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Biden Swears in Attorney General Holder; Nancy Killefer Withdraws

Aired February 03, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: History in the making. The presidential cabinet a work in progress. At any moment, Eric Holder will be sworn in as attorney general. He will become the first African-American to hold that post.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is setting the stage for us this mroning from our Washington bureau. Good morning to you, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi. Well, as we look at the picture there at the Justice Department, I'll tell you that we are expecting a very brief ceremony to take place here shortly.

Vice president Joe Biden will be conducting this swearing in of Eric Holder as attorney general, and we're likely going to be hearing remarks from both men, as well. Now Eric Holder is going to be taking the helm at the Justice Department at a critical time when there is a lot, frankly on the attorney general's plate.

First and foremost, dealing with terrorism suspects, and specifically Guantanamo. President Obama has ordered that detention facility closed within a year. So Holder will have to help figure out what to do with those detainees. A legally daunting task.

Also, an issue, whether there should be new guidelines for interrogating and wiretapping, and Eric Holder will also be facing tremendous pressure from civil liberties' groups and others to go after people who authorize what critics view as torture.

During his confirmation hearing, Holder left the door a little bit open on that front, so he'll be facing a lot of big challenges as he takes charge at the Justice Department. Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Elaine, as we continue to monitor these live pictures, we want to make sure we bring you the live confirmation just as soon as it begins. Is that going to be his main challenge? Is that what he is going to go for first?

QUIJANO: That is obviously the most pressing challenge right now. As you know, President Obama issued an executive order on this front. And Heidi, frankly, reports about how to even gather all the information about the detainees indicate it's frankly a mess. 245 detainees. The information that they're going to have to compile to try and then determine how best to handle those detainees -

COLLINS: Right.

QUIJNAO: And their legal situation really a quagmire, any way you look at it. And that's what experts say is really going to be front and center for this attorney general, as he takes the helm of the Justice Department.

COLLINS: So it's an interesting decision to go that way. I think there is still a lot of debate about whether or not that should be his first priority. Any other big decisions announced on his first day?

QUIJANO: Well, we're not expecting any announcements or any kind of decisions to be made. In fact, what we understand is that he'll probably issue a paper statement, sort of a memo to the thousands of Justice Department employees. And we should tell you already that our Justice Department producer, Terry Freeden was in the building at the time that Eric Holder walked in, and he reports back that there was a rousing welcome back, if you will, for Eric Holder as he walked in.

There were hundreds of employees, ovations from them, both political and career employees who lined the hallways and stairways to greet him. And he said, you know, its great to be be back. He said I look forward to working with you, to remake the Department of Justice. So clearly, Heidi, he is trying to set a new tone here, trying to signal unmistakably that this is going to be a very different justice department than what we have seen over the past eight years.

COLLINS: OK. Of course, we will be watching again those live pictures coming into us right there. We will make sure that we bring that confirmation to our viewers as soon as it happens. Elaine Quijano, thanks for that.

Also going on right now in Washington, the Senate is debating if President Obama's stimulus plan. And joining us live now with the very latest on al lof this is CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. Dana, we are looking at pictures of Harry Reid there.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGERESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's opening the Senate. In fact, it is going to be the democratic leadership, actually Senator Patty Murray of Washington that will offer the first amendment, the first of what we expect will be many, many amendments to this economic stimulus bill.

And this is actually to add money, at specifically infrastructure spending. And we'll show you what is going to be debated. It's $25 billion in additional infrastructure spending. $13 billion for highways. That will bring the total of the spending on highways to $40 billion.

$7 billion for water and sewer projects, and $5 billion for mass transit. Now, you might ask, well, if everybody is complaining about too much spending, why are the democratic leaders adding more spending? Well, the reason is because they believe in talking to members that they need in order to get this passed. It is this kind of spending, what they consider job creating spending that most people want, Democrats and even some Republicans in order to lure them. Having said that, I just got off the phone with a democratic leadership aide who said, look, the reality is, we are going to have to cut more spending. It's unclear how they're going to do it. They're actually meeting right now. They're having conversations with some of those senators, whether it's centrist democrats ike Ben Nelson of Nebraska or even moderate republicans.

