Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Deal Reached on Economic Stimulus Plan
Aired February 11, 2009 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), PENNSYLVANIA: And, as I said, unless the bill remained virtually intact from what the agreement was last Friday, my support would be conditioned on that, and we got there. And I think it is an important component of putting America back on its feet.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Thank you, Arlen. Good job.
Chairman Baucus?
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), MONTANA: Thank you, Leader.
Bottom line, given the millions of jobs lost, millions of Americans in foreclosure, the recession in this country and the world, this is the right thing to do.
It's written in Scriptures that much is expected from those to whom much is given. All of us who seek public office, all of us serving, whether it's the president, members of the Senate and the House, are expected by the people we represent to do the right thing, to work for them, work together for them.
And I am very proud of all the give and take and how much all of us have worked together to produce legislation which I think (inaudible) a long, long way to meet the needs here to turn this recession around.
This bill would create about 3.5 million jobs. We're showing to them, the people who have lost jobs, that we care. We're showing the people who may lose jobs that we care. We're showing to the world that the United States government is standing up, it's leading, not only in our country, but in the world.
And I'm very proud of the mutual effort here that all of you have taken. There's been a lot of give-and-take here, a lot, to accomplish the one objective, which is pass good legislation to meet America's concerns.
REID: Olympia Snowe?
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: Well, first of all, I want to thank the Senate majority leader for bringing us all together, and all of my colleagues, and most especially my colleague Senator Collins from Maine and Senator Specter.
These aren't easy times, obviously, for America. It's a critical time. And, given the gravity of the circumstances economically, I thought it was important to be part of a process that could yield a consensus-based solution to achieving an approach at this most critical time in our nation's history.
I said at the outset, it wasn't a matter of what constituted spending provisions or what was tax relief, the question is, what works for this country? And the key to this economic stimulus plan is to ensure that there's job creation, to assisting people who are displaced by the loss of jobs, and at the same to make investments in the jobs for the future.
I happen to think that this approach that we have established here creates an equilibrium on those goals that are so essential for the future of our country.
It's right sized, because the president is right, if we're losing $2 trillion in demand between this year and next year, then we have to backfill this economy with a fiscal stimulus approach.
Secondly, it is important to make sure that every provision that is included in this stimulus package will be designed and geared toward creating jobs and making those necessary investments.
So that we have the tax relief that's so critical to low-income and middle-income America. We've preserved the president's signature item, a make-work tax credit, the alternative minimum tax.
Preserving jobs and investments in small business is going to be the lifeline to our economic reversal.
So those are the kinds of issues that are going to be important to making sure that we can jump-start this economy. The key is making sure that we provide everything in this legislation, that it isn't just a matter of spending federal dollars, but that every dollar is spent efficiently and effectively, and that it is geared for stimulus.
As I have said at the outset, not any spending is stimulus. So you really have to consider every measure to ensure that it's going to be designed and targeted for the purposes of this legislation that is so key to the future of our economy.
So I'm very pleased to have been a part of this. I know that there's a lot of differences, both sides of the aisle, both the House and Senate, and even with the president. But the time has come to bring everybody together so that we can move forward, and that, most of all, that the American people have the assurance that we can develop a solution that can make a profound difference at this very grave moment in time.
REID: Senator Lieberman?
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: Thanks, Senator Reid.
Working together under Harry Reid's patient, usually soft but occasionally quite tough leadership, we came a long way, in a relatively short time, to achieve something big and urgently necessary for our country and our people.
And when I say "we," I mean the president, the House, the Senate, members of both political parties. Everybody gave something, in these negotiations, to achieve something bigger for our country and our people.
I personally am confident that this Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act will put a floor under this economy of ours. It will be the beginning of the turnaround for the American economy.
It will protect or create millions of jobs. It will put billions of dollars into the pockets of hardworking American people, so that they can go out and spend it and grow the economy.
This, in my opinion, is a turning point. We're not going to get back to where our economy was overnight. But I think this represents the beginning of turning our economy around and leading to a better day, full of opportunity, for the American people.
I was proud to work with this group, proud to be part of it. Without the three Republican colleagues, the Senate could not have come to the table.
Without a great spirit of compromise from the White House, the House, and the Senate, we would not be able to announce this agreement today. Thank you.
REID: One of the assets we had, during all these negotiations, was Governor Nelson. His experience as a governor was a tremendous help.
Senator Nelson?
SEN. BEN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: Thank you, Mr. Leader.
When you begin to see the numbers, the staggering numbers of unemployment, and the bottom caving in, in economy, there are people who will act like there's a choice as to whether or not you do something. And some people would tell you that you do nothing, this boat that is beginning to sink will right itself on its own.
Well, I have to say that most of us wish that that would be the case. But I think we all know from the economists and from the experience of others, not in similar situations this deep, but their expectations of turning around an economy, that you have to do something.
There's no choice as to what you do -- whether you do something, but there are choices as to what you do.
