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Senate to Consider Recovery Bill; Taxes a Potential Stumbling Block for Daschle Nomination; Government Actively Hiring Despite Economic Crisis; Senator Argues for CEO Salary Caps
Aired February 02, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Four percent, 30-year home loans, 90-day freezes on foreclosures. When it comes to the economy many in the Senate believe recovery begins at home.
But what about jobs? So many out-of-work Americans seize few opportunities, but many overlook Uncle Sam. He's hiring as fast as he can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, if you're a big thud out of Washington an hour from now, it's the American Recovery and Reinvestment act hitting the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Live pictures now.
President Obama's economic stimulus plan is the size of a Harry Potter novel, but there's nothing magical about it. It almost -- well, at almost $900 billion, the Senate version is even larger than the bill that cleared the house last week without a single Republican vote.
Among the many changes to look for in the Senate is a focus on boosting home sales and curbing foreclosures.
Senators have some new stats to chew on, as well. The government reports a record slump in consumer spending: six straight months of declines, including a 1 percent plunge in December alone.
We also learned today that the bottom fell out for construction last year, in home building especially. Both fell by record amounts.
Well, the president plans to do more lobbying today, this time at his place, and this time just talking with Democrats. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux will be watching, of course.
Suzanne, the president says that today only very modest differences separate stimulus supporters from proponents, rather. Is that the case? SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yes, they have a long way to go, and what we're hearing is the president is kind of downplaying those differences, saying they're moderate differences.
But he did meet with Republican Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont this morning here at the White House. And essentially, he is the vice chair of the National Governors Association. And he believes that this governor can help him out in winning support for other Republican senators.
This is a Republican governor who supports the president's economic stimulus package, so he's certainly hoping that perhaps he'll be able to pick off a few of them.
The problem was here, and the lesson learned from the last go- round, Kyra, is that the House Democrats largely crafted the legislation on their own. The Republicans complained loudly that there were things inside that bill that had nothing to do with creating jobs right away. The president intervened, but some folks saying perhaps a little too late.
Now what we're seeing is President Obama again personally involved, not only in reaching out to these Republicans who seem to be sympathetic, but also the Democrats. He's going to be hosting the Democratic leadership here at the White House, and here's how he is framing the debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The recovery package that we are moving forward is designed to provide states relief, make sure the people laid off from their jobs are still able to get unemployment insurance, still able to get health care, and that we are putting in place the infrastructure, rebuilding roads, bridges, waterways, other projects at the state levels that allow us to put people back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Kyra, later today what is he going to tell these Democrats? Essentially, he is going to tell them these are the ideas that I like from the Republicans. Increasing credit for homeowners who are first buying their homes from $7,500 to $15,000, that that's a good idea.
Another Republican idea, the alternative minimum tax patch, essentially, a tax that would be on the middle-class taxpayers. It is meant to only tax the wealthiest. They're going to put that on hold. That is something that the president also believes is a good idea that's coming from the Republican side. Some Democrats also supporting that.
And then he's going to look to the Democrats and say, "What can we cut out of this $900 billion plan? What can we pull away?" And that, Kyra, is going be the difficult part of the negotiations.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow it all. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks.
If you're counting this, this is just Groundhog Day. It's day 14 of the Obama administration.
After its usual morning briefings, the president talked Issue No. 1 with the Republican governor of Vermont, who also happens to be vice chair of the National Governors Association.
Later this hour, he will meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates over plans to send 15,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
And later still, he and Vice President Biden will bring in the leaders of Congress to try to win votes for the economic stimulus plan.
Well, she's been confirmed. She's met the staff, and she's started work today. Hillary Clinton gets a formal swearing in as secretary of state. Eric Holder's not yet confirmed as attorney general, but that's also expected later today. And despite his role in some controversial pardons by President Clinton, the Senate panel voted 17-2 to recommend him.
Will the president turn to Republicans to head the Commerce Department? GOP Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire is said to be a done deal for commerce secretary nominee.
And speaking of deals, Gregg's fellow Senate Republicans seem pretty convinced that New Hampshire's Democratic governor will replace him with a Republican if he is, in fact, picked and confirmed confirmed. If the governor were to choose a Democrat, it would pad the Democratic majority to 59, and should al Franken win his recount find in Minnesota, that would make 60, a filibuster-proof super majority.
Instead, Gregg's successor reportedly will be a former top aide.
