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Talking Stimulus with the GOP; It's All About Jobs; Arab Reaction to President Obama
Aired January 27, 2009 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM. And here are the headlines from CNN for this Tuesday, the 27th day of January, 2009.
The Democratic president surrounded by Republican lawmakers. A lunchtime summit on Capitol Hill to wrangle votes for the Obama stimulus package.
Anatomy of a meltdown. The view of one bank collapse from the very people who oversaw it.
Having trouble following the economic crisis? We will explain it with a ski trip to Switzerland. No kidding.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Trying a little presidential persuasion. Minutes from now, President Obama sits down with Republican lawmakers hoping to sell them on his $825 billion stimulus plan. He meets with House Republican leaders at 12:15 Eastern.
Next hour, Senate GOP leaders. And at 3:45 Eastern, a briefing by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Let's get a preview of the president's talk with reluctant Republicans.
White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us. And on Capitol Hill, Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar.
Suzanne, let's start with you.
What is the president hoping to accomplish on the Hill today?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tony, what he's trying to do is make sure that he's got some sort of bipartisan support here. Obviously, he has a lot of support from the Democrats, but it's not going to be good enough, at least not for the president. He wants to set a tone here to convince the American people that this was the right thing to do. And what he feels is, if he just gets Democratic support, that that is not going to do it.
So what you're seeing is the president is going to be on the Hill, he'll be leaving here momentarily. He's not taking his treasury secretary, Tony, but he's taking, rather, his transportation secretary. That's Ray LaHood. The reason why is because he's one of two Republicans who's a part of the administration. He's a veteran of the Hill, he's a good friend of Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. So, obviously he's going to try to gently persuade, perhaps twist a little arms of fellow Republicans, to say, hey, look, ,this is a good idea, it's a good plan, that at least moderate Republicans should sign on to this. There's a lot of opposition, as you know, Tony.
The other thing that President Obama is doing that's very significant here is that he's using his own political capital. He is personally engaged, personally involved in this process in shaping the legislation.
We have learned that he's picked up the phone and he's called federal Democrats about a controversial contraceptive family planning provision, asked to take it out in the tune of $200 million. And we believe that Democrats are going to do that to offer some sort of nugget for the Republicans -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne, thank you.
Let's get to Capitol Hill now and our Brianna Keilar.
And Brianna, what are Republicans hoping to hear from the president? And what issues are they having the most trouble with?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big issue for them is they feel that there's not enough tax cuts. They don't like the kind of tax cuts, they think there's too much spending, they don't like the kind of spending in this bill. But what's interesting, Tony, and we've just learned, ,is that despite the fact that President Obama is coming here to the Hill to talk, maybe to exercise his political capital to try to convince these Republicans, we learned that in a meeting this morning, a standard meeting that Republicans have, the top two Republicans in the House, John Boehner and Eric Cantor, told Republicans to vote against this economic stimulus plan when it goes to the House floor tomorrow.
So as you can see, even though there is this meeting coming -- and you can see now, actually, some Republicans, some House Republicans coming in to this meeting -- obviously they are hanging their chances of any sort of changes that they want, not in this vote tomorrow, but in changes that might come through the Senate, changes that might come when the Senate and the House in the end has to kind of pow wow and decide overall what the final bill is that they're going to vote on.
But at this moment, as we are awaiting President Obama, I can tell you a little bit about what we're expecting from this meeting.
HARRIS: Great.
KEILAR: According to Republican Mike Pence, there's going to be -- as they expect, President Obama will make some remarks, and then it's going to be a bit of a Q&A session, an open mike, if you will, where members of the House Republican Conference are going to get to ask questions. They're expected to be candid and direct.
And Tony, it is going to be interesting just how many questions they get in. There are, of course, 178 Republicans in the House. This is a big pow wow.
HARRIS: Yes. OK.
On Capitol Hill, Brianna Keilar for us.
Thank you, Brianna.
Too worried to spend. Consumer confidence hit a new low this month. The index dropped to 37.7 in January. That's according to figures out today from The Conference Board, a business research group. That represents an all-time low going back to 1967, when the index began.
Consumers worried about their jobs, incomes and dwindling retirement accounts.
A day after the economy lost some 71,000 jobs, let's add one more company to the list. Corning, the glassmaker, announced today it will slash 3,500 jobs. It blames falling demand for LCD televisions and commuter monitors.