Having these conversations behind closed doors to figure out what exactly and how much spending they're going to need to cut in order to get those votes, in order to pass this by hopefully from their perspective, by the end of the week. So it is certainly a game of finding that balancing act among democrats. And meanwhile, you also have Republicans who simply don't like the approach at all, and want to do much more in housing. They want to do much more with tax cuts, so you're going to see a lot votes on those issues as well this week, Heidi.

COLLINS: No question about that. All right. Dana, we are watching closely, and trying to keep our eye on the price tag, as well. What the final price tag will be. Our congressional correspondent Dana Bash, we sure do appreciate that.

It's 8:15 now. As you know of the Obama administration. Go ahead and take a look at the President's day. This hour he is attending his economic daily briefing.

Next hour, he is expected to announce his nominee for commerce secretary. We have been talking about that here, of course. In the afternoon, the President will conduct Oval Office interviews with CNN and some other networks. The objective, rally public support for his stimulus plan. And, of course, as a reminder, Anderson Cooper is conducting that interview with the president. You can see it tonight at "AC 360," coming your way at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right. I want to take a moment now to get back to our White House correspondent Elaine Quijano. She has been watching alongside us and monitoring. Some of the pictures coming to us live now, and awaiting attorney general or the nominee I should say for attorney general to walk into that room, Elaine.

Today is the confirmation day so that is what we are watching right now. and will try to bring it to you as soon as it happens. Apparently, we don't have -Eric Holder or Elaine. So I think we are going to try and continue to watch these pictures for you.

Once again, as you well know, there have been some controversy over Eric Holder going through the confirmation process, regarding the Mark Rich situation and so forth. So going to make sure that as soon as we get this it will come to you live.

There is another two-minute warning. We have seen a couple of those. So you saw the woman with her fingers up in the air. And Elaine Quijano is a veteran, and we have seen it a couple times before where we think we have it and then don't.

So I just to make sure we get to the top there, that's a big two- minute warning right there. Elaine, what are we going to see happen here? Is this going to be pretty much S.O.P., as they say, Standard Operating Procedure, where the confirmation will take place or are we expecting any comments from Eric Holder himself?

QUIJANO: Yes, this is a swearing in ceremony, Heidi, that is not really expected to take all that long. You will see Vice President Joe Biden actually give the oath here. He will have the task of swearing in Eric Holder. And then both men are expected to make remarks. Not sure exactly the order that everything is going to happen here, but as you saw, we're under the two-minute warning here.

Just want to tell you a little bit more about when Eric Holder first arrived at the Justice Department this morning. Again from our Justice Department producer Terry Freeden who is in the building, really talking to employees again, stressing that this is a new day. He said also that he will ensure civil rights enforcement, and certainly significant. Again, Eric Holder, the first African-American to hold the post of attorney general.

(APPLAUSE)

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. What a distinguished crowd. I think I look at every face is recognizable. Welcome back to the Justice Department. Senator Warner is here, as well. Thank you all for being here today.

As we gather here today, it's worth remembering the mission statement of the - that guides this great department. One that senator and Secretary Cohen as a young congressman remembers when he started off with a very unusual time here in Aerican history in 1972. and it goes like this.

It says, the mission statement of this great department reads as follows: to enforce the law and defend the interest of the United States according to the law, to ensure public safety against threats, foreign and domestic. To provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime. To seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

There is no mention in that mission statement of politics. There is no mention in that mission statement of ideology. And that's how it should be. Because there is no place for politics or ideology in this building. With the appointment of Eric Holder as attorney general, we're going to be returning to a standard that has governed this great department at its greatest moments, in my view.

No politics, no ideology. Only a clear and honest assessment of the facts and the law. The Department of Justice holds a special place in our democracy building. But the appointment of eric holder as attorney general, we're going to be returning to a standard that has governed this great department at its greatest moments, in my view. No politics, no ideology. Only a clear and honest assessment of the facts and the law.

