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Stimulus: Senate Showdown; President Obama Announces Commerce Secretary Nominee; Supporters of Prop 8 Outed; Daschle Withdraws Nomination

Aired February 03, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's an $885 billion debate. And right now the Senate is trying to come up with its version of the economic stimulus bill. Republicans offering up amendments now, and even some Democrats are calling for changes as well.

Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash with us live from Capitol Hill.

Dana, they better hurry up and pass this thing before it explodes with all these numbers. People are adding things, more billions. Where are we now?

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're exactly right. The beauty, or perhaps the nightmare of the process in the Senate, is that there are a lot of opportunities to change this bill, and that's what we are beginning to see.

Let's start with Republicans, T.J.

For the most part, the leadership inside the Republican Party and the Senate, they really want to focus on tax cuts and housing. In particular, they want to lower mortgage rates to 4 percent, because they say that that is the biggest problem with the economy, is the housing crisis. But guess what? There is a split in the Republican Party.

In fact, T.J., myself and our congressional producer, Ted Barrett, we were just outside a meeting, a closed-door meeting, right here in this office building of 10 Republican senators, and they are working on an alternative, because they think their own Republican leadership's bill doesn't do enough. They say it is about $500 billion, and it would do more than just address housing.

Listen to Republican Senator Mel Martinez. We caught up with him right outside that meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MEL MARTINEZ (R), FLORIDA: We want to do more than that. There is housing stuff in this bill as well. We do some things to help foreclosures, stave off foreclosures, and we also help by giving a tax incentive for folks to buy houses so that, therefore, we reduce the inventory of unsold homes.

So there are some significant housing things here. But I think it is much broader than that. I think we need to recognize the kind of crisis the country is in, and it isn't good enough to just do a very, very narrow bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So that's why Senator Martinez and, by the way, Senator John McCain, and a group of rather eclectic Republicans, conservative and moderates, are, we're told, going to present their idea inside the weekly Republican lunch, which is going to start in about a half an hour. So that just gives you an idea of the fact that there are a lot different ideas even within each party, and that's the Republican side.

HOLMES: OK. I want to make sure I got that right. There is the big bill that came to the Senate that was essentially the president's bill. That's one. You've got Senate Republicans working on another.

Now, this other group -- you were just outside the door that has, I guess, the glass up to the door there, listening in to what they were doing. So you've got all these bills floating around and somebody has got to come up with a plan.

So what are Democrats -- I guess, which direction are they going now?

BASH: They are changing their own plan, T.J., because they recognize inside the Democratic leadership that they need to pull more senators on board to get the votes to pass this out of the Senate. So what we're actually going to see on the Senate floor within the next half an hour is a vote on the first amendment, the actual first vote to change this. And this would actually add spending to the stimulus bill.

Let me show you what this particular amendment would do.

It would add $25 billion in infrastructure spending; $13 billion for highway spending. That would bring the total there to about $40 billion for highway spending. Seven billion dollars for water and sewer projects, and $5 billion for mass transit.

So you might ask, well, why are Democrats adding money to this when we've heard complaint after complaint from Republicans, and even some Democrats, that there's too much spending? Well, the reason is because they feel like the complaints they're hearing is that the spending that they do have doesn't do enough to create jobs. And infrastructure spending, that's what creates jobs.

Don't be surprised -- in fact, we are told maybe even today, or tomorrow, we are going to likely see Democrats bow to the complaints that there is too much "excess spending," and thy will likely add measures to take some of that spending out of this. Again, with the goal of getting enough votes to pass this.

HOLMES: Dana, I am so impressed with you for keeping up with all this stuff. I just want to go ahead and get that out there. But thank you very much. We will talk to you again very soon. BASH: Thanks, T.J.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, the president urging lawmakers not to let their differences delay passage of that stimulus bill. Day 15 has been another busy one for the president. Probably day 16, 17, 18, 19, and so on, as well. Here's his economic daily briefing, and last hour he announced his nominee for commerce secretary. Later, he has interviews with CNN and other networks, but CNN's the only one you really need to catch.

Let's bring in now White House Correspondent Dan Lothian. He has the latest on the president and the stimulus plan. What is the president's aim now? Is he trying to compromise and trying to change it to get it sold and pushed through the Senate, or is he just trying to pitch and sell the package that he likes?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's really a combination of all of the above. The president really pushing Democratic leadership, trying to convey, the White House is, a sense of urgency, that Democrats really need to sit down, take a look at this bill and try to find places where they can add things or take things out in order to make it more acceptable to Republicans who are skeptical of this bill.

