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President Obama Speaks on Health Care Reform; Big Cuts, No Tax Hikes in California; $700 Billion of Your Money; Paying to Insure Others; Protesters Attempt Tehran Gathering; Future of F-22 Fighter Jets
Aired July 21, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama pushing back against critics and pushing Democrats to act on health care reform. The president is speaking out again today as the fight over health care heats up. We will have live coverage of his remarks expected shortly.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now. And Suzanne, what is the strategy of these health care events as we set the stage for another one coming up from the Rose Garden in just a couple of minutes?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Another one, Tony. Another one. Yes.
Well, the strategy, obviously to put the president out there front and center. It's really kind of a two-pronged strategy.
There's a little private arm-twisting going on obviously with members of his own party. Some House Democrats will be here later in the afternoon, as well as trying to cajole some Republicans. But then there's this very public campaign, and that is what we're going to be seeing in the Rose Garden, the president coming out.
And I talked to White House aides, who are not going to say anything that's too much different than what we heard yesterday, or Saturday, or Friday, or much of last week, or moving forward here. He's still just going to maintain this very consistent message, trying to put pressure on members of Congress to come up with something, some sort of way of being able to create health care reform, to have more people be insured. And at the same time, not to add to the federal deficit.
This is a tough one for him, though, Tony, because even he acknowledged this morning on "The Today Show" the Congressional Budget Office, nonpartisan, said that they have not come up yet with a way of actually increasing health care coverage and reducing health care costs at the same time. And so the president said earlier this morning, he said, "We still have a ways to go." We've got to come up with a way to save more money in order to make this thing happen.
So, this is the constant drumbeat, and the timing of this, all very important, too, because he's going to have the primetime press conference tomorrow. He wants to be able to announce, make some sort of announcement, that there is progress. He may not be able to make any kind of announcements that there are decisions that are made, but certainly these incremental steps that are going towards the goal, hopefully the goal here, of getting something by August, of if not by August, by the end of the year.
HARRIS: You know, I'm having a little fun with the idea of the president doing these appearances again and again and again. But, you know, as we were saying yesterday, and again last hour, you know, the president really wants this and he really is all in on this. But I'm curious, has he given any indication of what he may be open to by way of compromise?
MALVEAUX: Sure. There's one of these plans that the House Democrats have come up with, the idea that if you make $280,000 a year, there should be a surtax, that you would actually be contributing to paying for some of the health care costs, the increases that they would see, to save some money here. He has not ruled that out.
He said people who are making $250,000 and below, he doesn't want them to have their taxes raised. But there is some notion, some idea, a formulation, he said -- details not yet worked out -- of wealthier people picking up some of the burden and paying for this. He says he doesn't consider it to be punishing the rich but, rather, being part of a community.
The other thing that he is interested in doing is, once again, squeezing, figuring out ways to cut costs when it comes to delivery of health care -- hospitals, doctors, all of them being more efficient, that those are some ways of generating some money.
HARRIS: Yes. And the problem with that is that, at least to this point, the CBO hasn't really been scoring that, and that's a bit of a problem in closing the gap here.
At the White House, Suzanne Malveaux.
And Suzanne, maybe we'll get an opportunity to talk to you after the president's comments. We're hearing now it might be more like 12:30, as opposed to 12:15.
All right. And of course, we will have the president's remarks, more like 12:30, we're hearing, live here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
President Obama holds a prime-time news conference tomorrow night. Tune in early, though, 7:00 Eastern, for "MOMENT OF TRUTH: COUNTDOWN TO BLACK IN AMERICA 2." That will be followed by live coverage of the president's news conference at 8:00. And then an all- new "BLACK IN AMERICA 2" beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
And no vote today on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Republicans succeeded in getting a delay of today's planned vote. It is pushed to next Tuesday.
Democrats had hoped for a quick vote following last week's confirmation hearings. A full Senate vote is still expected before Congress goes on recess next month. California might be on the brink of saying adios to those IOUs. Lawmakers have reached a budget compromise that won't raise taxes, but as they say, you can't please all the people all the time.
Lilian Kim with CNN San Francisco affiliate KGO reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Obviously, you can see that we are very happy, because we came to a basic agreement, a budget agreement.
LILIAN KIM, KGO-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The plan contains no new taxes. Instead, it aims to close California's $26 billion deficit through $15 billion in cuts. Democrats insist despite that, they were able to protect much of education and the state's most vulnerable.
DARRELL STEINBERG (D), CALIFORNIA SENATE PRESIDENT: There isn't a whole lot of good news in this budget. We have cut. And we have cut in many areas that matter to real people. But I think we have done so responsibly.
KAREN BASS (D), CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY SPEAKER: We wanted to make sure that during this time of economic recession, when people need services more, that we did not eliminate the safety net for California.
KIM: Trimming the rest of the deficit, about $11 billion of the $25 billion shortfall, will come through accelerating the collection of certain taxes and taking gas tax and redevelopment money from local governments. The League of California Cities says such a move is illegal and they're going to fight it.