The Department of Justice holds a special place in our democracy. It's here that individual liberty and security is defended and protected. Americans need a great Department of Justice. And the thousands of dedicated professionals in this department who have been here through thick and thin.

Let me say to them all that America needs you as well, and needs you badly. And you need a leader. You need a leader that can meet the challenge of restoring this department to the place of honor and respect it deserves.

Eric Holder, Eric Holder has served as a prosecutor, as a judge, and as deputy attorney general. He knows this department, and he knows that it thrives on the commitment and inspiration of the people who serve here. His words in his confirmation hearing should be reassuring to all those who serve in this department as well as to all Americans.

Let me quote him. He said, "the Department of Justice will serve justice, not the fleeting interest of any political party." end of quote. These words make clear that this attorney general understands the most important truth about this office. Not only is the attorney general the president's lawyer, but he is the people's lawyer. He's the people's lawyer. And that is as it should be, as well.

Mr. Attorney general, would you please step forward and give me the honor of administering the oath.

I.

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I, Eric Holder Jr.

BIDEN: Do solemnly swear.

HOLDER: Do solemnly swear.

BIDEN: That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

HOLDER: That I will support and defeand the Constitution of the United States.

BIDEN: Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

HOLDER: Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

BIDEN: That i will bear the true faith and allegiance to the same.

HOLDER: That i will bear the true faith and allegiance to the same.

BIDEN: That I take this obligation freely,

HOLDER: That I take this obligation freely,

BIDEN: Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

HOLDER: Without any mental reservation or pupose of evasion.

BIDEN: And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office -

HOLDER: And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office -

BIDEN: On which I am about to enter.

HOLDER: On which I am about to enter.

BIDEN: So help me God.

HOLDER: So help me God.

BIDEN: Congratulations.

(APPLAUSE)

HOLDER: Thank you, thank you. I want to begin by thanking vice president Biden, a good friend and a long-time supporter of the Department of Justice. I also want to thank Mark Phillip, the acting attorney general, deputy attorney general, who has done a great job in this past year or so, helping to restore the credibility and the shape of the Department of Justice. Thank you, very much.

I want to thank those of you here who helped so much in the confirmation process, especially the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a good friend, Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont.

I look forward to working with those other leaders of the House and the Senate who are here today, and I want to express my appreciation to my family, especially to my wife and to my three children. For the love that they have shared these past few weeks, and always.

I also want to remember the man who was the guiding force in my life, and who I know is here with me today. We know today not just the journey of one fortunate person, but also the distance traveled by this nation and by a people. Though much ground still needs to be covered, the events of the last year signify that a new day for this nation is potentially at hand.

Nowhere but in this great country could a person like me or the President hope to achieve the positions we are now so fortunate to hold. The distance from a very small house in Queens, New York, to the fifth floor of the Department of Justice is not as long as many may think.

Given the advantages of the best of public school education can afford, having loving parents and the opportunity to enroll in two of the nation's premier institutions of higher learning, and with a lot of luck, the trip from East Elmhurst to D.O.J. is not all that improbable. And that is the wonder of America.

As I return to the institution that formed me as a lawyer, I am determined to ensure that there shall be a new day for the dedicated career professionals I am once again so honored to call my colleagues. There shall be no place for political favoritism. No reason to be timid in enforcing the laws that protect our rights, our environment and our principles, as long as I have the opportunity to lead this great department.

This may be a break from the immediate past, but it is consistent with the long history of the Department of Justice. I call on every employee of this department, from this moment on, to return to the practices that are the foundation of this entity. It is time once again to base our actions on policies that are rooted in fairness, and in a desire to ensure a more just America. I look forward to the years ahead, as we will restore this institution that is central to what is best about the American experience.

With a re-dedication to those values that are old and yet are timeless, with a welcomed obligation to future generations, and with an unswerving commitment to justice for all of our people, we will remake the Department of Justice into what it was, and into what it always must be. Thank you.

COLLINS: All right. The new attorney general there. You can see Eric Holder with his wife and Vice President Joe Biden. That is his official confirmation for attorney general. So wanted to bring that to you live as it happened today.