Already, we have seen $45 -- rather $75 million pulled out for an anti-smoking provision. We also saw $400 million pulled out for this STD and HIV prevention program. So these are the kinds of things that Democrats are going through and looking at that they know will make Republicans happy, as the president really wants to see this embraced in a bipartisan way.

Now, as you mentioned, in addition to this, ongoing today, the president also finally filled his final cabinet position for commerce secretary, coming from the announcement and the appointment of Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. He had confirmed last week that he was being considered for this position, so now it was made official today. And the president picking a Republican, a fiscal conservative, and saying that he's the right man for the job.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Judd is famous, or infamous, depending on your perspective, on Capitol Hill for his strict fiscal discipline. It's not that he enjoys saying no, although if it's directed at your bill, you might feel that way. It's that he shares my deep-seated commitment to guaranteeing that our children inherit a future they can afford.

Now, clearly, Judd and I don't agree on every issue. Most notably, who should have won the election. But we do agree on the urgent need to get American businesses and families back on their feet.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LOTHIAN: Now, T.J., one of the things we were talking about last hour is that there was this deal that was put in place so that it would clear the way that he could be nominated. Senator Judd Gregg did not want to accept this nomination if it would have upset the balance of power in the Senate. So as we heard, the Democratic governor of the state of New Hampshire has made it clear that he would put a Democrat -- rather, a Republican in that seat once it is vacated.

This is the news that the president really wants to put out there today, because there is some negative going on today with Nancy Killefer, who is the CPO, the chief performance officer, who the president had said this is the person who would go through the budget line by line, find the things that needed to be pulled out, and then find things that were working and improve on them. Well, today she withdrew her name from consideration for that new position, saying -- and I want to quote from the letter that she sent to the president -- she said, "I have come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid."

So she had this personal tax issue. She felt that it would be a distraction for the president, for this administration, so decided to withdraw her name from this nominating process -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, you've got a lot going on up there, a lot to cover.

LOTHIAN: That's right.

HOLMES: Dan lothian, we appreciate it.

LOTHIAN: That's right. Got me twisted up a little bit.

HOLMES: No, that's all right. We followed you just fine, buddy. We appreciate you. Thank you so much.

And speaking of the president's cabinet, he did get someone else in there that he wanted -- Eric Holder. He's now on the job, and he is now the country's first African-American attorney general. The vice president, Joe Biden, as you see there, swore him in at the Justice Department today. Holder promised staffers a clean break with many of the controversial policies of the Bush administration.

Well, President Obama talking with CNN's Anderson Cooper about the state of the economy. You can see that interview on "AC 360" tonight, 10:00 Eastern Time. That would be 7:00 Pacific.

Buy American. That's one part of the economic stimulus bill that's not selling so well with outsiders, at least outside the U.S.

The European Union now warning President Obama about protectionism. The EU's ambassador to Washington says provisions that would require publics works projects to favor U.S. goods over imports could backfire. It could set off a trade war and lead to retaliatory measures that end up undermining the stimulus package itself. Well, the House Financial Services Committee has been discussing its agenda for 2009. Of course, how to dig the country out of this current crisis. A short time ago, the committee chairman, Barney Frank, expressed his outrage.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), FINANCIAL SERVICES CHAIRMAN: The chances of talking the American public out of this kind of attitude are zero. There is now a deeply-rooted anger on the part of the average American at what he or she thinks is a very unfair set of arrangements. They see a financial industry that helped cause these bad problems, and they see themselves as the victims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, high wind and more snow expected to hit Kentucky, making things worse for about a quarter of a million people who are still without power after last week's ice storm. As much as three inches in some areas are predicted, three inches of snow. Officials fear that it could make it more difficult for National Guard troops who have been going door to door to check on families.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, stay tuned for this debate. Should your name be made public if you give financial support to a political campaign? That is a question that's now being raised in the wake of California's battle over same-sex marriage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. You'll remember California's Proposition 8. Voters approved that measure last November, outlawing same-sex marriage in California. Well, the debate still rages on in a way. Fearing harassment, donors who backed Prop 8 went to court to keep their names secret. A federal judge said uh-uh.

Here now, KRON reporter Holly Juscen in San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY JUSCEN, REPORTER, KRON (voice-over): Just Google "Proposition 8 donors" and within seconds, you can see who gave money to the "Yes on 8" campaign. For example, Knights of Columbus contributed $1.4 million. It's public knowledge, and Proposition 8 supporters say that's dangerous.

FRANK SCHUBERT, "PROJECT MARRIAGE" SPOKESPERSON: We've had contributors with death threats, we've had people lose their jobs, we've had folks who have been called repeatedly at home and harassed.