Let's talk to our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi.
We don't get enough time anymore with Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's good to see you, my friend.
HARRIS: Yes, it's good to see you.
Ali, the president wants to create or save three million to four million jobs. How and where? Walk us through this.
VELSHI: Well, you know, we talk about the economy. A year ago, Tony, you and I were talking about the housing crisis and energy prices being the biggest deal.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: Six months ago, the stock market was a worry. Now it is all about jobs. He's got to create or save -- now, that's their language, create or save, because we're losing so many jobs, that we're not thinking about building three million or four million jobs on top of these. We're talking about maybe stemming the losses.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: This stimulus bill -- and Brianna was just talking about the struggle that it may have. But so much of it is about creating jobs.
The idea that the government can spend money in certain ways so as to create jobs. Some of it is direct spending. Let me show you how it breaks down in the stimulus bill. HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: Construction jobs on the top left, 678,000 of them. That would be the infrastructure building.
Manufacturing jobs, 408,000. Tony, manufacturing is where we've lost most of the jobs every month for the last several years.
Retail, 604,000. How do you create retail jobs? You create demand. You get that consumer confidence up. You get people spending.
Education and health, 240,000 jobs. It doesn't seem that much, but that's because that's one of the only areas that's actually been growing -- two of the only areas that have been growing for months.
Tourism, 499,000 jobs. That's sort of similar to retail.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: You get people spending because they feel good. Right now people are canceling those holidays even though airfares are low, gas prices are low. They're not spending money because they're worried about losing their jobs.
And then government, 244,000. Again, government jobs have been there and have been created over the last little while.
But that's how they say the stimulus bill will actually work to create directly and indirectly three million to four million jobs. And that is the centerpiece of this whole operation, because without jobs, how do you get out of a recession? Without demand, how do you get yourself out of this?
HARRIS: All right. Let's blast through a couple points here, because, again, I need to drill down on some of these issues with you.
VELSHI: Sure.
HARRIS: It's a question that I get a lot, Ali. And I don't have an answer for it, but I did promise folks that I would ask you. Are employers cutting too deeply? Are they using the difficult environment as an excuse to actually, well, gut the employment pool, to cut jobs?
VELSHI: Well again, there's no science to it; right? It's an emotional thing.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: If the employers think things are going to be bad, they combine that with the fact that things have been bad, and they say, I don't want to get stuck with too many people. I think in some cases, companies, typically public companies, get a boost in their stock price when they lay people off because the market thinks that's good.
In this particular instance, that's not happening anyway. So you're not getting any particular benefit...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... for laying off more people than you need. And really, it's just deepening the situation.
So I would love it if companies that weren't actually in dire straits, who are just going to make a little less profit, maybe didn't lay off as many people. But unfortunately, there is no science to it. It is all about confidence.
HARRIS: OK. And here's another one. I keep hearing that job cuts are a lagging indicator.
VELSHI: Yes, that's right.
HARRIS: Is that true? And if that's true, could we actually be into a recovery -- optimist hat on -- while still receiving negative job reports?
VELSHI: Well, that's a good question. You know, the stock market is a very clear leading indicator. You invest in a stock because you think you're betting on what the earnings of that stock will be in the future. So that's absolutely leading.
Typically, job losses are lagging, but in this instance there are many people -- I think January has seen so many job losses because these are employers who are trying to get these people off their books, like you just described, getting ahead of this situation. So I think with jobs, it's hard to tell anymore accurately whether it's a lagging indicator or a leading indicating.
Lagging means we've seen business bad, we've seen our profits shrink, so we're going to lay people off. There may be some companies in January who are laying people off because of anticipation of what they see later in the year. So good question.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: I don't know whether we can adequately call unemployment a lagging or a leading indicator at this point.
HARRIS: Boy, always good to talk to you. Thanks, Ali. Thanks for your time.
VELSHI: My pleasure.
HARRIS: OK.
Reluctant Republicans say the stimulus bill has too much spending, too few tax cuts. They also question whether it will actually revive the economy and create jobs.
Last hour I talked with two GOP representatives opposed to the bill in its current form.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ZACH WAMP (R), TENNESSEE: We're going to vote no, but they've now got the votes to do basically whatever they want to, and so they're going to slam-dunk this, and we're going to go much further in debt. Republicans blew it on spending, but now Democrats are like -- they're on steroids with spending. And the debt and deficit is a huge long-term problem that's going to make the recession longer. We're going to vote no.
REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: The best economic stimulus there is, is a job. And this bill is short on the stimulus that is needed to create that.
You know, Tony, when you break out -- according to the CBO, when you break out this bill, you only have $93 billion that would be spent in '09. Now, stimulus money is to be spent immediately, and what you have is $825 billion of programmatic money, only $93 billion of which would even be slated to be spent this year, and another $225 billion in 2010.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy, OK.
First day on the job, and the brand-new treasury secretary is already overhauling the $700 billion federal bailout. Timothy Geithner's plan would protect you, the taxpayer.
For starters, it keeps lobbyists away from the people who are doling out bailout money. It requires regular reports to Congress showing that the bailout money was handed out using objective standards. And the plan would track banks' lending practices that would make sure they're using taxpayer money for consumer borrowing.
The bailout, the handouts and the stimulus packages -- CNN's Lou Dobbs pulls them apart line by line to separate the pork from what might really fix the economy. Don't miss Lou's "Line Item Veto," a special segment starting tonight on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" at 7:00 Eastern.
It is really, to turn to weather now, getting messy out there. Look at this.
A potent winter storm is icing roads and power lines from Texas all the way to Kentucky today. We're going to bring Chad Myers in, in just a second.
Most areas will see quarter of an inch of ice, but some isolated spots will get well over an inch. Schools are closed, and already tens of thousands of homes and businesses are without power. It is exactly what Chad warned us might happen. That number will grow as the storm slides toward the Northeast today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: How about this? An earthquake rattles Alaska. The second in just a few days, really. And this one hitting smack-dab in the center of the Aleutian Island chain. It measured 5.6 in magnitude, slightly less than the one over the weekend. No damage reported.
President Obama reaches out to the Arab world with his first sit-down interview. What's been the reaction in that part of the world?
And as you know, the president, we believe, is on his way to Capitol Hill right now to meet with House and Senate Republicans. We will keep an eye on this story throughout the hour for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Right now, let's take you to Capitol Hill. We are expecting any moment now to see President Obama. As we've been telling you throughout the day, the president is on his way to Capitol Hill.
It is a big day for him, a lunchtime meeting with reluctant House and Senate Republicans who have real concerns about the stimulus package, the size of it -- $825 billion. As you know, Republicans would like to see a different mix in how the money is allocated. We're talking about $825 billion.
The Republicans would like to see more of a focus on tax cuts than on spending. Right now, about two-thirds of the package goes to spending and one-third to tax cuts.
Let's bring in our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And Tony, getting word now that, actually, President Obama coming right by us as we speak -- if we can turn the camera over here, Burt (ph) -- heading into this meeting with House Republicans. He'll first be meeting with House Republicans, 178 of them, if they all do show up. And then he'll be heading over and meeting with Senate Republicans.
Really an interesting situation, Tony, because he's meeting only with Republicans, and not with Democrats. And while you hear Republicans saying they are grateful to have this meeting to discuss the changes -- and trust me, there are so many changes they want to this economic stimulus package -- there's obviously a thought coming from them that they're not really going to get a breakthrough today with President Obama, because according to two Republican aides familiar with the meeting that House Republicans had this morning, the top two Republicans in the House, John Boehner and Eric Cantor, told members of the House, Republican members of the House, to vote no on this economic stimulus package that goes to the floor tomorrow, Tony.
Unless of course, there are going to be some changes. But what you see obviously is they feel they can't get those changes unless they have this solid "no" vote, then they're hoping to get those changes later down the road, maybe through the Senate, maybe in conference committee afterwards when the House and the Senate has to come together and work out some of the changes.
HARRIS: That's right. KEILAR: But is there going to be a breakthrough between today and tomorrow? You can see that House Republicans feel probably not.
HARRIS: OK. And what we learned last hour is that it appears that House Democrats have the votes to move this forward, so it really comes down to what is happening and the legislation as it's being crafted right now in the Senate.
And as you mentioned, the compromise process.
KEILAR: I'm sorry, Tony. Can you repeat that?
HARRIS: No, no, no, no, no. It was just that -- we can actually wrap. It was just sort of reiterating your point that we learned last hour from a couple of House Republicans that the consensus is that the Democrats, House Democrats, have the votes to move the legislation forward. It really comes down to the legislation as it is being crafted right now in the Senate and then that compromise process; correct?