Tom Daschle has some explaining to do. He's meeting today with the Senate Finance Committee behind closed doors to talk about that 120 grand in taxes that he initially didn't pay. Daschle was nominated to head up health and human services. The big question is, is his tax embarrassment a deal breaker?
Here's CNN's Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM DASCHLE, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY NOMINEE: Has anybody chosen not to see a doctor because you didn't want to pay the bill?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): During the presidential transition, the man tapped to fix the nation's health- care system, Tom Daschle, was busy meeting with community groups to hear their medical issues.
But Daschle also spent some of that time quietly paying $140,000 in taxes and interest he owed to the IRS, something he did only after nominated as secretary of health and human services.
Republicans say Daschle, a former Senate majority leader, who's made millions in the health-care industry and whose wife is a Washington lobbyist, should have known better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see now why liberals don't mind if the tax rate goes up because they're not going to pay it anyway.
ACOSTA: Daschle's mistake? He failed to report income in the form of a free car service provided by media executive Leo Henry. He also didn't pay taxes on consulting fees due to a reporting mistake made by Henry's company.
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes, but they were unintentional.
ACOSTA: Just one day after President Obama was sworn in, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was on Capitol Hill admitting he had failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. Geithner was confirmed.
SEN. JON KYL (R-AZ), MINORITY WHIP: I just wonder if President Bush had nominated these people what the folks would be saying about that.
ACOSTA: During the campaign, Mr. Obama promised to reform Washington's ways.
OBAMA: Reform isn't just the rhetoric of a campaign; it's been one of the causes of my career.
ACOSTA: On his first full day in office, the president signed an executive order, placing new ethics guidelines on his staff. Even Democrats say Daschle's tax troubles fight that reform message.
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It's obvious it was not intentional, but it's also embarrassing and not helpful.
ACOSTA: Not helpful, but perhaps not fatal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Former Senate majority leaders get confirmed by the Senate even when they forget to pay $128,000 in taxes.
ACOSTA (on camera): Daschle, who's still waiting to be confirmed, is scheduled to meet with the Senate Finance Committee later today behind closed doors. Despite a tax issue that might have killed other nominations, leading Senate Democrats say Daschle is still very much alive.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Kentucky struggling for a sense of normalcy today after a crippling ice storm. At least 16 people are dead. More than a quarter of a million people still without power. Forty-six hundred National Guardsmen are clearing trees. going house to house to check on residents.
Farther north, parts of Ohio are wrapped in a thick mantle of ice. But thing are better than in Kentucky. National Guard troops are picking up dozens of Humvees from Ohio to be used in relief efforts in the Bluegrass State.
And check out the damaged gas stage at Rogers, (ph) Arkansas. It was sent in by one of our iReporters, Barbara Rademacher. The storm is blamed for more than 40 deaths across nine states.
And another winter wallop on the way for some folks. Let's get straight to meteorologist Chad Myers. He's checked it all out for us.
Hey, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Frigid, that's just -- the name for the word. Can't be better than that because it's a lake-effect snow-making machine. And temperatures for Chicago, 18, but it will feel like about 5 below with the wind chill -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: That is cold.
MYERS: Yes, it is.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Well, Wall Street executives may be getting a pay cut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CLAIR MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: They don't get it. These people are idiots.
PHILLIPS: Will the rest of Washington get behind a senator's move to limit CEOs salaries? We're going to ask Senator Claire McCaskill when she joins me live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, tens of thousands of layoffs just in 2009 alone, but somebody's hiring. We're going to tell you who.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So what do you do when you're facing a whopping $42 billion budget deficit? If you're California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, you sit down with legislative leaders and try once again to find a solution. That's just what they're doing today.
The state with the world's eighth largest economy is quite simply running out of money. State tax refunds are being delayed 30 days. And just last week a judge signed off on an order that will force state workers to take two days off each month without pay. That order takes effect on Friday. Almost a quarter million workers will feel that pain.
And still hiring in the middle of all the layoffs? One employer is looking for workers during these tough times. It's Uncle Sam.
Here's CNN's Kate Bolduan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pink slips keep piling up. The Labor Department reports a record 4.78 million people continue to claim unemployment benefits. But while so many companies are cutting jobs, one employer is hiring in a big way: Uncle Sam.
JOE ARATA, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Intelligence people. We're looking for human resource personnel. We're looking for mechanics.
BOLDUAN: Joe Arata is with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, one of the many federal agencies looking for workers. So much so that agency held career days across the country this weekend with the goal of filling 11,000 jobs.
