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One Month, Three Blizzards; Forward on Health Care; Mortgage Help for Jobless

Aired February 26, 2010 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, February 26th. Here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Winter just won't quit in the northeast. A travel chaos, as you can imagine. Power outages. One man killed by a falling tree limb.

Going forward after the big health care reform summit. We look at options the president and Democrats may consider to pass a bill.

And our CNN Hero of the week helping rural children learn to read with a poor man's version of the bookmobile. Take a look -- Biblio Burros. We'll show you in a second.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, it is a question, maybe even a moan on the lips of so many in the Northeast this morning. What the -- and when will it ever end?

No break from shoveling snow for a lot of you today. The region is getting hit with a third blizzard this month, knocking out power to thousands, closing schools and forcing flights to be cancelled. A foot of snow is predicted for parts of New York. That's on top of 22 to 30 inches in some areas.

Heavy rain, high winds also a problem. Some communities report winds blowing near hurricane strength.

Look, this is a big and dynamic storm, and our correspondents are out in it.

Reynolds Wolf is in Philadelphia. Rob Marciano is in the CNN Severe Weather Center, and Susan Candiotti is covering it for us from New York's Central Park.

Let's do this -- let's get started with Susan. She is standing in nearly 17 inches of snow as of this morning.

Susan, look, the serious part of this is there was a death in the park blamed on the severe weather. What can you tell us about that?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, we can tell you, first of all, you pointed out the 17 inches of snow. That's here in Central Park. That's what they're measuring over at the zoo here.

It is still a mess. There are still a lot of people walking through the park this day, although they are being cautioned to be very careful, because, as you referenced, Tony, yesterday afternoon a man who was cutting through Central Park about 3:00 in the afternoon was hit in the head by a falling tree branch.

Now, if you look up here, what a gorgeous sight, isn't it? But that snow is wet, it is very heavy, and it's weighing down the branches here. So, consequently, a lot of people have been walking by saying I've got to keep looking up, I've got to listen for potential sounds of cracking noises and the like, because you never know.

HARRIS: And Susan, how are folks basically getting around New York City at this hour?

CANDIOTTI: Well, they're hearty souls, aren't they?

HARRIS: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: And you are seeing a lot of people out jogging, giving the dog a walk. The kids are out here. No school today, so they're here with their sleds and all of that.

And over here, of course, Columbus Circle. Now, normally, it is extremely busy at this hour, and all morning long we have seen very light traffic.

You do see the buses going, seeing a lot of plows. The taxicabs are running. Tow trucks are too. But it's treacherous going, because we had a lot of slush yesterday. That started to freeze over.

Really, it's been snowing nonstop since yesterday. And so the plows are coming through. They're trying to push it away.

Here you can see pavement, but sometimes it accumulates again. But because they get more traffic than other spots here, it is melting away a bit. But simply put, you can see it's a mess.

HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Susan, I saw the one bus. I can't imagine there are many more buses out there. Probably doing the best they can to get folks around, but what about the airports?

CANDIOTTI: Well, they've had a lot of delays. You know, they started canceling flights en masse yesterday. More than a thousand flights yesterday alone at the area airports.

Mainly Newark, they say, the worst, but all of them are affected, really. And another at least 300 or so, so far today.

Some flights are still coming in, but it's the usual advice -- check if you have a flight coming in or out of here, because there's going to be trouble. Things are going to be backed up, and it will take a while to get things going again.

HARRIS: All right. Try to get warm a bit there. Boy, you look cold. It is -- man.

All right. Susan Candiotti for us in New York City.

Checking the day's other big stories.

U.S. Representative Charles Rangel of New York is being reprimanded today for an ethics violation. The House Ethics Committee will publicly admonish Rangel for accepting Caribbean trips from private corporations in 2007 and 2008. Rangel says it wasn't his fault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: The report would indicate that two members knew that somebody from the private sector was actually making a contribution to the Carib News, who was the sponsor of the trip. And one of the people that did that was discharged, and the Ethics Committee knows that -- a staff member.

They say here there's no evidence that I knew nor would there be -- they don't think they could find any additional evidence to alter the conclusion that I didn't know. And they move on with the admonishment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Rangel will have to pay back the costs of those trips.

SeaWorld says it will keep the killer whale that drowned its trainer. We have new video of the whale and the trainer, Dawn Brancheau. It was taken moments before Wednesday's attack in front of a horrified audience. Officials at SeaWorld plan to hold a news conference two hours from now.

