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Many Concerns About Government Shutdown; Head Start Programs Affected by Shutdown; Expired Farm Bill May Cause Rise in Milk Prices; Shutdown Stops Visa Program

Aired October 04, 2013 - 12:30   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CO-ANCHOR: And in Asia, they're a little concerned

This is the second one in a row that he has missed. The last one in Russia, he missed that as well.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CO-ANCHOR: He's making it very clear. This is not up for negotiation, ObamaCare, that this is not something he's going to tie to funding the federal government.

Every day the government is shutdown, a day of more worry and loss for a lot of folks.

I want to take a look at some of the real concerns that may affect you.

HOLMES: A report by the consulting firm IHS Global estimates the cost to the economy, $300 million a day.

Hundreds of food inspectors from the FDA are off the job, although meat, poultry and egg inspections will continue under the Department of Agriculture.

MALVEAUX: The EPA monitoring of air pollution and pesticide use, well, that is limited now, and Head Start programs who depend on federal funding are now closing.

Now the longer the government shutdown goes on, the more painful that it becomes for a lot of folks.

If you woke up knowing that you had no child care or school for your little ones, what would you think about that?

HOLMES: Just imagine it. But that is a reality for many low-income family who have children in the Head Start programs that are right across the country, of course.

Our John Zarrella picks up the story from one center where folks are worried they may have nowhere to go after today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the kids, lugging their backpacks and holding mom's hand, a big change may be coming in their young lives. This is a Head Start center in Brooksville, Florida, north of Tampa, that provides for 135 children.

Besides singing and dancing, the youngsters, ages 3 to 5, get meals, education and some health care.

But the center's federal funding ran out Tuesday. Supplemental funding runs out Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mommy said the school is going to shut down after Friday.

ZARRELLA: After that, the doors shut here and at 16 centers run by Mid-Florida Community Services in two other counties.

HEIDI RAND, MID-FLORIDA COMMUNITY SERVICES: That means 924 children in three counties here in Florida will not get to attend Head Start.

And that means 215 staff members will not have a job after Friday.

ZARRELLA: Single mom Ashley Rodriguez goes to school full-time. Without this program for her son Giovanni, she's not sure how she can juggle classes and child care.

ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ, MOTHER OF CHILD IN HEAD START: If they don't make this budget and get it together, we're the ones who are going to suffer.

And our children will be the one who are going to, you know, be without food, be without education.

ZARRELLA: Many of the parents here share Rodriguez's concerns, saying they are facing tough times ahead if the government shutdown drags on.

The kids are too young to understand what's going on, but they do know this place is fun.

Why do you like it here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's fun.

ZARRELLA: Because it's fun?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the toys. I like to go outside.

ZARRELLA: Across Florida, Head Start programs serve 32,000 children.

Quite a few Head Start centers around the state had the later end dates for their federal dollars or other revenue sources. They're still open for now.

But for the kids here, a real world civic lesson before they can even spell the word.

John Zarrella, CNN, Brooksville, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: So it's important to note that Representative Eric Cantor, earlier today Republicans said, look, this is going to be one of the many, if you will, continuing resolutions spending that they're going to allow to move forward in the government to fund Head Start, starting next week because --

HOLMES: In the House.

MALVEAUX: In the House -- because there's a lot of pressure here that there are kids suffering.

I tell you. My mom's a retired Head Start teacher. Those kids, they have breakfast and they have lunch every day, and they count on it because of their income.

HOLMES: So what we're seeing is a continuation of this strategy, if you like, part of the game that's being played at the moment, firing off these mini-bills of stuff like Head Start, but also food safety, things like back pay for government workers who were furloughed.

All these mini-bills, 11 of them are going to go through the House. They get passed and go to the Senate, and then we'll see if the Senate kicks it back again because they don't want the piecemeal approach.

MALVEAUX: Right. Absolutely.

HOLMES: So that's what's happening

MALVEAUX: But at the very moment, at least these little kids are not going to get stuck in all this, hopefully, if it passes.

HOLMES: If it gets passed. Yeah, amazing.

MALVEAUX: Besides the government shutdown hurting the daycare options, hitting your wallet, as well.

