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Police Officer Stabbed; Russian Hacking; GOP Draft Expected Tomorrow; Barrasso Talks Health Care Bill. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired June 21, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We're following breaking news. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. We're going to bring you the latest on the Russia investigation in just a moment.

But first, the breaking news out of Michigan right now. A possible terror attack. A police officer has been stabbed at Bishop Airport in Flint, Michigan. Law enforcement sources say he was targeted by the assailant who is now in custody.

Our National Correspondent Brynn Gingras is reporting on the story. And our Justice Reporter Shimon Prokupecz is reporting on the story as well.

First of all, Brynn, what can you tell us? What do we know?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that the FBI has taken the lead on this investigation and they are investigating to see if this is terrorist related. At this point, they have not made that determination.

But we know that officer's name. It is Lieutenant Jeff Neville. He's with the Bishop Airport Police force there. And we know from members of law enforcement that this attack happened at about 9:00 this morning at Bishop Airport, on the public side of that airport. So, this suspect had not yet gotten through security.

That officer, we're told, was stabbed in the neck and in the back. Lieutenant Neville was then taken to a hospital where he is currently in critical condition. But we did learn that he is stable, at this point. So, his condition is not getting better. It's not getting worse. So, that's good to know there.

But as you said, Wolf, that suspect is now in custody, being questioned by law enforcement at, this moment, while, of course, the FBI there is on the scene at Bishop Airport, along with the ATF. We also know there's canine units sweeping that airport as well and it is shut down.

However, during this incident, there was no ground stop by the FAA. So, at this point, it's just an investigation there on the ground. Just to give you just a quick briefing about this airport. Bishop Airport employs six part-time employees as well as six full-time. So, a very small airport that this happened at this morning -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Outside of Flint, Michigan. Shimon, you've been doing reporting on this as well. What do we know about the assailant?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, we don't know his name. We don't know the details. I was told law enforcement is still trying to identify him, work through it.

Interestingly enough, I think early on, there were signs here that indicated a possible, some kind of terrorist attack. You know, law enforcement have been targeted in terrorist attacks across the world. But we're certainly seeing a lot of this overseas.

So, now, the -- you know, we haven't had these kinds of issues here in a while. But given the nature of this attack, that it appears the suspect was targeting this police officer. In the manner in which he did it, stabbed in the back. It caught the officer, it appears, by complete surprise.

I'm also told that the suspect, at least some witnesses have indicated, he said some words during the attack or perhaps some time before the attack which is giving law enforcement some concern and raising the possibility that this could be a terrorist attack.

BLITZER: So, the words that the suspect uttered are raising the possibility of terrorism. Is that what you're saying?

PROKUPECZ: That's correct, Wolf. You know, there is some question as to exactly what he was saying so we want to be careful here. But some witnesses have told law enforcement what they heard. And off of that, you know, there is some concern that this may be terrorism.

BLITZER: All right, we're going to stay on top of this story and watch it very closely. An incident, possibly terrorism, at the Flint, Michigan Airport. Shimon is working it. Brynn is working it. Guys, we're going to get back to you.

Right now, we want to get the latest revelations on Russia. And definitive words from the former head of U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The former security -- Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson, he was testifying up on Capitol Hill, open session, testifying before the House Intelligence Committee. Where he said this about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEH JOHNSON, FORMER SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: In 2016, the Russian government at the direction of Vladimir Putin, himself, orchestrated cyber-attacks on our nation for the purpose of influencing our election. That is a fact, plain and simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Johnson's testimony comes a day after the special counsel investigating all of this. Robert Mueller spoke to the committee leadership behind closed doors. Right now, Mueller is meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in closed-door session as well.

Let's cover all of this, the Russian meddling in the U.S. election, the latest breaking news. Our Senior Congressional Reporter Manu Raju is up on Capitol Hill. Our White House Correspondent Sarah Murray is live at the White House.

Manu, tell us more about what congressional members learned at this hearing.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, they learned the extent of the Russian attacks during last year's elections, the meddling that happened because they were trying to sway public opinion from the Russians.

[13:05:02] And one thing that Jeh Johnson testified, Wolf, was that the federal government and state officials really were in loggerheads over exactly how to secure election infrastructure. A lot of states did not want them to interfere, the federal government to interfere in any way.

Now, also, in addition to this, Johnson was on the defensive on a number of questions from some Democrats, including Adam Schiff, the Ranking Democrat on the committee, wondering why the Obama administration did not announce sooner last year that Russia was involved behind these -- behind the cyber-attacks, waiting until the fall instead to make that declaration.