What's your thoughts on this? What do you think? What should happen to the killer whale?

If you would, just go to our blog, CNN.com/Tony. Leave us a comment and we'll share some of your thoughts on the air a little later in the newscast.

So here's the deal. They talked, they poked, they jabbed, at times they scolded. Did they reach a compromise? Most folks say no.

The president and Democrats are deciding a way forward on health care today after a summit with Republicans.

Here's CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The stakes couldn't be higher. He's betting his presidency on getting a health reform deal. This was his last-ditch attempt to save it.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I'm hoping to accomplish today is for everybody to focus not just on where we differ, but focus on where we agree.

HENRY: A tall order, when you throw dozens of members of Congress into a made-for-TV drama at the historic Blair House.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Can I just finish, please?

HENRY: The president's 2008 rival, Republican John McCain, quickly tweaked him over campaign promises.

MCCAIN: Eight times you said that negotiations on health care reform would be conducted with the C-SPAN cameras. I'm glad more than a year later that they are here.

Unfortunately, this product was not produced in that fashion. It was produced behind closed doors. It was produced with unsavory -- I say that with respect -- deal-making.

HENRY: The president defended the transparency of the talks and gave as good as he got.

OBAMA: Let me just make this point, John, because we're not campaigning anymore.

The election's over.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCAIN: Well, I -- I'm reminded of that every day.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Well, I -- yes.

HENRY: Even the sharp exchanges were civil, if a bit jaded, each party hammering familiar talking points.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: The health insurance industry is the shark that swims just below the water. And you don't see that shark until you feel the teeth of that shark.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: Should (AUDIO GAP) regulate all this? Should (AUDIO GAP) people in Washington decide exactly how this works and what you can and cannot buy?

HENRY: After about six hours, Republicans believe they made their case to the American people that the president's plan is simply too costly.

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: It means that, for millions of Americans, premiums will go up, because those -- when -- when people pay those new taxes, premiums will go up, and they will also go up because of the government mandates.

HENRY: But Democrats believe the president got the better of the Republicans. OBAMA: So, Lamar, when you mentioned earlier that you said premiums go up, that's just not the case, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

ALEXANDER: Mr. President, if you're going to contradict me, I ought to have a chance to -- to...

(CROSSTALK)

BARACK OBAMA: Oh, no, no, no, no. Let me -- and this is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight.

HENRY: A CNN fact check gives the edge to the president. The CBO found that his plan would lower premiums for millions of Americans, and those facing hikes would get better coverage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. Ed Henry joining us live from the White House.

And Ed, look, in the days leading up to this event we talked about this being an important moment. At the end of the day, was it an important moment?

HENRY: Well, I think it was in the sense that for all the talking points that were used on both sides, there was some real substance there. And that's important for the American people as they try to make their decision on all of this and whether they believe the Republicans about it costing too much or they believe the president about how there's a crisis and, if you don't do anything, it's only going to get worse. There was real substance there, and both sides were able, after all the noise, to finally sit down face-to-face and go over that.

That can be a positive development. That's an important moment.

And secondly, I think also the fact that we've been picking up from Democrats privately saying they're warning the White House the president has got to get moving. The clock is ticking here. And if he doesn't get it done by the end of March, they're going to have to move to other stuff after Easter, in April, because the clock is ticking.

The election is coming up and the president has been talking about how he wants to get the focus back to jobs. Health care is now back on the front burner, and he's going to have to move from this at some point.

So, it's important because he finally got to put the spotlight on it in these waning days of this debate. But I think implied in your question is the fact that after all of this, though, we really haven't moved the ball forward in any direction. I do think that while there were some positive aspects about everyone hashing it out, the president is no closer to a deal right now.

No Republican had a "eureka" moment and said I'll support you all of a sudden. They weren't expecting that, of course, but I think it was important to finally get both sides fully engaged. It's now or never.

HARRIS: That's a good point. But the other reality is for the American people, if you want to see this kind of exchange, you can watch the committees work on health care legislation. It's what you did for years when you were our congressional correspondent. You had both sides sort of hammering it out.

What was missing yesterday was the table of the staffers, right, who were, in many cases, the final arbiter? But that's essentially when you get in the committee process every day on Capitol Hill, correct?

