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American Morning
House Passes Health Care Reform; Ending Pre-Existing Conditions: Access for Kids in Six Months; Health Bill and Your Business; What It Really Means to be Intelligent
Aired March 22, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: We believe that this act that was passed tonight is an all-American act.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) MINORITY LEADER: We have failed to listen to America. And we have failed to reflect the will of our constituents.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We did not avoid our responsibility. We embraced it. We did not fear our future. We shaped it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: An overhaul of America's health care system is about to get under way. Democrats call it the cure but Republicans are finding it a bitter pill to swallow. That's where we begin this morning. Thanks so much for joining us on "The Most News in the Morning" on this Monday the 22nd of March. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We start with the big stories and the first one is this major overhaul to health care. The president's signature and one more Senate vote is all that's left in the history-making legislation, 32 million Americans poised to get coverage that they don't have now under the Democrat's plan. But Republicans claim it is actually a national day of shame.
ROBERTS: There are benefits of this bill that will kick in this election year. Other parts you'll start paying for now but you won't be able to enjoy them for years. We'll dig into this historic stack of health care changes to find out what's in it for you and your family.
CHETRY: And Tiger Woods talks. The golfer who fell from grace, answering questions from reporters for the first time since the tabloid sex scandal that shattered his public and private life.
ROBERTS: All right, so let's begin with health care reform. President Obama now just a signature away from accomplishing what past presidents failed to do for decades, overhaul health care. The House passing a bill last night that already cleared the Senate back in Senate. The final vote on that was 219-212. Not one Republican backing the Democratic plan that promises health insurance coverage to 2/3 of Americans who don't have it now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: Thirty two million more Americans having access to health care, $1.3 trillion saved for the taxpayer and accountability for the insurance companies so they cannot come between patients and their doctors.
BOEHNER: We have failed to listen to America and we have failed to reflect the will of our constituents. When we fail to reflect that will, we fail ourselves and we fail our country.
OBAMA: This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction. This is what change looks like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well this morning CNN is covering this story like no one else. Elizabeth Cohen shows us who could be paying less and who could end up paying more for reform. Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill with the political mood there and how all this went down and Jim Acosta looking at the impact this bill will have on you and your family. So let's start with Jim and break it down for us as best you can about what is in this measure and what's about to change.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kiran, this is going to affect almost every single person in this country, one way or the other. But in the meantime, it is important to talk about the Senate version of the health care reform bill that passed. Because that is what the House approved and the House as we mentioned also approved a fix bill that tries to change parts of the Senate legislation. But if that doesn't happen over in the Senate, the Senate doesn't follow suit, at least the Senate version will be the law of the land.
But here's a look at what reform looks like if the Senate passes these changes. That is expected to take place. We're talking about some major changes to the nation's health care system that will happen this year. Within the next six months for example, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions.
I talked to a woman who lost a daughter in that very scenario who said she very much appreciates putting an end to that part of our health care system. Within 90 days, adults who can't get insurance because of those preexisting conditions will be able to sign up for a new high risk insurance pool and young adults will be able to stay on their parents' insurance plan until they turn 26. Kiran, Democrats like those elements of health care reform, taking effect this year. They hope that the voters will be focusing on those elements come election time this fall.
CHETRY: And talk about the changes that are coming down the line but we won't see in some cases for years.
ACOSTA: Right, not only this is going to happen overnight, the biggest parts of this bill actually will have to wait until 2014. Take the mandates, President Obama campaigned against mandates when he was running for president. Now he's for them. In 2014, almost every American is going to be required by law to by health insurance. Sort of in the way many states require people to buy car insurance. If you don't buy health insurance in many cases, you will pay a penalty somewhere in the neighborhood of $750. There are some exceptions and businesses will also be faced with this question as well. There are penalties for larger businesses if they don't cover their workers.
Another piece of this legislation that is crucial to folks out there is this idea of an exchange, a new insurance marketplace for the uninsured and small businesses. If you can't get health care because you have a preexisting condition, you'll be able to go to your state health exchange sort of in the way they have up in Massachusetts right now to get your health insurance. This is also critical, Medicaid will be expanded dramatically to some 16 million people. Kiran, that is going to make up the bulk of the people who are going to be brought into this system over the next decade.
CHETRY: So a lot of people are asking, how do you pay for this and when are people that are going to be paying for this have to start paying for it, meaning the Medicare payroll taxes that kick in I believe what around 2013?
