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Top to Bottom Health Care Overhaul; How Long for Medicare and Social Security?; Preparing for the Worst: Do Pilots Get Enough Training?; Home Prices: Another Record Quarter; Hunting Tornadoes; President Obama, VP Biden Honor America's Top Cops; Ending Robo Calls
Aired May 12, 2009 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And we're pushing forward on programs we're all entitled to, Social Security and Medicare. All of us are either on the receiving end or hoping to be when we get older. Later this hour, the Obama administration will tell us how many years both programs have left, assuming no major changes in funding or benefits. The backdrop is the campaign for the top to bottom health care overhaul.
CNN's Jill Dougherty joins me now from the White House with a preview.
Jill, what do we take away from the time line?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, certainly two of the biggest programs, the entitlement programs as they're called, are Social Security and Medicare. And we're going to get those reports very shortly. The details are in doubt, but experts know what the overall picture is. And that is, that this economic downturn is having a direct effect on those programs.
And why? Because there are fewer people working. That means they're paying less money in. And then at the same time you have more money going out because you've got the baby boomers rolling through. Seventy-eight million of them beginning to go through the system. So the projections are that these programs could run out of money even more quickly than we expect.
Just a few minutes ago, in the briefing here at the White House with Robert Gibbs, the spokesman for President Obama, we asked him about the best thing to do. What is the president suggesting to solve this?
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes we have to cut costs for Medicare. We have to put it back on a more sustainable path. That's exactly why he believes that we need fundamental health care reform, which he's pursuing, that we need to take steps, as we demonstrated yesterday, to change the trajectory of health care spending both publicly and privately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: And Robert Gibbs is saying, and most people would agree with this, it's really an unsustainable course. That if these programs are not reigned in, in some fashion -- and that's, of course, the big question, how -- that they will be unsustainable, and basically you're risking in solvency in those programs -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jill Dougherty, appreciate it. We'll be following this all week, of course.
The briefing is due to start at the bottom of the hour. We're going to keep our ear out and bring you the headlines as they happen.
Three months to the day after the nation's worst air disaster in more than seven years, investigators are pushing forward at uncommon speed. You'll remember 50 people died when Continental connection Flight 3407 hit a house on the outskirts of Buffalo, New York, on a frigid night in February. Federal hearings generally come a year or so after the fact, but a hearing today in Washington is looking into safety issues while looking back to the moments leading up to the crash.
According to cockpit transcripts, Captain Marvin Renslow and co- pilot Rebecca Shaw took note of a heavy build up of ice on the wings. Here's what Shaw said: " I've never seen icing conditions. I've never deiced. I've never experienced any of that."
"I don't want to have to experience that and make those kind of calls. You know I'd have freaked out. I'd have, like, seen this much ice and thought, oh, my gosh, we're going to crash."
Renslow then replies, "Oh, yes. I'm so glad. I mean, I would have been fine. I would have survived it. We never had to make decisions that I wouldn't have been able to make, but now I'm more comfortable."
Well, three minutes later, that recording ends and you hear Shaw screaming.
Renslow had been described as a slow learner on the twin-engine turbo prop that he was flying and never had hands-on training with the so-called stick-pusher designed to help prevent stalls. So pilot know how is an issue, and not just in the case of Flight 3407.
Steven Wallace is a 30-year veteran of the FAA and former head of the Accident Investigation Office. He joins me from Washington with his insights.
I appreciate you being with us, Steven. And I want to start, first of all, talking about a commuter aircraft and a bigger aircraft.
Is there a difference in emergency training on both of those aircrafts?
STEVEN WALLACE, FORMER FAA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR: Well, this aircraft, Colgan Airlines, operates under Part 121, the same standards as the biggest air carriers in the United States. The aircraft is slightly different in its ice protection system, which is -- I was at the hearing this morning, and very thoroughly discussed and described it's got a very sophisticated ice protection system, pneumatic boots on the wings and the horizontal/vertical stabilizer.
A little different than an airliner that uses bleed air, a heated system, but still a very capable airplane. And again, the crews are all operating under the same high training standards as the major carriers.
PHILLIPS: So, meanwhile, when we heard Shaw say, "I've never seen icing conditions, I've never de-iced, I've never experienced any of that," it doesn't mean that Shaw didn't have the training, just never had the experience. Correct?
WALLACE: That's correct. I just read the transcript. The NTSB made it public an hour or two ago, and I read it, and there was that discussion.