And Johnson said that's one reason why was that there was -- one of the candidates, being President Trump, was saying that the election was rigged. And they did not want to look like they were tipping the scales to help Hillary Clinton which is one reason why they waited on that assessment.

But, Wolf, all this helping to form this -- inform this investigation that's happening on the House side of the Capitol, the Intelligence Committee, which is moving forward with its own Russia investigations. Other investigations are also taking shape -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Stand by.

Sarah, the former Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson, also explained why he and the Obama administration waited until early October to make a statement about Russia's involvement in the U.S. presidential election. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: There was an ongoing election and many would criticize us for perhaps taking sides in the election. So, that had to be carefully considered.

One of the candidates, as you'll recall, was predicting that the election was going to be rigged in some way. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He was talking there, obviously, about now President Trump.

Has the White House responded to Jeh Johnson's testimony?

SARAH MURRAY, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: No. And, Wolf, I think this is, sort of, the bizarre contradiction we see with this president. On the one hand, he ran across -- all across the country insisting that the election was rigged.

On the other hand, as a candidate and as president-elect and certainly as president, he's been very resistant to talk at all about Russia's influence in the 2016 election. In fact, Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary, was asked yesterday whether the president does believe that Russia tried to interfere in our election. This is what Sean said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just very plainly, a yes or no answer. Does President Trump believe that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 elections?

SEAN SPICER, U.S. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think I have not sat down and talked to him about that specific thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: So, I think what you're seeing here is resistance, really we've seen it from a number of White House officials, to talk about anything to do with Russia. It's sort of the question of whether Russia meddled in the U.S. election, which intelligence agencies agree on, gets melded in with the question of collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign.

And so, we really don't get a straight answer from the White House on any of this stuff -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Manu, the special counsel, Robert Mueller, he's meeting this hour with the Senate Judiciary Committee leadership. What can you tell us about that?

RAJU: Well, this is an effort by Mueller to meet with some of the key committees to try to what they call deconflict. To make sure that his investigation is not interfering with what's happening on Capitol Hill.

He met last night with the House Intelligence Committee leadership and also today the Senate Judiciary leadership.

Now, I had a chance to talk to both the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who wanted to talk -- said that he did not want to interfere with what Mueller was doing. He wanted to move forward with his own investigation. As well as Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, who met with Mueller last week. Here's what they said about their meetings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), IOWA, CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: There's some areas, that I won't go into, that I think are very definitely that he can't interfere with. Probably some he'll tell us that there's some that we can't interfere with.

RAJU: Is obstruction one of those areas, of possibly the president obstructing justice?

GRASSLEY: I think that everything's on the table.

RAJU: Do you have any reason to believe that the president, himself, may be under investigation?

SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA, RANKING MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I'm not going to go into any kind of conversations I've had with the special counsel. We're staying focused in this investigation on what the Russians did. We have more evidence today of how they have interfered in our election process. That's at the core of our democracy.

This is of immediate concern to me where we have state elections in 2017 and national elections in 2018. And I come out of this hearing saying, we've got a lot more work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So, two points out of that, Wolf. Mark Warner, himself, not saying whether or not special counsel Bob Mueller informed him about the scope of the investigation, whether it includes President Trump and those questions of obstruction of justice.

But that is one area of obstruction of justice that the Senate Judiciary Committee is not ruling out as part of its own investigation into the interference that may have occurred with the FBI. Grassley clearly wants to discuss that this hour with Bob Mueller. We'll see what they say, if anything, after this meeting -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Lots of developments unfolding.

[13:10:00] All right, Manu Raju, Sarah Murray, guys, thanks very much.

Let's get straight to our panel. Joining us, Associate Editor and Columnist for "Real Clear Politics" A.B. Stoddard, our Senior Political Reporter Nia-Malika Henderson, and our Justice Reporter Shimon Prokupecz is still with us as well.

Nia, as you know, Jeh Johnson says, and I'm quoting him now, this is the former Homeland Security secretary. "This fact, plain and simple, that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election here in the United States."

But, for some strange reason, the president isn't formally acknowledging that, after all of this time and after all of the briefings he has received from the entire U.S. intelligence community and the law enforcement community, including the FBI.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: And it's been consistent, right, that he's cast doubts on what the intelligence agencies have said about this. Back in January, before he was sworn in at a news conference, he said, as far as hacking, I think it was Russia. It could have been others also. Right?

So, there's this constant muddying of the waters, in terms of Russia's involvement. And it's partly because they have a real political, sort of, approach to this which is to say that the Russia investigation, itself, is essentially a hoax, is basically a figment of Democrats' imagination, because they want to give an excuse for why Hillary Clinton lost.