ACOSTA: That's right. There's a variety of tax that are going to go into effect to pay for all of this over the next several years. Consider the tax on insurance companies that offer those high cost so-called Cadillac health care plans. Under the final version of this law, that would not take effect until 2018. Kiran, that is potentially after a second Obama administration is over.
There is a hike in the Medicare payroll tax for wealthier Americans, what you mentioned there. That doesn't take effect until 2013. But you have to make over $200,000 a year as an individual or $250,000 as a couple to have that tax hit you. There are some things that do happen sooner. There are cuts in the growth of Medicare. We heard Republicans talking about that. That will occur over the next 10 years. And now if you go to tanning salons, that is going to cost you. There's a tax that is going to start this year on folks who go to tanning salons. So fake baking is now going to come at a price.
CHETRY: Yet another reason to just use the stuff you can rub on and washes off in the shower.
ACOSTA: No tax on that.
CHETRY: All right, Jim Acosta for us, breaking down some of these big things. Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Where was the tan salon lobby in all of this? The ship sailed.
After more than a year of bitter debate, the health care battle is close to ending in defeat for Republicans. Tomorrow the Senate is expected to vote on 153 pages of amendments to the measure that passed in the House last night. Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is live on Capitol Hill this morning and what can we expect from the Senate vote that only requires a simple majority under the rules. This will be presented. Do they have the votes to pass that package of fixes as it were?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senate Democrats say that they are going to work very quickly on this and they had assured House Democrats that they had the votes to do this.
But it is certainly a process, John and we heard Jim touch upon this. Last night there were two things that passed the House. You had the big health care overhaul bill. It had already passed the Senate. And so passing the House, there you go. It is out of Congress. It's only a signature away from being signed into law. But they also passed this smaller thing that was this change bill and that is what needs to go over to the Senate now and needs those 51 votes.
But what you have is Republicans who they can throw every sort of parliamentary tool they have in their shed at this thing. So we're waiting to see if there's going to be some delaying process or if it's just going to be difficult and there are going to be some hurdles the Democrats have to clear. But we are expecting it to be very much party line as well.
ROBERTS: Brianna Keilar for us on Capitol Hill, Brianna, thanks.
How do you think this reform will impact you? We would like to know about that. Share your stories with us right now. Go to our live blog at cnn.com/amfix and tell us your story.
CHETRY: He avoided specifics but Tiger Woods did field questions for the first time since a sex scandal rocked his marriage and career. Woods telling ESPN that he was quote living a lie. He also put all of the blame for the scandal on himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RINALDI, ESPN CORRESPONDENT: Why did you get married?
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Because I loved her. I loved Elin with everything I have and that's something that makes me feel even worse. I did this to someone I love that much.
RINALDI: How do you reconcile what you've done with that love?
WOODS: We work at it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Tiger also admitted he's nervous about the reaction he'll get when he returns to play in the masters next month.
ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in Atlanta for us this morning. Bless you. CHETRY: Sorry.
ROBERTS: It's obviously allergy season Rob. How's the pollen count today?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Their son was diagnosed with autism and they were denied health insurance. We're going to talk to one family that is about to have a huge weight lifted off their shoulders because of the passage of the health care bill. It's 11 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Six months after President Obama signs the health care reform bill into law, insurance companies will not be allowed to deny coverage for kids because of preexisting medical conditions. The bill widens that measure to the rest of us by the year 2014.
Critics say that's only going to add to the growing cost of delivering health care. But for some parents with uninsured kids it's an awfully big relief. Joining us now to talk more about that, Esther and Paul Hawkins. They have struggled to get coverage for their son Jay who is diagnosed with autism early in his life. Esther and Paul and Jay, thanks very much for being with us this morning. First of all Esther, tell us what is this health care bill in the form that the House passed it in going to mean for you?
ESTHER HAWKINS, SON'S AUTISM DEEMED A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION: It means that you know, as soon as it's law, as soon as it's signed into law, our son will be able to have insurance as well as thousands of other kids who are currently in the same position he is.
ROBERTS: Jay, tell us the situation with trying to get insurance -- Paul, rather, tell us the story about trying to get insurance for Jay. You had insurance and then you left your job to go back to school. What happened then?
PAUL HAWKINS, SON'S AUTISM DEEMED A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION: Well, we applied to get insurance and we found out that the insurance company would take us but they wouldn't insure Jay. So it became quite a bit of a hassle to make sure that he got the therapies and the coverage he needed to make sure that he kept up in school. So he repeatedly was denied and it's become quite an issue for not only us, but autistic Americans and parents of autistic Americans all over the United States.