ARATA: I think that patriotism is a great seller for CBP, and a lot of times that's one of the best reasons.
BOLDUAN: Patriotism is the draw for some job seekers at this event in Washington, but the economy is undoubtedly part of the equation. Jim McCartin has been in the private sector for the last 15 years.
JIM MCCARTIN, JOB SEEKER: I have a family, so the insecurity of the corporate world has weighed on my head a little bit, weighed on my mind.
JI KWON, JOB SEEKER: It's almost like no job is safe out there, but the federal government job is pretty secure, and it's also something you can feel good about doing.
BOLDUAN: They're not alone. Last month, the FBI announced a hiring blitz, posting nearly 3,000 job openings, the largest since immediately after 9/11. And the agency received 90,000 applicants.
The CIA is running television ads like this one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Care to join them?
BOLDUAN: Federal employment specialist Kathryn Troutman says so much pain in the private sector and a new administration coming in is the drive behind a surge of interest in government work.
KATHRYN TROUTMAN, THE RESUME PLACE: Huge number of first-timers. Private industry to federal is more than half of our client base now. Also, military to federal is always very important.
BOLDUAN (on camera): So why all the job openings? Well, some argue it's growing government, but a study released last year by the nonpartisan group Partnership for Public Service reports it's an aging workforce. According to the study, by 2012, the federal government will lose more than half a million employees, the majority to retirement.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCASKILL: These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, are Wall Street CEOs idiots or are they just taking advantage of American free enterprise? Senator Claire McCaskill says that they are self-indulgent money grubbers, and she wants to put a cap in their assets if you know what I mean. The Missouri Democrat joins me now, live from Capitol Hill.
Good to see you, Senator.
MCCASKILL: Thank you for having me.
PHILLIPS: All right. I'm going to get to what you're -- you're proposing to do here in just a second. But let's talk about these assets for a minute of these CEOs. I'm looking at the numbers. And according to the Standard and Poor's Index, the average CEO makes $10.5 million. And we calculated: that's $5,048 an hour.
Now, I just want to play devil's advocate for a minute. You know, this is America. It's a democracy. It's a land of opportunity. People believe if you can make it, take it.
MCCASKILL: Oh, I couldn't agree more. And the minute the taxpayers are not funding their institutions they should go back to making as much as their boards will let them make.
I'm not here to say that private industry doesn't have the right to control its salaries. I'm here to say that if you're going to take hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money, you've got to tighten your belt and start behaving like you get it.
PHILLIPS: All right. So let's talk about your Cap Executive Officer Pay Act of 2009. What exactly are you saying should happen?
MCCASKILL: I'm saying that as long as they are taking money from taxpayers, hundreds and bills of dollars in taxpayer money in order for them to survive, they can't make more than the president of the United States.
PHILLIPS: So more than $400,000?
MCCASKILL: Correct. Now, once they pay back the taxpayers, then it's none of our business. But for now, while we're on the hook, with the kind of money we've invested in these institutions, they owe us more than a fancy jet and an expensive wastebasket.
PHILLIPS: Have any of the CEOs responded to you? We made a number of calls here. We called AIG, B of A, Citigroup. We haven't gotten any type of response. No one would want to come on and talk or debate you or talk about this with me or with you. Have any of them responded to you after you called them out?
MCCASKILL: I actually -- I ran into one of these people at a function in Washington over the weekend. And he walked up to me and he said, "You know, Claire, I'm not an idiot."
And I said, "Well, what you're doing appears that way." You've got to figure out that it's not just what you are doing to make your company survive; it's how it looks to the rest of the world.
This is about confidence. If people in America are so angry they can't think straight, they're not going to ever have the confidence we need to turn this economy around. So we've got to clean up this act.
PHILLIPS: All right. Former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, Senator, had this to say about what you're proposing. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NYC MAYOR: It does have a reverse effect on the economy if you somehow take that bonus out of the economy. It really will create unemployment. It means less spending in restaurants, less spending in department stores. So everything has an impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Does he have a point?
MCCASKILL: Well, you know, he obviously comes from a different world than I come from. In Missouri, our employment plan does not mean paying a handful of people tens upon millions of dollars. It means good jobs, good education, building roads and bridges. There's all kinds of ways we can stimulate the economy. Frankly, making sure people can buy really expensive champagne, that doesn't wash where I come from.