Meanwhile, Tom Daschle issuing an apology to his former Senate colleagues and to you. Tax questions have held up Daschle's nomination to head the Health and Human Services Department. Last month, he paid more than $140,000 for unpaid taxes and the interest owed on them. He said it was an innocent oversight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM DASCHLE, HHS SECY. NOMINEE: All of my life, I've (inaudible) tried to pay my taxes in full and on time. My failure to recognize that the use of a car was income, and not a gift from a good friend was a mistake. When I realized the mistake, I notified officials, and I paid the tax in full. It was completely inadvertent. But that is no excuse. And I deeply apologize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Republicans are also voicing concerns that Daschle accepted speaking fees from health care interests the very industry he would be overseeing. President Obama says he absolutely stands by Daschle.

Quickly now, I want to get to this story that we are learning about our Ed Henry standing by with news on President Obama's designee, I should say, for this new position that we hadn't really heard of before, Ed, until this administration. His chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. CNN confirming that White House spokesman (inaudible) Heidi that Nancy Killefer today decided to withdraw her nomination for this new post, and the president accepted that. We're being told privately, there is some unspecified tax issues yet again tripping up this nomination now. Very fascinating.

A huge embarrassment for this administration, because you will remember during the transition, the president himself rolled out this nomination, much fanfare saying it was a new post, a chief performance officer was going to scrub the federal budget, figure out sort of how to reevent some things in the federal government, work with the White House budget director to cut excess spending and what not, and now we see maybe there is an issue with Nancy Killefer's taxes.

She has now withdrawn, at least the third official that we're aware of starting with Tim Geithner who had those tax troubles, he was confirmed, as we mentioned. Now Tom Daschle, his nomination in some peril. Although he has now gotten the Senate Finance Committee to schedule a hearing for next Tuesday. So there is some progress there, and he still has the president standing behind him.

But Nancy Killefer has now decided to withdraw her nomination, and the president has accepted it. A big embarrassment for this "White House, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, when you say embarrassment, I mean, obviously we're talking about the vetting process here. I mean, this is the third time now, whether or not anyone is found guilty of anything. Still the issues are coming to light.

HENRY: Absolutely. You can bet that's going to be a question Robert Gibbs is going to be facing today at the White House briefing this afternoon. To some extent, though, it's imperative for the nominees to sort of fess up and explain these things. Sometimes things do fall through the vetting process, because people do not come forward and are not completely straight about what's going on.

COLLINS: Yes.

HENRY: For example, with Tom Daschle, as Dana Bash was reporting a little earlier on your program, the fact is that Tom Daschle spoke to his accountant back in June about this potential tax issue, wanted to get it cleared up, and yet we're also told by people close to Tom Daschle, that the Obama people didn't find out about this until much later.

In fact, until after he was designated as Health and Human Services secretary. So you can see the best vetting process and system in place, but if people are not going to tell you everything, obviously maybe you've got to push a little harder and get those answers. But I think there is also an expectation that your own people are going to tell you what's going on in their background.

We saw this pop up with Bill Richardson for Commerce Secretary, six, eight weeks ago as well, where the Obama people feel they didn't get everything that they needed to know about that investigation back in New Mexico. So yet another bump in the road for the Obama administration.

It's going to be very interesting to see how quickly they try to move to replace Nancy Killefer. Again, the president himself as president-elect made a big deal about this.

COLLINS: Yes.

HENRY: Going in to sort of deal with the federal budget, line by line, as he put it at the time, you'll remember, to figure all this out and now he's going to need a new chief performance officer, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, we are watching this one very closely, on top of the others, as well. Ed Henry, our breaking news today, Nancy Killefer, the chief performance officer has now withdrawn her name for that position. Ed, thank you.

HENRY: Thank you.