KEILAR: Well and, you know, House Republicans have made it clear because President Obama has called for bipartisan support in this bill, and that is really the only weapon they have, Tony, especially in the House, is that they're not going to give their support unless they get some major changes. And there are some big hang-ups between House Republicans and house Democrats.
You know, you've heard about little concessions, this family planning money...
HARRIS: That's right.
KEILAR: ... that would have gone to contraception for poor Americans. That's really just a small part, even though you've heard Republicans make so much noise about that. It comes down to the kind of tax cuts and the type of spending in here.
HARRIS: Yes.
KEILAR: And that's really a big deal for House Republicans. They're really not on board.
HARRIS: And Brianna, if you would, put us in the room, to the extent that you can. How is this actually going to happen? Who is going to be speaking? And is this a situation where it's open mike Tuesday?
KEILAR: Well, it is sort of like that, Tony. According to Republican Congressman Mike Pence, he's expecting that President Obama will give some remarks. And he said they're hoping maybe he has something new, but obviously they're downplaying expectations of that.
And then what happens is the mike is basically opened, Pence saying that it's the way they do a lot of their conference meetings. And people, Republicans, House Republicans, get to ask President Obama questions. And then it's this big Q&A until he goes over to the Senate side to meet with Senate Republicans. HARRIS: Love it.
All right, on Capitol Hill, Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar for us.
Brianna, thank you.
They are billions that you will be paying for. How will those stimulus dollars be spent if President Obama's plan is approved?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: President Obama is making a concerted effort to repair U.S. relations with the Muslim world. He is also making it clear how he plans to deal with terrorists.
The president spoke to an Arab television network in his first formal interview since taking office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You will, I think, see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda, that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it, and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians, and we will hunt them down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The president's comments generating immediate reaction in the Arab world.
Our Stan Grant takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The interview by President Obama on Al-Arabiya was seen as being loaded with symbolism. It comes after the first week when President Obama has very much reached out to the Middle East. He has spoken to Middle East leaders like Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He has also appointed a special enjoy, George Mitchell, who will be engaging directly in the region.
And now appearing on Al-Arabiya. Al-Arabiya, of course, being seen as a moderate voice in the region, a network that's largely funded by Saudi Arabia, and has been up and running since 2003.
The message that President Obama has tried to stress during the interview is that the United States is now open to listening to the Middle East. It is not just going to lecture, it is open to listening. He says that he is extending the hand of friendship to the Arab world, and that the U.S. is not the enemy of the Islamic world. Interesting reaction so far. People have had some time to absorb the interview, to listen to it, to be able to speak to each other. And some interesting reaction appearing on the Web, if I can just go through a few of them.
One says, "A great interview." Another, "A significant first interview. A refreshing change. This is the best the Arab and Muslim world will get from the West."
But also some pointed reaction as well. "Please, Mr. President, make sure you listen to Hamas." And another, "So many adjectives come to mind right now. But traitor seems to fit the best. Why not Al- Jazeera, Hussein Obama?"
Of course, Al-Jazeera a reference to the rival network, to Al-Arabiya, seen as being a little more hard line. And "Hussein Obama," of course, a reference to Barack Obama's middle name, showing that while there has been a positive reaction so far to the new presidency, there is still some way to go in easing some of the skepticism in the region.
Stan Grant, CNN, Dubai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Who are the decision-makers behind so many of these bank collapses? A banker tells us about some of the questionable decisions he made.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, it's a little like the fox guarding the hen house. An Associated Press analysis shows almost nine out of 10 senior bank executives from 2006 are still on the job today. That means the very people who presided over the mortgage meltdown are now managing the taxpayer-funded federal bailout. While most top bank execs still have their jobs, 100,000 bank workers lower on the rung have been laid off during the crisis.
Now the anatomy of a meltdown from the people on the inside. This report was produced with the investigative Web site ProPublica, a nonprofit devoted to first-rate journalism.
Our own Drew Griffin now with the story of Silver State Bank of Nevada.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Far from the Strip, far on the edge of North Las Vegas, is this piece of dirt. How much would you pay for it?
At one time, a little-known Vegas bank bet the house on it. Now the house, the bank and those bankers are gone. So is the boomtown era of this gambling Mecca where former bank president Tod Little said anyone with some capital could call himself a banker. TOD LITTLE, FMR. CEO, SILVER STATE BANK: It didn't take a rocket scientist to run a bank in this town in the last 10 years and do well.