PHILLIPS: You don't like Dom Perignon?
MCCASKILL: Listen, not now. Not when we're facing these kinds of problems.
PHILLIPS: Of course.
MCCASKILL: Not if you're getting money from the government. PHILLIPS: So do you think this will pass? What type of support, what type of -- is anybody saying, "We're not going to support this. We don't like your idea"?
MCCASKILL: Well, there have been a lot of my colleagues that have called this morning wanting to look at the bill and sign on the bill. Our phones are ringing off the hook. E-mails from everywhere around the country.
And I have -- I'm going to continue to work with the administration to find some -- some way that we can move this idea forward. Some limitation is needed. And whether it's my idea or somebody else's idea, I just know that we need to put some limitations on what these guys can make until they've paid us back.
PHILLIPS: All right. Senator Claire McCaskill, we'll follow and see what happens.
MCCASKILL: OK.
PHILLIPS: And if, indeed, it passes we'll talk again. Appreciate your time.
MCCASKILL: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. A candidate makes a lot of promises on the campaign trail. Now a Web site says that President Obama has broken his first promise since taking office. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Right now, Dow Industrials down 69 points. It's also posted the worst January performance in the 113-year history of the famed average, and February isn't getting off to a good start either.
Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange with a closer look.
Hey, Steph.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.
Yes, it was not only the worst January ever for the Dow and the S&P 500 but also the fifth month in a row of declines for the indices, and it wasn't pretty. Both of those averages erased more than 8 percent of their value last month, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ tumbled more than 6 percent.
Now, of the Dow 30 stocks, only two posted gains. That would be IBM and Kraft Foods. While financial stocks Bank of America and Citigroup -- no surprise here -- led the declines with losses of roughly 50 percent. That's five-zero.
So if you're a believer of the theory that says, as January goes, so goes the year, well, '09 could be a rough one, no doubt. That theory, known as the January Effect, has been right about 75 percent of the time. Let's go ahead and take a look at the big board and see the numbers right now. The Dow, off the worst levels of the day, off 78 points to 7,921. NASDAQ better by a little more than half a percent right now at 1,484, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, you've told us over and over again these losses are tied to the flood of bad economic data that we've been getting. Are you still -- you still continuing with that?
ELAM: If I could sing, I would say it's not over between the Dow and...
PHILLIPS: You're not going to sing "The Beat Goes On"?
ELAM: I'm not going to sing. I'm not going to sing that either, no. I'll still going to save all of our viewers out there.
But it's true. It's not -- we're not done with the bad news. The latest reading on personal spending shows a greater than expected 1 percent drop in December. Spending has now dropped for a sixth month in a row.
And while consumers are spending less, they're saving more. And in the wake of an even worsening recession, it makes sense for them, but it's not good news for the economy. While it may work for individuals, the broader economy needs consumers to ramp up their spending to stimulate growth and lead to more hiring. And we certainly need that.
With just a few minutes, or I should say just a few minutes ago we got some breaking news here about Macy's. They say they plan to cut 7,000 jobs. That's about 4 percent of their workforce. And they're going to cut the size of their dividend payments. When this news came out, Macy's stock just fell off a cliff, and it is now off 11 percent, Kyra.
So, obviously, more jitters still going throughout the retail sector of the market, too.
PHILLIPS: All right. Stephanie, thanks.
Well, let's get news now from medicine and new developments in that massive salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter. Kroger is now recalling all store-baked or store-packaged foods made with peanut butter products. The supermarket chain has stores in 31 states.
So far eight deaths are linked to that outbreak, which has been traced to a Georgia plant, run by the Peanut Corporation of America. More than 500 people have gotten sick now, and President Obama is promising a review of the FDA, which is responsible for inspecting food processing plants.
And a new recall also to tell you about. Phillips Mushroom Farms asking consumers to return packages of enoki mushrooms because of concerns about listeria contaminations. So far, no illnesses are reported. The packages have been following the UPC codes 3338367540. Those mushrooms were sold in clear plastic bags between January 13 and the 30th, by the way.
And hard at work at R&R -- well, hard at work on R&R. That's recovery and reinvestment, and the U.S. Senate plans to work it over, big-time. We're following the dollars and the debate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, there's something for everybody in the almost $900 billion economic rescue plan that hits the Senate floor next hour, so nobody's entirely happy with it. Critics in both parties want to trim and/or change the spending and boost and/or change the tax cuts. Look for a push by both parties to focus more on housing, stimulating consumers.