COLLINS: More than $1 trillion vanished into thin air. Some of it was probably your money. So what happened to it, and what can be done about it now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

COLLINS: Excuse me, Democrats and Republicans are divided on how the stimulus bill should be constructed. Of course, that means changes as the bill makes its way now through the Senate. So we are bringing you both sides of the story today. We'll be joined by Tennessee republican Lamar Alexander in just a moment. But first I want to begin in Washington with North Dakota's democrat Senator Kent Conrad. Thank you, senator for being with us.

SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: You bet. Good to be with you.

COLLINS: Quickly, as I have asked the other senators that were on the last hour, if you were to vote today on the stimulus bill, what would your vote be?

CONRAD: I would have a very hard time voting for this package as it stands.

COLLINS: Explain why. What stands out to you? What is the most troublesome thing in it for you right now?

CONRAD: You know, there are a whole series of things that are troublesome to me. Things that I think have very little to do with stimulating the economy. While there is much that's very good in it, significant part of this package really will give lift to the economy and does represent investment. There are other things that were added that I think have very little to do with stimulus.

And unfortunately, we've got other higher priority things that aren't in the package in any significant way, at all, specifically housing -

COLLINS: Right.

CONRAD: And the financial sector.

COLLINS: You know, in fact, we were just talking about that a little while ago, this report that I'm sure you've probably seen that came out from zila.com, the real estate website that's talking about the foreclosure rates. I mean, it's just phenomenal. Up 20 percent across the nation for 2008 and then 11 percent of those short sales. So I think it's probably a valid question then. What can you do to get more in there now for the homeowners?

CONRAD: We're working on a package, a group of us, Republicans and Democrats, working together to try to put together an amendment that would take out some of those things that are less valuable and substitute major initiatives for housing and hopefully we can - we can do that and get it passed.

COLLINS: There was also a report in the "Wall Street Journal" today, too, regarding lobbyists and how they are adding some pretty costly proposals to this bill. Any way to get some of those things knocked down a bit?

CONRAD: Yes, absolutely. Look, you know, we're in Washington. So lobbyists are always pushing for the interest that they represent. We understand that. Our job is to try to make certain that this package really does the job that's intended. That is, participate, help with economic recovery, and do it in a way that's focused, that prioritizes, because we have already got the tremendous debt burden on this country.

COLLINS: Is there anything good in this bill?

CONRAD: Oh, yes. A lot of very good things. I think the infrastructure investment, roads, bridges, waterways, the electrical grid, computerizing the records of all-Americans over the next five years. Those are things that have real tangible long-term benefit, as well as creating jobs immediately.

COLLINS: Well, we certainly hope so. All right. Senator Kent Conrad, we sure do appreciate your time from North Dakota on Capitol Hill this morning, regarding the stimulus plan that we are all watching very closely. Appreciate it.

CONRAD: You bet.

COLLINS: The message from the other side, what the GOP does and doesn't want in the stimulus bill. We're going to be talking with Senator Lamar Alexander.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We are talking stimulus this morning. You just heard from Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, and now for a Republican perspective on the stimulus package being debated in the Senate, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is joining us. Good morning to you, Senator Alexander.

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: How are you going to vote on this bill? ALEXANDER: Well, it's not up yet. I'm going to vote against it if it's the way it is now. I'm going to try to amend it so we fix housing first. Housing got us into it, and it can help get us out of it.

COLLINS: All right. We have had four interviews today, four different senators, two from each side, and you are the second person now who has brought up, you know, the idea of the homeowners and what is really in it for people who are having such trouble. We've got all these foreclosure numbers that have come out recently, and even more today. How are you going to attempt to get that sort of the problem inside of this bill?

Well, Republican senators have two proposals. We hope these will attract Democratic support. First, offer a 4 percent mortgage backed by the treasury to every credit-worthy American who wants to refinance a home or finance a home. That's about 40 million Americans. It would be a 30-year mortgage, and for them, it would be about a 30- year, $400 a month savings in terms of what they paid for their home. That would help create demand, it would be instant jobs as plumbers, contractors and others went back to work.

COLLINS: What kind of credit do you have to have to get one of those?

ALEXANDER: What kind of credit? Well, that would -- you'd have to have good credit. But there are 40 million Americans who would have credit good enough to qualify for that. That would be up to the banks and the Treasury Department to make the plan.

