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President Obama Holds Q&A With Senate Democrats; Transportation Secretary Has Strong Words About Toyota's Recalls
Aired February 03, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And for us to start giving them some serious incentives, giving them additional access to financing, could accelerate a process that otherwise could take a much longer time. And, frankly, all those folks out there who are out of work right now, they just can't afford to wait any longer. They need it now.
All right?
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: We have time for one or two more questions if the question is short.
OBAMA: And the answer is short.
REID: Otherwise, we'll only have one question.
The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Pat Leahy.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: Mr. President, I want to thank you for coming here. I was just -- these answers are so good and need to be heard.
You have a great sense of what the federal judiciary should be. I think back to President Clinton's time, when the other side blocked 61 of his judges, you've had some superb judges.
You've talked to both Republicans and Democrats, have some superb names. And Senator Reid still has to file cloture. We have to spend a week of doing that, and then they pass my 100-0 or 90-10.
My thing is this -- because of what they did last time, we ended up with the greatest shortage and the most judicial crises I think in our history. Will you continue to work very hard to get up names as quickly as possible so that we can do this and help us get these judges through?
I don't want the same judicial crises to occur. You've had good nominees. Can you commit to work with us, both parties, and keep trying to get them through?
OBAMA: This is going to be a priority.
Look, it's not just judges, unfortunately, Pat. It's also all our federal appointees.
We've got a huge backlog of folks who are unanimously viewed as well qualified. Nobody has a specific objection to them, but end up having a hold on them because of some completely unrelated piece of business.
That's an example, Michael, of the kind of stuff that Americans just don't understand.
On the judges front, we had a judge coming out of Indiana, Judge Hamilton, who everybody said was outstanding. Evan Bayh, a Democrat, Dick Lugar, a Republican, all recommended. How long did it take us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six months.
OBAMA: Six months. Six, seven months for somebody who was supported by the Democratic and Republican senator from that state. And you can multiply that across the board. So we have to start highlighting the fact that this is not how we should be doing business.
Now, in fairness, in fairness when we were in the minority, there were some times where we blocked judges, we blocked appointees. I think it's fair to say we were a little more selective in how we did it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot more.
OBAMA: A lot more, somebody said.
So this is an example of where I'm going to reach out to Mitch McConnell. I know Harry has as well. And I'm just going to say, look, if the government is going to work for the American people, I can't have the administrator for GSA, which runs every federal facility, all federal buildings all across the country -- here we are, we're trying to save billions of dollars, cut waste.
You know, Claire McCaskill has been all on top of how can we audit our spending? And we could save billions of dollars in ending old leases that don't work or renegotiating them, or consolidating buildings and efficiencies, but I don't have a GSA administrator.
Even though I nominated somebody who was well qualified several months ago, and nobody can tell me that there's anything particularly wrong with her. They're blocking her because of some unrelated matter. I don't know. You guys may know better than I do.
And that has to end. It has to end. And the American people want it to end.
(APPLAUSE)
Let's have a fight about real stuff, not -- don't hold this woman hostage. If you have an objection about my health care policies, then let's debate the health care policies. But don't suddenly end up having a GSA administrator who is stuck in limbo somewhere because you don't like something else that we're doing, because that doesn't serve the American people.
Then they don't know what the argument is about. Then it's just sort of a plague on both your houses because it looks like you guys are just fighting all the time. And we've got to put an end to that.
REID: I missed somebody on my list. If you would just be patient with us, we'll have two very short questions.
OBAMA: I will indulge that.
REID: The first question is going to come from the only person that's a member of the United States Senate who has a spouse that's just won a Pulitzer Prize -- Sherrod Brown from Ohio.
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: Thank you for joining us. Thank you for your visit to Lorain County, Ohio, a week and a half ago. The first presidential visit to that county of 300,000 since Harry Truman in 1948.
OBAMA: It was a great visit. We had a great time.
BROWN: It was terrific.
Ten miles from there, Oberlin College, one of the great private institutions of higher learning in this country, at Oberlin College, there was a building built there seven or eight years ago fully powered by solar panels. It's the only -- it's the largest building on any college campus in America like that.
Those solar panels were bought in Germany and Japan, not surprisingly. Germany, a country that has both an energy policy and a manufacturing policy.
Seventy-five miles west of there is Toledo, Ohio, where you've been several times. And Toledo has more solar energy manufacturing, solar manufacturing jobs than any city in America.
It begs the question of two things in terms of manufacturing policy and energy policy. We have all kinds of things in so many of our states -- manufacturing wind turbine components and solar panel components. But we're the only major industrial country in the world without a manufacturing policy.
And every rich country in the world has one. We don't.