So, I think if he's ever to give an inch on this and essentially embrace the idea that everyone else has embraced that Russia did meddle in this election, it would mean he would have to do something. It would mean his administration would have to do something, investigate what happened and possibly investigate if there was any, sort of, collusion from people in his circle.

So, I think they are really having a political approach, rather than looking at it from a national security perspective.

BLITZER: Yes, he's been vague. He said, at times, it could be Russia. It could be China. It could be a guy in New Jersey.

HENDERSON: Right. A guy on a bed, yes.

BLITZER: Yes, I mean, he's had various explanations, even though there's a consensus, strong consensus.

Shimon, during the testimony today, Jeh Johnson, the former secretary, testified but others were there as well. A second official had this to say. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANETTE MANFRA, ACTING DEPUTY OF UNDER SECRETARY, DHS: As of right now, we have evidence of 21 states -- or election-related systems in 21 states that were targeted.

SEN. RICHARD BURR (R), CHAIRMAN, NORTH CAROLINA: But in no case were actual vote tallies altered in any way, shape or form.

MANFRA: That is correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, what else do we know about that? What, 21 states or election-related systems in 21 states were targeted by the Russians.

PROKUPECZ: That's right. So, when -- as this was going on and as this investigation, you know, last year was going on, we had done some reporting on that. And we know of at least three states, it was Illinois, Arizona and Florida. And Florida was an election vendor that was targeted.

And, sort of, the sense that we had from investigators and from U.S. officials was that it was Russia just, kind of, trying to go in, trying to see how far they could get in, where they can go.

And, in some cases, it was to learn about voters. I mean, get personal information about voters. No one had ever indicated to us that this was a way to get into the system to manipulate votes. Like, there was never any kind of -- there was certainly concern of that.

But I think DHS and U.S. officials felt pretty strong that they have systems in place. And the way some of the voting systems were designed, it would be pretty difficult for Russia, for hackers to manipulate the vote.

BLITZER: Yes. So, clearly, A.B., while no vote tallies were actually changed, according to the Department of Homeland Security officials who testified today, there was a suspicion that Russia's meddling could have had an impact, still, on the voters by all the damaging information that was released about the Democrats, particularly Hillary Clinton -- in particular, of course, as well.

Listen to this exchange that Jeh Johnson had with the Congressman Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: Some have suggested that because the actual counting of the votes by the machines wasn't impacted, that, therefore, you're testifying, and others have testified, there was no effect on the election.

In your written statement, you state, I'm not in the position to know whether the successful Russian government directed hacks of the DNC and elsewhere did, in fact, alter public opinion and thereby alter the outcome of the presidential election?

JOHNSON: Correct.

SCHIFF: Do you stand by that?

JOHNSON: Yes, and thank you for that clarification.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Because that's a point a lot of Democrats are making that, yes, no votes were changed specifically by the tallies of the machines, but it did have an impact on the outcome.

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND COLUMNIST, "REAL CLEAR POLITICS": Right, because they're making the argument that if you change people's minds, if you influence their opinion, that has -- in the end, that shows up in the outcome after the ballot box.

So, they'll continue to argue. And Republicans, there's bipartisan consensus on this, that there might have been just a few databases hacked in those three states that Sean mentions. But they're perfecting their active measures.

[13:15:00] It's up to the Congress, even if the executive branch, if the president is disinterested in mitigating this threat, to do something about the coming elections and the fact that Russians are busy right now, not only hacking into election processes in eastern/western Europe, other places, but that they're perfecting what they can do to us here. So if it's just a few databases in 2016, we know it will be more next time. And there has to be an effort, after all this testimony and all this consensus, that we have a real problem, Republicans agree, and it's a threat that has to be mitigated, no matter what the collusion part of the probe is.

BLITZER: As they say, the experts not only have (ph) Russian meddling in elections not only here but elsewhere in Europe as well.

All right, guys, thanks very, very much, A.B. Stoddard, Nia-Malika Henderson, Shimon Prokupecz. Coming up, why Russia is canceling talks with the United States right now. What it means as far as an effort to try to improve U.S.-Russia relations at this very sensitive moment.

And we're just hours away from learning the details of the Senate's health care repeal and replace bill. What's in, what's out, who will be effected?

We're also waiting on an FBI briefing on that airport stabbing of a police officer in Flint, Michigan. We are getting new information. We'll bring that to you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:03] BLITZER: All right, you're looking at live pictures coming in from Flint, Michigan, the airport there. We're told now, these officials are saying, that the FBI will be giving a press briefing very soon on the stabbing at Bishop International Airport there in Flint. The stabling is currently being investigated as a possible terrorism incident, a possible terrorism attack. A police officer was stabbed in the neck, from the back, by an individual. A suspect has been - has been arrested. They're reviewing some of the details there.