ROBERTS: So Esther, you tried and tried and tried, you shopped around, no insurance company would take you, but you did eventually get some health care for Jay. How did you get it?
E. HAWKINS, SON'S AUTISM DEEMED A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION: Well, we talked to Family and Children First Council here in Ohio and they helped us get him set up with Medicaid. So he's been on Medicaid. We're really thankful for that but we want to be able to buy insurance for him. ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, you say there's a really irony here, and that you did finally get him health insurance but it's at the cost --
E. HAWKINS: Right.
ROBERTS: -- of the taxpayer and it's an unnecessary cost because as you just said you're willing to pay for it.
E. HAWKINS: Right. Right.
P. HAWKINS, SON'S AUTISM DEEMED A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION: Absolutely.
E. HAWKINS: Right. Absolutely. And so with the passage of this bill, not only us but thousands of other families are going to be able to do that.
ROBERTS: Now, Esther --
P. HAWKINS: Good day to be a parent of an autistic American.
ROBERTS: Yes.
Now, Esther, you appeared with Congressman Boccieri on Friday.
E. HAWKINS: Yes.
ROBERTS: He was sitting on the -- he was on those Democrats who were sitting on the fence about health care reform. He decided to support the bill after talking with folks like you. Why did you want to get involved?
E. HAWKINS: Right. Because it's important. It's important that people with autism as well as other pre-existing conditions that are constantly denied by insurance companies, it's important that these folks have insurance. You know, not just our family but all of these other people.
ROBERTS: Right.
E. HAWKINS: And we're so thankful that Congressman Boccieri, you know, followed his convictions.
ROBERTS: Right.
E. HAWKINS: And voted in favor of this bill.
ROBERTS: Now, there are a lot --
P. HAWKINS: Very, very supportive.
E. HAWKINS: Right.
ROBERTS: Now, a lot of anger, Esther and Paul, was directed his way for sitting on the fence about health care reform. But he had some concerns about it, particularly the cost of it. He wasn't sure, you know, if we could in the financial straits that this country is in afford health care.
P. HAWKINS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Do you understand his concerns and, you know, did you have anybody of the --
(CROSSTALK)
P. HAWKINS: We do. Well, we tend to be fiscal conservatives ourselves and we believe in having the supports for autistic Americans and other Americans that need support in our daily lives. So it's important not only to have the program that makes sure that the program is paid for and that has been well thought out. And I think that the president and our congressmen and our senators are, you know, doing that. It's been a long debate. And no bill is perfect but this is a great start. And you know, on behalf of everyone who has children like us, we're very grateful.
ROBERTS: All right. Esther and Paul Hawkins, thanks so much for being with us this morning. Of course, our best to you and your son Jay. Really appreciate you coming on with us today.
P. HAWKINS: Thank you for having us on.
ROBERTS: All right.
E. HAWKINS: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, we have a few more comments coming in on our live blog this morning.
ROBERTS: We do.
CHETRY: CNN.com/amFIX. If you'd like to take part in the conversation, let's read one. Mary writes, "In my family several of us have pre-existing conditions. I also have adult-age children who have been and will be in that gap between college and their first jobs before they can get benefits. Have also been through a bankruptcy due to a medical event." And this bill, she says, "It's not neat and tidy. It's not perfect but a step in the right direction."
ROBERTS: My eyes are too bad to see that far, so I'll go to mine over here.
We have a comment from Jim W. He's against the whole thing. He says, quote, "My ancestors who fought in the revolutionary war just turned over in their grave. This is not the direction that our founders chose for us." So getting a lot of comments on both sides of the political fence and varying degrees of opinion. So make sure you keep that coming for us this morning, CNN.com/amFIX.
CHETRY: And next on the Most News in the Morning, we're going to show what the big health care overhaul means for small businesses. Our Stephanie Elam is going to be "Minding Your Business." She joins us after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-one minutes past the hour. And that means it's time for "Minding Your Business." We have Stephanie Elam with us this morning. She's in for Christine Romans talking a little bit how this health care overhaul is going to affect small businesses.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. And this is really important and there's a lot to look at because there's going to be a lot of changes for the way small businesses go about buying insurance for themselves and for their workers. So let's just take a look at how the health reform law that was just now passed, how these changes are going to affect them.
By 2014, states will have to set up these small business health option programs. They're going to be called shop exchanges and this will be where businesses, small businesses could go to pool their insurance, buy it together. Now small businesses will be 100 employees or less and if some companies grow beyond that, they'll be grandfathered into that.