JUDITH MITCHELL, PRESIDENT, LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES: There's already court decisions that establish precedent that it is illegal, and in spite of those court decisions, the legislature's going to feel it anyway.
KIM: The big five, however, insist their plan is legal, and they'll be wasting no time persuading their colleagues in the Senate and assembly to approve it.
SAM BLAKESLEE (R), CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY MINORITY LEADER: There will be more work to be done in the coming year. The recession's not over, but this was the right step to take today, and I'm glad to work together with my partners here to make sure that we remain fiscally solvent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, you know, some say this could help ease some of the budget cuts -- a tax on pot. Seriously.
Today, Oakland, California, votes on a measure to tax medical marijuana, which is legal in the state. Officials estimate it could raise about $300,000, but advocates say if a newly introduced bill to legalize all marijuana were to pass, the money could quadruple.
President Obama is getting ready to address the issue of health care reform at the White House this hour. On Capitol Hill, the fight is on over how to pay for it all.
I'll get the latest from our correspondents on Capitol Hill and the medical beat.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. The debate over health care reform is getting down to some really crucial issues now, like how to pay for it. Nothing more critical than that. And then what it means for you and for me. Lawmakers are battling over a plan to tax the wealthy.
Joining us to talk about that, senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash on Capitol Hill and senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here in the studio with me.
And Dana, let's start with you.
I was intrigued last hour, when you mentioned there is a plan being floated by John Kerry, Senator Kerry, that would tax insurance companies. Correct?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That is something that we believe is possibly being discussed in this room behind me. And I want you to just kind of...
HARRIS: Whoa. Where are you?
BASH: ... set the scene here. Let me show you.
You see that crowd of reporters over there. They are crowded around Senator Kent Conrad. He is one of about seven members of this bipartisan negotiating team trying to come up with this plan. And, you know, I think it's not overstating it to say that Kent Conrad and other senators meeting behind closed doors -- that's Senator Max Baucus's office, the chairman of the Finance Committee -- they really do the fate of the president's top priority in their hands, and they have been meeting day and night.
They're going to have marathon sessions all day today. And our intrepid congressional producer, Ted Barrett, is over there listening to what Senator Conrad is telling reporters about what they may or may not have decided in this morning's session of these meetings.
But certainly, Senator Conrad told us yesterday that this idea, this concept of, instead of directly taxing people's benefits, Americans' benefits, which is not popular with unions, it is not popular with many Democrats, and it is something that President Obama campaigned against, the idea would potentially be to tax insurance companies directly. And not just all insurance companies, but the idea is the most costly benefit packages, the so-called Cadillac packages. That is something that is being quietly floated, or at least Senator Kerry had hoped it would be quietly floated, but it has gotten out that that is something that he is talking about.
I tried to figure out if this is something that is viable when it comes to the White House, whether this is something that the president thinks he could swallow and not break his campaign pledge. We're just not sure yet.
HARRIS: Stay there for just a second, because I've got a thought on that gaggle behind you there.
Let me bring in our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
And what are your thoughts on this, this idea that's being floated, being talked about, of taxing health care insurance companies?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's intriguing, because on the surface, I think many Americans would say, sure, insurance companies, they're loaded and rich.
HARRIS: Big insurance companies, absolutely. Yes.
COHEN: And sure, go ahead. Be my guest. However, you do have to consider, what would happen if they tax insurance companies?
I suppose there is a possibility that insurance companies would then say, well, if you're going to tax us, then we need to pass along that cost to our customers. So, we're going to charge more for the policies we sell, or we're not going to offer benefits packages that are quite as generous. So, it is possible that people could suffer from that, or at least I think that's the argument that the insurance companies would make.
HARRIS: So, crystal clear at this point that we have reached that point where we're just trying to figure out how to pay for this thing.
COHEN: That's right.
HARRIS: And we've got to have the money from somewhere. Someone is going to get taxed.
COHEN: As I like to say, there are no health care reform fairies out there. Right, you've got to pay for it somehow.
So, there have been so many different ideas floated out there about how to do that. Let's just sort of run through them. These are various ideas that have been floated.
You can tax the rich. Then you've got to define "rich," of course. But tax the rich. A lot of people like that idea.
You could tax people who drink sodas. Tax the sodas.
You could tax the benefits that employees get from their employers.
HARRIS: All right. Let's do this a little differently.
The idea of taxing the rich, that's still being talked about, right?
COHEN: Yes.
HARRIS: And we don't know where that's going to end up.
COHEN: Correct.
HARRIS: The soda tax appears to have come off the table. It appears the Senate was never in favor of that idea, but the House was more in favor of it. But that seems to have come off the table.
COHEN: But you never know when something is going to go back on the table. I want to add that.
HARRIS: Well, yes. Yes. That gets us to taxing benefits.
COHEN: Right. Exactly. So, for example, if you get a health care policy that's worth $10,000, then maybe some of that would be taxed as if it were income.
Tax the uninsured, which I know that sounds a little weird. Like, we're trying to take care of the uninsured. Why would we tax them?
HARRIS: Can I stop you just a second?
COHEN: Sure. Sure.
HARRIS: Because we were just talking with Dana about Senator Conrad and working in a bipartisan way trying to get something done here.
