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Obama Lays Out $4 Trillion Budget Proposal; Bobbi Kristina Brown in Medically Induced Coma; Measles Virus Spreads to 14 States

Aired February 02, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. You're looking at live pictures of President Obama. He's at the Department of Homeland Security. This is an event where he will lay out his $4 trillion budget proposal that he's unveiling today sending up to Congress.

Let's listen to what the president has to say.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- for America's success in this new global economy. Because after a breakthrough year for America, at a time when our economy is growing and our businesses are creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s and wages are starting to rise again, we have fundamental choices to make about the kind of country we want to be. Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well or are we going to build an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead? That was the focus of my State of the Union address a couple week ago, what I called middle class economics, the idea that this country does best when everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules.

The budget the Congress now has in its hands is built on those values. It helps working families paychecks go farther by treating things like paid sick leave and child care as the economic priorities that they are. It gives Americans of every age a chance to learn new skills so they can earn higher wages. And it includes my plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students. It let's us keep building the world's most attractive economy for high-wage jobs with new investments in research and infrastructure and manufacturing, as well as expanded access to faster Internet and new markets for goods made in America. It's also a budget that recognizes that our economy flourishes when America is safe and secure. So it invests in our I.T. networks to protect them from malicious actors. It supports our troops. It strengthens our border security. And it gives us the resources to confront global challenges from ISIL to Russian aggression.

Now, since I took office, we have cut our deficits by about two- thirds. I'm going to repeat that, as I always do when I mention this fact, because the public, often times, if you ask them thinks the deficit has shot up. Since I took office, we have cut our deficits by about two-thirds. That's the fastest period of sustained deficit reduction since after the demobilization at the end of World War II. So we can afford to make these investments while remaining fiscally responsible. In fact, we cannot afford -- we would be making a critical error if we avoided making these investments. We can't afford not to. When the economy is doing well, we're making investments, when we're growing, that's part of what keeps deficits low because the economy is doing well. We just have to be smarter about how we pay for our priorities and that's what my budget does.

At the end of 2013, I signed a bipartisan budget agreement that helped us end some of the arbitrary cuts known in Washington speak as sequestration.

Folks here at DHS know a little too much about sequestration because many of you had to deal with those cuts and uncertainty around them. It made it a lot harder for you to do your jobs.

The 2013 agreement to reverse some of those cuts helped to boost our economic growth. Part of the reason why we grew faster last year was we were no longer being burdened by mindless across-the-board cuts and we were more strategic about how we handled our federal budget.

Now we need to take the next step. So my budget will end sequestration and fully reverse the cuts to domestic priorities in 2016. It will match the investments that were made domestically, dollar for dollar, with increases in our defense funding. Just last week, top military officials told Congress that if Congress does nothing to stop sequestration, there could be serious consequences for our national security at a time when our military is stretched on a whole range of issues. That's why I want to work with Congress to replace mindless austerity with smart investments that strengthen America, and we can do so in a way that's fiscally responsible.

I'm not going to accept a budget that locks in sequestration going forward. It would be bad for our security and bad for our growth. I will not accept a budget that severs the vital link between our national security and our economic security. I know there are some on Capitol Hill that would say, well, we would be willing to increase defense spending but we're not going to increase investments in infrastructure or basic research. Those two things go hand in hand. If we don't have a vital infrastructure, if we don't have broadband lines across the country, if we don't have a smart grid, all that makes us more vulnerable.

America can't afford being short sighted. I won't allow it. The budget I've sent to Congress today is fully paid for through a combination of smart spending cuts and tax reforms. Let me give you an example. Right now, our tax code is full of loopholes for special interests, like the trust fund loophole that allows the wealthiest Americans to avoid paying taxes on their unearned income. I think we should fix that, and use the savings to cut taxes for middle class families. That would be good for our economy.