JUSCEN: The "Yes on 8" campaign supporters say at least 1,600 of their donors have been harassed or threatened. That's why they went to court and asked to keep the names private. But a federal judge said no, a decision same-sex marriage advocates are applauding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the way that the system works. That's the way that it's set up to work in an open democracy, is that you disclose where the money is coming from. It's only fair.

If they're no longer wanting to put their name behind homophobia, it's showing how far we've come and how much progress we're making. They don't want their names out there. And really, ultimately, if you don't want your name out there, maybe what you're doing is wrong.

JUSCEN: The federal judge is upholding the law that requires the disclosure of the name, occupation and employer of anyone making more than a $100 contribution. The "Yes on 8" campaign raised $40 million, money some say played a key role in the initiative passing last November.

(on camera): The same-sex marriage issue could end up on a ballot in 2010 or 2012. The "Yes on 8" campaign says their fight is really about protecting future donors from harassment, and they say they will continue to try to change the law.

Holly Juscen, KRON 4 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And James Bopp is an attorney representing supporters of California's Proposition 8. He joins me now from Indianapolis.

Sir, thank you for being with us. I guess, would you like to change the law or just have an exception in this particular case?

JAMES BOPP JR., ATTORNEY FOR PROP 8 DONORS: Well, we're seeking both. Certainly the law provides that if people who participate in our Democratic system by contributing to campaigns, where there is a reasonable probability that they're going to be harassed or intimidated, as has happened here, they're entitled to their privacy. But furthermore, California law requires people to disclose their personal address, their occupation and employer for contributions as low as $100. Now surely, no one in California in their right mind would care that Joe Blow contributed $100 to an initiative campaign unless what they have in mind is going out and punishing them for doing that.

HOLMES: Well, I guess that's part of the argument, is that people would care. If we stop caring, then you are actually eliminating the transparency of the system, which is what the Reform Act was set up to do in 1976 in the first place.

Do you not have an issue with, I guess, that lack of transparency? People could be donating to a campaign for -- whether it's for someone running for office or one of these initiatives, and nobody knows where the money is coming from.

BOPP: Well, you know, the idea is that voters might be influenced in their vote by who contributes to a campaign. Well, that might be true with contributors of $50,000 or $100,000 or $1 million, but surely it's not true for somebody that contributes $100. And, of course, we...

HOLMES: I guess, so who determines what that cutoff is, $100, $150, $500, $1,000? I guess, who is to say how much is influential and how much -- how little your contribution should be before your name can be kept private?

BOPP: Well, surely, they were spending tens of millions of dollars on this campaign. California is a huge state. What person in their right mind would care that Joe Blow gave $105 to the "Vote Yes for Proposition 8?"

HOLMES: Well, I guess we can say the attorney general cares, attorney general out there, Jerry Brown. He released a statement. I'll share it with you. I'm sure you're probably familiar with it, but saying that "Political democracy demands open debate, including prompt disclosure of the identities of campaign donors. Backers of Proposition 8 should not be allowed to carve out a special privilege of anonymity for themselves alone."

Give us an idea, sir, of just how many people have been, as you say, harassed? But has anyone been injured? And certainly haven't heard about anybody being killed or attacked or anything like that. So I guess the nature -- go ahead.

BOPP: Well, doesn't that make us feel great, that no one has been murdered because they made a $100 contribution to an initiative campaign?

HOLMES: Well, not suggesting that. Just wondering about the level of harassment we're talking about, if we're talking about a phone call or a picket or a boycott, and some of those things which are legal. Are you considering those this heavy harassment?

BOPP: People have had vandalism, they've been fired from their job, they've had death threats. Now look, we've had organizations in America that have been protected against this very form of harassment by the courts. The NAACP, the Socialist Workers Party, a business group in Texas have all shown that a concerted campaign, just like this one here, was launched against their donors to punish them because of their political views and their contributions, and the courts have provided them protection against this harassment.

This is not spontaneous. This was organized through Web sites. You got maps. You can find exactly where these people live. And there's an agenda.

They want to intimidate these people from contributing two years from now and four years from now when the gay agenda comes back. Our democracy cannot survive unless people feel free to participate in our democracy, and are not going to be punished for doing that.

HOLMES: Well certainly, Mr. Bopp, James Bopp, again, he's one of the attorneys representing supporters of California's Proposition 8.

Sir, we know this debate will continue. We certainly hope as it moves forward we can get you back on here and talk about it some more. But certainly an issue folks out in California and around the country should be concerned about right now.

We appreciate your time today.

BOPP: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right. Well, a launch into the skies over Iran, it's gotten the attention of people all around the world. Exactly why?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Iran announcing its first successful satellite launch. And it has a lot of folks around the world concerned.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr live for us at the Pentagon.

What's everybody worried about, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi there, T.J.