They're not telling us anything other than asking reporters for their names and their organizations. They're set - they're telling us also that an FBI officer, agent, will shortly come out and make a statement and brief the news media.

This is - let's just listen for a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An FBI-led scene at the moment and we are working together with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of all. And that's where I'm going to leave it for this point in time. We'll make sure we get you that written statement. Make sure that you have that, get that out to your viewers and we'll be back and provide some more information.

QUESTION: There's a lot of reports flying around -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate it. I want to make sure that I get that information out to you. Thank you.

BLITZER: All right, so there you have it, just basically an announcement that there will be a briefing coming up. We'll, of course, have live coverage. A very disturbing development once again at the Flint airport in Michigan. A police officer stabbed with a knife in the neck from the back. The suspect, the assailant, is in custody right now. It is being investigated as a possible terrorism incident.

Let's hear what else he says.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regular updates on their FaceBook account at the Bishop International Airport. You can check that out on FaceBook. So they'll talk a little bit about the closure time and how long that's going to last. But, for right now, just to avoid this area, especially with some traffic congestion. Thank you.

QUESTION: We saw one plane land -

BLITZER: All right, not much there. All right, we'll stay on top of this story and update our viewers as we get more information. A very disturbing development indeed.

Meanwhile, there's other news we're following. Senate Republicans now planning to release their draft of the bill tomorrow, the repeal and replace health care bill. For many in the U.S. Senate, it will be the first time they see any part of the plans that the Republican leadership has been working on. The majority leader, Mitch McConnell, had this to say last hour about the scheduled rollout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: The American people are demanding relief and we intend to deliver it to them. That's why Senate Republicans are continuing to work toward smarter health care solutions that will finally allow us to move beyond this failed law.

I want to repeat what I said yesterday. The discussion draft will be made public tomorrow. And, remember, the Senate will have it and it will be posted online for everyone to review. For the past seven years, Obamacare has continued to hurt the people we represent. For the past seven years, Republicans have offered ideas for a better way forward. And soon, soon we will finally have the chance to turn the page on this failing law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go to our congressional correspondent Phil Mattingly. He's up on Capitol Hill.

Phil, what are we expecting to see in the Republican release tomorrow?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Still a lot of open questions, Wolf. And I think that's the most interesting element here, senators right now, Republican senators walking into another closed door all conference meeting, all 52 senators, to discuss the broad outlines of this bill, but, Wolf, acknowledging that they still don't know on key specific details, like how long is the phase-out for the Obamacare Medicaid expansion program, where the bill will come down on things like abortion, how far it cuts back the regulations that were included in Obamacare. Those are still open questions. Questions we will likely get answers to tomorrow. And I'm told right now there isn't going to be any sneak preview for a lot of Republican senators. They expect to be released - to be receiving this bill tomorrow morning shortly before it posts online for everybody to see.

Now, the big question, Wolf, is, while people aren't clear about what's in it, they clearly don't have the votes yet to vote on a proposal that they haven't seen yet. Why are Senate Republican leaders moving forward? Take a listen to what I heard from Senator John Cornyn, the number two Republican, just a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: We can only talk about things so long. And we've been debating this subject for about seven years.

A working draft will be released tomorrow. I think all of the concerns people have had about the process will evaporate because I think there will be unlimited opportunities for people to read it and understand what's in it and then debate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Wolf, two really key points there. First and foremost, that Senate Republican leaders basically feel, look, we know what the dynamics are, we know where the divides are, and talking about it for any longer isn't going to get them any closer. It's time to kind of put the hammer down and move forward on something.

But also on the transparency issue, look, there's been no shortage of rank and file Senate Republicans who have had problems with how this process has been handled. And Senate Republican leaders making very clear, they believe once the discussion draft is out, people will have a chance to read it, people will have a chance to digest it, the CBO will have an opportunity to score it. That will be enough, thy think, for Republican senators to come on board. There's still some open questions there on the process. Still a lot of open questions there on the policy. Answers we hope to start seeing tomorrow.

[13:25:19] But as far as where members stand right now, Wolf, still very clear, we don't have an idea whether Senate Republican leaders can wrangle the 50 votes they need to move this forward. Certainly a lot of work left to go on that end.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right, a lot of work indeed. Phil Mattingly up on Capitol Hill, thanks very much.

We should know much more about the bill tomorrow once the draft is released to all of the senators, as well as to the public. Maybe we'll get some more details, though, right now.