Now, I know there are Republicans who disagree with my approach. I've said this before. If they have other ideas on how we can keep America safe, grow out economy while helping middle case families feel some sense of economic security, I welcome their ideas. But their numbers have to add up. What we can't do is play politics with folks' economic security or with our national security.

You, better than anybody, know what the stakes are. The work you do hangs in the balance. In just a few weeks from now, funding for Homeland Security will run out. That's not because of anything this department did. It's because the Republicans in Congress who funded everything in government through September, except for this department, and they're now threatening to let Homeland Security funding expire because of their disagreement with my actions to make our immigration system smarter, fairer and safer.

Now, let's be clear. I think we can have a reasonable debate about immigration. I'm confident that what we're doing is the right thing and the lawful thing. I understand they may have some disagreements with me on that, although I should note that a large percentage of Republicans agree that we needed comprehensive immigration reform and were prepared to act in the Senate and should have acted in the House. But if they don't agree, that's fine. That's how democracy works. You may have noticed, they usually don't agree with me.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But don't jeopardize our national security over this disagreement. As one Republican put it, if they let your funding run out, it's not the end of the world. That's what they said. Well, I guess literally that's true. It may not be the end of the world, but until they pass a funding bill, it's the end of a paycheck for tens of thousands of frontline workers who will continue to have to work without getting paid, over 40,000 Border Patrol and Custom agents, over 50,000 airport screeners, over 13,000 immigration officers, over 40,000 men and women in the Coast Guard. These Americans aren't just working to keep us safe. They have to take care of their own families. The notion that they would get caught up in a disagreement around policy that has nothing to do with them makes no sense. And if Republicans let Homeland Security funding expire, it's the end to any new initiatives in the event a new threat emerges. It's the end of grants to states and cities that improve local law enforcement and keep our communities safe.

The men and women of America's Homeland Security apparatus do important work to protect us, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress should not play politics with that. We need to fund the department. Pure and simple. You have to put politics aside, pass a budget that funds our priorities at home and abroad and gives middle class families the security they need to get ahead in the new economy. This is one of our most basic and most important responsibilities as a government. I'm calling on Congress to get this done.

Every day, we count on people like you to keep America secure and you are counting on us as well to uphold our end of the bargain. You're counting on us to make sure we have resources to do our jobs safely and efficiently. And that you're able to look after your families while you are out there working really hard to keep us safe. We ask a lot of you. The least we can do is have your backs. So that's what I'll keep on doing for as long as I have the honor of serving as your president. I'm going to keep on fighting to make sure that you get resources you deserve. I'm going to keep fighting to make sure that every American has a chance to not just share in success but contribute to America's success. That's what this budget is about. It reflects our values in making sure that we're making the investments we need to keep America safe, to keep America growing, and to make sure that everybody is participating. No matter what they look like, where they come from, no matter how they started in life, they have a chance to get ahead in this great country of ours. That's what I believe. That's what you believe.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Let's get it done.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So you hear President Obama right there laying out his now $4 trillion budget proposal that he sent up to Congress. This is for 2016. Hitting on a lot of the high points that he says are priorities, but he says very clearly in his speech right there that it's also, he acknowledges, a starting point, if you will. He says this is part of a negotiation and this is kind of the opening item for the president.

Let's get our reporters on this and get into what's in this budget.

Let's bring in our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, as well as "CNN Money" correspondent, Cristina Alesci.

First, Jim, to you.

We talk about the budget every year. This is multiple volumes thick as phone books. But the president laying out the highlights. He would like to help the middle class through investments in various areas, including infrastructure. How to pay for these proposals and initiatives? Raise taxes on wealthier Americans. That, of course, leads to my question of, what are Republicans saying about this already?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, Kate, I think it's fitting that we're talking about this on Groundhog Day because it seems to happen every year. The president puts out a budget and Republicans attack it up on Capitol Hill. Both sides are at their starting points in the negotiations and that's where we are today.