Dana Bash has Senator Conrad, and let's go back to Dana.
Terrific, Dana.
BASH: Tony, unfortunately, I had Senator Conrad, but this just shows you how urgent and flurried and furious these talks are. He literally was standing here for a minute and he had to walk away to go to another meeting. But I can tell you that this is an idea that you were talking about that is absolutely being discussed behind closed doors.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: But one thing that you and Elizabeth Cohen did mention is something -- is a big question mark, which is, you know, what happens if they do go ahead and tax insurance companies?
HARRIS: Right. BASH: How do they guarantee that those insurance companies don't just turn around and pass on that cost to the consumer, to average, everyday Americans? That is obviously something that is going to be discussed.
And again, you know, big picture, what they are trying to do, day in and day out behind these doors here, in this very, very small group of senators, these bipartisan negotiators, what they're trying to do is pay for a trillion-dollar price tag.
HARRIS: Hammer it out.
BASH: Trillion-dollar price tag.
HARRIS: And can I tell you what I love about this? Can I tell you what I love about this? And, you know, we live in a cable news world, and we know that there is all kinds of noise around this; OK? And DeMint, Senator DeMint yesterday talking about Waterloo.
Anyway, what is encouraging about what you're describing here is that you are talking about people who are in the room doing the work. Please, I'm going to ask you to keep us focused in these two hours, at least. Keep us focused on the real work that's being done and not the noise.
BASH: I will. And I think it's also important to mention to our viewers and that they realize, it's not just Democrats in the room. It's also Republicans.
HARRIS: Absolutely. Absolutely.
BASH: Republicans and Democrats who have been working for months, and this pace has been stepped up enormously in the past couple of weeks, and even in the past couple of days...
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: ... to get a bipartisan agreement. That is still going on in that room behind me.
HARRIS: Hey, Dana, Elizabeth has a question for you.
COHEN: Hey, Dana.
BASH: Hey, Elizabeth.
COHEN: OK. You know I'm a total outsider to Capitol Hill. I don't really know much about it. But I'm going to ask you as the expert.
As an outsider, this looks relatively unusual, that you have sort of this very small group, Republicans and Democrats, in a room together, hammering it out privately, saying let's try to make this happen.
Is it unusual? BASH: You know, that's a great question. I don't think that people see or hear this, you know, through the noise that you -- that people often hear with, you know, one side entrenched, hitting another side, which is a lot of what we heard yesterday, when you had the political arm of the Republican Party, the RNC chairman, coming out and really hitting the president. And the president, frankly, I think, delighting in the politics of hitting right back at the Republicans.
But you're absolutely right. Beyond that, particularly in the United States Senate, there are a core group of bipartisan senators who have been, really since day one of the president's administration, knowing that this is coming down the pike, they have been working very, very hard.
It's not so much happening in the House, which is much more partisan atmosphere. But in the Senate, A, because of the desire to get something done that's bipartisan, and, B, because of the need. Because most people realize that there are enough Democrats from conservative states who will have a very hard time voting for something that isn't bipartisan, that they know it's not going to happen unless, you know, you have Ds and Rs, so to speak, on the same bill.
So, that's another reason why you really have been seeing this work going on. Unclear how long it's going to last.
HARRIS: Right.
BASH: Let's be clear. Unclear how long it's going to happen, but it is happening.
HARRIS: Well, you said something very important there, and Elizabeth can pick up on the point, the real need that's out there.
And Elizabeth, we're talking about that need with you a little later. You've got a portrait of a person who is in a real bind right now, and could really use some health care reform to help her and her family.
COHEN: Right. I think sometimes with all this political back- and-forth, we forget, why are we reforming health care?
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: And one of the big reasons? Forty-six million people lack health insurance. And so later in this hour, I'm going to bring you the story of a woman who had a great job, got laid off, lost her insurance. A month later, she got breast cancer.
And so I'll be bringing you her story later in the hour...
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: ... answering the question -- or asking the question, I should say, how much are we willing to give up in order to help people like her? Those of us who have insurance, how much are we willing to give up to help people who don't?
HARRIS: OK.
So, here's what you do, you just go to our blog. That's the question. It is CNNnewsroom/Tony.
And Elizabeth, can't wait for that.
Boy, we're doing good work here. If we could just stay focused on the real work that's going on and not all the noise.
Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Well, I think it's interesting that people who have been fighting are sitting in a room together.
HARRIS: Sitting in a room together.
And our thanks to our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, as well.
The Obama administration missing its deadline to detail policy about detaining terror suspects. The report was due out today.
One key part of it lays out the White House plan for shutting gown the Guantanamo Bay prison. Another part deals with interrogation policy.
The delay is raising serious questions about whether the president will make good on his promise to close Gitmo by January. Senior officials insist they are still on track to shut down the facility as planned.
And all-out search under way right now in Afghanistan for an American soldier captured by the Taliban. The military says it will spare no effort to find Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl. His family and friends in Ketchum, Idaho, are urging folks to keep him in their thoughts and prayers. Bergdahl was captured on June 30th in Paktika Province in southeastern, Afghanistan. A couple of days ago he showed up in this Taliban video.