HENRY: Absolutely. And I think you make a good point in that what was missing yesterday, I believe, just sort of analyzing the situation without picking sides as to who had the better argument, is that was no real takeaway after each side getting in those points. Where was the sheet of paper that said -- you know, because they did talk about areas where they do agree, even as we focus on the areas where they disagree.

But where was the takeaway? Where was the Republicans saying, OK, look, we still think it costs too much, but we agree with you on these five things, let's move forward.

HARRIS: Yes.

HENRY: Where was the president and the Democrats saying, OK, we're not going to get all we want, but we'll move halfway towards you?

There was none of that on either side. And I do think you're right, that in terms of a takeaway, while it was positive to see all this hashed out, they really don't walk away with anything new.

HARRIS: Good stuff.

Our Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry for us.

Good to see you, Ed.

HENRY: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: We will continue the health care conversation after the day-long summit. Can lawmakers really come to an agreement? We will talk to two experts and have them weigh in.

Our Rob Marciano is tracking weather, another big storm hitting the Northeast. We will talk to Rob in just a couple of minutes.

But first, let's take you to the New York Stock Exchange.

We're in positive territory with the Dow. We're up 20s points. Following these numbers throughout the day for you in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) .

HARRIS: You know, for 600 years there's been a Dalai Lama. Buddhists believe each leader is a reincarnation of the first, but the 14th Dalai Lama believes he could be the last.

CNN's Betty Nguyen sat down with His Holiness this week and asked him about that in an exclusive one-on-one interview. His answers were surprising and candid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're the 14th Dalai Lama. There's a lot of concern that you may be the last Dalai Lama.

Do you think that you will?

DALAI LAMA, EXILED TIBETAN SPIRITUAL LEADER: It's not a problem. In my own case, of course, (INAUDIBLE) remaining. I will remain in order to make some service like that. So life, of course -- Buddhism, also like some other religions, their life -- continuous life, we believe.

NGUYEN: Reincarnation.

DALAI LAMA: Rebirth.

NGUYEN: Rebirth.

DALAI LAMA: Then the name, institution, Dalai Lama, now there's (INAUDIBLE). As earlier as '69 (ph), I made clear, I believe, officially the very institution of Dalai Lama should continue or not (INAUDIBLE). So I don't care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Betty's interview airs this weekend on CNN, Saturday and Sunday morning. Find out if the Dalai Lama thinks his successor could be a woman. That's tomorrow morning starting at 6:00 a.m.

Are you falling behind on your mortgage because you've lost your job? You need to know about a new plan that could help you keep that home.

That's straight ahead, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Gerri, Gerri, Gerri, Gerri, Gerri. OK, job loss is one of the main reasons homeowners fall behind on their mortgages. Now help may be on the way. The Mortgage Bankers Association is proposing a plan that would allow people to stay in their homes even if they have no income.

How would this work?

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here with details. And yes, Gerri, that's the question, how would this work?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, hi there, Tony.

Yes, understand that this is a proposal right now. A lot has to happen before it actually gets put into place. But here's what they're thinking.

Lenders would temporarily cut monthly payments to 31 percent of any income the borrower still had, including jobless benefits for up to nine months. Now, the government would provide loans to lenders during this forbearance period.

Ultimately, the borrower repays this amount, which is rolled into a modification mortgage under the precedence, Making Home Affordable program, which we've talked a lot about. Then every three months the borrower would be reevaluated.

Now, yesterday afternoon I spoke to MBA president John Courson, and he said he expects mostly small lenders to participate in this program because it's really less expensive than other options they have. Treasury, of course, has been talking about ways to help the unemployed, looking for a solution. And whether or not this plan goes through, though, will depend on their agreeing to be part of it and ponying up some dough, which would typically be your tax dollars.

HARRIS: Yes, got you.

Gerri, how does this particular program, at least this proposal, compare with other federal initiatives to help folks who are in trouble with their homes?

WILLIS: Well, you remember (INAUDIBLE). That was part of the Making Home Affordable plan announced by President Obama a year ago. But as you know, the participation in this program, it's been slow.

For one thing, modifying a mortgage when you don't have a job, it's a challenge. That's the old-fashioned way of going into foreclosure.

Although, to take advantage of this program, you can be unemployed. You just have to have to have been collecting unemployment for at least nine months.

So, Tony, we'll see if this goes through. There are lots of ideas on the table with Treasury. And I expect that you're going to hear something from Treasury in days, weeks ahead about other things they want to do to try to rein in this foreclosure crisis.