In fact, U.S. officials this morning were now confirming that Iran did yesterday launch a satellite off a two-stage rocket ballistic missile rocket, and that satellite was boosted into orbit around the Earth. That in itself is an issue because it now puts Iran into space, one of the handful of nations that really does operate in space. A very low-tech satellite, but nonetheless a step forward.

But the security concern is the missile, a two-stage missile that Iran used to do this, very successfully, and it's the same type of missile technology that can be used to launch long-range weapons. You either put a satellite at the front of the missile or a warhead at the front of the missile.

And Iran continues to work on its long-range missile inventory, trying to get those missiles to reach deep into the Middle East, and even possibly into southern Europe. So it's a big concern around the world because people still are very unclear about exactly what Iran's intentions are -- T.J.

HOLMES: Not necessarily a matter of what was on this one, just a matter of seeing their capability at this point.

STARR: Exactly.

HOLMES: Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you so much.

STARR: Sure.

HOLMES: Turn to Iraq now, where it's a big get, at least officials there are saying. They've arrested a woman believed to have recruited more than 80 female suicide bombers. This lady, her nickname was "The Mother of All Believers." Iraqi officials have her in custody now and say she may have been involved in at least 28 terrorist operations.

Well, the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, apparently wants better relations with the U.S. You may remember, President Chavez once called President Bush "The Devil." He hasn't called President Obama any names that we know of just yet, but he now says he's willing to talk to Mr. Obama. In an exclusive interview with CNN, the Venezuelan leader said he supports President Obama's efforts to find alternative energy sources, but he doesn't think that's going to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think President Obama is being -- the wool is being pulled over his eyes. He's just arrived. Because he doesn't know a whole lot about energy issues, I don't know how he's going to achieve what he has announced. But it is very difficult for the U.S. to lower its dependency on oil. The ones that produce and improperty oil, I think that we should all agree to respect our sovereignty with the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Venezuela is one of the top suppliers of foreign oil to the U.S.

We turn to another outrage story as it relates to our current financial crisis. A bailed-out mega-bank taking a hit for its activities on the sidelines of the Super Bowl.

CNN's Tom Foreman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even before the players hit the field, taxpayer watchdogs were crying foul over a massive Super Bowl event.

ANNOUNCER: The NFL Experience presented by Bank of America is coming to Raymond James Stadium.

FOREMAN: That's right, Bank of America, the same bank that bought Merrill Lynch and received $45 billion of your tax dollars just to stay afloat, sponsored this five-day celebration of football just outside the stadium.

TOM SCHATZ, PRESIDENT, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: It shows that the bank doesn't get it. They're out there sponsoring the Super Bowl, and they're not spending the taxpayers' money properly.

There's no accountability. There's no transparency. And nobody knows if it's worthwhile.

FOREMAN: Bank of America insists, it was worthwhile to back this event.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You (ph) took a couple spills.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's how it is in football.

FOREMAN: Sure, the program was aimed at kids, but, by promoting things like credit cards to their parents, Bank of America expects to take in $10 for every $1 spent on this sponsorship.

Bank officials say they made this deal months ago. They did not use bailout money for it. And, in any case, they have got to take part in revenue-raising events if they are to pay back taxpayers. It's also the official bank of baseball and NASCAR.

(on camera): Still, "Keeping Them Honest," Bank of America will not say how much the whole package cost. We do know it is in addition to the existing $10 million sponsorship deal they have with the NFL.

(voice-over): So, even amid the celebration, some lawmakers are not very happy, suggesting this sponsorship was at least a bad play at a sensitive time.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Let's take you to Pittsburgh now on a much happier note for that town. Being renamed "Sixburgh" for the day.

Can't see much -- there you go. That's what we're looking for. Expecting a quarter million folks in that city today, as festivities get under way.

This is always a tradition after a Super Bowl. You've got to have a Super Bowl champions parade.

This thing is just getting under way now. You see the terrible time (ph); the police officers getting involved there. Of course, Pittsburgh beat Arizona in the Super Bowl on Sunday night. It's their sixth Super Bowl win as a franchise. That is a Super Bowl victory record.

Police expecting, like I said, a quarter million people to jam downtown. I'm sure we'll see more pictures from that throughout the day.

Well, is spending on our national parks a good way to stimulate the economy? We're checking out that massive spending plan line by line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 25 points. We will take them on this Tuesday. Taking a look at the Dow right now, up 25 points. A lot more job numbers released today. A lot more cuts in jobs. Several companies cutting jobs. We got them by the thousands again today. Also keeping an eye on the Nasdaq. It's about even right about now. But stay with us, we're always covering your economic news right here on CNN. Meanwhile, the president and the Democrats aren't necessarily in lock step on the stimulus package. That begs the question, who's really running things? Here's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, part of the best political team on television.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): There is possibility . . .