Now, the Congressional Budget Office says these exchanges should actually cut small business insurance costs a bit with premiums falling between one and three percent and the amount of coverage rising by up to three percent. And until 2014, there'll be this 35 percent tax credit for some for companies with less than 10 employees or less.
And they will be making $25,000 or less a year on average to apply for this credit of 35 percent. And then, if they don't offer health care, they'll have to pay a $750 a year fine per full-time employee of to the ideas that really get these people to go out, these companies to go out and get insurance. And they also have to meet a minimum standard of benefits as well.
Now, effective immediately, those are all the 2014 things. There's going to be a ban on lifetime limits on coverage and also a ban on canceling policies except for in the cases of fraud. Of course, if you want to know more about the story, because I know that was like the really quick version, go ahead and check out CNNmoney.com. There's a great write (ph) there that will really break it down and explain to you. For people who own small businesses and how they are caring about their employees and how they're going to do it, it's really going to change for them.
ROBERTS: We should also mention, too, that on "CNN Health," there's a really good illustration of what it means for you in the short term and the long-term as well.
ELAM: Right. Exactly. Because a lot of these things not happening until 2014.
ROBERTS: Yes.
ELAM: So it's like what am I doing now? What happens to me now? How do we deal with this? And a lot of people have questions. The small business is just one angle of it. CHETRY: Oh, yes, there's a lot to talk about for sure.
ELAM: Yes.
ROBERTS: Lots of good information this morning, thanks. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business."
And coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, you think you're so smart? Well, think again. There is more to intelligence than just a high I.Q. score. Alina Cho with an "A.M. Original," coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-six minutes past the hour. Your top stories just four minutes away. First, though, an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
Do you think that you're smart? Well, it depends on what it means to be smart.
ROBERTS: And how do you become smart if you're not there yet? Well, this week in our special series "Are You Smart," Alina Cho takes an in-depth look at all aspects of intelligence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's this? What is the man doing? Which one matches this? You're so smart. Are you sure you're only three?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is but believe it or not, this 3-year-old is taking a special class to prepare him for an entrance exam for kindergarten. Sort of an SAT style Kaplan course for the toddler set.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a little like getting into college to get into kindergarten.
CHO: Doesn't that seem crazy to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a crazy system.
CHO: It's happening all over the country. In some cases, kids are being tested at 27 months, 30 months, barely out of diapers to determine whether they are gifted and talented, smart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good God. I mean, a kid tested when they're barely over 2 years old. Somehow it doesn't pass muster and that kid goes down an entirely different track from a more precocious 27-month- old. That's insane.
CHO: For adults, the I.Q. test is the standard, clear cut, right and wrong answers. Average score 100. but researchers say I.Q., your intelligence quotient is only 25 percent of what makes you successful. I.Q. misses the other 75 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what we have here is we have mechanisms that measure an important part but an incomplete part of what it means to be intelligent and what it means to be successful. This ought to alarm us more than it does. Imagine getting into an airplane where the pilot was getting only 25 percent of the data she needed to fly the plane.
CHO: If that's the case, what does it really mean to be smart? And how do you get smarter? We went to the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.
Dr. John Gabrieli is a professor of neuroscience.
DR. JOHN GABRIELI, M.I.T. PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE: There's lots of room to change throughout life.
CHO: He showed us computer images of two brains, a composite of a brain with a relatively low I.Q. and one with a higher I.Q. Look at the lower I.Q. brain, lots of activity.
GABRIELI: They're using a lot of their mental resources. They're pushing the gas pedal really hard to do well in this task.
CHO: The higher I.Q. brain, not so much.
GABRIELI: They're trying smarter not harder because it's easy for them for some reason relatively speaking.
CHO: Smarter brains simply put are more efficient.
GABRIELI: We think in many ways the magic of the brain is the wiring. You know, that our brains are really made up of millions of little brains, all working together.
CHO (on camera): A smart brain is just processing information much faster than a less smart brain.
GABRIELI: We think that's a huge part of the secret of smartness.
CHO (voice-over): And there is a way to make your brain smarter. And it's a new frontier in science.
GABRIELI: So this is an exercise where you have to remember two things at once. That's what makes this hard.
CHO: This mental exercise can help raise your I.Q. score by about five points in a relatively short amount of time, 30 minutes a day, five times a week for about a month.
(on camera): I'm like completely lost now.