It will be a hard sell, by the way. The Commerce Department says that consumer spending fell in December for a sixth straight month, and that's a record. Well, do you want more? 2008 saw record drops in home building and construction spending overall.
And Kentucky is looking for relief after a devastating ice storm, blamed for at least 16 deaths in that state. Thousands of National Guard troops are going door to door to check on residents. Others are clearing away downed trees which snapped power lines. Mourn a quarter of a million people are still without electricity today. And in Logan, Ohio, some Red Cross shelters are closing as power is restored there and more residents return to their homes.
Another winter storm is also on the way. Meteorologist Chad Myers following that for us. Chad, what do you have?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, I have a cold air mass that's going to ooze down from the north, Kyra. And when it does that, it's going to start shaking these trees that are still covered in ice across Kentucky.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you're counting, this isn't just Groundhog Day, it's day 14 of the Obama administration. After his usual morning briefings, the president talks issue number one with the Republican governor of Vermont, who also happens to be vice chair of the National Governors Association. And later this hour, he's going to meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates over plans to send 15,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Later still, he and Vice President Biden will bring in the leaders of Congress to try to win votes for the economic stimulus plan.
President Obama has officially broken his first promise since taking office, according to the Web site politifact.com. That declaration made some people angry. Josh Levs explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We love politicfact here. They're our brethren in reality checking. We keep a close eye on them. And one thing that they've done is they've created a thing called the Obamater. And they have it all listed over here, "Obama's Campaign Promises." And you can see they've put together more than 500 promises that he made while he was campaigning.
Well, something has just happened that's brand-new, and that is they are now saying that the president has broken one of his promises. Here to tell us about that, Bill Adair of politifact.com. Bill, are you with us?
BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: I can hear you.
LEVS: All right, great. Thanks for being here. So, tell me about this. You guys are stating that President Obama has broken a campaign promise. What's that about?
ADAIR: Well, what we do on Politifact with the Obameter is keep track of all of his promises. We came up with 510. And the first one that he broke was one where he had said he would post bills on the White House Web site and give a five-day comment period before signing them.
But he didn't do that with this first bill. His first bill, as I'm sure many of your viewers know, was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
LEVS: Right. We have some video of him signing that the other day. So, what this boils down to, basically, is when he signed this, right, he did not post it for five days in advance to allow public comments. And you guys are pointing out that he had said any nonemergency legislation he would post for five days in advance.
ADAIR: Exactly. And so clearly, this one didn't meet the promise that he had made, so we rated it as our first promise broken on our Obamater.
LEVS: All right. So, did you contact the White House? Did you ask them about that?
ADAIR: We did. Boy, they've been busy there. They haven't had e-mail for much of the first week and a half in office. So we haven't actually heard any response from them. But we did hear from a lot of Obama supporters who were very unhappy with us.
LEVS: I want to talk to you about that. Let's zoom back in on the board behind me. Look at the headline. This is one thing that really struck me and one reason I want to talk to you. This is your headline now, "Are you freaking serious?" at politifact.com.
And you pointed to some e-mail that you received from some viewers out there who were not happy that you're declaring this a broken promise. Why did you guys decide to lead with this and to post them online?
ADAIR: Well, we wanted to give our readers a voice on the site, and so -- and they had some very strong feelings about this. Some people felt it was in one way or another an emergency or that we should cut him some slack. And so, we thought we'd do that to have some fun and give them a voice for the weekend.
LEVS: Understood. Well, we will point out that overall, you're giving him really good ratings so far, mostly promises kept. You only have one promise broken. We'll see where things go from here. Bill Adair, thank you so much for joining us today.
ADAIR: Thanks for having me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Iraqis are slapping themselves on the back today and getting praise from President Obama for a job well done. Counting is underway right now from Saturday's provincial elections, the first held in four years. Unlike the last election, this one was peaceful. Voter turnout was around 51 percent of Iraq's nearly 15 million eligible voters. And many votes this time were women, for good reason too. Some 4,000 women were on the ballots.
Early projections show that Iraq's main Shiite party and other religious parties suffered a setback at the hands of secular parties. Many Iraqis blame the religious parties for flaming sectarian tensions. And preliminary results are expected within five days. A final count by the end of the month. We'll bring them to you.