We, I think, have made the right choices in this legislation, bringing people together to work together for the common good, to make the kinds of changes and the kinds of opportunities for what this job really represents. It's a jobs bill.
And today you might call us the jobs squad, because that's what we're attempting to do, to make sure that people will have the opportunity to hang on to their jobs that they have today, and they'll be able to get jobs if they lose their jobs, as many, unfortunately, have.
So, as we look and we go forward, there will have to be adjustments along the way. But one of the most important things that we have to recognize is that the people want us to work together here in Washington. They don't want us unnecessarily divided, working against one another, and working against the will of the people and the common good of our country.
So I'm proud to be here today. And I want to say thank you to my Republican colleagues for the opportunity to work so closely with them. And to all of my colleagues here, I say thank you for the experience.
I now know in working through a conference why Nebraska has a unicameral.
(LAUGHTER)
NELSON: Thank you very much.
REID: We're not going to take questions. You heard enough from us. We have got a conference to -- we're going to...
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And hello again, everybody.
There you have it. We're coming to you today from New York. We are going to bring you the very latest on what you have just seen. It's an interesting development to see these Republicans, who have really been hemming and hawing all the way to what is a stimulus package, now being called the jobs bill, agreeing with Democrats.
What you just saw there was politics in action, democracy at work. It does appear that a deal has been struck. We are going to be all over this. Patricia Murphy is going to be joining us with the very latest on this, as is Dana Bash, as we bring you your reaction as well on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.
And here's what else we're going to bring you today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Cutting to the change.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Why do you need bonuses? Can't we just give you a good salary or give yourselves a good salary? You're in charge of that.
SANCHEZ: Before the economy gets going, there's a lot of grilling that needs to be done, and, sometimes, it smarts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone else increased the credit card rates after you received TARP money? If so, would you just raise your hand?
SANCHEZ: Bankers getting hammered.
Painful to watch. Yes, that's a car, and, yes, that's a woman with a small child. We will tell you how it turns out.
One of the most amazing videos you will ever see, when the bad guys pick the wrong house to invade.
(GUNSHOTS)
SANCHEZ: That is gunfire -- Americans protecting their homes against crime -- and against foreclosures.
This guy spells it out. He's got a good job, says he can save his house. Why won't they let him?
Yet, like spoiled, petulant children, it's Wall Street that wants all the money, or they will drive down the Dow to show us. That's what this renowned economic writer says. He will join us, as you join in our national conversation.
This is participatory journalism, only on CNN, right here, right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: All right. Hello again, everybody. We're coming from the New York studios today.
What you have just seen is something that a lot of folks around the country think couldn't happen, the fact that Republicans and Democrats have come together. Remember, economists have been saying, we need some kind of stimulus deal in this country. It now appears that both parties have gotten together and hammered out some kind of deal, details at least in part withheld.
That's why we are going to be bringing you both Patricia Murphy, who has been following this for us. She's going to be joining us live, as is Dana Bash. She's going to bring us the very latest on this as well.
In fact, there they both are.
Before we do anything else, though, let's take that MySpace quote that's coming in to us right now. That's interesting. This is coming in as we start this newscast. In an effort to be participatory, here we go.
"It feels really good" -- this is what you're saying, many of our viewers, as they have watched this unfold -- "It feels really good to see them all compromise for the good of the country. They're acting like real live grownups. Wow. This is how it should be."
Now, that's interesting, because that's not what we have been hearing from you in the past couple of weeks.
Nobody knows that as well as Dana Bash does. She's been following these proceedings for quite some time. She joins us now.
Is the devil in the detail in this thing? How did they hammer this out, Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The devil has been in the detail, Rick. And that has -- it's really what they have been working on behind closed doors, in fact doors not too far from where I'm standing here, for really about 24 hours now, the senators that you saw here, and the White House chief of staff, and the president's budget director, and people you didn't see here, legislators you didn't see here, and that is the entire House of Representatives, actually specifically the House speaker and her top lieutenants, because that is what this has been.
It has been, as you have heard from them -- excuse me -- as you heard from them here, it has been a very intense, very painstaking give-and-take. But you did just hear that the overall spending, taxpayer money that they are intending to spend, will be $789 billion.
That is actually less than what both the House and Senate passed. But, you know, you talked a little bit about the bipartisanship, and certainly it is remarkable that they hammered this out so fast.
But I can tell you that the three Republicans you saw standing here, Rick, unless something dramatic changes, those are the only three Republicans that you're likely to see here.
SANCHEZ: Right.
BASH: And that has been the plot here that has been going on, is that you have Democratic control of Congress, you have a Democrat in the White House, but because they really don't have enough votes without those moderate Republicans, they wielded a ton, a ton of power.
And they were the ones who said, let's bring that spending number down. And they were the ones who were really negotiating with these Democrats about what is going to be in this.
SANCHEZ: Well, help us understand the logistics of this, because you speak of those three Republicans. It's Snowe from Maine and Collins from Maine, Specter, who, by the way, has gotten a lot of heat for this from Pennsylvania.