(voice-over): Enough to make your head spin. What's significant about this test is that it shows adult brains can change. And a few points on an I.Q. test can change your life. GABRIELI: Every few points you get increases your chances of a better paying job, of a healthy future, more stability in your family life.
CHO (on camera): And a longer life.
GABRIELI: Even a longer life.
CHO (voice-over): Which is why these kids start so early.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you point to the picture of the season?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pumpkin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A pumpkin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: He's a smart kid. He's just three. You know, what's remarkable about brain science, we should tell you, is just how little we know about how the brain works. Now as you heard in the piece, we do know that a smarter brain is more efficient and processes information faster.
But brilliance? Well, that's very hard to understand just how a brilliant mind works. As one brain scientist told us, guys, you can be pretty smart, but none of us are Einstein except Einstein, right? So --
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: (INAUDIBLE) a little of my brain as possible.
CHO: You know what's interesting about that -- you know, there's the old myth that we only use 10 percent of our brains?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Right.
CHO: They actually say that is not true. Most of the time we use 90 percent of our brains. So, anyway --
CHETRY: We're working hard. We're using 90 percent to understand this whole health care reform overhaul today.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: But is there -- do they find out, you know, the age old question, are men smarter or are women smarter?
CHO: Well, who's buying me coffee after the show? Then I can answer. No, what we can tell you is that a female smart brain and a male smart brain actually look different, right?
ROBERTS: Really.
CHO: A male, a female smart brain -- it's actually about the wiring. So the wiring is very good. The information travels faster from one part of the brain to the other. For men, it's the literal thickness of the brain matter. So for a man --
ROBERTS: So men are thick basically --
CHO: Better to be thick headed, I'm just saying.
CHETRY: You didn't answer the question, who's smarter, men or women?
CHO: Well, who's buying me coffee? There's no good answer. All we can say is that we know that a female and a male smart brain look differently. But in terms of who's smarter, I don't know, we'll have to talk about that after the show.
ROBERTS: We certainly know that they think about different things, right?
CHO: That's true.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: That's according to every woman I talked to.
CHO: We're from different planets.
ROBERTS: All you men think about is -- whether we're using 10 or 90 percent of our brains, it doesn't matter. Thanks, Alina. Fascinating piece this morning. Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, we'll examine the other smart, emotional intelligence. Some educators say it's a much better indicator than IQ tests.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, we're crossing the half hour. A look at the top stories, health care reform now awaits the president's signature. The House passed a Democratic measure last night that promises coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans. A separate compromise package that changes that and expands the reach of the measure also passed the House and is now set for a Senate vote as early as tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Later on today, former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will travel to Haiti. The two men were tapped by President Obama to raise funds and coordinate relief missions after the January earthquake that killed at least 220,000 people.
CHETRY: And get ready to be scanned, swabbed or even patted down at the airport. The government is rolling out new security measures after the failed Christmas day attack. Officials say you can expect security lines to grow as travel demand picks up and spring vacations get underway.
ROBERTS: While health care undoubtedly stole the show in Washington yesterday. A call for immigration reform drew tens of thousands of demonstrators to the National Mall. There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. The president has promised to make immigration law a priority.
CHETRY: But immigration advocates say time is up and they're planning more rally and a bill is already taking shape in the Senate. Frank Sharry has been involved in that process. He is the founder and executive director of America's Voice, an advocacy group. And he joins us this morning from Washington. Frank, good to talk to you this morning.
FRANK SHARRY, FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AMERICA'S VOICE: Good morning.
CHETRY: So you guys held this huge rally yesterday on the National Mall. Of course it happened to come on the day that the health care vote really took up a lot of the national conversation. Do you think that the entire immigration debate was overshadowed a bit yesterday?
SHARRY: Well, we kept saying at this rally, where there are almost 200,000 people, was it was a great day to remember Senator Ted Kennedy. His great causes included health care reform and immigration reform. We're thrilled that health care reform passed but we would like immigration reform to be up next.
ROBERTS: Frank, there's no bill yet, just basically a framework that Senator Schumer and Graham are putting forward. It really revolves around four basic points. Let's put them up so that people know what we're talking about here.
One point is that a new biometric tamper proof social security card, some people say that it might function like, almost like a national I.D. card. Tougher border security, we're talking about that for a long time. A process for admitting temporary workers and a path to citizenship that would require permission that the person enter the country illegally, they have to pay fines, back taxes and perform community service and become proficient in English then take a citizenship test.
After that, it's similar to previous proposals including one supported by President Bush. We know what happened to all of that. Is the outcome going to be any different this time around?