I know what you're doing with Ron Bloom in the White House and other things, but how do we get there. How do we -- when we read these articles in the paper that China is just exploding in terms of wind turbine manufacturing, solar panel manufacturing, how do we rebuild our manufacturing sector with a manufacturing policy, combined with an energy policy that gets us there?
OBAMA: I hope people had a chance to read that article that was in "The New York Times," I guess, last Sunday talking about how China is not waiting, it is moving. And already, the anticipation is, is that they will lap us when it comes to clean energy. Now, they're not a democracy, and so they don't debate. And there are no filibuster rules. And so, obviously, over the long term, a system that allows for robust debate and exchange of ideas is going to produce a better result. I believe that. But we have to understand that when it comes to some key issues like energy, we are at risk of falling behind.
We've already fallen behind, but it's not irrevocable because we still have the best research, we still have potentially the best technology, we've got the best universities, we've got the best scientists. And as I've said, we've got the most productive workers in the world. But we've got to bring all those things together into a coherent hole.
Now, I think there are a couple of elements to this.
One, in terms of manufacturing, generally, you just mentioned Ron Bloom, who we put in charge of a manufacturing task force, is just issuing now a report to me about the direction we need to go to have some coordination when it comes to manufacturing. Now, this is not some big bureaucratic top-down industrial policy. It is figuring out how do we coordinate businesses, universities, government to start looking at where our strategic opportunities, and then making those investments, filling holes that exist so that we can be competitive with what China is doing or what Germany is doing or what Spain is doing?
And my hope is, is that during the course of this year, we're going to be able to work with all 50 senators, because all of you have a stake in this, to just see where are our manufacturing opportunities and where can we fill some -- plug some holes in order to make sure that we're competitive internationally.
Specifically on clean energy, we know that's an opportunity. I continue to believe -- and I'm not alone in this -- that the country that figures out most rapidly new forms of energy and can commercialize new ideas is going to lead the 21st century economy. I think that is our growth model.
(APPLAUSE)
REID: Final question.
OBAMA: But hold on a second. There's just one last thing I want to say about this.
In order for us to maximize it, part of it is the good work that Jeff has been doing in terms of just finding the right incentives. We've got to be open-minded about a whole range of technologies. We've got to look at clean coal technology, we've got to look at nuclear technology. We are going to be making some significant announcements this year.
This is an example, Blanche, of where we can't be stuck in the past in terms of how we see these things. We're not going to be able to ramp up solar and wind to suddenly replace every other energy source anytime soon. And the economy still needs to grow.
So we've got to look at how to make existing technologies and options better. But -- and this is just the point that I wanted to make because it came up in New Hampshire yesterday -- we still -- one of the best ways to be on the forefront in energy is to incentivize clean energy and discourage the old sources or methods that aren't going to work in the future.
And so, the fact that Joe Lieberman is working with Lindsey Graham, John Kerry has been all over this, the three of them are coming together to try to find a workable bipartisan structure so that we are incentivizing and rewarding the future and understanding that there's a transition so that we've got to make sure that the disruptions are minimized as we move into this new energy future. That's going to be vital.
So don't give up on that. I don't want us to just say the easy way out is for us to just give a bunch of tax credits to clean energy companies.
The market works best when it responds to price. And if they start seeing that, you know what, dirty energy is a little pricier, clean energy is a little cheaper, they will innovate and they will think things through in all kinds of innovative ways.
So, I want to congratulate specifically John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, who -- it probably doesn't help him for me to compliment him, but has been very thoughtful in terms of how they are approaching this issue.
(APPLAUSE)
REID: Final question, Evan Bayh, Indiana.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here. Pass that over.
OBAMA: Wait. No, no. We can get you a mike.
Nice sneakers, by the way.
(LAUGHTER)
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: Thank you. You've got to stay light on your feet around here. Right?
Mr. President, you've already addressed this in part, and several of the other questioners have raised this. But I'd like to present it in a little bit of a different way that I think is on the minds of people in my state and perhaps on the minds of Independents and moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats around the country, and that's this issue of the deficit and rising debt and restoring the fiscal health of this country to a position where it ought to be. Frankly, I think the public and average citizens have been way ahead of the political class on this. They understand in the long run, this is unsustainable, it's bad economics. They understand that generally -- generationally, as Michael was mentioning, it's unfair to our children to ask them to pay these bills.
And most of all, there's a sense of unfairness. They're having to make sacrifices in their daily lives, but too many in Washington expect to have continuing increases in the programs they care about.
Ordinary citizens are making sacrifices, and yet we want our earmarks or pet projects. And they ask, why can't Washington make the same sacrifices that we're willing to make?
