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Firefighters Perform On Ladders; House And Senate Report To Duty; House Approves Flood Aid Package; Where The Jobs Are; Obama's Potential Cabinet Picks; Congress Counts Electoral Votes; Obama's Working Vacation; Filling Obama Admin. Vacancies; FEMA Payments Come 2nd To Insurance

Aired January 04, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: -- tricks at the top of a bamboo ladder. Pretty cool. Every year, the men perform outside a department store during New Year's celebrations.

And elephants apparently know how to make good use of an old Christmas tree. In Berlin, Germany, a zoo keeper is giving leftover trees to the animals during the first week of the year.

I'm Suzanne Malveaux. This is CNN NEWSROOM. One hundred fifty-five thousand jobs were added in December, bringing the total number of job created last year to 1.84 million, but the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.8 percent. We're going to break down those numbers in just a couple of minutes, but, first, keeping an eye on live pictures here on Capitol Hill. This is where we are expecting to see the House and Senate reporting to duty. It is the first full day of work for the 113th Congress after yesterday's swearing in, and they've even gotten a little bit of work done actually. You're looking at the -- we're going to take a look at the at the floor of the -- of the House when it actually starts when lawmakers are going to -- lawmakers actually passed a relief bill for the victims of Superstorm Sandy. But right now, lot of business going on here, and I want to go directly to our Jim Acosta for the very latest.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONCENT: Well, Suzanne, there's going to be some pomp and circumstance taking place here in the Capitol in just a few moments. This is something that is in the Constitution, what we're about to see take place here. The counting of the electoral votes officially designating or announcing that President Obama has won a second term in office. The speaker of the House, John Boehner, just walked about. The House majority leader, Eric Cantor, walked by as well.

But we're going to see the Vice President. We're going to see members of the U.S. Senate and House file in, in just a few moments for all of this, and it's going to be interesting to watch. You know, this is in the Constitution. They must do this by January 6th of every year after the election has taken place. So, you're going to see, in just a few moments, Senate pages carrying these two mahogany boxes which carry the certificates of votes and then tellers, as they're called, will read off those votes. And then the Vice President, Joe Biden, will declare all of this said and done. And we'll have to wait and see, Suzanne, as to how much, I guess, hamming it up we'll see from the Vice President. He was certainly enjoying himself yesterday as he was swearing in members of Congress. Things might be a little bit more buttoned-down today since this is sort of official constitutional ceremony. But -- and you're right, Suzanne, there was some other business that was taken care of earlier in morning.

The House did approve seven point -- or $9.7 billion in relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy. That is basically going to inject money into the flood insurance program, so people who are filing claims for that insurance money will be able to get their money. The rest of that money, as we've been reporting all morning, still sort of up in the air, but they do expect a vote around January 15th to approve the rest of it. That is, of course, if it makes it through the House, because all of this started over again with the new Congress. It's all starting in the House and then going over to the Senate. So, a lot of business to take care of this afternoon.

MALVEAUX: All right, Jim Acosta. We're going to bring it live as soon as the formal session begins, and they'll be walking those ballots, and we'll see what the Vice President does this time. Last go-around yesterday, he was hamming up for the kids, you know, as family members were participating. All right. Thanks, Jim.

We're going to talk about jobs. There are new numbers that are out today. They show our economy ended the year by adding 155,000 jobs. That was last month. Unemployment stayed steady at 7.8 percent. And Danny Boston is here, economics professor, my favorite, of course. You were very optimistic last year --

DANNY BOSTON, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, GEORGIA TECH: Yes.

MALVEAUX: -- about the jobs numbers and the economy turning around.

BOSTON: Yes.

MALVEAUX: When you saw these numbers today, and they were pretty much as expected online, --

BOSTON: Sure.

MALVEAUX: -- what does it say about the future --

BOSTON: Well, --

MALVEAUX: -- going into 2013?

BOSTON: -- Suzanne, it says that we are potentially missing a significant opportunity because the numbers remained where they were from the -- over the last two months, yet the economy, over the last quarter, grew about 3.1 percent, significantly stronger than we had expected. And so, there's something that's holding us back. We have the potential to grow very, very rapidly but we are not fulfilling that potential. MALVEAUX: Why not? What is behind that?