GRIFFIN (on camera): You said a monkey could do it.
LITTLE: A trained monkey.
(LAUGHTER)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): This is a rare, very rare, inside look behind the collapse of a big regional bank, Silver State Bank, whose name has been scraped away with the bust of the housing boom. When you hear what Silver State was doing, you may wonder if the trained monkeys running the bank Tod Little referred to were trained at all.
Current banker Bill Martin (ph) says the warnings were ignored.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It had all worked last year and the year before and the year before, so they just kept doing it.
GRIFFIN: Want an example? Take a look a this project, a proposed casino far off the Las Vegas Strip, a strip of dirt where one of Silver State's big loan customers was investing heavily.
(on camera): Silver State was financing a boomtown in Las Vegas with no town and certainly no boom. This vacant piece of property was collateral for a $24 million personal loan. All of it now just remains a big pile of dirt.
I mean to me, a layman, right, I'm not in the bank business. It's just made-up money. That land is not making anything.
DOUG FRENCH, FMR. CHIEF LOAN OFFICER: And you're not missing the mark on that. You're absolutely correct.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Doug French is the person who made that loan as Silver State Bank's vice president of commercial real estate lending. He's not in Nevada anymore. He's now in Alabama teaching finance.
We sat down with him so he could explain why he made such bad loans, including the loan on that strip of dirt near the Las Vegas speedway.
FRENCH: At the time when the loan was conceived and made, that was very valuable land.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Are you sad for what happened?
FRENCH: What's that?
GRIFFIN: Are you sad about what happened?
FRENCH: I'm very sad. I'm very sad. It's very humbling.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): In September, 2008, Silver State Bank was seized by the federal government.
(on camera): Do you look back and say, whoa, we made some really bad mistakes, preventable mistakes?
FRENCH: Sure. Absolutely.
GRIFFIN: Who should pay for that?
FRENCH: Well, I think the shareholders of Silver State Bank, of which I was one, have paid dearly.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Actually, Security and Exchange Commission records show French sold $1.8 million of Silver State's stock before he left, on top of his salary and bonus. Now the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is left covering $550 million. Another $20 million in unsecured deposits have simply vanished.
Silver State is one of 25 banks that failed in 2008. Many bankers believe 2009 will be worse.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Can you believe it?
What is President Obama's former rival John McCain saying about the stimulus plan the Obama team is pushing?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Just past three hours into the trading day. Let's take you to New York and have a look at the big board, New York Stock Exchange. As you can see, the Dow, positive territory. Close to 100 points in positive gains so far. But we are slightly off session highs. We will follow the numbers throughout the day for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. The Nasdaq up 22 points. So a good day so far for stocks.
President Barack Obama trying to persuade reluctant Republicans to back his stimulus plan, but he has just a little time left before the House votes on the package tomorrow. That story now from senior White House correspondent Ed Henry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): With job cuts mounting, pressure is billing on President Obama just two days before he faces a key House vote on the fate of his $825 billion stimulus plan.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can't afford distractions and we cannot afford delays. These are extraordinary times and it calls for swift and extraordinary action.
HENRY: But key Republicans want more tax cuts and less spending, with even John McCain demanding a complete overhaul despite the president's recent outreach to his former rival.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: It's just the old spending practices of liberal Democrats. So I hope we will be able to sit down and negotiate it. But right now, I could not vote for the stimulus package as it's been presented.
HENRY: The president is trying to win more votes ahead of critical meetings Tuesday on Capitol Hill with House and Senate Republicans. Democratic official confirm congressional leaders are now dropping a provision lampooned by Republicans that would have provided $200 million in contraceptives to low-income families.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) MINORITY LEADER: How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives, how does that stimulate the economy?
HENRY: But there's still deep Republican opposition to the broader plan, after the barbs traded at Friday's White House meeting over who should benefit from tax cuts. After Republicans made their case, sources in the room say the president shot back about the election, "I won," though aides are trying to downplay any hard feelings.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president said that he felt confident with the tax cuts that he had run on, that the people had weighed in on what they thought might be a good way to stimulate the economy. He said he won and the next thing that happened is everybody laughed. So this wasn't -- this wasn't cowboy diplomacy. This was, I think, a rather light-hearted moment.