Now, I think they realize that the other party doesn't have much credibility on this subject. They handed you a $1.3 trillion deficit. Vice President Cheney famously said that, in his opinion, deficits didn't matter. He just flat out said it.
You know, that's wrong. It's bad economics. It's wrong. And so we've got a job to do.
But I think many people across the country candidly look at us and say, well, I don't know if the Democrats are willing to take this on. You know, they think we want to tax too much and spend too much. And do we have the backbone to really stand up and make some of these hard decisions?
Now, to your credit, you've called for some things that aren't always popular in our party. The first thing I noticed when you put into effect that non-security discretionary spending freezes, you get kicked in the shins by some of the left-wing blogs and you called for more restraint on earmarks. That's not always popular among our group. But, to your credit, you've called for those things.
So, my question to you, Mr. President, is speaking to Independents, conservative Democrats, moderate Republicans, people who know we have to do this, why should the Democratic Party be trusted? And are we willing to make some of the tough decisions to actually head this country in a better direction?
OBAMA: Well, I'll tell you why the Democratic Party should be trusted, because the last time this budget was balanced, it was under a Democratic president who made some very tough decisions.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: So, I mean, I think this is pretty straightforward. Bill Clinton made some very hard political decisions. Some of you were there in Congress. You know how tough those votes were. You got no help from the other side.
But as a consequence, the economy took off and you had a $200 billion surplus at the end of his presidency. So, I think he deserves enormous credit for that, and those of you who took those votes deserve enormous credit for that. That's why we have had -- we should have credibility. But we're still haunted by the debates that took place from the '70s, the '60s. All right? And that hasn't completely worked through the political mindset. So, we're still saddled with this notion of the tax-and- spend model when, if you actually look at it, we've been very fiscally responsible.
Now, having said that, we have been complicit in some ways over the last decade. The prescription drug bill, not paid for. Two wars, not paid for. Two tax cuts, not paid for.
The emergence of a structural deficit that is only going to grow because we all know that the biggest drivers are Medicare and Medicaid, and as people get older, as the population gets older, and as new technologies come on line, people are demanding new services for health care, those are going to become more and more expensive. And that's what's going to blow up the budget in the long term.
So, to answer your question, how do we -- having said that, there's no doubt that we've lost trust. And part of it was just, look, bad timing.
It's like the cartoon, right? You know, you're sort of standing there and suddenly somebody hands you a ticking time bomb and it explodes, and you've got all this gun powder on your hands. And you didn't construct the bomb, but you're holding it.
And so what happened last year was we come in, you've got a $1.3 trillion deficit that we're inheriting, you've got $3 trillion revenue that are lost because of the recession, you've got an $8 trillion projected over the next 10 years, and you've got trillions more in projected deficits when you start looking -- counting entitlements. Everybody has been looking at Kent Conrad's charts here for the last several years about it.
And so at that very moment, suddenly the headlines that people are seeing is "bank bailout," "recovery package," and it all kind of merges together into just this blob of spending. And people aren't seeing, how is this benefiting me?
It just looks like Washington business as usual. And all that suspicion gets amplified. So it's completely understandable.
I think the way that we regain trust is to pursue good policies, but not be afraid also to explain these policies and to be honest with the American people that we're not going to dig ourselves out of this hole overnight. So, a couple of things I have done.
I have encouraged that we go back to pay-go, pay as you go. People understand that concept, you pay as you go.
I congratulate the Senate on voting for it. I expect the House to get it done. I want to sign that.
REID: Not a single Republican. OBAMA: The second thing you already mentioned is this non- defense discretionary freeze. One thing I want to mention, though, it's not as if we're not going after defense as well. It's just -- it would be irresponsible when we have two wars for me to impose that same kind of limitation, tie my hands not knowing what contingencies may be needed.
But if you look at what Bob Gates has been doing in the Defense Department, and really going after some sacred cows at the Pentagon, he's been serious about it. We've already saved billions of dollars. We intend to keep saving billions of dollars on that front as well.
We've already proposed $20 billion worth of savings for this year by eliminating and consolidating programs. Last year, we proposed $17 billion and we were pooh-poohed. Some of the editorials, were, oh, $17 billion, this is a pittance.
You know, only in Washington is $17 billion a pittance. But it also indicates one of the dangers that we have, is that you've got to chip away at this problem.
So every dollar counts. You know, the work that Claire has done on auditing, if we can squeeze out $5 million here, $10 million here, make this program work a little bit better, over time it creates good habits. And it starts exercising the fiscal restraint muscles in ways that won't affect programming for people, but will affect our bottom line.