BASH: He has.
SANCHEZ: We have got those three guys on the table.
Does that mean that this thing will stay as it is numbers-wise? Could they add some more Republicans? Or is there a possibility those three will drop out as this goes back to the House and the Senate?
BASH: Those three are not going to drop out, because what you're actually seeing here, Rick, is the House and Senate negotiation. What has been going on behind close the doors is the compromise worked out with the House and Senate. So, logistically, what you're actually seeing -- and you might even have a picture of this now -- you're seeing, this has been the unofficial negotiation that's been going on. But it's been the real one, but yet it's unofficial.
What's happening now is that the so-called conference committee, meaning the members of the Senate and members of the House who are officially appointed to work this out, they're going to actually write it into legislative language.
And I think that it's actually going on down the hall from me. And again you might have a picture of it starting. But that's what this is. This is the House and Senate negotiations. So, the next step is going to be get it on the House floor, get it on the Senate floor. It is going to be the same exact deal that you just heard about. And then it's -- once that's done, it goes right to the president's desk.
The question about the numbers in terms of how many more Republicans can vote for this, in the Senate, it would be a surprise if any more Republican senators voted for it. And, in the House, you remember, not one Republican voted for the original House bill.
It will be very interesting to see if the moderate Republicans in the Senate did anything that will bring over some of their brethren in the House, meaning moderate Republicans in the House. I have got to tell you, I was talking to a couple of those moderate Republicans.
Again, they all voted no in the House.
SANCHEZ: Right.
BASH: I was talking to some of them and they said that they were looking at this compromise to say maybe, maybe some of them could come on board. And that would certainly change the dynamic a little bit here.
SANCHEZ: Dana Bash all over that story, as usual -- we thank you, Dana, for bringing us up to date on that.
Let's bring in Patricia Murphy if we can. Let's go ahead and slide her into the slot.
Patricia, as we look at this, tell us how Republicans go back now to the Rush Limbaughs of the world and explain to them why they did something that he did not want them to do, since some of these talking heads in the GOP or very right-wing media have been hard on these guys as of late.
PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Yes.
Well, I think the three Republicans who we're seeing coming out of the woodwork to support this are not Rush Limbaugh Republicans. I expect the rest of the Republican base to kind of consider these three rogue actors in the grand scheme of things. And so I think they will label this as not bipartisan. They will classify this as just an effort by Democrats to pick off three weak, non-conservative Republicans. And I think that's how they're going to paint it. And I think that Rush Limbaugh will declare victory, quite honestly.
SANCHEZ: How could he declare victory? It sounds like they have got a stimulus deal. It's exactly what he didn't want Republicans to go along with.
But we saw the presence of some other Republicans, even the ones who didn't vote for this. It sounds like Republicans are saying, with a wink and a nod, we're OK with this. We may not put our name on it, but we're OK with this, because we have heard enough economists say, this is important for the good of the country, especially now that it's called a jobs bill and not a stimulus bill.
MURPHY: Yes. Well, and it's a fascinating piece of reporting from Dana that there is a possibility that some House Republicans might vote for this. That in itself is quite a development.
But what we have seen with this whole process, Republicans have actually gained strength from this. They feel like they have found their voice. And opposing Obama is where they want to be.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks so much, Murph. We appreciate you and Dana bringing us up to date on this news as it happens.
You saw it develop right here. For those of you who are joining us late, Republicans and Democrats in what is called a conference committee, that means members from the House and members from the Senate, from both parties, getting together, the leadership, and deciding that they will in fact have a deal on a stimulus.
It still has to be signed. It still has to go to the House, still has to go to the Senate. But this committee, this all-important committee, seems to have come up with some kind of structure that everyone is comfortable with at this time for this jobs bill as we suddenly -- wink -- saw it being called during this news conference that was called just as we were getting ready to start our newscast.
Again, our thanks again to both Murph and Dana Bash for bringing us that.
Tim Geithner presented his plan yesterday, and the markets tanked. Remember? He's the treasury secretary. Why? Because Wall Street's spoiled, petulant children are never happy, no matter how much you give them, and that's why they drove down the Dow yesterday.
Those aren't my words, by the way. I know they're strong. A "Washington Post" writer put that in his paper today. He's going to be talking to us when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Talk about something going from nip and tuck to a go. The breaking news for those of you now joining us is that Republicans and Democrats have gotten together from both the House and the Senate in what is called a conference committee.
And they have decided and just announced moments ago that they have struck a deal on the stimulus plan that President Barack Obama had asked them to come to some kind of compromise on. Obviously, we're working to get you even more details.
Our reporters, Dana Bash, Patricia Murphy, have been working the story. And as we get more information, we will give it to you.
But as it stands, it looks like, in principle and in word, they have come to a deal on the stimulus plan. We will continue to follow it for you.
I asked moments ago on our Twitter board our social media friends, all 60,000, 70,000 of them who follow us, to talk to us about this. In fact, we asked them the question, and we wanted to know what they thought. Let me go over here and read to you some of the things that we have heard so far. Here we go, your replies.