Joining us, Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso. He's a member of the health care working group, the leadership that's been putting this bill together.

Thanks very much, senator, for joining us.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: Thanks, Wolf, for having me.

BLITZER: Have you actually gone through and read this entire legislation that's going to be released tomorrow?

BARRASSO: Well, they're still putting the final touches on it, but I've been to 30 hours of meetings. We've been meeting for the last month on this. The Republicans, as a committee, as a whole, every Republican senator is invited. We're having 20, 30 members at each of the meetings and some the whole conference. Yesterday with the vice president, as well as the secretary of health and human service, every Republican senator was there.

BLITZER: So you haven't even read the whole thing. Is it 100 pages, 500 pages, 1,000 pages? You know how this legislation is drafted.

BARRASSO: It's not going to be that hard to go through. The debating topics now are just kind of the little fine-tuning, dialing, as to how you do with the specifics. There is an urging to get this done because of the continued collapse of the Obamacare health care law. People across the country are suffering pain and the pain is getting worse as insurance companies are pulling out and the premiums for next year have been announced. In Maryland alone, they're requesting premium increases of 58 percent.

BLITZER: So you know the president, who initially liked the House passed bill, now says it's mean. He uses that word, it's mean. Do you agree with the president of what emerged from the House of Representatives, the health care bill is mean?

BARRASSO: No, but the Senate is passing and working on a different bill.

BLITZER: Completely different.

BARRASSO: We are writing our own bill. The - and that will be - the goal is, and I hope, and I think, and I plan to work to get it passed through the - through the Senate that actually does a number of things. It completely protects people with preexisting conditions. I mean I'm a doctor. I practiced medicine for 25 years. My wife Bobby's a breast cancer survivor. I know how critical it is to protect people with preexisting conditions.

But it also works to stabilize the insurance markets, which right now are very unstable and are in a death spiral as fewer and fewer companies are even willing to sell insurance. And over half of the country, people are down to one choice or two choices. And there are many places where no one is selling Obamacare insurance. So even if you have an Obamacare subsidy, no one's willing to sell. You've been left out if you have a preexisting condition.

BLITZER: Will it include funding, for example, for Planned Parenthood? BARRASSO: Well, we want to follow the House model there, that federal

money should not be used to pay for abortions, period. The - so there are a number -

BLITZER: But Planned Parenthood does a lot of other things besides abortion, abortion rights for women, as you know.

BARRASSO: And we know in the state of Wyoming, as many states, there are lots of community health centers that can do all of those things, other than provide abortions and - and -

BLITZER: And other states that can't have - I raise that question -

BARRASSO: And the money should be there for those other services.

BLITZER: I raise the - I raise the question only because you only have a 52-48 majority in the Senate. If it goes - if you lose three Republican senators, no Democratic senator is going to vote for it. If you loses Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, and one more, because of Planned Parenthood funding, it's over as far as the Republicans are concerned.

BARRASSO: What we know is that Obamacare has failed. People all around the country are scrambling for insurance. It's gotten too far out of cost -

BLITZER: Those - those senators say they're not going to vote for it if it eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood.

BARRASSO: There's a lot of - a lot of discussion between the release tomorrow and the vote in about a week. There's an open amendment process on the floor of the Senate. People will -

BLITZER: So you think it might be possible you'll include funding for Planned Parenthood in -

BARRASSO: That's not my desire at all.

BLITZER: Order to win the support of those - those women senators?

BARRASSO: My desire is to not have that funding in there. There are certain things you can do with reconciliation.

BLITZER: But if there is funding, will you vote for it?

BARRASSO: What we have with Obamacare has failed the American people. Rates have doubled in the last four years. We need to provide relief for the American people in terms of the health care and the care that they need so they can get it from a doctor they choose at lower cost. That's my fundamental drive.

BLITZER: But in order - in order to get the support from those women senators, if it includes funding for Planned Parenthood, will you vote for the legislation?

BARRASSO: And I'm telling you, we need to get to 50 votes. BLITZER: So the answer is yes?

BARRASSO: We're working with every member of the Senate to get to 50 votes, to get to consensus, to get something that we can pass, to help the American people who are suffering under the Obama health care law. The costs are astronomical. The loss of coverage is dramatic. We want to give people freedom and flexibility and choice and there are ways to deal with the funding of so many of these issues without giving money to Planned Parenthood.

[13:30:02] BLITZER: So I just want to be precise. Between now and - assuming there's a vote before July 4th, there will be no congressional - no Senate hearings on this, right?

BARRASSO: Well, we've had over 30 hearings in the Finance Committee, in the Health Committee and there's going to be --