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You and I together will change this country. We'll change the world.

CROWLEY: And there is governance, r.e. the stimulus plan.

OBAMA: There are still some differences between Democrats and Republicans on The Hill, between the White House and some of the products that have been discussed on The Hill.

CROWLEY: The balance of power, executive versus legislative, does not lend itself to speed. But with Democrats in control of Congress and the White House, it will be a happy conclusion for the new president, eventually.

JENNIFER DUFFY, COOK POLITICAL REPORT: So it probably won't be quite on schedule. But my guess is that they will have a bill that Obama can claim credit for.

CROWLEY: Lawmaking is tricky business with each end of Pennsylvania Avenue confident and protective of its powers. That's why the White House approaches the House-written, House-passed stimulus bill so inscrutably.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is pleased with the message that passed the House.

CROWLEY: Actually, that would be kind of pleased.

GIBBS: Undoubtedly that package will be strengthened and changed some through the process.

CROWLEY: There is little public cajoling, but sources say that on the phone and behind closed doors, the Obama team is urging Senate Democrats to "narrow the target," remove some of the spending that critics say won't stimulate the economy, and "add more infrastructure," jobs producing public works projects like roads and bridges. After a Senate vote, a conference committee takes the House and the Senate bills to make it one bill. This is the stage where the White House often weighs in on what it must have and what it must have out. The president told NBC, that's where he thinks he can pick up bipartisan support.

OBAMA: We are going to see substantial support and people are going to say, this is a serious effort.

CROWLEY: Even as the White House quietly pushes the Senate, it is calling reinforcements to the line. That massive list of Obama voters has turned into a lobbying/re-election tool.

This week, the Democratic National Committee sent an e-mail from the president urging supporters to hold economic recovery house meetings to learn and talk about the plan. And that gets to why, in the end, President Obama will get most of what he wants, if not when he wanted it.

DUFFY: A president's power is derived largely through their popularity. So as long as voters are happy and believe he is powerful, then he is.

CROWLEY: Right now, in the balance of power, the president has more.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: President Obama wants another Republican in his cabinet. He chose a Republican as his nominee for commerce secretary. Last hour, the president officially nominated New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg. Gregg agreed to accept the position only if New Hampshire's Democratic governor named a Republican to replace him in the Senate. Now that person is expected to be Republican Bonnie Newman. She is a Republican and a former chief of staff for Gregg. Newman was assistant commerce secretary during the Reagan administration. She's also former executive dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

The economic stimulus bill, more than $800 billion. Knocking on the door of $900 billion right now. And our Lou Dobbs is taking a closer look at what's in that bill in a series called "Lou's Line Item Veto." In this installment, Kitty Pilgrim reports on how much money is going to national parks. Critics say, too much.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The national parks are a treasure. That is not up for debate. But some question why billions of dollars for national parks is in the new stimulus bills in Congress.

REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R) CALIFORNIA: The national parks get $2 billion a year. To give them $2 billion out of borrowed money from some future generation begs the real question of not is it nice to spending, but is it our right and money to spend by borrowing it from the American people. And that's what we're doing.

PILGRIM: The House stimulus bill, passed last week, included $1.7 billion in funding for the National Park Service, which would nearly double its annual budget which has been running about $2.5 billion a year. The Senate version includes some $800 million. The park service says that money is need. They have a backlog of $9 billion worth of work that includes repairing roads and park facilities. A privately funded group that lobbies for the park service says the spending makes sense. TOM HILL, NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: With the economic situation the way it is, people are going to be more likely to stay home and look for recreational opportunities right at home rather than getting on a plane and going to Europe.

PILGRIM: Government watchdog groups, like Common Cause, think billions in lump allocations ought to be reexamined.

BOB EDGAR, COMMON CAUSE: I would ask that the legislative body in the House and Senate really look at these projects on a case-by-case basis and make sure that it's not just make work projects, but projects that help to stimulate the economy.

PILGRIM: Some point out that jobs were created for the national parks during the 1930s for unemployed Americans. The National Park Service estimates at least 30,000 jobs will be created by the House version of the bill.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, the bailout, the handouts and the stimulus packages. CNN's Lou Dobbs pulling them apart line by line to separate the pork from what might really fix this economy. Don't miss "Lou's Line Item Veto." It's on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" 7:00 Eastern Time.

Well, in Miami, the lines stretched around the building. What were they lined up for? Concert tickets? No.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Those airborne ambulances are crashing far too often and killing too many people. That's according to federal authorities. They say there's been a dramatic increase in the number of people killed in those medical helicopter crashes. NTSB looking into it now. Officials say that last year, 35 people died in nine accidents. To give you kind of a comparison. In a three year period of 2002 to 2005, 55 people were actually killed. NTSB is holding four days of hearings to come up with new safety recommendations. Officials are expected to hear from expert witnesses, including pilots and medical personnel about flight operations equipment training, as well as oversight.