This is Jude. She is watching us now. She says: "It is about time that this happens."
Then Mystic says to us: "Shocked isn't the word. Amazed may be a little closer to how I would describe it."
"I saw the tease. Hats off to the homeowner."
"Not shocked. It had to happen. Republicans weren't going to be left out as not trying to help America. Obama has a lock."
Well, we will see. Again, the devil may still be in some of the details on this.
Let me tell you something else that was going on. This is part of the underpinnings of what was happening just today. I want you to watch this. This is Barney Frank today. He's meeting with CEOs from all the big banks. And he gives them, well, what is being described as a lecture.
Here's who you're going to be seeing in this, OK? It's Barney Frank. He's talking to the CEOs of Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Bank of New York.
Go ahead, Will. Take this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK: If you don't like the conditions and if you think you're being ill treated by our requests that you tell us how you spent it, we will take it back.
If you're ready to give us back all the money with an appropriate interest rate and your regulator doesn't have a problem with that, then that wasn't yet in the (INAUDIBLE) but let me tell you, if you want to give back the money, we will take it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right, this was billed as a flogging.
Let's bring Patricia Murphy back into this mix, if we can.
This is the House Finance Committee, as I understand it, right? Was it a flogging?
MURPHY: Well, as lot of these hearings are, it was about half fact-finding mission, half therapy session. And that did come in the form of a public flogging.
CEOs were asked one by one, how much did you make last year; did you get any bonuses; do you owe the American people an apology? And they were getting it from the left and the right. Republicans said, you owe us an explanation. And Democrats said, you created this mess; now we have to clean it up.
SANCHEZ: I want you to watch something else. Now, this -- remember Gary Ackerman? Gary Ackerman has become somewhat infamous to our viewers for the berating he did of members of the SEC. In fact, one of them has quit since that berating.
He was at it again today. Here's New York Congressman Gary Ackerman. Here he's going after Morgan Chase. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GARY ACKERMAN (D), NEW YORK: How many billion did your company get?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got $25 billion.
ACKERMAN: Could you tell us what you did with $25 billion, not what you did with all your other money, but with that $25 billion?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that we lent out probably exclusively -- exclusively, because of that, probably $50 billion to $75 billion within a couple of weeks of that, most of that being in government not-for-profit, $1 billion for the state of Illinois, interbank lending, the purchase of mortgage securities...
(CROSSTALK)
ACKERMAN: Why can't people get mortgages?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that mortgage -- we did 30 -- I forgot the number -- $35 billion in mortgage originations.
ACKERMAN: What did you do last year, the year before?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this same quarter, I don't remember the number, but I would say approximately the same.
ACKERMAN: So, with $25 billion more, you gave out the same as you did the year before? So, there's no increase.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Congressman Ackerman is making quite a name for himself at some of these hearings.
Murph, was there a sense of contrition, a sense of, OK, now we get it, we understand why the American people are so mad at us, and we understand why we're getting so much heat from these CEOs?
MURPHY: Yes. There was -- yes, absolutely.
John Mack, who is the CEO of Morgan Stanley, actually apologized. He said, I'm very sorry for this situation. He said he's especially sorry for his shareholders. Obviously, that's also the American people. Also, Vikram Pandit, who is the CEO of Citigroup, apologized for that plane. He said that, we didn't get it. Now we do get it. We understand why people are so angry.
He also said that he has offered to work for $1 a year.
SANCHEZ: That's -- $1 a year. That's pretty good.
Murph, thanks. I appreciate it -- Patricia Murphy bringing us the very latest on that story.
There's something else we want to get to. And this picks up on exactly what I was just talking to Patricia Murphy about, the idea that some of the guys on Wall Street yesterday, especially the guys with the financial sector, actually acted like -- quote -- in fact, let me read you this quote.
This is from a writer with "The New York Post," Steven Pearlstein, a very renowned writer. He's a business writer with "WaPo."
He says: "These guys act like spoiled, petulant children. Bailout politics is just another game to be played by them." There's a whole quote right there. I will read it to you when we come back. And then I think we have got him. He's all set and ready to go. Joining us live from Washington, D.C., will be Steven Pearlstein. There he is.
Mr. Pearlstein, can't wait to talk to you, sir. And our viewers want to hear what you have to say. I think you're singing their tune.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: You have a person who made hundreds of millions for himself, as he led his institution and helped cause a great financial crisis. We have put as taxpayers $10 billion to bail him out, and we have no say about whether or not he should stay on the job?
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: No, I didn't say that. I think there will be circumstances, as there have been already, where the government intervention will have to come with very tough conditions, including changes in management and leadership of institutions. And where we believe that makes sense, we will do that.
SANDERS: I just asked you, do you believe that is the case with the Goldman Sachs?
GEITHNER: In this case, I'm not going to change my answer.
But I want you to say -- I want to just say one thing. I am -- I feel deeply offended by the judgments you have seen these boards of directors make. I think they have make our task much harder going forward.