Groceries could become more expensive. That is because an expired farm bill could be paying $8, $8 for a gallon of milk.

We'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Day four of the government shutdown, also day four to enroll for the national health program that Congress is now fighting over, causing the shutdown. It is ObamaCare.

It had some glitches. They're mostly technical right now.

So many states, they've gotten pretty creative here, trying to get the word out, so I want you to watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fly with our own wings, dreaming all the big dreams, long live Oregonians, we're free to be healthy -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It's actually kind of funny. This is one of the ads running in Oregon to let people know where they can enroll in the state's health exchange.

Now producers of these ads, they say it's very difficult to make health insurance interesting, right?

So if you watch these and you see none of the ads, they mention ObamaCare or any of the complicated details.

You know, you get the catchy songs, the cute animals, before you get the Web address that pops up on the screen.

So here's what many people have seen when they've actually tried to enroll in these exchanges this week. Now there's some computer errors.

So many people went to the Web site healthcare.gov, all at once, that they flooded the Web site set up for people in 36 states to actually choose a health plan.

Officials say more than 6 million people punched up healthcare.gov in the first day and a half, so a lot of people just trying to sign up and get in and make sense of it all.

HOLMES: Yeah, but wait. There's more.

The shutdown in Washington could mean higher prices at the grocery store. Yeah, you needed that, didn't you?

How does that work? With Congress not passing a budget, it also means they're not likely to pass a new farm bill, and one of the first consequences of that could be higher prices for stuff like milk, cheese and butter, and double in the case of milk.

Christine Romans is joining is now to chat about that. Twice the price of gas for milk, tell us how that all works.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Well, we hope it doesn't turn out this way, right?

Michael, the farm bill expired on Monday and with it subsidies for dairy farmers. The farm bill expired, and consumers and farmers are both worried that higher milk prices will follow.

Now the Senate and the House, before they shut down the government, they were still negotiating on this, but if they don't do something, come January 1, the country automatically reverts to this 1949 law that would set the floor for milk prices twice as expensive as they are today, Michael.

We called the ag committees in both houses for a progress report. Closed due to the shutdown.

If Congress does nothing, experts say milk prices will spike to bucks a gallon. Right now, the national average is something like $3.45. An almost $5 spike would hurt, no question.

And it comes at a time when we're seeing more overall increases for groceries, food prices up three percent this year. Orange juice, bread, all of those prices have been moving higher, Suzanne and Michael.

HOLMES: Yeah, now, because one of the great ironies of all this with the shutdown, all the people who are monitoring the effects on the economy of the shutdown aren't there, so it's hard to find out what the effects are.

One thing I was going to mention ,too, gas prices have been going south for, what, a month or so now?

What's behind that? And Tropical Storm Karen, we know that that can impact gas prices.

ROMANS: Yeah, so watching gas prices, look, you can see they've been down for 32 days in a row.

And just look at this year to last year. You're down about 40 cents from where you were last year. So that's the good news. You've got a little more money in your pocket.

The reasons here, a boom in domestic production, you've got a diminished chance of military intervention in Syria. All of our worst Syria fears in terms of U.S. intervention there have not come to fruition.

And get this, the shutdown may be helping here. Analysts at Gas Buddy say the shutdown translates into less driving, not only from furloughed commuters who aren't commuting, 800,000 of them, but tourists who were planning to visit attractions run by the government.

Then you also mentioned that tropical storm, Karen. Depending on its path, that could suspend drilling and refining operations in the Gulf, so that is sort of the fly in the ointment here.

If this starts to rev up, then you could see gas prices moving higher, oil pricing moving higher. But for now, Michael, gas prices keep falling

HOLMES: You are full of good news, aren't you? Christine Romans, thanks for that, I think.

Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right, coming up, CNN sitting down with Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Zarif, what he has to say about President Obama's decision not to take military action off the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MOHAMMAD ZARIF, IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER: The Iranian people react very, very negatively to such languages of threat intimidation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, you see him there. Yep, there he is, Pope Francis, celebrating mass in Assisi, Italy.

Pope Francis, of course, took his name from the 13th century St. Francis of Assisi who chose to serve the poor.