SHARRY: Well, I think it will be. First of all, Senators Schumer and Graham deserve a lot of credit for coming up with this bipartisan blueprint. And we think it's going to go a long way towards solving the problem in eliminating illegal immigration. You know, this is one of those issues that frustrates voters. They don't understand why Washington doesn't step up and solve this problem.
It's become a symbol of how politicians tends to, you know, be more interested in scoring points than stepping up.
Look, we can do this this spring. What the blue print will do is to make sure that we're a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. It will combine toughen enforcement with requiring people to get in the system and work towards citizenship so that workers are legal and immigrants are legal and hiring is legal. That's what people want. They want rules followed. They want people in the system paying their taxes. I'm really impressed with the blue print they came up with. CHETRY: There's some controversy though about these biometric social security cards that John just mentioned, also some call them national I.D. cards. The ACLU says it's "a massive invasion of people's privacy and fingerprinting Americans is treating everybody like they're criminals." What's your response to that?
SHARRY: Look, what I like what Schumer and Graham are up to, is that they are trying to figure out how to stop illegal hiring. That is the key. The job magnet that brings people to this country is what drives illegal immigration. Is a card base system the best way? Can we do it with a web based system and pin numbers?
There's lots of debates about how to do it. And we'll have that debate. But what I like is they want to reduce illegal hiring and make sure that people here get legal. That combination will restore the rule of law to our immigration system.
CHETRY: You know, there was a lot of controversy that real I.D. card after 9/11, you remember the uproar it caused here in New York alone about the driver's licenses for legal and possibly illegal immigrants. I mean, everywhere you go, you sort of run into these hiccups in trying to make it happen. I mean, it sounds on paper that it makes sense but then actually getting it passed tends to be extremely prickly.
SHARRY: It is. You know, one of things I always have to laugh at and sadly when I talk to members of Congress and they say, we can't solve that tough problem. We have to run for re-election soon. It just doesn't compute. People voted for change last year. They want their politicians to step up and solve the tough problems. Health care reform is finally done. Immigration reform we think should be tackled this spring.
And I think that politicians would be rewarded for solving this tough problem. They don't blame the immigrants with the problem. They blame politicians for not solving it.
ROBERTS: Frank, a couple of other controversial points. First of all, the path to citizenship in the last go around here on immigration reform, it looked like it started to gain traction. Opponents effectively called that amnesty forcing the President Bush at that point on defense. How do you get around that?
And then the other issue of border security. We know what happened to John McCain in 2007-2008 when he brought this stuff forward. He (INAUDIBLE) OK, I'm backing off on all the other stuff, secure the border first. And as we talked with the secretary of Homeland Security last week, Janet Napolitano, she just put a bullet in the virtual fence so the border is not secure. So how do you address those two thorny issues?
SHARRY: Sure. Well, first of all, amnesty is one of those words that opponents use to block reform. It's meaningless. What we're talking about is a requirement that people come forward, that they pass background checks, that they study English, that they pay their taxes. And then and only then would they get to the back of the citizenship line.
That combined with the crackdown on illegal hiring is really the way we're going to make the system legal. So you know, the people who claim amnesty, what they want is for 11 million people to be deported or forced out of the country as if we're going to throw a net over a population the size of Ohio. It's just not going to happen.
ROBERTS: And what about border security?
SHARRY: Look, the best way to secure our borders is to pass comprehensive immigration reform. You know, what we have is a keep out sign at the border and help wanted sign about 100 yards in. The keep to stopping illegal immigration is a crackdown on illegal hiring combined with a requirement that people get legal in the system. And that's what Schumer and Graham are up to. They're going to need a lot of help from both parties and some presidential leadership if we're going to have a chance to get it done this spring.
CHETRY: Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of America's Voice. Good to talk to you this morning, thanks.
SHARRY: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: Good to see you, Frank. Thank you so much.
Trying to win back customers and the world. Toyota releasing a tape showing how it's re-testing cars, computer systems in the wake of that massive recall but is the company any closer to figuring out what the heck is going on?
Deb Feyerick is on the story since the beginning. She's got new information for us this morning. Stay with us. It's 39 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Well, for decades it was the automaker that stood for quality. But these days Toyota is struggling to regain its customers' trust after problems with vehicles suddenly accelerating.
ROBERTS: Now Toyota maintains that faulty electronics are not to blame for their problems but not everyone is convinced of that position. Our Deb Feyerick joins us now with an "A.M. Original." And Deb, a lot of questions remain and a lot of people pointing at these electronic control units saying the problem lies there.
DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. There are a lot of theories out there and a lot of people who believe and are convinced that in fact it is the electronics. But Toyota this morning has released a tape showing how it is vigorously testing its electronic systems. And for the first time, one of Toyota's chief engineers goes public with the CNN exclusive to explain why the company believes so strongly the problem is not the electronics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FEYERICK (voice-over): This video from Toyota is supposed to make millions of drivers feel better. It shows Toyota engineers blasting this car with electromagnetic waves to see if it will malfunction and suddenly accelerate.
KRISTEN TABAR, TOYOTA U.S. ELECTRONICS MANAGER: We have millions and millions of hours of testing.
FEYERICK: Kristen Tabar is head of electronics at the Toyota Technical Center in Michigan. We met up with her in Washington, D.C., where she was meeting federal regulators investigating U.A., short for unintended acceleration.
TABAR: I have no doubt whatsoever that U.A. is not being caused by the electronics. Our testing is so extensive and so deep that I am very confident that the electronics is not causing U.A..
FEYERICK: In fact, lately when it comes to Toyota and its electronics, confident is a word you hear a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm absolutely confident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're confident.
TABAR: We're very confident.
FEYERICK: But safety advocates like Clarence Ditlow are not.
CLARENCE DITLOW, THE CENTER FOR AUTO SAFETY: As the cars have gotten more complex electronically, we're having more and more random failures in systems. Ranging from the brakes to the throttle, to the steering.
FEYERICK: Toyota has recalled eight million vehicles, blaming floor mats and sticking gas pedals. Yet more than half of the complaints of sudden acceleration were for cars not part of those recalls.
(on camera): If it's not the gas pedal and it's not floor mat, which appears to be the case in some of the vehicles?
TABAR: Certainly we've taken our counter measures for the mechanical issues, the pedals, the sticky pedals or the floor mat issue. We've also done the exhaustive testing on the electronics. So certainly we have ruled out or tried to rule out those items.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Today's cars are like computers on wheels. Yes, there are many more safety backups but when you step on the gas pedal --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a set of wires here that go across to a electronic control unit that controls everything in the engine.
FEYERICK: It's almost like a virtual driving experience. So far consumer reports auto tester David Champion (ph) has seen no hard evidence of a problem with Toyota's electronic throttle. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That doesn't mean to say that there isn't a problem there, it just means that we haven't found one yet.
FEYERICK: Safety advocates like Ditlow say complaints of unwanted acceleration doubled or tripled after electronic throttles were installed in certain models, like the 2002 Camry, among others.
(on camera): What is not to say that it isn't the electronics?
TABAR: These electronics, the information is hard coded in, and we do all kinds of software testing to understand if there's any software glitches or any issues that would affect the quality of the parts. And, again, through all of that testing, we've found no evidence of that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now, there are some theories that maybe sudden acceleration is caused by a perfect storm of events, whatever can go wrong does and that there's nothing anyone can do about it. That's why safety experts are pushing for a brake override system in all cars so that whenever the brake and gas are pressed at the same time, the brake wins.
ROBERTS: So, the -- as you -- as you showed by looking at their test, they're bombarding the car with electromagnetic radiation, but is there any suggestion from anywhere that it's external electromagnetic radiation that might be causing these problems?
FEYERICK: They keep saying no. They keep saying no, it's not that. They have not been able to reproduce any of the events. And I think that's what raises a lot of questions (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: So -- but I'm wondering, is anybody even raising that point? It's like, you know, if you drive underneath a power line or something like that, you know, external -- is it maybe something internal?
FEYERICK: That's something that a really thorough investigation would sort of track back. Where was the car? When did it begin to accelerate? What was it exposed to?
But, again, it could be so many different things happening all at once. You scratch your head, you turn the wheel this way, you know, you kind of -- whatever, somebody passes you by. You don't know. You just don't know.
That's what's so concerning.
CHETRY: Deb Feyerick for us, continuing to follow the Toyota saga. Thank you so much.
We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
It's 46 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: It is 49 minutes past the hour. A look at the White House this morning, 59 degrees right now. A little bit later it is going to be 66 degrees, but a bit of a murky, yucky (ph) day there on the East Coast.
ROBERTS: The grass is getting greener in Washington. It looks nice, doesn't it?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Yes. Beautiful North Lawn at the White House, with the mall (ph) in behind.
Forty-nine minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines to see if we'll have some more showers to bring flowers later on.