BOSTON: You know, it is in my opinion, and I've studied the economy for about 30 years, we have the interference of the political process in the potential of the economy to grow. And that means, for example, concretely, businesses are not investing. Last year this time, they were investing at 10 percent. This year, it's at minus two percent. Consumer confidence over the last month has dropped by 10 percentage points. That's very significant. They're still optimistic about the present but concerned about the future. So, it says that these things that are going on have real significant consequences in real terms.

MALVEAUX: Talk about the people who have been unemployed for a long time, and those who are -- have basically left the work force. Has that gotten better or worse?

BOSTON: That is -- it's incrementally getting better. When we look at what we call the discouraged workers and those individuals who are dropping out of the labor force, as well as when we look at the size of the labor market, the size is getting larger incrementally and people are not dropping out as they were, for example, a year or two years ago so that's better. But on the other side, the 155,000 jobs that you mentioned are just not enough to add employment for those people who have been long-term unemployed.

MALVEAUX: And Danny, who is doing the hiring?

BOSTON: Well, the hiring is coming from a number of places. Now, this is the bright spot. The bright spot in the numbers the last time was that a third of these 155,000 jobs were generated in construction and manufacturing. That's something that we haven't seen in a while and that's a good thing. And then, beyond that, we had jobs created in the same sectors, for example, health care and also in leisure and hospitality. But the important point is that there is this momentum that's being created particularly in construction.

MALVEAUX: All right, Danny Boston. Thank you. We hope for a much better year this year this go around.

BOSTON: Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: We'll talk to you every single month to get those job numbers.

BOSTON: OK.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Danny.

So, if you're trying to find a job, look no further. Ali Velshi and Christine Romans tell you where to look in this week's "HOW TO SPEAK MONEY."

CHRISTINE ROMANS: Thanks, Suzanne. There are jobs out there but the economy is adding a lot of low wage, low skill jobs, so the trick is to find the areas and categories that are growing quickly and paying well. These are the five fastest growing job categories according to pay scale and "CNNMONEY," home care nursing, medical devices, clinical engineers, meeting or convention planners. Look at the list, marketing consultants, marriage or family therapists. If you want to retrain, if you are looking to get into a career, these are areas that are growing quickly. They'll all grow by more than 40 percent between 2010 and 2020. They all pay more than $55,000 a year. You've got to be very careful about making sure that you're in a ladder job in health care, in particular.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.

ROMANS: We saw 45,000 health care jobs added in the most recent months.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: You need a ladder job. A job that you know will a next step with a little more training and education that maybe you can make more money.

VELSHI: And health care is one of those things, though, --

ROMANS: Absolutely.

VELSHI: -- where you start up and continue to get more retraining. Now, retraining is important. I fully subscribe to that idea, but that might be something else you should look at and that's relocating. Take a look at this map of America. Americans are moving. Where are they moving to? The green states had net inbound traffic in 2012. People moving into those states. The states in red are states that people moved out of. Now, job creation is one of the biggest reasons you move into some place --

ROMANS: Sure.

VELSHI: -- as opposed to out of some place. North Dakota is a big oil --

ROMANS: Yes.

VELSHI: -- generating state now. Washington, D.C., North Carolina saw big in flows. Washington, D.C. and that area obviously government and a lot of technology. This is information that was collected by, believe it or not, Allied Van Lines (ph). They keep track of who gets moved. Wyoming, Nebraska and New York topped the list of states that were losing people.

ROMANS: Oh, interesting. So, look, you need to find the right area to be in this growing in the economy. And, look, those things are changing fast.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: And you need to consider moving to a place where jobs are and that's the -- kind of the best combination.

VELSHI: Right. So, keep those things in mind. Don't wait for the economy to bring those jobs back. Think about relocating or retraining.

ROMANS: I think things are going to be better next year.

VELSHI: I think so, too.

ROMANS: All right. Suzanne, back to you.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you.