HARRIS: OK. Let's get together next hour. We're going to put together a little roundtable, and I want you to give us all an honest assessment on where we are with the housing sector right now, and then we'll delve into some other areas as well.

Can we do that next hour, Gerri?

WILLIS: Sounds good to me, Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Let's do it. See you next hour.

Snowed in once again. How much more can the Northeast take?

Reynolds Wolf is out in the cold in Philadelphia. Take it away, doctor.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I'll tell you what we've got right now, Tony, is the snow, as our viewers across America can see. It's beginning to dwindle a little bit, but the wind is expected to pick up. And with that, we could see increased power outages across the region.

We're going to talk more about that coming up in just a few moments right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

Deadly explosions in Afghanistan's capital. Have a listen.

Can you believe that? The Taliban claiming responsibility for today's attacks that killed at least 17 people and injured many more. The target, a Kabul neighborhood that houses U.N. and Afghan government offices and diplomatic complexes.

The first attack included a car bomb and four suicide bombers wearing vests filled with explosives. Minutes later, another bomb went off.

Toyota's president on friendlier territory. One day after his testimony on Capitol Hill, Akio Toyoda took a tour of his company's assembly plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. He told workers there the automaker is at a crossroads and needs to rethink its operations to win back customers. Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles because of safety problems.

Another sign the housing market's recovery is faltering. Numbers just out from the National Association of Realtors shows sales of previously occupied homes fell 7.2 percent in January. It marks the second straight month of a big drop.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a little controversy after the Canadian women's hockey team beat the Americans. Check it out. Some drinking, some smoking. On the ice?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Come visit the United States. That's the message our government is going to be pushing in an effort to boost the economy. Darby Dunn is in New York to explain. So, Darby, first of all, good to see you. What are we going to see here? Are we going to see billboards and adverts for the Grand Canyon?

DARBY DUNN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Television commercials, things like that. But we're not going to see them, it's people overseas who are actually going to be seeing them. Both chambers of Congress passed what's called the Travel Promotion Act and President Obama is expected to sign it. This will create a nonprofit corporation to market the United States overseas for tourists.

Now believe it or not, the U.S. has never had this kind of program before. So now people who live overseas will soon see TV commercials and such showing all the U.S. has to offer. The goal is to bring in tourists because visitors spend money and when hotels and restaurants do well, they hire. Oxford Economics, in fact, says that the bill could bring in $5 billion and create 40,000 jobs.

The tourism industry is putting up $100 million to fund this program. It will also be funded by foreign travelers who will be charged $10 when they fill out an online visa waiver registration form.

Now not everyone supported the bill. Republican Senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina says the legislation is not needed because hotels and resorts already advertise on their own.

As far as stocks on Wall Street, we are seeing some modest gains today. Optimism about strong GDP growth in the fourth quarter however being offset by new reports showing home sales fell 7 percent last month. Tony, the Dow right now is up 19.5 points.

Back to you.

HARRIS: All right, Darby. Appreciate it, see you next hour.

DUNN: You're welcome. See you then.

HARRIS: Check out a special report "AMERICA'S MONEY CRISIS," that's at CNNMoney.com.

OK, so you win Olympic gold, you celebrate, right? Sure, sure. Maybe you don't do it in such a public way. Take a look at these -- the Canadian women's hockey team. They returned to the ice after beating the Americans 2-0. The women swigged beer, guzzled champagne -- you saw that shot there -- and lit up a couple of cigars. One of the players has not reached legal drinking age.

The IOC said that kind of party should be kept in the locker room. It plans to investigate. What's there to investigate? OK, the ladies have apologized, blaming the excitement of the moment.

She survived breast cancer, but can she handle the New York Triathlon? Dr. Sanjay Gupta follows two women's journeys from a sedentary lifestyle to that of an athlete. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, a checkup on a "Fit Nation Challenge." Two very determined women on a triathlon journey. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta catches up with them in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Training for the New York City Triathlon is not the biggest challenge Angie Brouhard has faced.

ANGIE BROUHARD, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I was diagnosed with breast cancer last April, and I was out of shape. And when this challenge came along, I thought it would be the perfect thing not only to get myself back in shape again, but to show other people that they can get in shape too.

GUPTA (on camera): As you sort of have looked at the challenge that lies in front of you, what are you most nervous about and most excited about?