President Obama again getting ready to address the issue of health care reform in the White House at about 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
We will bring you the president's comments live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Very quickly, we want you to get you to our Iran desk. We understand there are some developments out of Tehran.
Our Reza Sayah is there. And Reza, are we getting word of some kind of gathering, a rally? What do we make of it at this point?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, sources tell the Iran desk within the past couple of hours, there were people attempting to gather at a major square in downtown Tehran, and sources telling us they were met with a huge security force presence.
This happening in Haft-e Tir Square in Tehran. One eyewitness saying there was about 300 to 400 security forces gathered there. Another one saying 500 to 600 security forces, many with batons and clubs.
There were some reports of clashes. We are working to confirm those reports. There was a lot of buzz that there was going to be protests today, because this is the anniversary back in 1952 of a demonstration in support of a man who went on to become a national hero, then Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq.
But also coming in to the Iran desk, one of the most dramatic pieces of video that we've seen yet. Let's go ahead and take a look at it if we can.
This piece of video shows what appears to be security forces shooting in the direction of protesters. Now, we don't know the date of this video or where exactly it is in Tehran, but you see there what appears to be a security officer with a suit and another one with a uniform.
You see some gunshots, and then if we fast forward to the video, we see people who are shooting this video cheering, because at some point these security officers run away. There you see some people who are shooting it, cheering for opposition supporters because the security forces run away. Then the camera pans and then you see this.
HARRIS: Oh, man.
SAYAH: Then you see what appears to be a protester hurt. We don't know if he's shot. If he is shot, we don't know who shot him. But there are lots of accusations by opposition supporters, human rights groups, that these security forces are using guns.
They deny it. But this piece of video, into the Iran Desk today, these corroborate, appears to corroborate, some of those claims that security forces have guns, and sometimes they do shoot at unarmed protesters -- Tony.
HARRIS: Right. And we just don't know the exact date of when that was actually shot, correct?
SAYAH: Yes. We do not.
HARRIS: Hey, can I ask you one more quick question here? I'm trying to understand.
Something, it feels to me, is bubbling in Iran and in Tehran. It gets back to the gathering today.
What is happening? I know there were the Friday prayers and some statements from the former president, Rafsanjani, seeming to suggest that, you know what? This really isn't over. The supreme leader, you may want to declare that this is over, but it really isn't over.
SAYAH: No question. I mean, something's been bubbling, Tony, for the past few weeks. And I think Friday prayers, where Rafsanjani, the former president, a key figure in the opposition movement, what he said gave this opposition movement...
HARRIS: Yes.
SAYAH: ... a lot of energy, a lot of momentum. Many in the establishment, the hard-line clerics, wanted Rafsanjani to go there and shut the door on the opposition movement, tell everyone to move along. He didn't do that.
He was very critical of the leadership there in Iran, and that gave a boost to the movement. And it looks like the opposition is using any opportunity to come back out in the streets.
HARRIS: Yes.
SAYAH: There's lots of anniversaries, big dates in Iran in the calendar. This was another one of them today. Again, the anniversary of a demonstration back in 1952.
They tried to use it again to come out. So far, it looks like security forces have shut the door on them today. But clearly, things are not over. And as you said...
HARRIS: Absolutely.
SAYAH: ... a lot of things bubbling in Iran right now.
HARRIS: OK. Our Reza Sayah for it.
Reza, appreciate it. Thanks for keeping us on the mark on this story.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, billions are at stake in the fight over the future of a fighter jet. Why is there such disagreement over whether the F-22 is needed?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We absolutely love the work being done by our friends at CNNMoney.com. Absolutely love it. We're going to talk to our Christine Romans in just a moment. A visit to CNNMoney.com is a part of our show prep every morning.
There you go. OK? CNNMoney.com for the latest financial news and analysis.
Let's get you to Wall Street now for a look at the Big Board. Three hours into the trading day. As you can see, the Dow is off of session highs. Flat. Positive two points. And the Nasdaq is -- Joe, what was that, down 14? All right, Nasdaq is down 10. So a mixed day for stocks. We're following the numbers throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz right here in the NEWSROOM.
Some positive predictions about the economy from Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke. He is updating the House Financial Services Committee right now on Capitol Hill. It may be a break for lunch. Bernanke says the economy has started to show some signs of stabilization, but he cautions the improvement is uncertain and is likely to be gradual.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The recovery is expected to be gradual in 2010, with some acceleration in activity in 2011. Although the unemployment rate is projected to peak at the end of this year, the projected declines in 2010 and 2011 would still leave unemployment well above FOMC participants' views of the longer run, sustainable rate. All participants expected inflation will be somewhat lower this year than in recent years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You wonder where all the money goes? And we're talking about that $700 billion of your tax dollars earmarked to prop up banks, Wall Street firms and auto companies. Well, the top cop in charge of tracking all that dough tells an oversight committee he can't get a straight answer about how it is being spent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL BAROFSKY, SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL, TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM: If the numbers are inflated, then it was the government itself that inflated them, not us. Secondly, as far as the suggestion that we are trying to shock and awe with this number. Again, I think that we've made very clear in this report, in black and white, what this number means. We explained that this number involves programs that, yes, have terminated. We explained that there are collateral -- that some of these numbers are collateralized. That there is collateral. All that is set forth in black and white. But one thing that is very clear, the number is basically just the accumulation of what these 50 separate programs are and what the total amount of financial support that the government has committed to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Christine Romans, the idea that you can't find out how the money is being spent, that just feels like this kind of parallel universe stuff. I can't tell you how all this money is being spent.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, he's talking about the -- and the number he's talking about there is $23.7 trillion.