HENRY: Light-hearted, perhaps, but the president is playing hardball with the Republicans on other fronts, signing a presidential memorandum to get more fuel-efficient cars on the road.
GIBBS: And I think what ultimately we'll come up with is something that moves along the twin goals of ensuring a strong manufacturing sector, while at the same time ensuring that we take the necessary steps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
HENRY: But the question now is whether a move that will please environmentalists will deal a death blow to the already-teetering auto industry.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Stimulus 101. Where will all your money go? Boy, I've been waiting for this segment all day. Stephanie Elam is in New York to break down the numbers.
And, Stephanie, walk us through all the dollars and the cents here, the c-e-n-t-s, because I'm not sure if it makes much s-e-n-s-e.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Tony. Yes, OK. We're going to take you back to the Scrabble board so you can work that out again, Tony.
HARRIS: Thank you.
ELAM: But, you're right, when it comes to getting the economy up and running again, this is an unprecedented amount of money that the government is talking about. Now the House version calls for $825 billion in spending and tax cuts. The plan would galvanize the economy by boosting infrastructure spending and state relief, increasing unemployment benefits an by giving tax cuts for people and businesses.
Now let's take a look at infrastructure spending first. The House version includes $90 billion to rebuild roads and bridges and provide funding for mass transit systems. $142 billion will be spent on education to modernize learning facilities. Another $54 billion will be spent to double the production of alternative energy in the next three years and to update the nation's electrical grid, as well as federal buildings. $20 billion will go to modernizing the health care system. And $16 billion will be spent on science, research and technology. State relief will focus on spending $87 billion on Medicaid and $4 billion will be used to fund law enforcement.
And then there's something called the safety net portion and that will fund -- those funds will target $43 billion on unemployment benefits, $39 billion on Cobra spending. That's, of course, if you lose your job, you still keep your health care for a year, and $20 billion to feed the hungry, Tony. So a lot of different places this money would go.
HARRIS: Yes. So, Stephanie, when you factor all of that in, what represents the biggest chunk of the stimulus package?
ELAM: Yes, you know, by far, the largest chunk is the $275 billion in tax cuts. The Obama administration hopes that that spending and tax cuts will quickly help low and middle-income Americans who need spending money right away. Also, small businesses would be able to write off twice as much this year and next than the current $125,000 limit. And for companies that are suffering losses right now, tax cuts of $17 billion over 10 years would be allowed.
Now, of course, Tony, got to point it out, that this is just the House version. The House is set to vote on the package tomorrow. Two committees are taking it up in the -- for the Senate version today. So we are not done with how this may all end up in the final run.
HARRIS: You are awesome. Thank you, Stephanie. Good to see you.
ELAM: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: You know, despite a slew of layoffs and cut backs, would you believe some professions are actually hiring and for relatively big bucks. Here's CNN's Gerri Willis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some 71,000 jobs have been eliminated this year and thousands move just this morning. If you're looking for a job, you may be wondering which vocations pay well. Payscale.com came up with a list of six-figure jobs with education requirements that won't send you back to school for four years. To be clear, you may not make $100,000 immediately, but you have a good shot at a six- figure income if you're a top performer.
Here they are. Air traffic controllers can earn up to $186,000 a year once you get through the FAA training, drug screening and background checks. This is a job for people with the steadiest of nerves.
Plumbers, pipe fitters, steam fitters can make up to $130,000 if you can put up with the late hours. You'll need an apprenticeship, technical college or community college training. But the goods in is there will be shortages in the future.
Police detectives can earn up to $110,000, are required to log one to two years of college course work. Now the job is dangerous and stressful.
Among the many health care jobs in the high-paying category are ultrasound technicians who can earn up to $110,000. Better yet, this vocation is recession-proof. Training is done in hospitals.
Another in-demand vocation, court reporters. These are government jobs that can pay up to $104,000. The downside, getting down testimony verbatim, well, it can be stressful. The job requires a minimum of two years of training.
Finding a new job that pays well is never easy. But if you're flexible and tailor your search to vocations that are in demand, you have a better shot at landing a job.
Gerri Willis, CNN, New York.
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HARRIS: Another major story we're following for you, icy weather adding up to some tough traveling conditions. We've got the latest on delays at the airports.