Well, this is a story we were talking about yesterday. One heck of a line we saw in Miami. More than 1,000 people lining up, waiting for hours. Some waiting for days. What were they waiting for? A job. One thousand people now waiting for the opportunity to get maybe 35 positions. CNN's John Zarrella with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The line started forming on Friday. Robert Wells (ph) and Andrew Lopez (ph) got here Saturday night.

Did you get any sleep the last couple nights?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night I slept a little bit. It rained on us. It was horrible.

ZARRELLA: Their place in line, numbers 170 and 171.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to come out early and you got to come out prepared.

ZARRELLA: Wells and Lopez are among the lucky ones. They were close to the front of the line. By the time Jerry Bartholomew (ph) and Juan Cruz (ph) got here, city of Miami officials had stopped handing out numbers. Police estimate at least 1,200 people, all ages, were waiting when the doors opened and Miami began taking applications for 35 fire department positions. That's it, just 35.

HECTOR MIRABILE, DIRECTOR, MIAMI EMPLOYEE REGISTRATION (ph): We got 18, 20s, all the way up to 35, 40. In fact, I saw a man, I don't know if he was holding a spot for somebody or not, 60 years of age.

ZARRELLA: City official say they never expected the turnout. It is, they say, clearly a sign of the economic times.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I tried to get other jobs like at hotels. Nobody's hiring.

ZARRELLA: In the past, a couple of hundred people might apply, but nothing ever approaching this number. With benefits and a salary starting at nearly $47,000, these jobs are coveted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want a job, I want a career. That's the whole point. I don't want a job, I want a career.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you get lucky, you get in the fire department, you have a great career, a great retirement, good benefits.

ZARRELLA: Angela Bolivar (ph) stood in line for her brother-in- law.

ANGELA BOLIVAR: Good benefits, stable. You know, in this day's economy, it's hard to find something that, you know, you know you can trust.

ZARRELLA: Most all the applicants have some prior education or experience as firefighters or paramedics. And now they're getting a lesson in patience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're moving us again. This is all day long. Back and forth.

ZARRELLA: City officials say they will leave the doors open until they have 750 applicants who meet the initial qualifications -- city residency, high school diploma and tobacco-free. The rest are simply out of luck.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, he is not going quietly into that gentle night. But no surprise to you, probably, he's calling his impeachment a hijacking. He's calling it a sham. He's called it a hanging before. The former Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, he's lashing out once again at state lawmakers while, once again, making the rounds on television today. He says his removal was unlawful and improper, vowing to clear his name as well. Blagojevich also has another fight on his hands, by the way. He's still facing federal corruption charges.

We'll turn to another public official who was ousted. Detroit's former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. He's actually out of jail now. He's now going to head down to Texas. He's looking for job. Not exactly sure where in Texas he's going or what position he's applying for, but his lawyer says he, in fact, will head to Texas for a job interview. Kilpatrick served 100 days for lying under oath about an affair he had with his former assistant, who is also serving time. This part of the story you may remember, that testimony was contradicted by some steamy text messages that were exchanged.

Still a mess in Great Britain. The big snowstorm that's causing new challenges and some new delays. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back.

We have a breaking news story. Something we have been watching now but many may be not expecting. Tom Daschle has now withdrawn his name as President Obama's Health and Human Services nominee. He was, of course, embroiled on a bit of a scandal here about taxes he did not pay. Our Ed Henry at the White House.

Ed, this thing was gaining steam, I guess if you will, about these tax issues. But a lot of people didn't think this very -- he was in the Senate for a long time. These are his colleagues. They thought he would survive this.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. As a member of the Senate club, a lot of people thought Tom Daschle could survive in the Senate. But this current environment getting worse and worse politically for this administration with Nancy Killefer today, as we have already reported, stepping down as the chief performance officer because of her own tax problems. We just got a statement, just in the last moment, from President Obama, a written statement, saying that this morning Tom Daschle called him and asked him to withdraw his nomination.

The president says, "I accept his decision with sadness and regret. Tom Daschle has devoted his life to public service and health care reform." Said, "every American has access to health care they can afford. I had hoped that he could bring this passion and expertise to bear to finally achieve that goal, which is so essential to the progress of our economy and the well-being of businesses and families across the country." The president adding, "Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged. He has not excused it, nor do I. But this mistake and this decision cannot diminish the many contributions Tom has made to this country from his years in the military, to his decades of public service. Now we must move forward with our plan to lift this economy and put people back to work."