COLLINS: OK. And the other idea that will go into --

ALEXANDER: The other idea is $15,000 for a tax credit, if you purchase a principal residence. In other words, if you buy a house, you get up to $15,000 directly off your taxes. So a $15,000 tax credit, the 4 percent mortgage, restart housing, instant jobs. That's the best way to help the economy, and it would cost a third to a fifth as much as this trillion-dollar spending proposal that the Democrats have presented.

COLLINS: Well, how much opposition are you getting from the other side of fence, if you will, from Democrats, regarding just a couple of examples that you've given us here for homeowners?

ALEXANDER: Well, there's some support for the tax credit. It's been talked about for a while. The 4 percent mortgage that we're proposing, and we intend to offer an amendment tomorrow, we'll see. There's a "fix housing first" coalition around the country that has home builders, manufacturers, homeowners. There's 600 organizations in support of it. So I would hope it would have bipartisan support, and we'll know more about it after we offer it tomorrow.

COLLINS: OK. And there are so many sides to all of this. I really do want to talk to you about the deficit a bit and get your opinion on that. In fact, we have something from the Congressional Budget Office that I bet you've seen. They are reporting that apparently the stimulus plan before the Senate would increase the deficit now over ten years, by $885 billion. What's everybody going to do about that?

ALEXANDER; Well, that is a -- it is staggering to me that anyone could think about borrowing $1 trillion, which is the proposal here, and spending it mostly on things that don't create jobs. What we should do about it, and we had a bipartisan breakfast attended by 20 senators this morning, is take steps this month to create a group of senators and Congressmen who will take on first Social Security, then Medicare and then Medicaid, then vote on it, and again to bring the deficit under control. But the other thing we can do about it is not borrow another trillion dollars and waste it on programs that don't stimulate jobs, which is exactly what this proposal does.

COLLINS: All right. Well, it is a huge, huge proposal for certain. We are watching it very closely here as it develops and makes its way through. So we appreciate your time, as well. Senator Lamar Alexander, thank you.

ALEXANDER: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: If you own a home, you own part of this problem. In the last few months of 2008, American homes lost $1.4 trillion of their value. That is a staggering figure. We just talked about it here with Senator Alexander. More than the total losses of the entire year before, in fact. Christine Romans is part of the CNN money team now, and joins us with more on this. So, yes, I mean, staggering is the word we continue to hear, it seems.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. And you're hearing from these senators just exactly what they're trying to do and how they're trying to put housing -- some of them, trying to get housing back in there into the equation here. What we know from these numbers from (INAUDIBLE), the Web real estate tracker, is that the situation got worse toward the end of the last year. It really did get worse.

Twenty percent of all home sales in 2008 were of properties that were owned by the bank. You have underwater mortgages now. Almost 18 percent of all mortgages are under water. That means people owe more than the home is worth. The temptation there, if you lose a home -- if you lose a job or you lose one income in the family, the temptation there in an underwater mortgage is simply to walk away. And then that clearly hurts the market even more.

So, you're looking at home values down 11 percent, as you saw in that graphic. You're looking at a lot of people out there whose homes are worthless. You're talking to people whose mortgages are worth so much more than the house is even worth -- $3 trillion in value lost, $1.4 trillion in value lost in homes just in the last three months.

Heidi, what this tells us is that the whole situation is deteriorating rapidly. It's getting worse toward the end of the year. We've been talking about the housing crisis for two years now, and it still is moving in this direction. The trend getting worse and worse and worse.

So, I mean, I don't know if the stimulus is the place to fix it. I don't know if there are other measures out there to try to fix it. We know that some of the voluntary public/private partnerships to date have not really worked. I mean, they really haven't.

If you're looking at numbers like this, you can't say that the efforts out there to stem this problem are working. So it's a complicated problem. The 4 percent mortgage getting a lot of buzz. I reported that story a couple times, Heidi, and that is the single story of the last maybe four or five days that people keep asking about. Four percent mortgage. What kind of credit score would I need for that, and how would I get that, and is could I refinance with that?