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HARRIS: Take a look at this. A FedEx plane, trying to land in light freezing rain, crashed and caught fire at the Lubbock, Texas, airport. It happened this morning. Two crew members were on-board. Both walked away, we're happy to say, with what appeared to be minor injuries. That's according to a FedEx spokeswoman. They were taken to an area hospital. No word yet on what caused the crash.
The truth is, winter weather is affecting air travel across much of the nation. There she is, our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, checking in with us.
And, Jacqui, if you would, what are you seeing there?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, right now the airways have cleared up a little bit, Tony. We had a plethora of delays this morning. Right now we're only reporting about 30-minute delays in Atlanta. That's arrival delays because of the low clouds and fog.
We do have some minor de-icing delays in places like Baltimore, Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Philadelphia and Louisville. But, you know, that's about 20 minutes maybe. So not too bad.
It's the roadways. We're starting to get so many reports of accidents. And, you know, the roadways turn into skating rinks in this type of a situation. We're looking at I-44 across Oklahoma into Missouri. We're looking at I-64 through parts of Indiana, on over into Kentucky. I-65, I-24 here is where we're seeing big concerns.
Now we're also looking at some of the thickest ice accumulations pushing into western Kentucky at this time. We're getting reports of between three-quarters of an inch to about an inch of ice right between Madisonville, down towards Hopkinsville, Kentucky. And we've got a report of a very serious accident there where the road is actually closed. This is the Brethet (ph) Parkway, due to a truck crash. And that's been going on for about three hours now to give you an idea of just how severe this is. We're also getting many, many reports now of power lines down. That the trees are snapping and they're blocking the roadways and they're bringing down the power lines.
Let's show you what's going on in some other states. We've got a road report for you from the state of Missouri right now. Basically what you need to know here is everything in pink is either ice or snow- covered. So this is the major thoroughfares. We've got 44 here, we've got 55 here, and then this is 70. When you get to Columbia, things are better and you're doing OK right now also into the Kansas City area. In Oklahoma, it's kind of touch-and-go and it's a little bit more spotty, but we're getting reports of 900 traffic accidents in the last two days just because of this.
All right. We want to get a little action in from our i-Reporters. A huge thanks for those of you that have ben braving the elements and taking some great pictures for us. Ben Garrott from Katees (ph), Kentucky, took this picture at 7:00 this morning. He says he canceled his morning plans and decided to stay home and stay out of the ice. He said he's doing OK at his house. He has power. But many of his neighbors do not. And also a buddy of his had a tree fall on his back porch. And there you can just see that ice weighing down those power lines. We'll talk a little bit more about power coming up in the next hour.
HARRIS: Nice, Jacqui. Appreciate it. Thank you.
President Obama moved aggressively yesterday to put his green action plan into motion. He ordered the EPA to reconsider whether individual states can set their own vehicle emission standards. Would that lead to higher car prices or big savings at the gas pump? Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" from New York.
Good to see you, Poppy. POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Tony.
You know, it's not a done deal yet, but a big announcement from President Obama yesterday. And if he gets his way, California and more than a dozen other states will adopt their own fuel emission guidelines. They'll be tougher than the federal standard is right now.
Now the National Auto Dealers Association says this will create problems because there could be a patchwork of regulations. Of course meeting each state's individual requirements, that will take more money. Some say it could cost billions and they say it could lead to fewer cars and fewer choices of those vehicles in the showrooms and also higher prices.
In terms of how much more this could cost you and me, it's anyone's guess right now. The estimate -- big range of estimates, from $1,000 to $10,000 tacked on to the current price of a vehicle, Tony. So a lot of guesses out there right now.
HARRIS: Yes, it sounds like it. But we would also save money, too, wouldn't we, Poppy, by buying less gas. So, at the end of the day, would it all equal out?
HARLOW: That's what proponents of this change are saying. One environmentalist that we spoke with yesterday said, listen, the up- front cost would be offset at least partially, especially if we see a spike in gas prices like we did this summer. Take a listen to what he told me.
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DAVID YARNOLD, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: The automakers have consistently high-balled their estimates of what innovation costs and they're capable, just as the rest of the economy is capable, of producing fabulous new innovations, creating new jobs and putting money in Americans' pockets. They will ultimately cause American taxpayers to save hundreds of dollars at the pump. This is a win-win.