BROUHARD: Well, I'm excited because I think I'll be in really good condition. I think I'll feel really healthy. I think the swimming will be great. That's what I'm most worried about is the swimming. I can swim, but I've never really swam.

GUPTA (voice-over): But it hasn't been as big a challenge as she anticipated either. With the help of a swimming trainer, she's getting more and more comfortable in the pool.

BROUHARD: Every time I feel stronger, I can go a little further before I rest. So it's coming.

GUPTA: Our other participant, Meredith Clark, had her own concerns.

MEREDITH CLARK, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: There's, of course, the huge possibility of crashing and burning on TV.

GUPTA: But turns out it's real life that presents the greatest challenges.

CLARK: Being in the office is difficult, especially in a newspaper office, because we believe in eating and eating well and eating a lot.

GUPTA: And schedules.

CLARK: The workouts themselves aren't really difficult. What I find hard is managing my time to fit the workouts in.

GUPTA: But she's fitting it all in. Walking around the parking lot at work, exercising with the help of a trainer, early morning kettle bell classes. She's even spinning on her own.

For both triathletes, the journey ahead will be long but doable. CLARK: There's only 150 days left, so it makes me want to kind of ramp up my efforts.

BROUHARD: I feel stronger all the time, but I feel like once I can get this done, I think I can close that chapter, I can put that breast cancer behind me and I'll feel like it's over and I've conquered it.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Fighting illiteracy with donkeys? We will open the book on our CNN Hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And again, let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

Former "Growing Pains" actor Andrew Koenig apparently committed suicide;, that word from his father. Koenig's body was found in a park in Vancouver, British Columbia. He disappeared on Valentine's Day. He was 41 years old.

Lighting up the night in New Hampshire. This is the unoccupied -- look at this -- Oceanfront Surf Hotel in Hampton, that's about an hour's drive north of Boston. Firefighters had a time with this one. Winds near hurricane force spread the fire to the entire block destroying not just the hotel but four other buildings as well. There were, thankfully, no injuries.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and his wife, Jenny, in divorce court this hour in Charleston, South Carolina. Their split is expected to be final today. The first lady filed for divorce after her husband confessed to an affair with a woman in Argentina. When he confessed, Governor Sanford called his mistress his "soulmate."

The Health Care Reform Summit, it may not have moved the ball forward. On CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" last night, a couple of doctors turned politicians suggested areas where democrats and republicans might, might compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, FORMER DNC CHAIRMAN: We ought to get rid of the individual mandate because I don't think it's necessary and it makes people mad. It makes republicans mad and democrats mad. And I think you ought to have some form of a public option in the form of an expansion of Medicare to some number of people who are under 65 so that somebody can get insurance right after this bill is signed. Cause if you go into this election in 2010 and 2012 without doing much for increasing the number of insured people in this country, which is what this bill doesn't do much for, I think the democrats are going to pay a huge price.

So a little public option, get rid of the mandate. Everybody is a little happier, pass the bill.

BILL FRIST (R), FORMER SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I think the idea of scaling back to something that Governor Dean just mentioned or having a series of incremental steps occur over the next year is very unlikely according to the president. Comprehensive health care reform is dead. I think the president, after six weeks, he basically signaled at the end is going to move on to jobs and the economy, other issues where maybe he'll be more successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, Bill Frist, the former Senate majority leader, and Howard Dean, the former DNC chairman, talking with our Larry King.

What should happen to the whale who killed a trainer at SeaWorld? Your comments from my blog coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, the day after the Health Care Reform Summit it seems like we're right back where we started. Are we? Democrats and republicans aired their views, they didn't seem to narrow their philosophical gulf. We got predictions from our guests on Wednesday, let's do a little post-summit breakdown.

Kathie McClure is here, she is an attorney and founder of votehealthcare.org. And Dr. Brain Hill was supposed to be here, our urologist from Atlanta, but he hasn't shown up yet. If he gets in in the next couple of minutes, we'll loop him in.

Kathie, you said to me you thought the summit would be a success if the democrats would be forthright and persuasive in explaining to the American public what these bills will do for the people. What did you hear?

KATHIE MCCLURE, FOUNDER, VOTEHEALTHCARE.ORG: Well, I think the president did an excellent job of explaining to the public that you can't nibble around the edges with health care, you have to approach it from a comprehensive point of view if you're going to extend coverage to most Americans who don't have it and if you're going to protect people from the insurance company abuses and from the unaffordability of health care. So I think he did a good job of that.