We're going to go directly live there. We're seeing vice president Biden there and Congress. This is election day, and it's the official count, if you will, presenting the electoral votes to the joint session of Congress. We saw, just moments ago, the two pages (ph) who were actually carrying boxes, crates with those electoral votes in hand. It's a formal presentation, and it is a part of our tradition every time there's the election that the Vice President presents it to members of Congress. Today, officially election day. Inauguration day coming up very shortly. Many people wondering who President Obama is going to add to his cabinet. Well, he's already nominated Senator John Kerry for secretary of state, but there are other vacant spots as well. And history shows that presidents usually get who they want but there is no guarantee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REID WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NATIONAL JOURNAL: It used to just be Supreme Court justices who inspired these sort of partisan free-for- alls, now it's bleeding down into a president's cabinet picks as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: I want you to watch what is taking place here in the joint session of Congress. This is the tallying of the electoral votes. It's a presentation. It is election day, officially election day, where they certify that tally and present it to the President, the Vice President. The Vice President leading the process there as they put it in the books. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

UNIDENTIFIED SENATE TELLER: Barack Obama of the state of Illinois receive three votes for President, and Joseph Biden at the state of Delaware receive three votes for Vice President.

UNIDENTIFIED SENATE TELLER: Mr. President, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of Florida seems to be regular in form and authentic, and it appears there from that Barack Obama of the state of Illinois receive 29 votes for President and Joseph Biden of the state of Delaware receive 29 votes for Vice President.

UNIDENTIFIED SENATE TELLER: Mr. President, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of Georgia seems to be regular in form and authentic, and it appears there from that Mitt Romney of the commonwealth of Massachusetts receive 16 votes for President and Paul Ryan of the state of Wisconsin receive 16 votes for Vice President.

UNIDENTIFIED SENATE TELLER: Mr. President, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of Hawaii seems to be regular in form and authentic, and it appears there from that Barack Obama of the state of Illinois receive 4 votes for President and Joseph Biden of the state of Delaware receive 4 votes for Vice President.

(END LIVE FEED)

MALVEAEUX: So, you've been listening in here. At the end of the reading of the results, for all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia. What will happen is they'll compare the results of the four tally sheets, and they'll sign those tally sheets and the Vice President will then announce the total results and order them to be inserted into the respective journals. It is all part of our tradition, and it is officially part of what is called election day.

President Obama, he is vacationing in Hawaii, but it is a working vacation. On top of his list, the cabinet picks. I want to bring in Dan Lothian who's with the President. Dan, this is, as we know it often happens, is a working vacation. He's got a lot to do, and one of the top jobs, obviously, filling those posts. Is he close?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he does appear to be close because sources tell me that the President could start making those cabinet announcements as early as next week when he's back in Washington. Of course, the personnel positions that we are watching, treasury, CIA, and the defense department, which according to sources, Chuck Hagel remains at the top of the list.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(voice-over): CNN has learned Chuck Hagel, a top contender for the defense department post whose prospects had appeared to be dimming amid criticism from pro-Israel groups and gay organizations over past comments, is still in the game. Close friend, former senator Max Cleland tells CNN, quote, "I understand his nomination is back on the table, and I believe very strongly he should be defense secretary." A strong endorsement that the President is not yet ready to make, but recently on NBC's "Meet the Press" didn't count him out.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My number one criteria will be, who's going to do the best job in helping to secure America.

DAVID GREGORY, HOST, "MEET THE PRESS": Anything disqualify him?

OBAMA: And -- not that I see.

LOTHIAN: But Hagel's supporters are concerned about the process of names being floated, exposed to harsh scrutiny before they are formally named.

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI, FORMER NATL. SECURITY ADVISOR: Anyone with any record of involvement in controversial issues will always mobilize against the would be appointee, of both party (ph) lines (ph) of accusations and sometimes distortions. LOTHIAN: If not Hagel, Michelle Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, remains in the mix. At the Treasury Department, when Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to leave sometime around inauguration, one name floated, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, has no plans to leave that company a spokesman confirmed to CNN. White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew is considered to be another choice for the job. And at the CIA, Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, and acting CIA Director Michael Morell remain on the short list, according to a source. History shows most presidents get the nominees they want, but in this political environment there's no guarantee.