HARRIS: Well, hold on. ROMANS: He's not talking about the $700 billion bank bailout.
HARRIS: The TARP money, right.
ROMANS: He's looking at the whole universe of loans, guarantees, promises, backstops that the government has made over the past seven or eight months. And he comes up with this grand total of $23.7 trillion. And the Treasury has pushed back, saying, look, that distorted. It's inflated. Some of those programs aren't even in existence. Not all of those program will be, you know, fully at risk at the same time. Some of that money has been paid back with interest, quite frankly.
So, there's a little side show on that $23.7 trillion figure. And Treasury pointing out that they've -- the taxpayers have received $6 billion in dividend payments and $200 million in interest payments and haven't lost a dime in any of the debt that's been issued and backed by the FDIC. So that's an interesting little thing happening here today.
HARRIS: Can I bring you back to the TARP and the 700...
ROMANS: Sure. Let's go back to TARP.
HARRIS: Yes, 787 -- the numbers are just...
ROMANS: No, that's the stimulus. That's the stimulus, 787 is the stimulus, 700 is the TARP. You're forgiven. I mean, it's crazy, right?
HARRIS: Now, don't forgive me. Just flog me for this. The numbers are just insane.
Hey, does the Treasury really know how this money is being spent and just doesn't want to say so?
ROMANS: Well, Barofsky, the bailout cop who you just showed, he says that there's a lot that could go wrong with the bailout because Treasury is not providing the transparency they'd like to see.
Look, there's pretty good transparency on AIG, Citi, Bank of America. I mean these are, as one newspaper called it, the walking wounded. I mean they've been essentially taken over by Treasury at some point or really have had big, big cash infusions. So they've had to report exactly what they're doing in terms of lending.
But there isn't a means by which that know exactly what's happening with every dollar that's gone in to some of the TARP...
HARRIS: Isn't that called an audit?
ROMANS: Into these TARP banks. Well, that's what Barofsky is trying do. He asked 364 -- and his team asked 364 TARP recipients, what are you doing with the money? And some 80 percent of them said we have used this morning to help our lending. But he also points out in this testimony -- two and a half hours, by the way, of testimony so far. It's still going on. He points out that, look, one bank said they intended to lend money and then another bank called in the line of credit that that bank had, so they couldn't lend the money. They had to pay off the first bank. And so where in some cases they intended to lend the money, they couldn't because they were, you know, trying to say in business and pay their debts. So it gives a little snapshot into just how complicated it's been for these banks over the past few months.
HARRIS: So your mom sends you to the store to pick up some groceries. You've got $20 and you don't account for 15 of those dollars. Try to explain that to mom. Hello.
ROMANS: Yes.
HARRIS: Christine, good to see you. Thank you.
Sorry.
A battle over the F-22 fighter jet. The Senate Armed Services Committee voting now on funding for the military aircraft which has not performed a single mission in either war, Afghanistan or Iraq. Live now to our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence in Washington.
Chris, what's going on here? What's this fight all about?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it's sort of a showdown at high noon. They are voting right now. And it all comes down to about $2 billion. One side wants to spend that money to build about seven more of these F-22s. They say this employs thousands of workers across the country. And in this economy, how can you even think about putting these people out of work?
On the other side, you've got President Obama and the Pentagon saying, we don't want the money. We don't need any more of these jets and we don't want to build them. We want to put the money somewhere else.
There is a fierce fight going on and it doesn't break down along normal lines. You've got Republicans backing the president and some Democrats lining up to fight him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS DODD, (D) CONNECTICUT: We put that many jobs at risk. Not because the industry is failing. Not because it's a bad piece of aircraft. But because the secretary of defense and the administration have decided this program isn't worthy of our support. So explain to those 90,000 people, once they lose their jobs, get laid off -- and they will.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Maybe I ask my colleagues, would you ask yourselves why the F-22 has never flown over Iraq or Afghanistan? It's been in production for nearly five years. It's never flown over Iraq or Afghanistan. And I want to emphasize, I think it's an important fighter. We are building 187 of them. The question before this body is whether we continue to build more? (END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Yes, some people say there have been more battles over the F-22 than with the F-22. It's just designed more for dogfights, aerial dogfights, not for these kind of missions. But other people will say, you know, we didn't know 30 years ago we'd be fighting the kind of wars we are now and these planes take so long to plan and build, that to cut it off now means we may be unprepared for threats we don't know about 15, 20 years from now.
Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. You know, Chris, what's next?