COLLINS: I asked. I asked.

ROMANS: I know. But people are interested in that. I mean, people are interested. So, you can see maybe they're moving along the right track when they're starting to talk about low mortgage rates like that for people with good credit, who might be able to be a spark in the housing market.

COLLINS: Absolutely. All right, well, it's very interesting, some of these changes that they want to get in there. We will watch it closely. CNN's Christine Romans, thank you, part of our money team there.

Searching now for answers, finding hope. A family's struggle to help their daughter with autism.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

A teenaged girl has autism, and her family needs help. Her out-of- control behavior is making life miserable. So, the family turned to an intervention. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is joining us now here with her second part of this exclusive report, "Autism 911."

And yesterday we were talking about the general problem they are having with their daughter. And what the options are, what they can do.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Unfortunately, sometimes the options are limited. And so what this family did was, they sought out help from a group that sends a therapist right into the home. They spend morning, noon and night with you. Let's take a look at how the therapist did with Marissa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): By their own account, the Billson family needs help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not bringing that in the house. It doesn't go in the house. No.

COHEN: This is Marissa, their 13-year-old daughter with autism. Marissa's behavior is debilitating to the entire family, and getting her to change has been a daunting task. While they've had their daughter in various programs since she was a toddler, Marissa's behavior has recently gotten worse, and her parents have come to realize they need more help.

RICK SCHROEDER, THERAPIST: How many you got?

MARISSA BILLSON, AUTISTIC GIRL: Two.

SCHROEDER: Two. Gotcha.

COHEN: There are a variety of approaches out there for children with autism. One organization, Autism Partnership, comes in the home and gives one-on-one intensive interventions. It's not cheap. It costs $2,500 a day, and most interventions last about a week. The Billsons can't afford that, so Autism Partnership is doing it for free, so we could capture just how this type of intervention works.

COHEN: Why did you need it so much?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, she is getting older, and 13, you know, her tantrums are louder, longer. She is going to be an adult soon. She cannot be behaving this way.

SCHROEDER: Marissa, what do you call these?

BILLSON: Markers.

SCHROEDER: Markers. Don't touch. Can't touch until we're ready to go. You want to look? I'll show you. But no touching, OK?

BILLSON: OK.

SCHROEDER: Can you touch?

BILLSON: No.

SCHROEDER: OK. Hands back. You've got to follow the rules.

COHEN: It's all about rules. Marissa has always had free reign at home, because her parents try to avoid her fits, so on day two, therapist Rick Schroeder lays down the law. If she behaves, Marissa gets rewards. If she doesn't, she gets nothing.

SCHROEDER: These are for working, OK?

BILLSON: OK.

SCHROEDER: So no grabbing, OK?

COHEN: They start slow. The first task, stay out of her big sister Brittney's room for 20 minutes. Rick even sets a timer. This isn't as easy as it sounds. Marissa loves to go into Brittney's room and take her stuff.

SCHROEDER: Almost time, Marissa.

BILLSON: (SCREAMING) SCHROEDER; Got to relax, Marissa.

COHEN: In the end, success.

SCHROEDER: There is the bell. Go turn it off.

COHEN: Marissa gets her reward.

SCHROEDER: Marissa, nice job. All 12 dolls. What do you get?

BILLSON: Bana.

SCHROEDER: Banana Laffy Taffy, fantastic.

COHEN: But changing Marissa won't happen fast.

SCHROEDER: Melissa's behavior is like a big chunk of granite, right? Hard rock, right? You can't just smash it with one swing. You take a chisel, and you just chip away each day a little bit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN; Now, watching this therapist at work was fascinating, how he slowly made changes in Marissa's behavior. Now, this is just one program that tries to offer help for children with autism. And it is expensive. To learn about other programs, some that are less expensive, you can go to CNN.com/autism.

COLLINS: Now, of course, we wouldn't expect that the therapist could actually cure Marissa of autism. But certainly at least even just from watching that short example of the work that he has done, he can help.