But the point right there, the president saying he now wants to turn to focus on the economy. This is the challenge for this president now, with these high-profile nominees stepping down because of tax trouble. A lot of Americans facing financial pain. The story out there that various appointees are not -- have not paid their full share of taxes, you can say it that way. This is obviously a big political headache for this administration. I can tell you, just in the last couple of hours, I've spoken to some of Tom Daschle's confidants and they were insisting he was going to make this. He had just had the Senate Finance Committee schedule a hearing for next Tuesday. And various confidants were insisting he was going to be confirmed in the end. This is a big shock here at the White House, T.J.

HOLMES: Well, tell us here, do we -- are we sure. I know you read that statement there and he had said that Daschle called the president. Is there any indication that maybe some were saying, hey, Mr. Daschle, this is becoming more of a big deal and more of a distraction, could you go? Was there any pressure that we know of? And also, why is it that Geithner seemed to be able to survive this and for it to not necessarily just go away, but it seemed like it didn't become as big of a deal, if you will?

HENRY: Well, let's take the last question first. You're right about Tim Geithner, that he is very fortunate now, it appears, politically that his nomination was dealt with weeks ago. If the Tim Geithner information had come out around the same time as the Tom Daschle information, now Nancy Killefer as well, you can guarantee that Tim Geithner would be under much, much more scrutiny, especially since he's now been confirmed, as you say, and he oversees, as secretary of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, which collects the taxes in the United States. So Tim Geithner is certainly fortunate that he was confirmed before all of this blew up.

In terms of your other point, we have no evidence yet that there was pressure from the president for Tom Daschle to step down. Taking a step back, think back to just yesterday morning, the president was asked by a reporter whether he was still behind Tom Daschle. He had the chance to either say no or to just not answer the question. But instead the president said, absolutely. That was just 24 hours ago.

And also, a little story behind the scenes that not a lot of people may know about is that when Tom Daschle was defeated for re- election in 2004, a lot of his key staff, like his chief of staff, Peter Roust (ph), went on and went into run the Barack Obama operation in the Senate. And, in fact, Senior Daschle aides, like Peter Roust, are now senior aides here in the Obama White House.

So there's a lot of affection for Tom Daschle here. There was a very close, personal relationship between this president and Tom Daschle. And so I think it's unlikely there was pressure from the president. But some of his advisors, certainly, may have felt that this was becoming a political headache that this president does not need right now, T.J.

HOLMES: OK. Could that headache -- is that headache worse now? Is it more of an embarrassment now that you have Nancy Killefer, who was the chief performance officer, she has bowed out because of a tax issue. We talked about Geithner. Now we have Daschle. I guess if he -- they were just worried it could continue? Is this an issue where, OK, it's over with and maybe we'll move on. But still, to have this high-profile of a guy to back out, is that make it even a bigger story and a bigger headaches that may enduring for the next couple of days of confirmation?

HENRY: My experience in covering these stories is that once the nomination is cleared and the person withdraws, a lot of times the administration, whether it's a Democrat or a Republican one, is able to turn the page. The problem is when you continue to fight it out day after day after day and there's still this cloud looming over the nominee. Then it just takes on a life of its own.

Once you turn away, then all of a sudden there's a new day. You can guarantee within a few days likely there will be a new health secretary nominee and we'll forget about the Tom Daschle story. There will be a new story to move on to.

Think about Bill Richardson just five, six weeks ago. For a couple days there it was like, wow, this is a big story. What's really going on there? And then as soon as the administration essentially said thanks, but no thanks, to Bill Richardson, everybody moved on to other things. It did take them, though, I will note, in terms of a political headache, in another way some five weeks or so to find a replacement for Bill Richardson. They only just named Judd Gregg as the nominee now for commerce secretary today.

So that is another potential headache in terms of filling these jobs. It can take a long time. Now because of these tax issues that popped up, various people who could be considered as the next health secretary might think twice about it because they might think that in this current political environment they don't want to deal with this kind of scrutiny.

And you'll remember in the campaign, Barack Obama said health care reform was one of the top three or four issues he wanted to deal with. Now with this distraction, it's going to be very difficult to get a health secretary up and confirmed and then get a health reform bill moving on The Hill, with this distraction, number one, but also, number two, the big, big financial crisis. The stimulus bill facing some resistance in the Senate and a broader financial rescue plan on homeowners and other things, we're expecting to come out next week, T.J.

HOLMES: And like you just mentioned, you're alluding to, maybe as soon as another person is named, this thing will completely go away and we'll be moving on to something else, like you said, in all your experience that's what you see.