LAWRENCE: Well, it all depends on this vote. President Obama has said, if they put this money in, he will exercise his veto power. It would be the first of his presidency.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
LAWRENCE: He says he will not let it go through. If it doesn't, these plants -- this plane is built and shipped in -- through about 44 states.
HARRIS: Right, right.
LAWRENCE: And spread out. You're going to have a lot of people affected. We talked to a single mom who said, you know, when they stop building the F-22, she's probably going to lose her job. So there is going to be a short-term effect there for the next few years.
They've got another fighter jet, the F-35, that's kind of the new one that they're all kind of staking their claim to, that's coming on. That will ramp up production in a few years, but it will take a few years for it to get to the point where some of those jobs can be, you know, compensated.
HARRIS: Well, Chris, stay here just a second.
Joe, what were you telling me? The amendment will pass, not official, but it looks like the amendment will pass. And the money will be taken out.
LAWRENCE: Yes.
HARRIS: OK. Chris, we'll let you follow that story and maybe you can pop back up with a quick update for us.
LAWRENCE: Sure.
HARRIS: Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon for us.
Thanks, Chris.
What would you be willing to give up so your less fortunate neighbors could have health care? And, yes, we know it's a loaded question. We asked it that way on purpose. We will tackle that question with our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. We told you just a moment ago that the Senate Armed Services Committee was voting now on funding for a military aircraft. There you see it there, the F-22. To actually -- on an amendment to strip out funding for the F-22 by a vote of 58-40, the amendment passes, stripping that money out of the defense bill for the F-22.
Again, this is an aircraft that has not flown a single mission in Afghanistan or in Iraq. You know that the president and the defense secretary did not want the money. And they carried the day by a vote of 58-40, the amendment passes, and the money comes out of a bigger defense bill for the F-22 fighter jet. What happens in terms of jobs in the 40-plus states where the F-22 is built is still unknown. We will continue to track that story for you.
All right, you got good health insurance? Well, great. Now are you willing to pay more to help cover those who don't? Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is back to talk us through this story.
And this is fascinating. We've got a profile, a case study, here to examine.
COHEN: That's right. Because the big question is, how do we insure the 46 million Americans who don't have insurance? And who is going to sort of pay for that?
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: Are you and I paying for that? Who's going to pay for that?
But first, I think before we talk about how we're going to pay for that, let's look at what "that" is. So here's the story of a woman, you know you just look at her and think, golly I just, you know, there but for the grace of God go I. She had a great job. She got laid off. And then she got breast cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): In early 2008, life was going great for Pamela Rinchich. She had a good job and was about to get married. Then, in March of 2008, the plant where she had worked for more than 20 years in Sarasota, Florida, shut down and she lost her job. And with it, her employer-paid health insurance.
PAMELA RINCHICH, UNEMPLOYED CANCER PATIENT: I was upset, but I thought it'd be all right.
COHEN: But two months later, an even bigger bombshell.
RINCHICH: I found out I had breast cancer.
COHEN: The government stimulus bill helps her pay for COBRA, which allows her to keep her employer's insurance, but only for a limited period of time. And that insurance doesn't pay for everything. Rinchich is $20,000 in debt because of her medical expenses. One doctor has refused to see her until she pays her bills.
COHEN (on camera): When people don't have health insurance, they often end up here, in the emergency room, and that costs all of us. It's one of the major reasons why insurance premiums have skyrocketed.
DR. KATE HEILPERIN, EMERGENCY MEDICINE, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: In many respects, we all are paying for the uninsured. Those who don't have health insurance are actually impacting those who do.
COHEN (voice-over): And despite efforts from the president, Congress, and others . . .
RON POLLACK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FAMILIES USA: I think there's no question that it is likely to get worse before it gets better.
COHEN: As for Pamela Rinchich, she's done with her chemotherapy. And, for now, she's cancer free. But more surgeries lie ahead.
RINCHICH: I just try to keep a positive attitude.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, keep a positive attitude. What are we going to have to ultimately do to help a woman like that in her time of real need and desperation? Taxes. Someone's going to have to pay for this.
COHEN: Right. It could end up affecting lots of Americans in various different forms.
HARRIS: How do we feel about that?
COHEN: Well, that's what's interesting. And we sort of talked earlier about how, in fact, it may impact all of us in some way, shape, or form. But what's interesting is that people seem to be of two minds about helping people, like Pamela Rinchich. For example, I think everybody looks at her and says, golly, we've got to help her. We've got to do what we can. And all sorts of polls show that everyone feel for people like her. But when it comes down to it, studies -- polls, rather, have also shown that people are concerned that health care reform is going to affect them in some bad way.
For example, this is a CNN poll that was recently done. We asked, if Obama's health care plan passes, would your family be better off, worse off, or about the same? And it's interesting that more than a third of the people thought they would be worse off. And so that makes you think, how enthusiastic are people going to be about health care reform if they feel like their family's going to be worse off. How enthusiastic will people be about helping the uninsured if they feel like their own family will suffer.
HARRIS: Just -- boy, we are in the heat of this debate now. Just interesting point of views from all sides. Elizabeth...