SANDERS: But we're not going to fire the leadership, and we're keep these same guys who caused the crisis in power and who made huge sums of money?
GEITHNER: Where we think that is the most effective strategy for our country, we will do that.
SANDERS: All right. I have strong disagreements. I think if the American people, if they're going to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into these institutions, want a new slate of leadership so that we can work with them to move us in a new direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And it's amazing to watch the amount of heat that new Secretary Tim Geithner has been getting.
That's Bernie Sanders, by the way, Independent Congressman, who is questioning or grilling Tim Geithner, once again, as if he hasn't had enough of it. But yesterday, Tim Geithner got a lot of heat from the folks on Wall Street. During his speech, when he announced his new plan to somehow try and rescue or help the banks, many in the financial sector weren't satisfied. And suddenly we saw a huge decline on Wall Street. The Dow went down almost 400 points. At one point, it was up to 417.
Well, this is what the business writer for "The Washington Post" had to say about that. Listen to these words. I want to share them with you.
Let's put it up on the screen, if we've got it, guys, back in Atlanta: "These guys won't be happy until the government agrees to relieve them of every last one of their lousy loans and investments at inflated prices so they can once again earn inflated profits and obscene pay packages by screwing over their customers and their shareholders. For the Wall Street wise guys," he goes on to write, "bailout politics is just another game to be played -- another market to be manipulated and another set of risks to be arbitraged" -- a word that I had to look up, by the way.
But joining us now is Steve Pearlstein, the writer for "The Washington Post."
Wow! I mean, you're giving it to these guys. You go on, by the way -- I didn't even share this with the viewers. You go on to call them spoiled petulant children.
Why go off on them like that?
What's your point?
STEVEN PEARLSTEIN, BUSINESS COLUMNIST, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, everyone seemed to be pounding on Tim Geithner yesterday. And I just found it a little unfair. And, you know, it's funny, some days everyone is piling on and jumping on the Wall Street guys for their bad judgment. But then when Tim Geithner does something and Wall Street doesn't like it, all of a sudden, everyone is taking the Wall Street side on this thing, so...
SANCHEZ: But, listen, what you're saying, Steve...
PEARLSTEIN: Yes?
SANCHEZ: ...is that these guys -- I mean yesterday everybody got spooked when they were watching what was going on on Wall Street. You see the market go town over 418 points at one point.
People are saying what in the hell is going on with this?
I mean people are starting to run to their accounts to withdraw money.
And you're saying these guys did it on purpose?
PEARLSTEIN: No, it's just that -- you know, their happy or their unhappiness -- they were -- they were actually very happy in the few days before, as you may remember...
SANCHEZ: Yes.
PEARLSTEIN: ...because they thought that they were going to get more of a bailout than, in fact, that they got.
And my point is don't pay attention to these guys. Don't pay attention to that. That -- that should not be a barometer of what you think the government is proposing to do. The government had a pretty good plan. It's too bad it didn't have some more details on it. But trust me, these things are complicated...
SANCHEZ: Should...
PEARLSTEIN: And, you know, I'm really sorry that they were disappointed. But that's no measure of the quality of the plan. SANCHEZ: Let me under -- when I looked at the plan this morning -- in your paper, by the way -- it sounds like they want to give $50 billion of it, or thereabouts, to homeowners -- to American people, just the average guys, one of which we're going to be talking to later in this show whose home is being foreclosed on.
PEARLSTEIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: You're saying these guys on Wall Street would make the argument don't give those guys the $50 billion, give it to us...
PEARLSTEIN: No, they...
SANCHEZ: ...then we'll be happy.
PEARLSTEIN: Look, it's complicated. The $50 billion, frankly, doesn't actually go to the homeowners. It goes into a pot of money that's used to induce the lenders to take a hair cut -- to take less than they're supposed to get back rather than foreclose on the property. And it doesn't really go directly to the homeowners.
There's another pot of money, which is actually much bigger, that will go to buying up packages of newly made loans. That's $1 trillion. That's a good idea.
The part of the package that they were focused on was the third part. And the third part has -- is the most difficult. And it has to do with all those bad loans and securities made up of bad loans that are sitting on their books that are at very depressed prices right now. And they want to get rid of them, but they want to get rid of them at a price higher than what is the market price now, which is admittedly depressed.
And so there's a lot of tussle about how is it that you can somehow get the market going so the trading of those securities now -- right now those markets are dead. And there's different ideas. We don't need to go into the details.
SANCHEZ: Right.
PEARLSTEIN: But what they really want is for the government to come by and pay for those a high amount and get them off their books. And then they will use their money to replenish their balance sheet and go on and basically become a good bank -- a clean bank again, with all the so-called toxic stuff having been bought.
And that's not going to happen. And the Treasury, to its credit, basically signaled yesterday, no, that's not going to happen. We're going to do something else. We're going to do a little bit in that area. We're going to put some government money in. We're going to try to attract some money in. And we're going to buy some of that stuff, but we're not going to buy it at a high price. We're going to buy it at a reasonable price.