It had a lot to do with where they had actually had a lot of their flying experience. They had been in warmer climates, for the most part.
PHILLIPS: So is that normal? Is that normal to put pilots who usually fly in warmer climates in bad conditions like that, like flying into areas where you're going to have to think about de-icing and dealing with cold weather elements?
WALLACE: Well, they certainly went through the Colgan, which is an FAA-approved training program, which covers all aspects of interoperations, certainly including ground de-icing and coping with icing in the air. I think icing is being thoroughly discussed at the beginning of the hearing. I suspect it may not be a major -- the major factor that people were assuming early on in the investigation.
PHILLIPS: What about being trained on the stick-pusher? Do all these pilots go through regular training on how to deal with stalls? Not only preventing one, but what if you do find yourself in the middle of a stall?
WALLACE: Well, that's certainly a fundamental aspect of airmanship that is taught to pilots on every aircraft from the beginning, and a routine part of a check ride. As you get into a larger and more sophisticated aircraft, with sophisticated stall warning systems like this, you typically don't do the full deep stalls, but you are trained more in the signs of the onset of the stall and how to recover immediately. It's a fundamental part of the training.
I did hear the statement that he didn't have hands-on training on the stick shaker. I'm having trouble reconciling what that means.
PHILLIPS: See, and that's what we're having trouble with, too, because we want to know if we're getting into an aircraft from this point forward, how well trained is our pilot going to be? Because apparently he failed five check rides, three of those before Colgan even hired him.
So how does that even happen? I mean, don't they check to see how they do on their check rides?
WALLACE: They do. That's an issue that came up this morning as well.
A number of these check ride failures that were cited were when he was in the general aviation, out sort of flying privately, as opposed to having worked at another airline where he had a record. There's a law called the Pilot Records Improvement Act that was enacted a few years ago that requires airlines divulge these training records if a pilot goes from one to another.
Some of those failures were early in his training. It certainly is a concern.
I will say, though, these airlines use very state-of-the-art simulators for training. And I'm sure that they cover stick shaker activation in their routine training.
PHILLIPS: So, bottom line, I want to know that when I get on an airline, especially a commuter, that I'm going to be in good hands. Can I count on that?
WALLACE: You can. I think you need to look at this in the perspective of the overall safety record, which has been so stellar.
The last fatality we had in a Part 121 air carrier in this country was in August of 2006. I mean, we carried 1.6 billion passengers without losing a single one prior to this accident. So it's a fantastically safe system.
This is a tragic accident that's being thoroughly investigated. We'll learn something from it. But the system overall is very, very safe.
PHILLIPS: Steven Wallace, appreciate your time.
WALLACE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, when we learned that an American soldier allegedly opened fire on his comrades, we couldn't stop talking about the story. So we're pushing it forward.
If you're a vet of Iraq or Afghanistan, we want you to know that you're not alone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, they've been called the Oscars for police. No red carpet, but there is a White House tribute about to start for the winners of this year's Top Cop Awards, and we're going to take a live look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BUSINESS REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you're a realtor, these facts and figures probably won't surprise you a bit. The median home price is down in the neighborhood of 14 percent in the first quarter of this year. That's the steepest year-over-year drop since the National Association of Realtors started keeping track. Blame the wealth of foreclosures.
Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis in D.C. She's been on the road where all the realtors have been meeting.
So Gerri, is there any optimism to speak of?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, you know, I'm here in a hotel full of 3,000 realtors. Yes, there is some optimism.
But I have to tell you, as you might guess, the big topic of conversation here, Kyra, is the market. When are things going to turn around? When are things getting better? They're talking a lot about the glimmers in the marketplace, the glimmers of hope. As you know, in March, we saw a rebound in some of the stats. Certainly in new home sales we saw a rebound. In pending home sales -- that's a forward-looking indicator -- we saw glimmers as well.
We had an opportunity this morning to talk to Shaun Donovan, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about the glimmers that he's seeing.
Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAUN DONOVAN, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: We've definitely seen early signs that the housing market is stabilizing. Sales volumes, as you just said, have increased somewhat in the past few months. We've also seen substantial declines in prices begin to abate across the country. So I think we've seen early signs.
But we need to see a couple more months of good data before we can truly conclude that we've hit bottom in the market. And I do expect, based on everything that we've seen, that we should be out of the housing slump certainly by the end of the year, if not sooner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: All right. So you heard it from the secretary of Housing and Urban Development. By the end of the year, he's seeing stabilization and then, of course, recovery coming out of that. So that's some very good news for the 3,000 realtors here.