COHEN: Can I give you another interesting statistic?
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.
COHEN: OK. We got some time for that?
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
COHEN: All right. So there was another (INAUDIBLE) or in this CNN poll we also asked, if the Obama health care plan is passed, the amount you would pay for medical care would increase, decrease, or stay the same. This, I think, is hugely telling. More than half the people said, gosh, if Obama's health care plan passes, I'm going to be paying more for my medical care. So, again, it makes you wonder how enthusiastic are people truly about helping the uninsured if they fear that their own medical care is going to cost more? These are the kind of questions that are sort of facing us as we move forward with health care reform.
HARRIS: Terrific stuff. Thanks, Elizabeth. Appreciate it. See you tomorrow.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: We are continuing our in-depth focus on health care reform tomorrow. We will take a look at how other countries pay for health care.
And many of you have responded to our blog question. Thank you so much. What, if anything, are you willing to give up to help provide health care coverage for the uninsured?
S. Carpenter says, "yes, willing to pay more taxes. Our state just lowered property taxes and now we can't pay teachers, the roads are a mess, and they are cutting Medicaid benefits. There are some things we have to pay for."
From Charles Russo, "I'm willing to give up Saturday mail delivery and put limits on suits against doctors."
And Mary says, "I would be willing to give up by big 60-inch TV, Escalade, HBO, expensive shoes, cell phone, et cetera. Oh, let's see, I don't have any of those things so I can pay for my mortgage, utilities, food, health care, et cetera."
Join the conversation. Just go to our NEWSROOM blog, cnn.com/tony.
And just a short time ago, prosecutors dropped the charges against a Harvard University professor who was involved in an altercation with police. Henry Louis Gates was arrested outside his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, last week for disorderly conduct. Here's what happened. Now, stay with me on this one. Police responding to a call from a woman who reported seeing two men trying to wedge their way into the home, found Gates inside. When they questioned him, they say he started yelling. On "American Morning" today, here's how Gates' attorney described the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": But can you characterize the tone of that conversation? Did it ever rise to the point where the officer would have felt that the professor was being belligerent and, therefore, would arrest him, or are you saying that the professor was calm, cool, collected all the way along, was just making a rational argument and this police officer overreacted?
CHARLES OGLETREE, GATES' ATTORNEY: He was very frustrated, there's no question about that. But belligerent is not the case. Never touched the officer. Never pointed at the officer. And, in fact, he was trying to stay in his house, having produced identification (ph). What more do I need to do? This is my house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. So here's the latest. This morning the city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest was regrettable and unfortunate. Professor Gates joins us live tomorrow night as CNN continues to discuss the most -- the challenging issues facing African-Americans and the search for solutions. Join us at 7:00 Eastern for the countdown to an all-new "Black in America 2," live from to Times Square.
And then at 8:00 p.m., President Obama's news conference, followed by the first night of CNN's "Black in America 2." There is a lot of ground to cover in this special report.
Cnn.com also has some special interactives and Josh is here to walk us through that.
Take it away, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, take a look at this. You know, it's packed. I'll show -- in fact, we'll zoom right in, cnn.com/blackinamerica has so many stories on it. Lots of interactives and videos. In fact, let me scroll down for a second. Every time you see a line of green, that is a different story that we're linking you to about the black in America experience.
And one of the most popular sections is called "Journeys." We have a little clip of video. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For far to long, the telling of that story has been about what American society has done to black people. And it's my view that the history of a people can never be simply what other people have done to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: You can see more of that, cnn.com/blackinamerica. You can see the address there on your screen.
Let's come back to the board so you can see some more of the interactive features here. One of the more popular ones is also this one. It's about a group of teenagers in Brooklyn who are part of Journey for Change, run by Malaak Compton-Rock, very well-known to a lot of people. Took 30 people, 30 young people to South Africa and then a series of trips after that. We have some photos of them. And several of these young people, boys and girls, had cameras with them from CNN.
HARRIS: Oh, that's terrific.
LEVS: Kept these little video diaries. We have a clip of one. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALIK STANFORD: Action. OK. My name is Malik, and I'm 12 years old, and this is my documentary.
This is a wonderful experience. It's a rhino.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: There you go. He was saying it's a rhino. They're off seeing some really amazing things while they were down there. And you can hear from a lot of these other kids as well. I'll show you a couple more features and then we can get going.
This one is a little bit fun. This one...
HARRIS: Well, Josh, we have to go now because the president is in the Rose Garden talking about health care reform.
LEVS: Sure. Oh, it's time. Let's go. Let's do it.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: About a very important that just took place in Congress.
Long before I took this office, I argued that meeting our greatest challenges would require not only changing policies in Washington, but changing the way we do business in Washington. I also promised that part of that change would be eliminating waste and inefficiency in our defense projects. Reform that will better protect our nation, better protect our troops, and save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.
As commander in chief, I will do whatever it takes to defend the American people, which is why we've increased our funding for our military and why we will always give our men and women in uniform the equipment and support that they need to get the job done. But I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on outdated and unnecessary defense projects to keep this nation secure. That's why I've taken steps to greatly reduce no-bid defense contracts. That's why I've signed overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation to limit cost overruns on weapons systems before they spiral out of control. And that's why I'm grateful that the Senate just voted against an additional $1.75 billion to buy F-22 fighter jets that military experts, and members of both parties, say we do not need.