SANCHEZ: It makes sense. And yet a lot of people are arguing that it's Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's fault for either not presenting this well or just not liking the plan altogether. You know, you certainly have something to say about this.
Steve Pearlstein, thanks so much for joining us.
We'll get you on again, all right?
PEARLSTEIN: Great.
Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it.
Taking your own home hostage -- it sounds crazy. But this is what I was just referring to moments ago. For one foreclosure victim that you are going to see on camera, it was all he could do to somehow get somebody's attention.
Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But nobody wanted to hear me out. That's all I want is just for somebody to hear me out, for someone to help us out, work with us -- work on a loan. Because, if not, they're just going to sell the house for under the home prices -- way under the price. And that's not going to help the economy out. That's not going to help us out. That's not going to help the bank out. And I just don't see -- that's a three-way loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: He came home from work and they were putting his furniture outside. They were evicting him from his home, so he did something about it. One man's citizen's revolt, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right, take a look at this video. It says: "I want to be heard."
Why would somebody climb on their roof and write that?
Let me tell you Frank Torres' story. That's the
Why he wrote that. Comes home from work and he realizes he's being evicted. His home is being foreclosed on. He gets furious, climbs to the roof of the House and writes that message there that you saw: "I want to be heard."
His argument is look, I've got a job. I can pay for this. I can get us out of foreclosure.
Don't foreclose on me. And yet millions of Americans are dealing with what Mr. Torres is dealing with, as well.
Joining us is the mayor of Carson, California.
His name is Jim Dear.
Mr. Mayor, thanks so much for being with us, sir.
MAYOR JIM DEAR, CARSON, CALIFORNIA: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: This guy says I now have a job where I'm making $1,500 a week. Back when I was having problems making my payments, I was laid off. But now I can put this together. I can save my home. Give me a chance. I want to be heard.
Should he be heard?
Are you listening to him?
DEAR: Yes, I am listening to him. Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: What are you going to -- have you spoken with him yet?
DEAR: Yes. You know, I got a call yesterday that he had barricaded himself into his house. And I was able to, on the phone, negotiate his exit from his home. And the sheriffs in Carson were able to, you know, talk with him. And he was not arrested. He had broken no laws. But there was a lot of activity on the street.
SANCHEZ: OK, from what you can tell, does this guy have a cogent argument?
Is he -- is he legit or is he a guy who, you know, unfortunately, tried to go and buy too much house for what he was making at the time?
DEAR: Well, it comes down to the problem where the banks and the lenders are operating on a system where people are looked at as statistics. Masses of people are just -- decisions are being made in corporate offices about their livelihood and their home. And what really needs to be looked at is in the evaluation of how these foreclosures take place. Because this gentleman does make enough money to pay his mortgage now and he is ineligible to buy his own house. Yet his home, which he owes X number of dollars for, will be sold at a discount by the bank to a stranger. They refuse to sell it to the homeowner because he's deemed ineligible to get the loan for his own house.
SANCHEZ: Show -- Will, have you got that video?
Show that video again as we close out this segment, because, you know, this guy is not alone, all right?
This guy is one of about -- just in your city, Mr. Mayor, 1,100 foreclosures...
DEAR: That's correct.
SANCHEZ: ...people who are dealing with this. I mean he comes home from work, he's a working man, he climbs on the -- this has got to be humiliating. It's got to be embarrassing. But, in a sense, it's his story -- but the story of so many people out there who say they want to be heard, as well.
I'm hearing you, Mr. Mayor, say they deserve to be heard. They should be heard.
DEAR: That's correct.
SANCHEZ: And if they can be rescued, they should be rescued.
DEAR: Absolutely. I mean he -- Frank Torres' plea to me, his mayor -- he wanted to talk to no one by the mayor. Well, my plea as the mayor of the City of Carson is to the president of the United States. We need to be heard on this level -- the human level, where we are right in the homes that are being foreclosed on.
SANCHEZ: That's a great story.
Mr. Mayor, thank you, sir.
Jim Dear, thank you for taking the time to take us through this story.
DEAR: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Certainly.
DEAR: Thank you for your time.
(VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: One of the most amazing videos that you'll ever see -- when the bad guys picked the wrong house to invade.
Can you believe this?
Now, is the homeowner in trouble for what he did here?
We'll ask and we'll let you know.
Stay with us.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. Welcome back.
I'm Rick Sanchez.
We're in our New York studios today, so we've got the bill wall, as we call it. And we use it to share your reaction with what we've been talking about.
Let's see with the very top. This is Joseph. He says -- regarding the story we just did about the guy who says: "I want to be heard," he says: "He should actually be heard by the bank -- him and a million other stories." Katie's watching, as well. She's not so kind to him. She says: "No. He lost his home, fair and square. Sympathy aside, fair is fair."