And I wanted you to meet one of the realtors. Brenda Small is a 15-year expert in this industry. She works in Washington.
Brenda, good to see you.
BRENDA SMALL, REALTOR: Thank you.
WILLIS: Now, you're a Washington realtor. Tell us a little bit about the market here.
What are you seeing? Is it good? Is it bad? What's going on?
SMALL: We are very optimistic about the recovery of this market. And, in fact, we are seeing signs of great increased buyer interest, as well as increased sales.
WILLIS: Do you see some of the problems that some markets have seen with -- is there some areas with foreclosures? Are there some areas with REOs? Is it sort of a mixed bag?
SMALL: Right now it is a mixed bag. We are seeing a little bit of everything.
For example, we are still seeing multiple offers on properties, including foreclosures and short sales. We're seeing multiple offers from buyers that are first-time buyers just coming into the market. So there is a glimmer of hope.
I think people are much more optimistic at this point. They realize now is a great time to buy, with interest rates being at an all-time low, with more inventory to choose from. And we are just so hopeful that things are going to turn around.
WILLIS: And of course, prices are also very low, as we discuss a lot on this network.
Now, tell me a little bit about what you're hoping to learn here, to take away to your job, your day-to-day work life?
SMALL: It's very important for us as realtors to get the facts, to have the information to share with our customers and clients. And what we're hoping for is to hear it straight from the leadership, straight from the economists who deal with these things every single day.
WILLIS: All right. Brenda Small, thank you for that.
Kyra, I'm going to send it back to you. But as you can see, there's a lot of optimism here, a lot of hope that the market is going to recover, that things are going to get better, and get better fast. I think that's what people wish for here.
PHILLIPS: We all wish for it.
Gerri Willis, thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut your door. Shut your door. Shut your door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Go. Back up. Back up. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're OK. We're OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Hunting for storms in Tornado Alley. We're going to take you on the road with the storm chasers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's the image that makes people run for cover, a funnel cloud, the hallmark of a tornado. Twisters can happen at any time, but the month of May is a peak period.
What's it like chasing down a tornado when everyone else is heading the other way?
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simply incredible!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can hear the wind blowing. You can hear things bouncing off the top of the road. It was terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a lot of communities that have been literally obliterated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's become bigger, Travis. The tornado has become bigger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got a large funnel heading to the ground in Maxville.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw one for a good 20 minutes. We were in the basement under the pool table. It sounds like just like they tell you it sounds like, loud, like a train coming. It's every bit as scary as you think it's going to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut your door! Shut your door! Shut your door!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Go! Back up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're OK. We're OK. Hear that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So is our colleague actually heading to the vortex today or is he just trying to unravel all the mysteries?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: He's trying to go with the vortex team to where there might be a tornado.
PHILLIPS: OK. MYERS: Never send a weatherman to a tornado chase, because it'll be a desert. And that's what we have out there, a desert. We haven't even seen a thunder clap for the past four days, but the vortex team is off to the races here, west of Oklahoma City, and looking for some cells.
It looks like most of the weather right now is to the east of there, but we are expecting some storms to fire up from Amarillo, maybe up the I-27 corridor. That little dot right there is our Brandon Miller and also our Rob Marciano.
Rob, we can kind of see some gray skies. They don't look like tornadoes.
What are you seeing out there?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'll tell you, we've not only seen gray skies, we've seen fog, to reduced visibility of an eighth of a mile, and still some sprinkling on the lens here as we head deeper into the Texas panhandle. So we haven't seen much. And obviously raising some doubts with this much cool air and low-level moisture.
But that, Chad, as you're probably aware, during the weather briefing this morning, with the best and brightest minds and best storm chasers when it comes to tornado research, we're watching moisture come into toward the western part of Texas and banging up against the dry line that sits out there this time of year. And maybe a little low-level (ph) winds that will be favorable for tornado development.
So I ask you, my friend and colleague, when are we going to bust out of this low cloud cover, and is anything popping up on the radar?
MYERS: Well, it's 82 in Dalhart, so you still have a couple hundred miles. They call that drive a six-pack and a nap. But anyway, that's a west Texas term.
You will get some sunshine, but for a moment, describe your mission and the vortex mission for us. Would you?
MARCIANO: This is Vortex 2, which is the second research mission to get into tornadoes, figure out what they're all about. They did this 15 years ago, and they were able to document and analyze the evolution and life span of a tornado.