I'm going to ask you about any possibilities, any other names that were knew were on the short list here in a second. But let's listen now to Tom Daschle just last evening talking about this very issue with taxes. And it sounded like he was going to move forward. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM DASCHLE, HHS SECRETARY NOMINEE: All of my life I've assiduously 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's no excuse. And I deeply apologize to President Obama, to my colleagues, and to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Again, that was Tom Daschle just last night. Now the former nominee to head up the HHS.

You stand by there for me. We -- if you can, Ed. We have Dana Bash, who's actually there when Daschle was making that statement.

Dana, I see you there. I think you can hear me all right.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can.

HOLMES: Tell us, up there on The Hill, this senator, like I said, he was a very popular guy. He served with a lot of these guys for a long time. Was there any sense that anybody was out to get him? That he would still be able to, no matter how embarrassing this might be, he'd still be able to survive this?

BASH: You know, I've got to tell you, during the entire morning we have been talking to senators, mostly Republicans, and you could feel basically a critical mass building among Republicans telling us -- a couple of us -- of them, for example, Senator John Cornyn of Texas saying that Tom Daschle should withdraw. Others being very, very tough about Tom Daschle's tax issue and perhaps other conflicts of interest with regard to the work that he was doing with health care companies.

And it was kind of a surreal moment. I have to just tell you this, T.J., just a few minutes ago, because the senators are all having a vote. And what we do is we talk to senators as they're going in. So myself and our congressional producer Ted Barrett (ph), we were probably talking to about a dozen senators, Democrats and Republicans, about Daschle. For the most part, Democrats were saying that they wanted to give it a little bit of time and they wanted to hear what he had to say at what was to be his upcoming Senate hearing. But Republicans were very, very strong, as I said, about the fact that they were very concerned.

As we were talking to them, we all got on our Blackberries the news, the breaking news, that Daschle actually had withdrawn. And it was at that moment that we all started to ask the other question, wow, Senator Daschle withdrew, what do you think of that? And to a person, at least the Republican senators I spoke to after that, maybe three or four, said it was the right thing to do. It would have been extremely tough for him.

And the interesting thing that we were hearing more and more from Republicans, and even more privately some Democrats, was that this isn't just necessarily a Tom Daschle problem, but a Barack Obama problem, with regard to the kinds of people and the kind of standards he said he wanted to set for the people in his cabinet and that despite the fact that he -- Tom Daschle was a member of the club and, frankly, in many ways, still is a member of this club, that he was the leader, the Democratic leader for 10 years here on Capitol Hill, this was just basically something that clearly he felt like he couldn't overcome and it would have been a very, very bruising hearing for him next week, which now is not going to happen.

HOLMES: Well, Dana, do we have a sense that he -- he did meet yesterday behind closed doors with committee members.

BASH: He did.

HOLMES: And that was when he was supposed to explain a little more and give more details about this. Any idea, any sense that when they came out of there it felt a little -- I don't know -- it felt a little worse to them and maybe it was worse than a lot of people even realized once they got behind closed doors and he started explaining?

BASH: Let me tell you what happened with that meeting, because it was definitely kind of an odd event in that what you saw were members of the Senate Finance Committee, that's the committee that would have determined whether or not he would have been confirmed. They were meeting behind closed doors with the staff that had been investigating Tom Daschle for about a month. And so what happened was, they were meeting, they were getting briefed. Tom Daschle was in a room next door waiting to see if they had any questions for him and about the next 15 -- for about 15 minutes at the end of that meeting, he did, in fact, go into that room and he was asked some questions about -- excuse me -- about the fact that, you know, he had a tax problem and other issues.

And after that, T.J., after that, you had Democrats rallying around Tom Daschle. In fact, Democrats came out and came to the cameras, one by one, and they said that they understood that he made some mistakes, they understood that he had some problems, but the argument that they were making is that they were minor mistakes, they were things that he apologized for and that his 30 years of public service outweighed those mistakes that he made.

And then you had Daschle standing with them, again side by side, almost as if he never left. And the thing that was most remarkable about that scene, T.J., there was not a Republican in sight. All of the Republicans left as fast as they could. Few of them wanted to comment at all at that time about what they heard in there. So you definitely had a partisan divide and it was a divide and something that obviously we now know that the White House and Tom Daschle felt that they could not overcome.

HOLMES: All right, Daschle has stepped out of it. Dana Bash, Ed Henry, thank you both. I know that you all will continue here with the coverage.

The voice in your ear is about to change. Kyra Phillips taking over here now.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you left me with a handful.

HOLMES: Yes. There's a lot going on. You can throw some of those notes out. It's a new story.

PHILLIPS: We're rolling with it.

HOLMES: All right. You go ahead.

PHILLIPS: All right, T.J., thank you so much.

HOLMES: All right.