REID WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NATIONAL JOURNAL HOTLINE: It used to just be Supreme Court justices who inspired these sort of partisan free-for-alls. Now it's bleeding down into a president's cabinet picks as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: Now, some confirmations will be easier than others. If Chuck Hagel does get the nod, we expect that there will be continued resistance there. But one of the President's picks for secretary of state, Senator John Kerry, his confirmation expected to be a smooth one.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Dan, I understand also the President, the White House reacting to a December jobs report that came out today. We had about 155,000 jobs added here. The unemployment rate was unchanged however. Is the White House pleased with those numbers?

LOTHIAN: Well, I mean, to a point. I mean the release from the White House similar to what we've seen over the last year when these job numbers come out is that they believe that the economy is moving in the right direction, that it is an indication that it's recovering from the worst economic downturn. But there still -- there's still a lot of work to be done, and that the President will not be satisfied until every American who wants to work does have a job. So that's essentially the reaction from the White House.

But they also put out that caution, which they also do every time these numbers come out, that oftentimes they are adjusted either up or down and that you should not read too much into one month's numbers.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dan, do we know when the President's coming back to Washington?

LOTHIAN: Well, it will be sometime this weekend. It hasn't been officially announced yet. But the girls, the first girls, daughters, have to be back at school on Monday. So they have to be back in town in time for that.

MALVEAUX: All right, Dan Lothian. Good to see you, Dan. Thanks.

The new Congress is the most diverse in American history. Congress was sworn in with 20 women in the Senate. That is a record number. And they all sat down with ABC's Diane Sawyer and began looking ahead to the first female president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: Every man wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror and says, I could be president. I think every woman looks in the mirror and says, what can I get done for my country today.

DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: Wait a minute. Not one of you in this room looks in the mirror and says, I could be president?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doubtful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you may think it from time to time.

SAWYER (voice-over): Senator Kelly Ayotte tells a story of her eight- year-old daughter.

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: And she said to me, mom, I don't want you to run for president. And I looked at her and I said, Kate, I'm not running for president. Why do you ask me that? And she said, mom, because I want to be the first woman president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She'd better call Hillary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Didn't you break the news to her, we're not waiting that long?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: That's great. The Senate also has its first openly gay member, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. The House has 20 Latino representatives as well. That is another record.

And the House passes a $9 billion aid package for Superstorm Sandy victims with more relief that is expected next week. But when those communities hit so hard, when are they actually going to see the money and what does it really cover? We're going to ask FEMA, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: There was outrage earlier this week when the House failed to vote on a $60 billion plan, a package for victims of Superstorm Sandy. Well, members reversed course today, approved at least some of the money, and the Senate is expected to do the same.

But even without these votes, storm victims already have received significant federal help. There's still about $4 billion left to spend. Now, according to FEMA, New York states alone already has received $1.5 billion in federal Sandy aid. About a third of it has gone to help local governments pay for debris cleanup, overtime for first responders, that kind of thing. But most of the money, more than $80 million in cash payments, that's going to homeowners and renters. Again, this is just in New York. Now, 260,000 people whose homes were damaged, they have registered for aid. About 109,000 have actually been approved. Most of the rest are still in the pipeline. Now, the maximum grant is about $32,000. The average grant is about $10,000.

I'm joined by Mike Byrne. He's FEMA's point man in New York.

And, Mike, first of all, explain a little bit about how long it's going to take for New York residents, who are waiting now for these payments, how long is that going to be before they actually receive it? About half of them who are still in the pipeline.

MIKE BYRNE, FEMA: Well, of the numbers that you showed, that's money that's actually already in the hands of New York survivors. That's also another number that it didn't list, and that's what the National Flood Insurance Program has paid out. And that's close to a billion dollars already. It's about $956 million. So there's a lot of money that's already in the hands of survivors.

MALVEAUX: For those who have not received the aid, what is the process? How long does it normally take for them to actually get that money up front?