But now they want to get better at forecasting them. They want to know why some tornadoes come out of the clouds and touch the ground, why some don't. And seemingly, the same type of thunderstorm, why some tornadoes are stronger than others, why some stay on the ground longer than others.
And they want to get better at forecasting them so that instead of just throwing out a tornado warning in which maybe only 10 to 20 percent of them actually verify to be tornadoes, they want to get that verification level higher so it doesn't always seem like warnings are out all the time and people aren't necessarily heeding them. So that's the goal. It's five weeks out here, a multimillion-dollar project, 100 scientists and researchers from all over the country, 40 research vehicles trying to crisscross and surround the storms as they develop just to get an entire basket of high-resolution data that these incredible minds can further analyze, and then make strides in what they hope to be some serious tornado forecasting going forward.
MYERS: All right, Rob. Good luck out there and be safe.
One word of advice. I've chased tornadoes in Oklahoma for years. Do not get on a dirt road. That's all I want you to do. Don't get on a dirt road because dirt turns to mud and then you don't go anywhere.
So Rob Marciano out there with his unicorn license, Kyra, looking for a unicorn. Sometimes you find them, sometimes you don't.
PHILLIPS: And when you do, boy, you hit big luck, that's for sure.
Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Well, money concerns, money problems, they may be pretty overwhelming for you. Well, our financial Help Desk has some advice.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Are you looking for a lender or struggling to build credit after bankruptcy? CNN's Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is standing by at the Help Desk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to "The Help Desk."
Hilary Kramer is an AOL money coach, and Gary Schatsky is the president and founder of ObjectiveAdvice.com.
All right, guys. Let's get right to those questions.
The first one is from Mark in Colorado, who asks, "I have a small business and I'm in the process of refinancing my commercial real estate loan. Should I be concerned about the financial condition of the banks I apply to? Once I get the loan, should I worry about the bank's condition?"
Hilary, interesting question. Normally we're talking to people who are putting their paychecks into a bank, what should they do. But this is someone who has a commercial loan.
What should they think about? HILARY KRAMER, AOL MONEY COACH: Always think about a bank that has a very healthy balance sheet, excellent, excellent health, and that looks very strong, because that bank will be more flexible in dealing with your loan or your refinancing. The worse condition a bank is, they don't have the money to loan out, so they're going to be difficult and it's going to be a long process. So go with a healthy bank.
And then once you have the loan, most of the time it's securitized out. So if your bank does happen to fail, don't worry. They'll still be collecting. A monthly check will find you.
WILLIS: Right. And securitization, of course, means that it's sold to other lenders.
KRAMER: That's right.
WILLIS: One other great thing to do, BankRate.com has a safety and soundness ratings for banks if you want to look up just how safe your bank is.
Kristina in Colorado has another question. "My husband and I are going through a bankruptcy and are determined never to open another credit card. What can we do to build our credit back after this bankruptcy?"
Gary, interesting question.
GARY SCHATSKY, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, OBJECTIVEADVICE.COM: Well, you know, obviously you're quite limited in terms of your ability to borrow, but often people are looking at secured credit cards. And that's a situation where you're putting up a sum of money and then you're granted a credit card and it can help your credit score.
Clearly, you don't want to get into the same situation, so you don't want to be borrowing money you don't have. But building up your credit is crucial, and a secured credit card is probably one of the best places.
WILLIS: You know, a lot of people out there, they want to get rid of the credit cards. But I think people in this society, they need some kind of credit card, A, to prove who they are, to pay for emergency expenses.
Hilary, what do you think?
KRAMER: Credit cards are vital and important for building your credit score because that's how much credit limit that you have. And you want as much as possible. So having many credit cards but don't go over the limit, that's the way to go.
WILLIS: All right, guys. Great answers. Tough questions.
"The Help Desk" is all about getting you answers. Send me an e- mail to gerri@cnn.com or log on to CNN.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions. And "The Help Desk" is everywhere. Make sure to check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And for most of the year they walk the beat without recognition. But this is National Police Week, and we're spotlighting some of the men and women who protect us.
A national police organization is awarding its top cop honors today. And as he promised during his campaign, President Obama has invited officers to the White House to say thanks in person.
We're going to get a list of the top cop winners in just a bit. Meanwhile, you can go to CNN.com/newsroom to read about it more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So how many years does Social Security have left? How about Medicare? We're about to find out.
