all these links to individual airports, though, these teeny little green dots, you click on one, it brings you the latest information about what's going in each individual airport.

Also, Orbitz.com has a really good Web site that does something similar. They put in little green flags all the major airports in the country. You click on it, you get the latest information.

And for roads, take a look at this -- national traffic and road closure information. You have a map of the entire country here. Let's move the camera over a little bit to the right. All you need to do is click on whatever state you're planning on traveling through, and boom, it will give you the latest information on individual roads even down to specific zip codes and neighborhoods.

Let's show the graphic. Everything I just showed you is able to you at our Web site, CNN.com/Josh. Just get there and click away. We also put up a Facebook and Twitter. So you have all these links available to yourself.

If you know of other great links, go ahead and post them and share them with everyone. We want to help you get the latest information. Plus it will be at the bottom of your screen all day.

One more thing to mention, let's zoom in really quickly -- we're getting photos from a lot of you facing this storm today as well. Some of these are up on our main page right now. Some people are having a little fun with it. Some people are saying I'm stuck but I still have power so there's nothing I can do today except send you guys a few pictures.

By the way, I think this one is my favorite. This comes to us from Kensington, Maryland from an iReporter says, you know what, no bread left on the shelves when they went shopping and we all know the kinds of things people go up on.

All right, Rob, great to hear these stories. You know, we hear a lot of these every year. They load up on that stuff.

MARCIANO: Panic, baby, got to get the provisions. It's just an excuse to stay home for a week.

NGUYEN: Stay home and play in the snow. All right, thank you for that.

LEVS: Thanks, guys.

NGUYEN: A breakthrough in the Senate on health care reform. That's something that we've witnessed so far this morning. Democrats now have the 60 votes they need to avoid a filibuster.

MARCIANO: Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson was holding out on abortion funding, but now he's on board. Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar is live on Capitol Hill. Brianna, break it down for us. How do they find common ground on the abortion issue?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, the current law as it stands right now says federal money, basically taxpayer dollars, cannot go to fund abortions, rare exceptions for case of rape, incest, or if a mother's life is in danger.

The issue is how do you apply this to health care reform, because what you have under this plan is a whole lot of people getting government subsidies, essentially coupons from the government, money from the government, to help them purchase insurance.

So then there's been this question about how do you make sure that those federal subsidies don't end up going towards abortion, especially if someone is purchasing a health insurance plan that covers abortion, as a lot of health insurance plans do?

So as we understand it, this deal that has been worked out between Senator Ben Nelson and also liberal Democrats who are for abortion rights and Senate democratic leaders, here are some of the things that they settled on. Basically people who do get those coupon, those federal subsidies to help them purchase insurance, if they go for a plan that includes abortion coverage, they would basically have to write two separate checks, one for their part of the premium for the entire health insurance plan, and then a separate check to cover that abortion part of the plan, the abortion coverage part of the plan.

Also, under this Senate health care bill, it says that insurance companies basically have to provide an absolute minimum level of insurance coverage. And what this agreement that was worked out says is that you cannot say to an insurance company that part of that basic minimum level of coverage has to include abortions.

The other thing is that basically under this plan states will create insurance exchanges. I want you to kind of think of Travelocity or Expedia for airline tickets. It's kind of the same thing, only it would be for insurance plans. So that's basically what an exchange is.

And the states kind of set these things up. And so what it is saying is that it will allow states the ability to opt out of offering abortion coverage in those exchanges that they create.

It's pretty complicated stuff, but I think it's also very important and it's very interesting to people, Betty and Rob, because this is such a divisive issue, not just here in the Senate for people all across the nation.

NGUYEN: No doubt.

And let's get back to how they came about this, because there's a little bit of a sweetener in this agreement for Senator Nelson that has nothing to do with abortion, the sticking point for him. It's essentially money for his state, correct?

KEILAR: Yes. That's right. He had this big issue with abortion, and I would say that was the deal breaker issue. But he also a big concern because under this plan a lot of people will get covered, they will get health insurance because Medicaid will expand to include more poor Americans.

So when you pay for Medicaid it's the federal government that picks up part of the tab but it's also the state government. So Ben nelson's main concern was we are forcing Nebraska and every other state to then pay more towards Medicaid, and they're cash strapped. How are they going to do this? This is going to be tough.

So actually in this bill, Nebraska is singled out to be given federal assistance to pick up that part of the tab, just Nebraska. You can imagine other states have this same concern as well, and this is certainly going to rub some folks the wrong way, you could definitely say.

MARCIANO: And may very well open a can of worms. We'll have to see about that, interesting.

All right, Brianna Keilar, thanks for breaking that down. Great insight this morning.

NGUYEN: And coming up, we have more on the northeast snowstorm and the health care reform compromise. All of that big news today right here on CNN.

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NGUYEN: Well, after months of arguing, there's final a breakthrough on health care reform in the Senate. Democrats have the 60 votes that they need to avoid a filibuster.

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson was the lone holdout over abortion funding, but he has come to an agreement with his party. Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to pass the bill before Christmas. We'll continue to follow that for you.

And before the Senate jumped back into health care debate this morning, it passed a $636 billion defense spending bill that includes funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but not the cost of sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

The bill would also give the military a pay raise of more than three percent, and it has some extras tacked on, like extensions of jobless benefits and the Patriot Act.

Well, bitter cold isn't just affecting the eastern U.S. today. These are pictures of stranded train passengers in London. Severe weather in northern France forced Euro Star trains to shut down service. Earlier today five trains got stuck on the tracks after they apparently lost traction in all this bad weather.

And if you or someone in your home feels like they're catching a cold or if you have kids, you need to know this. About 700,000 packs of Vick's Dayquil cold medicine being recalled. Nothing is wrong with the medicine, it's the packaging. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it's not childproof.

And James Cameron's "Avatar" has arrived in theaters. A lot of people waiting for that, and so far doing pretty solid, but not spectacular when it comes to ticket sales. The movie made $3.5 million in Thursday midnight screenings. The studio expects behind it expects to gross between $50 million and $60 million this weekend alone.

"Avatar" costs $300 million to make and another $150 million to market. So they got a lot of money to make up to cover those costs.

MARCIANO: Not a bad day to go to a movie if you can get there.

NGUYEN: If you can get there.

MARCIANO: Maybe the blue people will give you a ride.

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NGUYEN: We have much more to come on Saturday morning, CNN. Stick with us. We'll have the latest on weather conditions outside and the latest on the health care reform bill.

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