Right. He can help. He can make some changes. And I asked the therapist, Rick Schroeder, that. I said can she develop so that she will no longer have autism? And he said no. She will always have autism. All we're trying to do is make behavior changes so that life is easier for her and for her family.

COLLINS: Yes, and for her family, certainly. What about tomorrow, the last in the series?

COHEN: What we're going to see there is the final day. We're going to compare at the beginning and the end how she did. And we're going to talk about what the parents have to do once Rick leaves. He's not there forever.

COLLINS: Sure. Sure. No, that's a good point. All right. Very good. We'll be be watching. We'll talk with you tomorrow. Thanks, Elizabeth.

Still stuck in the ice. Crews hoping to get the power back on in Kentucky. But boy, it is not easy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Quickly want to get this information out to you as we are learning it here at CNN. We have been learned that the woman you are about to see who has been called the mother of all believers and possibly responsible for recruiting more than 80 female suicide bombers in Iraq is now in jail. She is also suspected in the involvement of at least 28 terrorist operations. And according to Major General Kaseem Atta (ph) -- he's a spokesman for the Baghdad command -- this arrest is considered a major stride in confronting the challenge of female suicide bombers, which you may recall, more than 30 have detonated themselves just last year.

So, we will continue to follow this story. Breaking news here once again that this person is now in jail, and, again, I'm going to give you her name, Samira Ahmed Jaseem (ph), again also known as the mother of all believers. We'll continue to follow this story alongside our Baghdad correspondent as we continue at CNN here.

It's a familiar sound now in Kentucky these days. Trees, big or small, heavy with ice, crashing to the ground. And in this case, just barely missing a car there. CNN iReporter Craig Blanton caught the action from his home in Frankfort.

At least 24 deaths in Kentucky now blamed on the storm. The governor says some people froze to death because no one could get to them. There's so much debris. A quarter of a million homes and businesses are still without power.

Rob Marciano standing by now with more of an update on this, because we keep talking about the cold weather. But you have said a warm-up on the way the next couple days?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, as we get closer to the weekend. Have you ever been in an ice storm, Heidi, where those trees are actually crashing in around you?

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: I mean, there's nothing more frightening, I think, to wake up to something like that. And that dramatic iReport says a lot. All right, yes, it's going to warm up a little bit. But it's going to get colder before it warms up. So the old darkest before the dawn thing. That's what you're going to experience here in the next couple days.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Ouch. All right, well, we continue to follow that story, as well. Rob, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: You got it.

COLLINS: So how's your money doing? We'll take you live to the New York Stock Exchange in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUSAN LISCOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, where we are watching Citigroup shares down 2 percent. Citigroup for the first time detailing to the public what it did with $45 billion in federal taxpayer money, TARP. Citigroup saying that it has approved more than $36 billion in loans, and it -- some of it is going into the housing market.

It will be buying mortgage assets, making new loans to homeowners. Also some of it will be going to credit card lending. Also to personal and business loans, as well as student loans.

As for the three major averages, we are higher after a shaky start. Right now, the Dow Industrials are up 25 points. The Nasdaq is up 2. We'll have more from CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A concert company's hiring drive turns out to be a whole lot of noise. Ultimate Concerts said it was opening a call center in Shelby, North Carolina, but the company ditched plan right before training was supposed to start. That leaves hundreds of people back where they started, unemployed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE ROSEBORO, EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION: I do know that people were excited about the possibility of getting a job. And now the door has pretty much been closed in their face, and there is disappointment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it was wrong because, I mean, he gave everybody hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The company's owner says he'll destroy all of the applications that contain sensitive information. Ultimate Concerts is currently under a state investigation.

A scam to tell you about. Watch out if an e-mail from McDonald's lands in your in box. There is a fake one going around offering you 80 bucks to fill out a survey. But then it tries to trick you into giving your credit card info, supposedly to credit your account.

The company says, "McDonald's is not the source of or affiliated with these e-mails in any way." Watch out for that.

I'm Heidi Collins. You can join us again tomorrow morning starting at 9 a.m. Eastern. For now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with T.J. Holmes.