Any second now the Treasury and HHS secretaries will deliver their yearly death watch on the programs all of us depend on or hope to depend on some day. A year ago, feds projected the Social Security trust fund would run out in 2041, Medicare in 2019. The recession almost certainly has shortened those time lines.
Now, health reform fever is gripping Washington right now and everybody has something to say. A roundtable today on Capitol Hill was crashed by backers of a so-called single-payer, government-run, health care for all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people at this table have failed Americans for 30 years!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stand to recess until the police escort...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... health care is a human right, we want guaranteed health care! No more blue cross's double crosses. We want guaranteed health care. No more -- thank you. No more Aetna or Cigna bosses. We want guaranteed health care! We want to see our documents when we need and get our bills guaranteed! We're tired about -- we want guaranteed health care!
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Single payer isn't on the table, but some in Congress are raising the prospect of taxing job provided health care benefits or even soft drinks to help provide care for the uninsured.
Sergeant John Russell is in military police custody at Camp Victory in Baghdad right now. He's charged with killing five service members yesterday at a military stress clinic. Two officers from that clinic's staff and three soldiers died. There are two investigations going on. One focused on the crime itself, another is focused on what would drive a soldier to kill his comrades.
Russell's commander took his weapon away just a week earlier. Apparently, he saw enough red flags to spot a potential problem. Sergeant Russell was believed to be at the end of his third tour in Iraq and had been getting some kind of counseling within his battalion. One former army sergeant here in the states wonders if the suspect and he have something in common.
Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As news spreads about the shooting at Camp Liberty in Iraq, thousands of miles away in Colorado, Alan Pitts questioned whether the soldier in custody was fighting the same kind of battle he deals with every day.
ALAN PITTS, FORMER SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY: It's not the first time I've heard about this. I've had friends that had, you know, committed suicide back in the states or, you know, did other horrible things to other people.
CARROLL: Doctors diagnosed Pitts with post-traumatic stress disorder. His convoy hit two IEDs in western Iraq. Insurgents attacked, killing his driver and shooting Pitts. He recovered physically, but not mentally.
PITTS: Sleepless nights, flashbacks, hearing things that aren't there. It's just hard to deal with people that don't understand or have never seen the things I've seen or gone through the things I've seen.
CARROLL: Five years ago, Pitts was discharged. He continues treatment under a doctor's care.
A recent study found one in five veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan reported PTSD symptoms like depression and aggression. A separate Army study, more alarming. It found a record number of suicide, 143 in 2008.
HEIDI KRAFT, FORMER NAVY PSYCHOLOGIST: It still has a long way to go.
CARROLL: Heidi Kraft wrote a book about soldiers in combat and treats combat trauma patients. She says overcoming the stigma associated with needing help is a major obstacle.
KRAFT: The long-standing culture that has had no tolerance for anything that looks like less than emotional perfection.
CARROLL: Military leaders acknowledge more needs to be done.
ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: It does speak to me though about the need for us to redouble our efforts and concern in terms of dealing with the stress. It also speaks to the issue of multiple deployments.
CARROLL: PTSD experts say military leaders have to better prepare soldiers for the psychological effect of combat.
STEVE ROBINSON, PTSD EXPERT: We have not broken through to our military leaders that understanding how your brain and your body works in war and recognizing the signs and symptoms of distress is as important as knowing how to use your weapon.
CARROLL (on camera): The military has put out a public service announcement to talk about the stress servicemen face and they have set up a Web site, communityofveterans.org. Veterans can go there to get information about mental health resources and transition back to home life. In terms of treatment, experts say, if on active duty it may mean getting off. Regardless, they say, talking to a qualified therapist as soon as possible is key.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Jason mentioned a Web site. We want to push this a little forward and tell you more about it. It's pretty amazing.
If you're a vet in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, here's some proof that you're in pretty good company. Communityofveterans.org is where you can actually swap stories and actually learn from others as well. Communityofveterans.org, this is the front page. It has all the various areas you can tap on to - "Readjusting to Family Life," "Readjusting to Work," "Feeling Keyed Up,""Getting Help."
I wanted to go to "Feeling Keyed Up." It basically lines out, the battle is over for you, but you can't let it go. There have been moments where you feel you have just been kicked in. You felt more alive there than you do now at home. Goes into detail about, hey, home is not a war zone. You don't need to be locked and loaded anymore.
On the left side it's got all these various resources of where you can go for help. And you can actually click on again to another section about getting help. And it talks about getting help for your loved one. Getting help for yourself and once again, constant list of resources over there on the left side.