BYRNE: You know, it's pretty quick at this point in time. Early on in the disaster with the sheer volume of applications we were seeing, it took a while. But now we're seeing about 300 new applications a day still, which is impressive that at this last date. But we get an inspector out to the property, to the damaged dwelling, and we get them out in three or four days. And then usually within a week after that, you'll have money put right into your bank account.

MALVEAUX: And, Mike, you're a retired firefighter, you're a native New Yorkers. I know you played a significant role in 9/11 regarding FEMA and relief -- the relief effort there. What do New Yorkers really need? What are you seeing?

BYRNE: You know, I think New Yorkers are some of the most resilient people that have ever been hit by an event like this. But there's things they need to learn. You know, when I was in Louisiana earlier this year and, you know, they've gotten hit by four or five storms in the last five years. So they're really practiced at this. They know the nuances, the rules, the regulations. Whereas New Yorkers are learning. And -- but, you know, we're there to help them. We're there to be there to talk them through it. But what they need to do is to get the assistance from us and start to repair their homes. And if they need more assistance, more time to rent a piece of property while they're doing their repairs and keep talking to us, you know, stop by one of our disaster recovery centers and we're going to continue to help them.

MALVEAUX: And, Mike, it really is a process here because there's a -- you know, you have to -- the insurance company is involved. You have to prove that there is damage that is done, you have to determine what is covered and what is not covered and apply for funds. And yesterday I had a chance to talk to the mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, and, you know, seven years later, they are still trying to get some of that federal money into their city. And here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU (D), NEW ORLEANS: It's not as though they write you a check for $61 billion and $9 billion. You have to, every day, prove that you need it. Then you have to show them where you spent it. Then you have to make sure that they see what you spent it on. And it's a very cumbersome bureaucratic process that those of us that have been on the ground hopes gets streamlined over time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Mike, do you think there's a process that's in place that is streamlining some of that paperwork? Because it is a frustrating process for a lot of people still in New Orleans and clearly they're going to be dealing with that in New York as well.

BYRNE: Yes. And for the individual homeowners that are applying, I think it is, you know, a good bit more simplified than that. I think what Mayor Landrieu is talking about is the larger public assistance programs. And, yes, there are things that we have to do. You know, I have to be honest about it. You know, we're stewards of our tax dollars, so we have to do the right thing with it. But we do work hard to make it as simple as possible. We develop partnerships with the city and the state and with the applicants, you know, like the major medical institutions and public facilities. And we find -- we find -- try to -- we try to get the yes really fast, and that's going to be my responsibility to get that done and I'm going to work hard at it.

MALVEAUX: And, Mike, let's talk a little bit about the money here. You've got money for the long-term repairs. That's in the hands of Congress. But FEMA right now, we understand, has about $4 billion in its emergency reserve. How long do you expect that to last?

BYRNE: You know, I -- you know, I'm the operating on the ground. You know, I have the money to be able to take care of the projects that are in front of us that we're able to fund at this point in time. You know, my boss, the administrator, has said that we're good through the spring. But, you know, certainly, you know, we're -- you know, we're going to focus on making sure that the applicants get what they need.

MALVEAUX: And, Mike, finally, before we let you go, any piece of advice to people in New York whose homes are damaged, their lives, in many ways, devastated? What do they need to do to get the kind of help they need right way?

BYRNE: You know, I would just say, stay in touch with us. You know, if you're coming up on your recertification for your rental assistance, if you still can't get back in your home, please contact us. If you need some additional help, we can be sort of a conduit to maybe a voluntary agency that might be able to help you out, get some of the work done. I've heard lots and lots of great stories of community that have bonded together to help where our aid doesn't, you know, fill the full package.

MALVEAUX: All right. Mike Byrne, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

From Katrina to Sandy, massive storms seem to be happening more often. Are we actually ready for the next superstorm? Be sure to watch our special report, "The Coming Storms" this Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern.

And you know his blockbuster movies, but did you know that Academy Award winner Oliver Stone made a documentary about Hugo Chavez? Well, he's weighing in on the Venezuelan president and what his health situation is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLIVER STONE, DIRECTOR: He represents hope and change, the things that Obama stood for in our country in 2008.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)