I think the republicans admitted that they -- their approach is incremental.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.

MCCLURE: I think it's pretty clear that incremental approaches won't work, if you ask most health economists today.

HARRIS: Yes, a lot of folks say incremental approaches end up being more expensive.

Republicans seem to want to start from scratch. Why do you believe that's a mistake? Start again, get both sides invested from the very beginning and build it from the ground up.

MCCLURE: Well, we've spent a year doing exactly what they're now advocating, we should just start over and scrap a whole year of hard work on this subject. We've had hundreds of bipartisan congressional hearings on this issue.

The bills which are presently pending incorporate many of the republican concepts, such as insurance pooling with exchanges. And so, I believe that what we have here are bills that do incorporate some important free-market reforms, but also do the hard work of extending coverage to others and helping bring down costs by making insurance companies compete with each other.

HARRIS: Yes. Senator Kyle said republicans aren't going to -- essentially, that republicans aren't going to vote for any democrat- structured health care reform. Shouldn't we take -- shouldn't the country take Senator Kyle at his word and assume that he speaks for a lot of his colleagues? That a plan the CBO says lowers premiums for millions while covering more people is not a bill Republicans can sign on to?

KATHIE: Well, I think that Senator Kyl is honest and genuine in saying that he believes that republicans won't sign on to it.

HARRIS: Did that feel like a moment of honesty to you?

MCCLURE: Yes, I think he was telling it straight.

HARRIS: It felt that way to me.

MCCLURE: They've indicated no willingness in the past to really work toward a comprehensive reform.

What they want is something that's really going to do nothing to solve health care. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it would only cover an additional 3 million people, which is really a drop in the bucket when you look at all the people who are suffering today and who are doing without health care. And, of course, this is a problem that will only get worse in the worsening economy as people lose their jobs and lose their coverage. So --

HARRIS: Do you have any concerns that this is -- this amounts to a big government takeover? Let me just sort of channel what we're hearing from the other side., that this is going to amount to a big government takeover, that it's just simply too expensive.

MCCLURE: Well, I think the Congressional Budget Office has established that this would actually be a net gain for the deficit, a net improvement on the deficit, a $100 billion would go back into the -- into the federal budget as a result of this reform. So, I don't think it's fair to say that the bill is going to cost us too much.

I think it is a sweeping bill. I think that scares some people. But I think the president did a good job yesterday of explaining that we'll actually have $100 billion in the bank after we enact these bills. HARRIS: What's next? What do you think is the next step in this process? Is it reconciliation?

MCCLURE: I think it will be reconciliation. And, you know, contrary to what the republican talking points are, that it's a parliamentary trick, they -- republicans know that this is -- they know all about reconciliation, because they used it themselves in the past.

HARRIS: And the idea here that you attach portions of health care reform to spending bills, that's reconciliation.

MCCLURE: Correct.

HARRIS: And you don't need 60 votes. You can pass with a simple majority.

MCCLURE: Correct. And these health care, major health care reforms have been enacted in the past using reconciliation.

HARRIS: COBRA, the CHLP program, correct?

MCCLURE: Right. And the republicans did it with the Bush tax cuts. And that, I would suggest the Bush tax cuts were a -- a -- certainly a major bill that affected all of us, and we see the impact of that today with the deficits.

HARRIS: Is Brian miked up? Is Brian ready to go? I just saw him run by me a second ago. Is he miked up?

DR. BRIAN HILL, AMERICAN UROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: I'm ready.

HARRIS: Brian, are you there?

HILL: I am.

HARRIS: All right. You said you thought the summit would be a success -- let me read it to you here -- if we actually go through a problem-solving approach to fixing this structural problem for our health care. What did you hear yesterday?

BRAIN: Well, I heard actually that there were some good ideas that were being presented with regards to fixing that problem issue, that kind of base structural issues.

HARRIS: Well, give me one. Give me one.

HILL: Well, actually, I liked the discussion about the interstate commerce. Again, we talked the other day that I certainly see benefit out of the consumer-driven health plan idea based on health savings accounts. That was presented yesterday.

HARRIS: Why do you push health savings accounts?

HILL: Oh, actually -- and I love that question. Because the American Academy of Actuaries -- HARRIS: You need a job, don't you? I mean, come on?

BRAIN: Oh, I don't need -- I've got -- I'm going to be fine for my life, I tell you. The thing I'm worried about are my patients and the future of our health care system.