Communityofveterans.org, it's a fabulous Web site. I hope you'll check it out if you need the help.
Now we want to take you live to the White House. The president of the United States, we had mentioned, along with Joe Biden you see and also Eric Holder, right next to him. The vice president, the president, and the attorney general all getting ready to honor top cops in our country.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS) JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They can sit -- yes, you can sit down.
(LAUGHTER)
I just assumed you were going to sit down. I apologize. Thank you, Mr. President. Tommy -- you stay standing up, though, for me. I don't want you...
(LAUGHTER)
Let me begin by saying congratulations. It's an honor to be in the presence of the best of the best here standing behind us. You're all been an inspiration to the men and women of not only this country, but your fellow officers. You've been an inspiration to the thousands and thousands of people who strap on a sidearm and go out every day to do their job.
When you strap on that sidearm and you walk outside your home every morning -- every morning, or evening, depending on their shift -- your wives and your husbands that you leave behind know that you are literally putting yourselves in harm's way, every time you walk out that door.
And the President and I recognize the bravery you display simply by putting on that badge every day -- just putting the badge on. The officers honored here today have been singled out for going above and beyond the call of duty and we commend you all. But we also know that there are thousands more like you in communities throughout this country, large and small, doing their part every single day -- as we speak right now -- in their communities, making them safer but also making the community stronger.
Today is a day for every man and woman in uniform to feel proud of you, and to feel proud of themselves. Today is a day for the entire community of police officers to see how much America appreciates their courage, and to let you know that the President and this administration appreciate your courage, as well. Your sacrifices and acts of heroism don't go unnoticed. I think sometimes you must feel like they do. You do your job every day, you don't expect any particular thanks or gratitude, you change people's lives for the better and -- but it's warranted on a day like today to pay special recognition.
You've already seen some evidence of the President's commitment, beyond his entire career of being committed to law enforcement. The President's commitment to the level of support for law enforcement can be seen in the Recovery Act. Over $4 billion was placed in that emergency legislation to hire new officers, for new equipment such as bulletproof vests, and for new technologies, to give you the tools to do your jobs more safely and more efficiently.
You keep us safe. We owe you.
(APPLAUSE)
We owe you to put you in a position where you can keep yourselves safe, as well.
And you've seen the President's commitment to you by bringing this ceremony back to the Rose Garden. Mr. President, in the Roosevelt Room you said you wanted to let the public know. And I was about to say -- which I'll say here -- and that's why the President wanted it back here in the Rose Garden.
So there's no mistake, there's no mistake that this President and this administration appreciates what you've done. We know this commitment...
(APPLAUSE)
I'll conclude by saying, you should know this commitment will not stop today or tomorrow or next month or next year. We're going to work and continue to work, as the President has his entire career, for what serves you best so that you can serve us as best and as bravely as you have.
Ladies and gentlemen, while we don't say it nearly enough, thank you, thank you, thank you for all what you do.
So Mr. President, the Top Cops for 2009, a superior group of real heroes, are waiting to hear from you, boss. It's all yours.
(APPLAUSE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, thank you, Joe, for the wonderful introduction. Welcome, all of you, to the White House, and for joining us on this beautiful spring day. It is an extraordinary privilege to celebrate these Top Cops who have traveled here to be recognized for incredible acts of courage and quick thinking, which prevented harm and saved lives.
Before I speak more about these outstanding officers, there are just a few wonderful members of Congress that I want to introduce. Representative John Conyers, one of the deans of the House of Representatives...
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... Republican Emanuel Cleaver from Kansas City...
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... and Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard, great to see you. Thank you so much. Please give them a big round of applause.
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Now, I don't know if you guys are aware that we have a nickname for Joe Biden around here in the White House. Joe has been overseeing the way funds are being used under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to ensure tax dollars are going toward the intended purpose of creating jobs and aren't being wasted. So we've taken to calling him "the sheriff" -- because nobody messes with Joe.
And I want you to know that he is making sure that money is getting on the ground helping local communities, including making sure that money is going to allow local communities to hire more police officers and make sure that they've got the equipment and the training they need to succeed.
I also want to thank Attorney General Eric Holder for being here and for his leadership at the Department of Justice, which oversees much of the funding in the recovery plan and the budget that will be providing local law enforcement the resources they need.
And finally, I want to give a particular welcome to the leaders of the National Association of Police Organizations, including their outstanding president, Tom Nee. Thank you so much for being here.