And then about the story with the interview I did a little while ago with Mr. Pearlstein from "The Washington Post." Tripp writes: "Wall Street purposely drowning -- or downing -- the Dow is a form of terrorism and they should be dealt with by government order."
Interesting point. We'll continue to follow what you have to say, as well.
Now look at this story. This story that we're about to show you is about a man who was in his own home when suddenly he realizes somebody is trying to get into his home and shoot it up.
Do you see this?
This is actual video of somebody trying to get into his home. It's in Arizona. He takes out a gun and he starts shooting at them. They start shooting back. It's shootout at the OK Corral, but it's in front of his house. We've been trying to get information on this. It's one of the most unbelievable pictures I've seen. And what it turns into now is a report being filed on by Tucson police and by this reporter, David Marino.
Take a look at what he puts together for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MARINO, KVOA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The surveillance video captures it all -- four suspects, armed and dangerous, attempting to invade a Southwest Side home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The victim was able to get back inside his house, close his door, semi-barricade it and reach for a weapon that was easily accessible.
MARINO: That's when you hear gunfire. The four men retreat, get into their car -- but not before the homeowner's bullets hit the windshield. Pima County sheriff's officials say the homeowner has surveillance cameras installed all around his house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that was just for his own home security.
MARINO (on camera): People living in the neighborhood heard all the gunshots and saw the aftermath.
(voice-over): Some stray bullets even hit a home across the street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I was asleep around noon Thursday. And I heard gunshots. And I heard about four or five more shots go out in rapid succession. Then I heard his car squeal off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am very watchful from where we live. And I think everybody has a right to defend their property. MARINO: Pima County detectives did find the suspects' vehicle at a home near Cardinal and Valencia. But the four men are still on the run.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: An believable story. We'll continue to track it for you.
By the way, one of the biggest stories that we're following for you today has to do with what's decided by Congress and the Senate. Both Republicans and Democrats have gotten together and hammered out a deal on the stimulus plan -- or the jobs plan, as they now call it. Some said it could never be done.
Apparently, it's been done. Still, the devil has to be in the details. And that's got to be worked out. We're going to be all over that and continue to update you on that story as we come back.
Stay with us.
We'll be back with this more and your reaction, as well, from New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
I'm Rick Sanchez coming to you today from New York.
This is participatory journalism. We promise every day what you say we'll put on the air as part of the process.
Let's start now, if we can. This is Facebook.
And this is Jeffrey talking about the story we just told a little while ago: "I applaud the homeowner in Carson, California. Every citizen should be heard. This is a guy who's saying I don't want to be foreclosed on."
Mary Beth is watching, too. She says: "Why won't the bank work with this guy? He can pay his mortgage. He's willing to pay it, even though it's way more than what his house is worth. The bank is getting its money. Why won't they work with him? People are not statistics. Banks are a business, I know. But what happened to human compassion? Did it get killed by the almighty bottom line?"
This is what a lot of people in America are thinking.
Will, let's do a switch. Bring in Twitter, if you can.
Thank you.
Let's go to Bizioux. He says -- this is on Twitter now about the story we just showed with you with the burglars. He says: "Those burglars deserve to be shot at. Good for the homeowner. Hope there's no charges for the victim."
And one more: "Congratulations to him for actually trying to fight for his house. If only more people would stop acting as if they were powerless."
I guess that one works with both stories.
By the way, throughout the day, we like to collect a lot of what you can't see, because a lot of times you're either busy at home or you're at work -- things like what goes on in the morning on "The View" and then, of course, "The Daily Show" -- just a few to mention.
Here now, what we call our Fix.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY CBS)
CRAIG FERGUSON, HOST "THE LATE LATE SHOW": The Senate today approved a potential $3 trillion stimulus package. I know. The federal government hasn't spent that much money since the day that Bill Clinton went to Hooters. But apart from that, there were actually nothing...
(LAUGHTER)
FERGUSON: Ka-ding, ding, ding, ding, blaudoo (ph), doo, doo, doo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST "THE COLBERT REPORT": And I think the credit for passing the bill goes to Obama's bold new charm offensive -- terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last month, our economy lost 598,000 jobs, which is nearly losing the equivalent of every single job in the State of Maine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLBERT: Oh, no.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: Not Maine.
Then where would we get our deodorant that doesn't work?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
JON STEWART, HOST "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Spending is irresponsible. I think I'm clear on this now. So the fiscally responsible position would be -- wait, wait. Hold on. I'm going write it down and see if I get it right. Hold on. The fiscally Republican response would be...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We need tax cuts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tax cuts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think this tax credit will do it again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giving working families and small businesses more of their dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Damn it. I had slavery. I had...
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: I had slavery. I had...
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: I wrote tax cuts at first, but then I thought no one is that dumb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOLLY PARTON, ENTERTAINER: You've got such a big mouth and you just go out and talk to people, did you ever think about running for president?
And I said I think we've had enough boobs in the White House. And...
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": And I miss the President Bush news conference. Oh, yes. Like when they asked him a question, he'd go, can I have a hint, you know what I'm saying?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I love The Fix. Those guys can be so brutally honest.