And when Iraqis voted in provincial elections four years ago, the country was locked in civil war, so it's not hard to imagine the reaction to the stark difference this time around. Here's how two Iraqis put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (speaking through translator): The elections were democratic and pleasant. We hope such elections will lead to some change toward reconstruction, though there were mistakes and delays.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (speaking through translator): Thanks be to God the elections were successful. They were better than in 2005. The elections have passed peacefully.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And a factor no doubt contributing to the peaceful air of the election, violence is on the decline. In fact, the Iraqi government says 138 civilians were killed in violence in January. That's the lowest monthly level since the U.S. invasion in 2003.
New fighting in Gaza despite a two-week-old cease-fire. Israeli airstrikes hit a police station and some tunnels in an aree controlled by Hamas yesterday. Israel says that the tunnels are used to smuggle weapons from Egypt into the Hamas-controlled territory.
Israel says the attacks were in response to rockets being fired from that area that wounded three Israelis. And despite the latest attacks, the all-out fighting between Israel and militants in Gaza is over for now. On the minds of many Gaza residents is just one thing, rebuilding. But there's one major sticking point. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports from Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks like a natural disaster. But this was manmade. And piece by piece, it has to come down before it can be rebuilt. But no matter how many countries pledge reconstruction aid, it means little if Israel does not fully and permanently open the border crossings.
ADNAN ABU HASNA, UNWRA SPOKESMAN: Opening of the terminal, it's not a political issue, it is a humanitarian issue.
HANCOCKS: It's been an issue for 18 months.
HASNA: All the building materials, we need cement, we need iron, we need doors, we need keys, we need everything. All the building -- but nothing is allowed to get into Gaza. This is the problem.
HANCOCKS: Manpower's not a problem here. Some estimate unemployment could now stand at 80 percent. And the expertise is here. Many worked in the construction industry in Israel in more peaceful times. But a large number of factories were destroyed in Israel's three-week operation. Israel claims weapons were stored in the factories they bombed. Tasia Abu Eda (ph) claims not one weapon crossed the threshold of his cement factory in Jabalia.
TASIA ABU EDA (ph): Most of this -- this building --
HANCOCKS: He says of the 27 factories in Gaza, 17 were damaged or destroyed. I ask him how can Gaza rebuild with so many factories leveled. He says, we hope there'll be political agreement and peace for the area. After that, rebuilding the factory is the easy part.
Abu Eda's family also lost seven houses. One was kept standing for Israeli soldiers to base themselves in and to leave messages in.
(on camera): This cement factory in the Zaytu (ph) neighborhood of Gaza City has been closed for a year and a half just waiting for building materials to be allowed in to Gaza. But now all of its trucks are destroyed, at least a dozen of them tipped over by Israeli bulldozers.
(voice-over): The immediate concern for Gaza is food and shelter. The United Nations Rights and Works Agency estimates tens of thousands of people are homeless, and 80 percent of crops have been destroyed. But Gazans do not want to rely on handouts forever. They want to rebuild their lives.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jabalia, Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And a community swarmed a local stadium to welcome the troops home, then the soldiers returned to the parking lot to find a nasty surprise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, check out what a natural gas explosion did to this house overnight in Milwaukee. Boom, and gone. There were four people in the house at the time, and get this, none of them was hurt. Pretty amazing, especially when you see how this place was just blown to bits. Neighbors had reported a gas smell about 90 minutes before that blast.
Well, a couple of 16-year-old boys in St. Petersburg are in a heap of trouble. Police say the destructive duo set 15 fires across the city, mostly to vehicles, and used molotov cocktails to do it. All this happened within a two-hour period. Detectives are looking for more suspects.
And authorities are trying to keep things cool at a federal prison in Pecos, Texas. A riot broke out there Saturday, the second in two months. This is a federal prison run by a private company that holds more than 2,400 inmates.
Well, they risked their lives in the war zone, but that didn't stop some National Guardsmen from getting a nasty surprise after a welcome home ceremony. Their cars were towed. Richard Essex at CNN affiliate WTHR has the story from Indianapolis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ESSEX, WTHR REPORTER (voice-over): This group of soldiers standing out in the cold, they're all waiting to pay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $165, U.S. cash.
ESSEX: All of these people in uniform are members of the Indiana National Guard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all these people, there's over 25 people that's got their car towed from that lot.
ESSEX: All of them had their cars or trucks removed from this White Castle parking lot after a welcome-home ceremony at Lucas Oil Stadium. They say the manager had given them permission to park there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came home and, you know, we get told we can park there, and it was fine. The manager said it was fine at White Castle down the road. And the next thing we know we come out from our ceremony, our welcome home, and it was like a welcome home present. The car was gone.