This is an event that we are glad, as Joe mentioned, to bring back to the White House -- after a period of absence -- in honor of these fine officers and the folks across the country they represent: the men and women who walk the beat, who answer the call, and do the difficult work of keeping our neighborhoods safe. And it's no surprise that many police officers -- including many of you -- have served in our military, or are serving still as members of the Reserve.
Of course, it's not a difficult thing for a president, or a vice president, or anyone one of us to praise you. You deserve it. You've rescued hostages held at gunpoint. You've ended violent standoffs. You've taken on gunmen in the face of grave danger, refusing to give up or back down even after suffering serious injuries. You've reacted quickly in crisis to protect the innocent. You've reacted with compassion for those that were in need. And you've literally walked through the fire to help your neighbors escape disaster.
That's what police officers do. You step into harm's way to form -- officer by officer, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood -- the line between safety and violence, calm and chaos, hope and despair. And for that it's not difficult to offer our praise. But you deserve more than just praise. For it's far more important that we actually support you; that we match these words which come so easily with the work that can and must follow.
Right now, for example, at this moment of economic challenge, one of the greatest concerns is that we'll see state and local governments forced to lay off police officers -- even though we know that crime has a tendency to go up when the economy is in dire straits. We've seen that in my own hometown of Chicago and many other cities.
So we can't back down, because the job of every American depends on the job you do -- and the resources that enable you to do that job well. Police officers know better than anyone: A neighborhood that isn't safe is a neighborhood that isn't growing, that won't see old businesses hiring new workers, or new businesses opening their doors. You know how devastating crime can be; how it can shatter lives and undermine whole communities.
And that's why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $1 billion to save or create about 5,500 jobs through the COPS program. And there's another $2 billion in grants which will help keep police officers on the beat and in the job.
In fact, in March I went to Columbus, Ohio, to speak at their police academy's graduation ceremony. And these new officers are now protecting the streets of Columbus because of those grants -- and there are similar stories being told in precincts all over America.
The budget we passed builds on the recovery plan, providing additional funding for the COPS program as well as for Justice Assistance Grants, also known as the Byrne-JAG program. Taken together, we're making a significant down payment towards my administration's goal of adding 50,000 police officers across this country.
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And that's only part of what we're doing to provide law enforcement with the tools and resources necessary to keep people safe.
As you know, this is a difficult moment for our nation. But at a time when we face economic crisis born partially from irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington, I'm heartened by the folks who are standing behind me today who've demonstrated, with acts of selflessness and bravery, what it means to be responsible; what it means to be a problem-solver, a mediator, an investigator, and protector all wrapped into one; what it means to wave goodbye to your families and start another shift unsure of how it will end; and what it means to put your life on the line for a partner or a stranger in order -- in other words, what it means to serve.
So I want to thank all of you for this extraordinary service. I am honored to welcome you to the White House. I'm proud to offer my congratulations, my appreciation, and most importantly my administration's unwavering support.
God bless you and God bless the United States of America. Thank you, all, for joining us here today. Thank you.
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PHILLIPS: Not only just honoring all the top cops around the country, President Obama saying he wants to add 50,000 police officers across the country. We've covered stories about guys coming back from the war and losing their jobs as firefighters and cops. So the president now saying he wants to add to the forces. We'll definitely follow up on that.
When will Social Security run out? We've got a new estimate just in time. We'll tell you about it next.
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PHILLIPS: All right, back now to a story that we've been following, the drop dead dates for Social Security and Medicare. Moments ago, trustees confirmed that recession is taking a toll on government entitlements. The Social Security trust fund is now projected to run dry in 2037, four years sooner than last year's forecast. The Medicare trust fund is projected to run dry in 2017 and will pay out more than it collects this year.
This is also just in. New details on damage to the shuttle Atlantis from a briefing that's actually happening right now. We're being told that debris caused slight damage.
Here's the flight director, just moments ago, reporting in.
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TONY CECCACCI, STS-125 FLIGHT DIRECTOR: What they saw on the wing leading edge system, which will detect if anything hits the wing leading edge, they saw an event around 103 seconds, the sensors. We talked about that this morning and we kind of had a heads up as we were going through and doing the survey that we're looking for something specifically in the forward bottom chine area. As we were going through the surveys, we did see probably about 21 inches in all, but four tiles with some dings in them.