The president in addition to laying out what he's going to talk about in this budget offered a sharp attack on Republicans over this Department of Homeland Security. I'll mention that in a moment. But first, let's walk through what this budget entails. $4 trillion in spending, as you mention. This came out over the weekend. The president will call for $478 billion for new infrastructure projects, paid for in part by a new tax on corporate profits overseas. They want to go after those overseas tax havens. The White House says $277 billion in tax relief for the middle class.

But I think this is also interesting, John and Kate, no balanced budget while the president is in office. In these remaining years of President Obama's administration, the White House is not foreseeing a situation where the budget is brought into balance. Contrast that with Bill Clinton when he was president during the 1990s. John and Kate, you'll remember that, when he drew that big zero here at the White House, for when the budget was brought into balance. The president does not envision doing that.

On this Homeland Security issue, you heard the president talking about that. The Republicans insisted on a continuing resolution that expires at the end of this month funding the Department of Homeland Security in protest of the president's executive action on immigration. The president is making it very clear he is not going to alter that executive action on immigration to win funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and so the White House was saying earlier this morning that thousands of Border Patrol agents, Secret Service agents and so forth will be working without pay come the end of the month if that's not worked out.

BERMAN: On the deficit, the White House says as a percentage of GDP, the deficit, as proposed right now, is within that economically acceptable range. Even so, this is as much a political document as a policy one. Not to say if it's good or bad, politics is fine.

But Cristina Alesci, this is positioning this White House as the force that says it wants to help the middle class here. These proposals if enacted, not much of a chance that they will be, how will they help the middle class?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: To your point the president is trying to force the Republicans into a position where they are defending corporate America and wealthy Americans at the expense of the middle class. He said that he has the back of the middle class. What he wants to do, very clearly, in his budget, is make sure that the middle class can move from the middle to the top, the great American dream. He wants to enhance that mobility. He's going to give them every opportunity to do so. He talked a lot about education. He talked about skills training. Making sure there's mobility. Free tax credits for kids. I mean, these are all policies that are very consistent with what he said in the past. He also says -- just before he came on they released talking points saying 600 extra dollars in the average American's pocket through these tax credits, tax credits for extra earners, higher tax credits for children.

BERMAN: Cristina Alesci, Jim Acosta, thanks so much. Just the beginning of the discussion.

BOLDUAN: Right just the beginning. But even before he announced it, even before the president came out, we heard from top Republicans, like Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House tax writing committee, he called it job-killing proposals. He even said, at one point, yesterday, on one of the Sunday shows, that he's trying to exploit envy economics. It makes good politics. It doesn't make good economic growth. This is just the very beginning of that discussion, or some would argue a continuation from the past six years the conversations going on between the president and Republicans.

Coming up next for us, Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina, clinging to life almost three years to the day after her mother was found dead. BERMAN: And later, the CDC warning of a possible nationwide measles

outbreak. What you and your family need to know to stay safe. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Happening now, Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of the late Whitney Houston, is in a medically induced coma after being found facedown in a bathtub and unresponsive.

BOLDUAN: Family friends and all of the fans of both Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown are hoping that their 21-year-old daughter pulls through.

Our Nick Valencia is outside the hospital where Bobbi Kristina is being treated at this point.

What do we know, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kate, we are outside North Fulton Hospital about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta, where, as you mentioned, 21-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown is being hospitalized. The hospital has been very tip lipped since the incident happened on Saturday and haven't released any information about her current condition. But according to media reports, the family is being told to prepare for the worst.

One of the most outstanding questions here is just how long Bobbi Kristina Brown was facedown in that tub. Of course, the longer she was there, the more difficult it will be for her to recover. It is unfortunate for us to say, but Bobbi Kristina Brown, there's been a lot of speculation about her drug and alcohol abuse, concerns from inside the family, which is why we asked a local police department here if drugs or alcohol played any factor in this. They say on their initial sweep of the residence, they didn't see any obvious signs of drugs or alcohol, but they did carry out some search warrants. We are waiting to hear what resulted from that.