ESSEX: As if getting your car towed wasn't bad enough, a lot of them had to walk three blocks in the snow, some of them with small children in tow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I used to come up to Indy at least once a week just to go to White Castle. No more. ESSEX: We asked the manager what happened, and she referred us to Jamie Richardson with the White Castle Corporation.
JAMIE RICHARDSON, WHITE CASTLE VICE PRESIDENT: What we didn't realize, and what we are really feverishly working to make right is, we didn't know necessarily that this was related to an event welcoming our troops who were coming home, which we have the utmost respect and support of.
ESSEX: This White Castle lot is prime parking for any event at Lucas Oil Stadium. It's just a block east. They say out of respect for their customers, they monitor the lot round the clock, and there are no-parking signs posted.
RICHARDSON: But you know, the last thing we want to do is have something like this be their welcome home.
ESSEX: The soldiers say they had permission. The company says they're going to pay up.
RICHARDSON: What we're going to do is cover the towing cost of every car that was towed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, so far, White Castle has reimbursed towing charges for at least ten of those soldiers. The company also plans to send letters of apology and gift cards to all the troops whose cars were towed.
Well, the only thing perhaps as surreal as seeing a passenger jet floating down the Hudson River might be seeing it going down the street. That's the fuselage of US Airways Flight 1549, as iReporter Eugene Ababio saw it. It was being moved to a storage facility in New Jersey. As you might have seen yesterday, the pilot and crew were honored at the Super Bowl.
Well, feeling super, speaking of Super Bowl, Pittsburgh Steelers fans hit the streets to celebrate their team's big Super Bowl win.
(CROWD CHEERING)
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PHILLIPS: Straight to the White House briefing. Let's listen in.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Ed, come on, let's go quickly to your desk. How are you guys? Happy Groundhog Day. Let me make a couple of quick announcements and some stuff, and then we'll take some of your questions.
At the invitation of Senator Dick Durbin, President Obama will travel to Springfield, Illinois, on Tuesday, February 12th to attend the commemoration of Lincoln's 200th birthday. He will attend and speak at the banquet there, for your travel-planning purposes. Secondly, the president spoke with, and we'll have a readout shortly, with Prime Minister Maliki and President Talabani in Iraq this morning, so we'll have some more information on that. And then before I take questions, let me just go through -- obviously this is another important week for the economic recovery package as it winds its way now through the Senate. You saw the president met with NGA Vice Chair Republican Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont, who I think spoke to the needs of the people that live in his state, in Vermont.
They've seen the unemployment rate go from 3.9 percent one year ago to 6.4 percent last month. We'll get new economic and unemployment numbers as you well know, on Friday. But the president understands, and I think Congress does, too, that the American people are hurting and are in need of some help. Each and every day, we hear and the American people hear the stats, the government statistics that underscore the challenges that we face as a people and that we face as a country.
The president is pleased with the package that passed the House. Undoubtedly, that package will be strengthened and changed some through the process, but it meets the test that the president laid out originally to first and foremost, create jobs immediately, and to strengthen for the long term our economic growth. Again, first and foremost, the plan the president believes will save or create three or four million new jobs -- three or four million jobs and put people immediately back to work, which is what's needed in this economy.
The plan also invests in the jobs of tomorrow through long-term investments, as I said, to help sustainable economic growth. One example is alternative energy, doubling renewable energy generating capacity in just three years and make ourselves less dependent on foreign oil. Secondly, the bill contains, not just for a bill this size but for any piece of legislation, unprecedented accountability and transparency.
There are no earmarks in this bill. The information on the projects that will be funded in this legislation will be available online, as you know, at www.recovery.gov. There will be an oversight board that will monitor the progress of each project and address any problems that are involved early and aggressively.
Third, as you know, there's a major investment in this plan in infrastructure. The Senate bill alone contains about $123 billion. Again, that will create jobs not just immediately, but lay the foundation for more job growth in the future, whether it's that new energy economy, whether we are building roads or bridges or fixing waterways or investing in long-delayed flood control projects or creating the 21st-century classrooms in our schools. This plan makes those necessary and often ignored investments.