At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, this would have been an inexcusable waste of money. Every dollar of waste in our defense budget is a dollar we can't spend to support our troops or prepare for future threats or protect the American people. Our budget is a zero-sum game. And if more money goes to F-22s, it is our troops and our citizens who lose.
So I want to thank Secretary Gates for his outspoken leadership on this issue. I want to thank every members of Congress who put politics aside to do what's right for the American military and the American taxpayers. And I particularly want to thank Senators Levin and McCain for helping to make this happen.
Now, I've also said that health care costs are the biggest drivers of our deficit. Nobody disputes that. So I'm looking forward to meeting with several members of Congress who are working to pass health insurance reform that will bring down long-term costs, expand coverage, and provide more
choice. I know that there are those in this town who openly declare their intention to block reform. It's a familiar Washington script that we've seen many times before. These opponents of reform would rather score political points than offer relief to Americans who have seen premiums double and costs grow three times faster than wages. They would maintain a system that works for the insurance and the drug companies, while becoming increasingly unaffordable for families and for businesses.
But there are many others who are working hard to address this growing crisis. I know that there is a tendency in Washington to accentuate the differences, instead of underscoring common ground. But make no mistake, we are closer than ever before to the reform that the American people need and we're going to get the job done.
I have urged Congress to act. And the health care reform bills making their way through the respective committees in the House and the Senate reflect a hard-earned consensus about how to move forward. So let me just lay out the substantial common ground in the current bills.
We've agreed that our health reform bill will extend coverage and include unprecedented insurance protections for the American people. Under each of these bills, you won't be denied coverage if you've got a pre-existing medical condition. You won't lose your health care if you change jobs, if you lose your job, or if you start a business. And you won't lose your insurance if you get sick.
We've agreed that our health reform bill will promote choice. America -- Americans will be able to compare the price and quality of different plans and pick the plan that they want. If you like your current plan, you will be able to keep it. Let me repeat that -- if you like your plan, you'll be able to keep it. And each bill provides for a public option that will keep insurance companies honest, insuring the competition necessary to make coverage affordable.
We've agreed that our health reform bill will emphasize prevention and wellness. By investing in programs that help Americans live healthier lives, we will save money, prevent illness, and increase the competitiveness of our country.
We've agreed that our health reform bill will protect American families from financial catastrophe if they get sick. That's why each of these bills has out-of-pocket limits that will help ensure that families don't go bankrupt because of illness. And we have agreed that our health reform bill will include dramatic measures to cut costs while improving quality.
Each of these bills improves oversight while cracking down on waste. Each will help reduce unwarranted giveaways to insurance companies in Medicare. And each of these bills will provide incentives so that patients get the best care, not just the most expensive care.
The consensus that we forged is not limited to Congress. Indeed, we forged a level of consensus on health care that has never been reached in the history of this country. Health care providers have agreed to do their part to reduce the rate of growth in health care spending. The pharmaceutical industry has agreed to spend -- to spending reductions that will make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. Hospitals have agreed to bring down costs. The American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association, who represent millions of nurses and doctors, who know our health care system best, have announced their support for reform.
So we have traveled long and hard to reach this point. I know that we have further to go. But I have to say that the American people are absolutely clear that this won't be easy, but that the road that we have traveled doesn't just stretch back through the six months of my administration. It stretches back year after year, decade after decade, through all the times that Washington has failed to tackle this problem.
Time and again we've heard excuses to delay and defeat reform. Time and again, the American people have suffered because people in Washington played the politics of the moment, instead of putting the interests of the American people first. That's how we ended up with premiums rising three times faster than wages. That's how we ended up with businesses choosing between shedding benefits and shutting their doors. That's how we've been burdened with runaway costs and huge gaps in coverage.
That's the status quo. That's what we have right now. And the American people understand that the status quo is unacceptable. They don't care who's up or who's down politically in Washington. They care about what's going on in their own lives. They don't care about the latest line of political attack. They care about whether their families will be crushed by rising premiums. Whether the businesses they work for will have to cut jobs or whether their children are going to be saddled with debt.
So, I understand that some will try to delay action until the special interests can kill it, while others will simply focus on scoring political points. We've done that before. And we can choose to follow that playbook again and then we'll never get over the goal line and we'll face an even greater crisis in the years to come. That's one path we can travel.
Or, we can come together and insist that this time it will be different. We can choose action over inaction. We can choose progress over the politics of the moment. We can build on the extraordinary common ground that's been forged and we can do the hard work need to finally pass the health insurance reform that the American people deserve.
And I can guarantee you that when we do pass this bill, history won't record the demands for endless delay or endless debates in the news cycle. It will record the hard work done by the members of Congress to pass the bill and the fact that the people who sent us here to Washington insisted upon change. That's the work that we've come here to do and I look forward to working with Congress in the days ahead to getting the job done.
Thank you, everybody.