So if we're trying to find cost savings, we're trying to find a structural improvement to the health care system, then we've actually found that by looking at places where they've actually implemented high-deductible health plans with HSAs, the American Academy of Actuaries look at them and they found a 12 percent to 20 percent cost savings in the very first year that they were enacted with a 3 percent to 5 percent annual savings compared to the normal PPO health plan.

HARRIS: Does that help us cover more people?

HILL: Well, if you think the cost structure is part of the issue with it, because again cost affects access, and if we can bring down the cost, then we're going to actually start improving access.

It's also going to create more money within the health care system. If we expand a current broken system, we start throwing more money into a system that doesn't have the correct incentives, it doesn't quite have the correct levers for actually managing the cost structure, well, then, the system is eventually going to fail. So, we need to be smarter about it. We start needing to enact things to that are going to decrease costs.

HARRIS: Can you expand the system so that it is more cost effective and that it covers more people and fix some of the problems? Can you do all of this at essentially the same time?

HILL: Yes, I think you can. Without a doubt.

HARRIS: really?

HILL: Now, it's going to be something that is actually have to take over a period of time, if you can implement high deductible savings accounts, HSAs, start changing the incentivization so that people that living healthy lives, start promoting healthy living, they can have employers, insurance companies, putting money into their health savings accounts in a tax-deductible manner, now you are starting to focus the levers of incentivization toward healthy living, going to decrease the utilization of health care because it improves how many people are living.

HARRIS: Oh, I think that would be helpful, yes.

HILL: And then we need to start down that pathway of health care consumerism. We need to start educating our patients about health care. We need to make sure now we're adding transparency in hospital costs, transparency in hospital outcomes from morbidity, mortality, infection rates. We need to changing this health care plan so that it is more consumer friendly, consumer driven. This is the only type of system that we actually have arranged where the consumer is completely removed from the cost structure of it. It just adds moral hazard. HARRIS: Last word on this, Kathie?

MCCLURE: Well, I think that the idea that we're medical consumers and that we -- it's our responsibility to fix the health care system is really mythology. You know, we don't go to the doctor and have -- and say to the doctor, well, I want you to get me the cheapest care possible. What we do is we trust our physicians, people like you, Dr. Hill, to guide us in the correct direction and to give us the treatment that we need and hopefully it's affordable. But it's not. So, high deductible plans will really do nothing to help people.

HARRIS: Well, let's stop -- yes, very quickly.

HILL: All right. Quickly, let's look at numbers and data. See, you're not even talking about data, I've got data, 12 percent to 20 percent of cost savings.

HARRIS: Yes, we can do it offline. We can look at data, but we need to do it offline because you were late.

BRAIN: Thank you. And I apologize, people in the operating room, they need to be taken care of.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

All right, Brian, appreciate it. Kathie, as always, good to see you both.

Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Working for a living, but not enough to afford health care insurance. We will tell you about a program filling a critical gap in New Orleans.

Plus, fixing the nation's housing market. One real estate broker says the first step is stop foreclosures. We'll ask him about that, plus his other recommendations for fixing the market.

All that and much more straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Saddling up to help stamp out childhood illiteracy. CNN's "Hero of the Week" journeys deep into remote Colombian fields, where almost 30 percent children under age 16 have limited or no access to schools. His mission includes two unlikely helpers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUIS SORIANO, CNN HERO (through translator): In the villages, life goes on in a stationary way, there is no change. Reading has made me laugh and dream. It has also shown me things I want to see in my lifetime.

Alphabeto (ph) and I share the fact that we always lived here.

My name is Luis Soriano and my classroom is not traditional. My Biblio Burro consists of books placed in saddles on top of my donkeys.

It's not easy to travel through these valleys -- the burning sun or too much rain. You sit on a donkey for five or eight hours, you get very tired.

It's a satisfaction to ride to your destination. We go to places that are not on a map, where a child has to work or ride a donkey for up to 40 minutes to reach the closest school. When they learn how to read, the child discovers a new world, like I did.

Someone once said to me, "You've educated a lot of people. You read them the donkeys like no one has."

These children need it. Of course they want to learn. That's what keeps motivating me to ride.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Luis Soriano's work has provided reading instruction to more than 4,000 children. To watch his complete journey, or to nominate someone you think is changing the world, just go to CNN.com/heroes.