Also, one quick statement from Bobby Brown released over the weekend. And, of course, that's her father, saying, "The report that Bobbi Kristina Brown has been taken to the hospital in Atlanta is accurate." He goes on to say, "Privacy is requested right now, please allow my family the time to heal and give my daughter the love and support she needs at this time" --John, Kate?

BERMAN: A difficult time for that family.

Nick Valencia, thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: Coming up, new number out of the Centers for Disease Control showing that the measles outbreak is growing. What the CDC is saying and what you need to know to protect your family. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Brand-new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control. 102 confirmed cases of measles across the United States. Since the outbreak was first reported at Disneyland in December, the highly contagious virus has now spread to 14 states.

BOLDUAN: Measles was eliminated from the U.S. 15 years ago, thanks in large part to an aggressive vaccination program. But since then, growing segments of the population have been turning away from getting vaccinated, and public health officials say those unvaccinated folks, especially children, are highly vulnerable to catch and spreading the disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The concern, as you said correctly, is that it is spreading. And the reason it is because there's a group of -- a percentage of the population of children who have not been vaccinated, for a variety of reasons. We have a very effective measles vaccine. Measles is a highly contagious infection. And for reason of another, different reasons that parents may give, they're not getting their children vaccinated. What we need to do about it is try and explain -- I don't think parents are trying to do anything bad. I just think they need to understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Dr. Anthony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health.

We're joined now by CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, who has been tracking this outbreak since the beginning.

Elizabeth, listening to government officials here, to me at least, it sounds like there's an increasing degree of alarm as this outbreak spreads.

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, and when you see 102 cases after just, what has it been, not even two months of this outbreak, yes, there is concern this will spread. We heard Dr. Fauci says this is incredibly contagious virus. This is not like Ebola, where you need close contact. You just need to be in the same room as someone with measles to get it if you haven't been vaccinated. As a matter of fact, you don't even have to be in the same room. If someone was in the room an hour before you who had measles, you can't get it, too, if you had not been vaccinated.

BOLDUAN: We're also seeing a certain number, not a huge number, but a certain number of folks who have been vaccinated who are also getting measles. Does that mean no one is really safe?

COHEN: There are certainly are people who are safe. Starting around 1990, the CDC said, look, we think the people need two measles vaccine shots, two doses, not just one. So folks vaccinated since 1990, they're in good shape, pretty much -- you never say 100 percent sure thing, but they're pretty close. But there are those of us -- I was born before 1990. There are those of us who are older than 25, and we did not get two shots, we got one, so there is a chance that we may be vulnerable to measles. If you have a question, if you know people who have measles and you are concerned, you need to talk to your doctor about whether you need that second shot.

BERMAN: Elizabeth, you will hear people who are against the vaccine, or have concerns about the vaccine, say measles, it's not so bad. Healthy people can fight off measles. It's something people can get and recover from. Remind us what the symptoms are for measles and what the long-term health risks can be.

COHEN: I know that people say that. They say, my grandma had measles, she was fine, my father had measles. Well, sure, most people do just fine with measles. But you know what? There are those that don't. I don't know why you would want to take that risk and play that roulette with your own child. I was actually just reading an account of an author whose child died of measles in 1962 and he was playing with her and she seemed OK, and 12 hours later she had encephalitis, and 12 hours after that she was dead. So children do die of the measles. Most children are OK, but some do die. Why would you want to play with those odds?

BERMAN: 400 to 500 dead a year in the '60s. Cases of brain swelling, 4,000 before people took the vaccine.

COHEN: Exactly.

BERMAN: There are implications that people need to think about.

Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: You have to remember when you say most folks are fine, most folks will be fine, most people will be fine, most folks, doesn't matter when it's your kid. It never did.

Head over to CNN.com/health for more information on the measles outbreak. You'll find a map also there with states impacted as well. It's important information for parents. Elizabeth lays it out perfectly. Check it out.

BERMAN: That's all for us today.

"LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.