Rob Marciano is tracking the forecast. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey guys.
You know, the reason the White House lawn looks so green is because when they dyed the water in that fountain green, it just kind of sprayed onto the lawn. That's -- that's helping matters.
As is the rainfall that's going to be falling across parts of the northeast today and tomorrow, actually maybe a little to much for some folks. This is the big storm that affected everybody across the country over the past five days, and yesterday Arkansas saw a foot of snow, parts of Oklahoma saw almost that much and even northern parts of Texas, just north of Dallas, seeing 8, 9, 10 inches of snow.
All right, this thing continues to slowly wind its way towards the east. Temperatures across the Deep South, definitely chilly, into the 30s from Atlanta back through Birmingham. You're on the warm side across the northeast and with that comes more rain, 1 to 3 inches of rainfall in the areas that got flooded last week are on a flood flood -- a flood flood -- a flood watch tonight and through tomorrow.
Check out this video coming up, Iceland. Cool stuff, a volcanic eruption (ph) on a glacier. My -- so they -- they freaked out. There's a village about 100 kilometers away. They evacuated for fear of flooding because of the melting glacier. But, in this particular spot, not a tremendous amount of ice to be melted, but nonetheless, a fissure on the side of this volcano erupting over the weekend.
The last time this happened was back in the 1800s, and they claim it should remain fairly tranquil, but they are monitoring it no less.
Who would have thought? Volcanoes in Iceland on top of snow. And that's your video for today.
ROBERTS: Pretty spectacular pictures, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes. ROBERTS: Undersea volcanoes, under-glacier volcanoes. And it --
MARCIANO: The earth is definitely moving around quite a bit this month, for sure.
ROBERTS: But I'm -- I'm not -- I'm not buying your explanation for the North Lawn at the White House. Sorry.
MARCIANO: Ah, I wouldn't buy it either. It's not reportable.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
CHETRY: Bye, Rob.
ROBERTS: Nine minutes to the top of the hour. Stay with us.
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ROBERTS: Time now for your "A.M. House Call," stories about your health.
The health care bill opens the floodgates to 32 million Americans who did not have health insurance prior to this. How will that impact all of us?
CHETRY: Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now from Atlanta to break it down for us a little bit. And, Elizabeth, with these new changes, who's going to be paying less and who's going to be paying more for health insurance?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. We're all looking into our crystal ball right now to see what's going to happen to our premiums. Well, it really depends on how much money you make already and where you get your insurance from.
So let's take a look at this. If you are getting your insurance through your job, here's what's going to happen. Your premiums are probably going to stay the same. You're probably not going to see a whole lot of changes there.
However, if you're getting insurance on your own, if you just buy it on your own, and if you make over $800-- I'm sorry, $88,000, there's a good chance that you're going to see your premiums go up. That's according to the Congressional Budget Office.
And now, let's take a look at a different scenario. If you're getting insurance on your own and you are making less than $88,000, you're probably going to see your premiums go down.
Now, I can't tell you exactly by how much in either direction, but that's probably, as you sort of prepare for the coming years, that's probably approximately what you're going to see -- Kiran and John. ROBERTS: Now, in -- in the move to ensure more people, we -- we've seen a model of this in the past in the state level, state of Massachusetts moved toward universal health coverage. But one of the consequences of that was that it made for longer waits for people to get an appointment with the doctor.
We know that already there's a shortage of primary care physicians in this country. So, if we suddenly bring in 30, 32 million more people, can we expect to see the same sort of problem nationwide as they saw in Massachusetts?
COHEN: John, that is a huge concern for many people. In Massachusetts, some estimates said that people had to wait 10 extra days to see their family doctor. When you're sick, 10 extra days is a lot.
But here's the difference between Massachusetts and what's going on here with the entire country. In Massachusetts, they kind of flipped a switch. They did it very quickly. This is being done much more in stages.
Also, built into this bill is a lot of money, billions of dollars for community health centers, and those community health centers say that they can now handle about 20 million extra patients with that new money.
So -- some experts we talked to said, even so, you're going to see longer waits. Other experts said, no, I don't think you're going to see longer waits.
Now, I think this is an interesting point. There have been longer waits over the years for emergency rooms because uninsured people, when they get sick, where do they go? They go to the emergency room. Hopefully, those waits will be shortened because instead of going to emergency rooms people will now be going to primary care doctors.
ROBERTS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning with the latest breakdown on that. Elizabeth, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way in just a little more than two minutes. Stay with us.
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