MALVEAUX: And, as we know, the pope likes to go off script. Today, no exception. He called for Christians to step away from worldliness, which he says leads to vanity, arrogance and pride. Also this week, the pope began meeting with advisors to discuss ways to make some changes at the Vatican.

HOLMES: Seventy-six years old and that guy moves at rapid fire pace. It's just unbelievable.

MALVEAUX: Shaking hands and talking to people too.

HOLMES: He's shaking it up there at the Vatican.

MALVEAUX: I kind of like it.

HOLMES: Now, the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, couldn't be more clear, really. He doesn't trust the new president of Iran.

MALVEAUX: We are talking about President Hassan Rouhani, who brought a much different message to the United Nations last week, you might recall. It was a message of cooperation and peace that Mr. Netanyahu says is all a ruse. Well, coming up from a quote, "wolf in sheep's clothing," the prime minister talked to Piers Morgan right here on CNN and said even though he doesn't trust President Rouhani, he would still take his phone call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, CNN'S "PIERS MORGAN LIVE": If President Rouhani picked the telephone up and called you, would you take that call?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I'm -- we're not averse to calling. It's a question -- I'll tell you what I'll tell him. You want the sanctions lifted, stop your nuclear program. Why do you need underground bunkers? Why do you need ICBMs? The sole purpose of ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, is to carry nuclear payloads. By the way, not to Israel, to Europe and to the United States. They already have missiles that reach Israel.

Why do you need to enrich uranium? You say you want civilian nuclear energy. Seventeen countries, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Indonesia with a quarter of a billion people, they all have civilian nuclear energy programs. They don't have enrichment because enrichment, uranium enrichment, is how you make nuclear weapons.

So, if you want to get a civilian nuclear program, you want to convince us to drop the sanctions, drop your nuclear weapons program. No enrichment, no heavy water, the other route to nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You're going to hear more from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That is tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

HOLMES: Yes, on Piers.

Now, the prime minister did meet with President Obama this week, Netanyahu that is, and insisted that the U.S. sanctions against Iran stay in place. He's not buying the Rouhani charm offensive. Others are saying, let's give it a chance, but not the Israeli prime minister. President Obama told Mr. Netanyahu that despite the good will shown by Iran at the U.N., military action is still on the table if Iran works towards producing nuclear weapons.

MALVEAUX: So the foreign minister of Iran talked with that with our own Fareed Zakaria. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, CNN'S "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": What did you think of President Obama's statement with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington?

MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, I believe political leaders have to exercise leadership. I was rather disappointed that President Obama used language that was insulting to the Iranian people. I believe President Obama should, in fact, stick to his declared intention to deal with Iran on the basis of mutual respect. That's what he said in his letter to the president. That's what he said in his address to the general assembly. You do not deal with another state with mutual respect by threatening them, by trying to intimidate them, particularly when you know that that is not useful. That is not of any utility. As I said, the Iranian people react very, very negatively to such languages of threat and intimidation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Another fascinating interview to keep an eye on. You'll see more of that on Sunday, 10:00 Eastern on "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

MALVEAUX: All right. So you might recognize this voice. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN BENNETT, VOICE OF SIRI: Hello, I am Susan Bennett. You probably know me. I'm the voice actor who provided the voice for Siri.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Ah, yes. We're going to show you the big reveal. The real life Siri when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right, so are an iPhone fan? Do you like the digital assistant called Siri. We've been working on this during the break.

HOLMES: We were just playing with it during the break and I was saying Suzanne Malveaux and it popped up with your phone number. I'll show you later.

MALVEAUX: No.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: All right -

HOLMES: Only because you're in my phone. It's not out there. Don't ask your Siri. You won't get it.

MALVEAUX: You know, you and I, we get it.

So, if you thought Siri was a robot, some people do, she's actually somebody -- she's someone who lives here in Atlanta.

HOLMES: She lives in Atlanta. Yes, we had a big surprise today on "New Day." A visit from the real life Siri. Have a look and a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN BENNETT, VOICE OF SIRI: I am the voice of Siri.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, HOST, CNN'S "NEW DAY": There she is. I kind of got chills. Her name, her real name is Susan Bennett. She's here with us this morning. Let's ask her questions. Siri, why is one foot longer than the other? Siri, what is the driving time from New York to L.A.?