All right, I hate doing this. I hate when guests cancel on me and then I have to tell you that we've just gotten notice from them that they canceled on us. I promised you at the beginning of this newscast that we would be talking to some of the leading representatives from the Democratic Party -- in this case, James Clayborne.
He was going to talk to us, obviously, because the big news out of Washington today is that the Democrats and Republicans have gotten together and they've hammered out a deal on stimulus.
So I've got my questions prepared. I'm ready to go. I was going to ask him to see if we can get news out of this.
But I've just been told that he has gone to a meeting -- a special meeting that they've just called. So James Clayborne, the whip for the Democrats, the third most important man in the party, is not going to be able to join us, I'm now told, because of a special meeting he has to attend.
We'll see if we can reach him and we can get him back. If nothing else, we can get him back tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer is standing by at "THE SITUATION ROOM".
It happens to you, too, I'm sure, from time to time.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It happens all the time, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Right.
BLITZER: Congressman Clayborne, by the way, a very, very good guy. I'm sure he had good reason to cancel. But I have no doubt he'll be back -- and probably as soon as tomorrow. No doubt about that.
SANCHEZ: Cool.
BLITZER: All right. Let me tell you what's coming up right at the top of the hour.
Could there finally be some good news for the U.S. economy?
A deal on Capitol Hill means a recovery package is likely to pass. President Obama is underscoring the urgency again.
What will the plan mean for the economy, for the stock market, for you and your family? We're breaking it all down in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
Plus, with nine people dead, officials who run that peanut plant in Georgia are facing Congress and the FBI.
What do they have to say for themselves?
Wait until you hear how they're responding to some tough questions.
And the Republicans pull out what might be their best weapon to counteract the very popular President Obama -- how Governor Bobby Jindal might help.
All that, Rick and a lot more, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
SANCHEZ: And nobody does it like Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
We look forward to it, Wolf.
Meanwhile, we're not done from New York. We showed you this scene from Oklahoma yesterday. Our man, Chad Myers, proved way more accurate than anybody else.
In fact, he said, Rick, you see this right here?
In fact, you're looking at him. He said, I hate to say this, but I think there may be tornadoes in Oklahoma in the very foreseeable future.
He was right -- unfortunately, dead right.
We'll be right back with what he said and what actually happened, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Will Nunez, my favorite director, is going to like this. Look at somebody, what they Twittered. He says -- Dan says: "I'm loving that video wall, Rick."
That's number two right there.
How do you like that, Will Nunez?
By the way, something else I need to take a couple of minutes now to tell you about and point out to you the power of this very television network.
CNN, just one day ago on this program -- you saw it. I went into breaking news mode for a tornado warning with one of the best weather forecasters in the business, our very own meteorologist, Chad Myers.
Yes, I'm giving his props, all right?
He was watching some incredible storms brewing in Oklahoma, looked at his map, looked at the radar and said, oh my goodness, something is going to happen here.
Here's how the news broke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: An extremely dangerous situation right in Western Oklahoma City. We're talking about War Acres and Bethany, maybe up toward the village and eventually up here into Western Edmond. This is the storm right here -- a large hook echo, which means this thing is spinning. No reports of it on the ground, but I can't imagine it's not.
This is a serious storm for Western Oklahoma City -- not so much for the city proper. But there you go, from Mustang up toward Yukon. War Acres would be right through here and toward Bethany. This is the hook of the storm -- a very large and dangerous super cell storm, probably making a tornado right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: He's a professional and he knows what he's doing and he was urgent about it and said get me on the air right away.
Guys like Chad Myers save peoples' lives and he probably did. Again, that was yesterday.
Chad Myers saw the radar, saw the models, made the call.
And you know what?
He was 100 percent correct. A huge tornado whipped through exactly where Chad said it would.
Look at this. This is Lone Grove, Oklahoma, not far from the Texas state line. Eight people died. Many more were seriously hurt, as well. The tornado struck just seconds after Chad announced the warning right here on CNN and brought it to the attention.
Here's what Lone Grove looks like today.
So what am I saying?
Did our CNN breaking news warning send more people to find shelter?
We certainly would like to think so.
Did at least one person escape injury because they saw this emergency?
Maybe.
Who knows?
This is the Weather Center doing what they do. Kudos again -- props, as they say, to Chad Myers.
By the way, tonight I'm going to be in New York because I'm going to be hosting the Shorty Awards. That's the best Twitterers in all the country. And they're flying in from all over the world.
We're going to Brooklyn to do that. My co-host for the Shorty Awards -- Shaquille O'Neal. This will be good. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Meanwhile, let's take you out to Wolf Blitzer now.
Time for "THE SITUATION ROOM".
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Rick.
Happening now, breaking news -- the president's economic rescue plan clears another major hurdle. House and Senate negotiators announced the deal just a short while ago. We're going to get reaction from the White House and tell you what's in and what's out of this recovery plan.