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PHILLIPS: Atlantis launched during this newscast yesterday, you may remember, from Kennedy Space Center. It's on a mission to repair the Hubble telescope. We're going to continue to follow that story for you.
All those endless phone calls. They make you want to get in your car with the warranty that's about to expire and run the telemarketer down. Fortunately, the Federal Trade Commission is taking the wheel and we're going to tell you what they're going to do and how to try and stop those calls in the meantime.
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PHILLIPS: Well, if misery really does love company, maybe this will make you feel a little better. Hundreds of thousands of you have filed complaints about those robo calls that say that your car warranty is almost up. Well, guess what, we're getting them too, and not just in the Newsroom.
Lindsay Corley, she's one of our APs, she joins us live from "b" control. She was telling me this story in our meeting and I said, ok Lindsay, you're going to tell our viewers what happened. She monitors the phones inside the Newsroom there. I want to see if I can see her. There she is.
Lindsay, just to set things straight with our viewers, you've got phones right there next to the computer, but there's also a red hotline phone that's in there as well.
Tell me what happened over the weekend during breaking news.
LINDSAY CORLEY, CNN ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: We were having breaking news and we started getting calls from these robo lines. And they're very distracting, and you have to stay on the phone with these people to try to get someone to answer for them to stop.
PHILLIPS: So tell me what you were trying to do and why you had to answer the phone.
CORLEY: Well, you know we have all these calls coming in, we have correspondents coming in and we're trying to get everything to air and then these calls come in and it really distracts us from our bigger duty, our bigger job.
PHILLIPS: So did you tell them what was going on, they were calling the CNN control room and you're in the middle of breaking news and to leave you alone.
CORLEY: I do tell them, I said you're distracting us, we're trying to do our job, but they still call.
PHILLIPS: Still driving you nuts.
CORLEY: They still drive me nuts.
PHILLIPS: All right, well, Lindsay, hang in there. We're trying to get some answers here. It's pretty unbelievable.
Maybe Meg Marco does have some advice for us and everybody else that deals with this. She's the co executive editor of consumerist.com.
So Meg, we're even getting these calls on our hotline phone in the control room during breaking news. How do you get these people to stop calling?
MEG MARCO, CONSUMERIST.COM (via telephone): I can't believe you're actually getting them in the Newsroom. That's too funny. It's actually -- I mean, that's hilarious.
It's actually really difficult to get them to stop, because it's a variety of companies, it's robots, it's really hard to, like, reason with a robot.
Basically, what consumers should do, there's three things. They can report them to the - to three different authorities, basically. And the idea is if enough people start reporting them, then enough people will start...
PHILLIPS: What are those three authorities? Tell me, when this comes through to the control room, who I can call the minute it happens.
MARCO: Well, the first person you're going to want to call if you're just a regular consumer if you're in the CNN Newsroom, is you're going to want to call your cell phone company, if it's on a cell phone. Because a lot of cell phone companies are really proactive in tracking down these kind of companies because this behavior is really uncool. It's not legal to pair up a robot with a cell phone. You're going to want to definitely give them a call and let them know.
PHILLIPS: And the second one is the state's attorney general.
MARCO: Yes, the second one is the state's attorney general. Because, actually, in Indiana, he started getting his -- like, he started getting robo calls on his phone and that made him look back at the complaints and say, oh, this is a pattern and then some lawsuits were filed. You want to make sure you give your information to your state's attorney general so that they can distinguish a pattern. And then, finally, you want to tell the FTC. You want to go to donotcall.gov and file a do not call complaint. And you also want to register your number. Register your number on there.
PHILLIPS: Register your number, make a complaint, donotcall.gov or call your attorney general or call your cell phone company.
Meg Margo, co-executive editor of consumerist.com, thank you so much. We're going to have your responses to these robo calls right after this.
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PHILLIPS: We asked you to send in your thoughts on these repetitive calls.
Dr. Frog says, "I invite the unwanted callers to send their stuff with a prepaid return envelope then I stuff it with other ads and mail it back."
And one more tweeter writes, "I just play like I'm from a different country and play around with them. They get so skittish, it's pretty funny."
Thanks for your feedback. That does it for us. We're back here tomorrow. Rick Sanchez takes it from here.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was nothing consensual about it.
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RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Taking on a, quote, drunken giant. She faced her biggest fear. Her boss. A powerful federal judge.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband didn't want me to go to work every day and have to face that.
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SANCHEZ: A U.S. soldier in Iraq kills five of his own. How did it happen? New details.