Next, this bill also puts needed money back into consumers' pockets, the consumers that need it the most, middle-class families that have seen their wages decline far longer than what the economists say this recession -- for the length of this recession. So, taken as a whole, this proposal will invest in America today by creating jobs, but it will pave the way for sustained economic growth through long- term investments that America and families all across the country so desperately need. So, I'll take a few questions. (INAUDIBLE)
QUESTION: Thank you. On Tom Daschle, I went to step back just a minute. I understand the president's remarks that he absolutely stands by him, but if you could just take a step back. You've got two nominees now who had to pay more than $100,000 in back taxes. That's an awful lot of money. That's more than most people in this country make in a year, much less what they owe in taxes. What kind of a message does this send, do you think, and how are people supposed to kind of get their heads around that and accept that as top people in your administration?
GIBBS: Well, let me also step back and say that no one in this building or in this administration is insensitive to the report that we were -- that was given this weekend about Senator Daschle. I think that includes Senator Daschle. He discovered a mistake, mistakes he'd made on his taxes, and has paid now what he owed and paid interest on that.
As it relates to Senator Daschle -- I know he's meeting with the finance committee now -- we believe that the committee and the Senate as a whole will examine not just one mistake in a career, but look at that longer, three-decade career of public service, to serving this country, serving the constituents both in South Dakota and across America.
The president believes that Senator Daschle is the right person for the very important job of ensuring that we cut costs, reform our health care system and finally give the American people in health care the outcomes that they deserve. We spend more money on health care than any other nation in the country, but don't get the quality of care that many other countries get.
So again, I think the Senate will lay a serious but corrected mistake against that three-decade career in public service. And in the end, the finance committee and the Senate as a whole will vote to extend his career in public service so that he can take on the very important task to America to reform that health care system and cut our costs.
QUESTION: Is the president at all embarrassed by this? And does he see if there's any problem in the vetting that you all do (INAUDIBLE) these things happen?
GIBBS: Well, I don't think that we believe there's any problem in the vetting. When I say that no one is insensitive to the report in this building, that includes the president of the United States. He understands that. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: The president's meeting with Secretary Gates today. Will they be discussing the Pentagon's recommendations for troop increases in Afghanistan? Do you have any idea how long it will take for him to act (INAUDIBLE)?
GIBBS: I don't know exactly what is on the itinerary. This is part of what will be a standing meeting with the president and the secretary of defense. I'm a little leery of some of the news reports about the president and the secretary discussing an increase in 15,000 troops because I'm reminded that just four weeks ago, the then president-elect, without the constitutional authority to do so, according to many of the newspapers I read and some of the cable television I watched, approved 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.
So I'm a tad leery to get ahead of -- well, Helen, you appropriately asked, and when the president stands up at a podium not unlike this one and announces the end of the administration's review of our policy in Afghanistan, and our troop levels, not just in Afghanistan but as it relates to Iraq, I think we'll have a more definitive answer that doesn't rely on what may not be decisions that are at this point fully made.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president spoke about narrow differences with Republicans on the stimulus plan. When you hear some of the Republican senators on Sunday talk shows, they sound like it's not a narrow difference. They want to chuck whole sections of the bill that's working through the Senate.
Is there a gulf there between what the president is saying and what Republicans in the Senate are saying, number one, and number two, are there specific things you want out? You've previously been outspoken about removing provisions. There's this STD prevention provision, for example, a lot of Republicans have been going after. Are there specific things you want to keep in there or take out?
GIBBS: Well, let's focus -- I didn't watch many of the news shows. I read some transcripts. I've read press releases from Senate Republicans, one last week about what they deemed unnecessary spending, which I think when you accumulated it up, they added up to $699 million. The reason I'm here is because I'm not very good at math, but that amounts to .07 of 1 percent of a piece of legislation what the American people desperately need to get back to work. I know there's a tendency to focus on that .07 of 1 percent.
QUESTION: But when you have Democrats like Ben Nelson, for example, saying he wants to turn this into a jobs bill instead of a spending bill, it doesn't sound like that 7, you know, of 1 percent, it sounds like a big, big difference.
GIBBS: I think what the president would tell Senator Nelson, the president would tell any senator and what he will tell Democrats when they come down to the White House later today, he's satisfied that we have the basis of a proposal that will save or create three to four million jobs, and that the American people can be confident of that. We've got an investment in infrastructure unlike we've seen suns the 1950s in the institution of the interstate highway system under President Eisenhower. We're putting money back in people's pockets that need it the most and who are likely, not simply because of their decling income but their increasing bills, they will spend that money and get the economy moving again.