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HARLOW: Well, that's his view, but a lot of people have different views than that. Even more important though, Tony, than the gas savings. President Obama says this will help the automakers prepare for the future. We've heard so much about viable U.S. automakers going forward. It's going to force them, in fact, to put smaller cars, more hybrids, new technology in showrooms in just a couple of years and also President Obama says lessen America's dependence on foreign oil.
Keep in mind, it's likely that California and a group of other states would agree on one standard, not every state having their own standard. That's a big concern about this, too, Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Poppy Harlow for us. And, Poppy, good to see you. Thank you. HARLOW: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Let's go quickly now to our congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar for an update on the meeting that is going on right now, President Obama and House Republicans.
Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And we understand, Tony, that questions, the Q&A between House Republicans and President Obama has just started. But this, according to a Republican aide inside the meeting, that Obama started as expected addressing House Republicans and really trying to convey a sense of urgency that this economic stimulus package needs to get up and running to avoid massive layoffs. He was stressing, according to this aide, how the economy is not doing well, how it's deteriorating. He named, for instance, recent layoffs at Caterpillar and Microsoft and talked about how economists have a consensus that an economic stimulus package needs to be passed very quickly in order to avoid these layoffs.
He also told House Republicans that spending has a bigger bang for the buck than tax cuts. And this is one of the key issues, the key points of disagreement, Tony, between Republicans and Democrats, between Republicans and the Obama team on this. And I'm actually -- of course I should mention this is from a Republican aide. So as this goes on and we hear from Democrats or from the Obama team, obviously, they may have a different take on some of this.
But we understand that one of the first questions has been asked, "can we find some more common ground on tax relief?" And so we're going to keep you posted, Tony, as we get this information from inside this meeting. I should tell you right now that we are at this location where you may not recognize because we are outside the meeting where President Obama is meeting with House Republicans, where he is expected to come by this area that we're at and then go over to speak with Senate Republicans. But this back-and-forth question and answer session right now going on with House Republicans behind me.
HARRIS: Terrific, Brianna, keep us posted. Thank you.
And just moments ago, the Senate got its newest member. Kirsten Gillibrand was named to the Senate last Friday by New York's governor. She replaces Hillary Clinton, who is now President Obama's secretary of state. Gillibrand, at 42, is the youngest member of the Senate and the body's 17th woman. Only one Senate seat, the one from Minnesota, remains undecided.
You know, it is a long way up the mountain when you're trying to climb out of a recession. Richard Quest is searching for the best path.
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HARRIS: The World Economic Forum starts tomorrow in Davos, Switzerland. Business leaders and politicians hoping to come up with a grand solution to our economic problems. CNN's Richard Quest equates that to skiing those Swiss mountains. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Some go down slowly, others quite fast. There are those who can't stay upright. At some point, we all find ourselves navigating a route from economic disaster. And like today's economic numbers, everything is headed downwards.
The issue is, once we are at the bottom, how do we get back up again?
The most popular ways involve moving the greatest number of people the fastest. Like the giant cable car trains. It's like the Obama- proposed stimulus package.
Think about it. It's very big. It carries a lot of people. And it's moving everyone in one direction at the same time. If it works, it will get us out of the trough and half-way up the mountainside.
There are other ways up the mountain, back to economic growth. For instance, the European response looks more like the chair lift. Everyone doing their own things, hopefully in a coordinated way. It's often harder to see the common direction. Like the chair lift, it's a long way down. The hope is that one of us on the chair lift doesn't drop something or fall off on the way.
Individual industries look more like the tee bar lift. Whether it's car companies or banks being bailed out, it is slow and steady and, as always, the risk of falling off.
For individuals, it's going to feel like they're slogging their way back up the mountain with snowshoes.
Ultimately, it's clear, whether headed up or down, like this mountain, we're all in this together. Eventually, economic growth will start again. The path upwards becomes smoother, like that of the giant gondola. From the darkness we will emerge and ready to do it all over again.
Whichever method is used or route taken, it will be several years before we're economically back on top again. The hope here at Davos is that those attending this year's forum will have learned that terrible lessons of the slide down below.
Richard Quest, CNN, Davos, Switzerland.
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HARRIS: One company managing to do well in these trying economic times.
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HARRIS: You know, many Americans have found a way to get their movie fix without paying theater prices. Translation -- Netflix is doing really, really well in this terrible economy. The online movie rental company just posted a 45 percent gain in fourth-quarter profits, earning $23 million in the last three months of 2008. Subscriptions up 26 percent from the year before.