CHRIS CUOMO, HOST, CNN'S "NEW DAY": Nice to meet you.

BENNETT: Hello.

PEREIRA: Siri, are you happy to be here this morning?

BENNETT: I'm sorry, Michaela, I cannot answer those questions.

So people think that they - you know, they came up with the - with the phrases that she speaks originally. But originally it was just a bunch of sentences and phrases that were created so that every single combination of vowels and consonants and syllables could be spoken.

PEREIRA: Could be pieced together.

BENNETT: I know some people have had difficulty with Siri. By the way, please don't curse at Siri, because she's very sensitive and that I was chosen.

PEREIRA: How does it feel to pull back the curtain a little bit and reveal yourself?

BENNETT: I don't know yet. I'll let you know later today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Don't think so (ph). Yes, no, we were just chatting about it. It is an extraordinary thing.

MALVEAUX: It's fascinating. I love it.

HOLMES: But in the U.K., of course, and, you know, places like Australia as well, they use their own Siri voice. They didn't use her voice.

MALVEAUX: Yes, she's the American Siri, right?

HOLMES: She's the American Siri.

MALVEAUX: I bet you she's doing really well, too. That's a good deal.

HOLMES: Oh, it would be good if you -- if you got a nickel for every query or something, then you'd be doing real well.

MALVEAUX: (INAUDIBLE).

HOLMES: Yes, fascinating stuff.

MALVEAUX: All right.

HOLMES: And, oh, by the way, yes, cnn.com has a long interview with her, and it was up for two hours, it had 250,000 hits.

MALVEAUX: You're kidding?

HOLMES: So she is trending. Yes.

MALVEAUX: Yes. And she's trending all the time on the phone. She's a busy woman.

HOLMES: Yes, she is.

MALVEAUX: All right, the government shutdown being felt almost every part of American life, might even crash the dreams of people who served our troops in Iraq? Well, and what they want to live here essentially in safety. We've got that story up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back.

It is not just federal employees' professional lives on hold while the government stands still. MALVEAUX: The shutdown could actually mean disaster. This is for people who were promised a life here in the United States after risking their lives to help our troops in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): It's been nearly two years since the Iraq War ended. The U.S. has withdrawn its troops from the country. But many Iraqis, who worked for the U.S. during the war, say they and their families still live in danger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): I work for the U.S. Army as translator 2008. It was like more than just a soldier. We were like brothers. 2009 I receive a letter from (INAUDIBLE) that time and with the letter was a bullet and they was writing stuff to me about my work, do you serve the Americans. This is it. Like I have to leave.

MALVEAUX: This Iraqi translator, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his family, felt had he nowhere to turn until he learned about The List Project. It's a U.S.-based non-profit that brings Iraqis who work for the U.S. Army to safety in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The List Project specific, he was telling me about how they been helping a lot of interpreters and translators to get the process for getting visa here to U.S.

MALVEAUX: Since 2008, The List Project says it has brought nearly 2,000 Iraqis to the U.S., but the special immigrant visa that brings these Iraqis to the United States has expired. And the government shutdown is now holding up any chance of renewing it. Many hoping to get out of Iraq may never find a path to safety.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: So the House and Senate, they did approve an extension of this special immigrant visa program. But like most everything else in the government is now on the back burner while Congress is fighting over the budget.

HOLMES: Yes, I know a lot of Iraqis would come here under that program. It's a very important one.

That will do it for us, though. Wolf Blitzer takes it from here. Have a great weekend.

You, too.

MALVEAUX: You, too.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, day four of the government shutdown. Only moments ago, the Senate blocked votes on three separate spending bills, refusing to take up individual bills from the House to fund national parks, veteran services and the National Institutes of Health.

Right now, we know the woman killed by Capitol Hill Police here in Washington after a high speed chase had medications for schizophrenia and depression. We'll have the latest on the investigation and whether police were right to use lethal force.

Right now, Tropical Storm Karen is barreling, barreling toward the Gulf Coast. We're going to tell you when and where it could hit land.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We want to welcome our viewers.

We're now well into day four of the government shutdown.