So we're moving aggressively. We hope this year we get that stuff done. But what we also have to understand is that if I take all the steps that I put forward, and Congress follows my lead on the non- defense discretionary spending, we're prudent in terms of defense spending, and we do all the things that we've talked about, we've still got this structural deficit that we've inherited.
Essentially, what my proposal does is to pay for the Recovery Act and the other extraordinary steps we had to take for last year so that I will have covered what happened on my watch. That's important to understand.
Whatever spending that I had to take that was extraordinary, that you took with me, including the Recovery Act, if we follow my budget outline, we will have taken care of, paid for what happened on our watch. But what we will not have solved is that huge structural deficit that existed the day I walked in.
And we've got to be able to tell the truth to the American people that that is hard to solve. And the reason it's hard to solve is most of it is coming from entitlements that people like. And it has to do with the fact that there's this huge gap between the amount of money being paid out and the amount of money coming in.
And everybody understands this here, but I think that there's a misperception in the public. If you ask your average constituent, where does federal dollars go? They'll tell you foreign aid.
And you say, well, foreign aid accounts for one percent of our budget. And then they'll say, well, earmarks.
Look, I think we have to discipline ourselves on earmarks just because, symbolically, I think it makes people feel like we're not showing the same kind of discipline that they are. Even for worthy projects, you've still got to make choices, so they're absolutely right about that.
But earmarks account for about one percent of the budget. All right. So, even if we eliminated all foreign aid and all earmarks, it doesn't solve our problem.
And as far as the arguments that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are making, I think it's important to explain to people that in order for us to balance the budget while exempting entitlements, no new revenues, you'd have to cut non-discretionary defense spending by 60 percent. Cut it by 60 percent. That's everything -- student loans, NASA, veterans programs, you name it.
We'd have to cut by 60 percent, 6-0. That's just not going to happen.
That's why we called for the commission, because we've got to look at some tough long-term policy objectives. And that's why we've got to -- and I will personally do this, I will say to my Republican friends, I want to solve it, I don't want to play politics on it, but you've got to step up. You've got to fill these slots with this commission that we're going to set up, put these people in a room, and actually solve some of these problems.
And I hope they do. And, you know, maybe I'm naive.
I'm still counting, Evan, on the notion that good policy over the long term is good politics. If you do the right thing and you explain it clearly, and you do it openly, I'm confident that the American people -- you can have an adult conversation and say this is not going to be easy, this is not going to be painless, we're going to be struggling for a while, but our future is bright. And if we show the same grit and determination that previous generations have shown, I have every confidence that we are going to have a 21st century that was the American century just like the 20th.
All right?
Thank you, everybody. God bless you.
(APPLAUSE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: President Barack Obama today in Washington. Senate Democrats he's speaking in front of at the museum, much the same way as he spoke to those House Republicans in Baltimore last week.
The president has been out and about and visible over the last couple of weeks trying to drum up his agenda, at least some support behind it. We're going to talk to someone who was inside the room in just a minute. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, will join us here on CNN.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, in for Tony Harris today.
We're going to begin with something that is just in to CNN. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says if you own one of the recalled Toyotas, you should not be driving it. You should not be driving it. This statement coming before a House subcommittee just moments ago.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to the Toyota dealer, because they believe they have the fix for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The strongest word from a U.S. official so far. Again, that was Secretary Ray LaHood saying don't drive one of those recalled vehicles.
Meantime, U.S. officials are now looking into whether electronics are to blame for unexpected accelerations. Toyota insists the problem is limited to floor mats and sticking pedals. Dealerships are about to start installing reinforcing rods on millions of recalled vehicles.
I'll talk to an auto expert at the half-hour to hear what we really need to do to solve all of these problems.
But first, CNN's Brian Todd joins us.
Brian was inside of the room where the secretary was speaking.
Brian, tell us exactly what happened. This is some strong words from the transportation secretary.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were strong words, Don. And this continues, some very strong language from the secretary that he's been putting forth over the past couple of days.
He essentially told Toyota drivers, as you just mentioned, look, stop driving these cars. If you've got one of them that's affected, get it into the dealership so that they can possibly fix it.
He says Toyota believes they have a fix for it. And he did acknowledge, as you mentioned, that they are, however, investigating whether electromagnetic interference might actually be causing some of these problems with the electronics throttle control systems possibly malfunctioning.
Again, that's what the secretary said that the Transportation Department is investigating. It's important to point out that the division of that department that's investigating this, NHTSA, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, has not actually seen any evidence to support the idea that there may be electromagnetic interference, but they have to look at it. And so that's one of the things they're looking at.
But this kind of signifies, Don, that Washington is jumping further and further into this situation. The secretary yesterday issued some very, very strong language, essentially accusing Toyota of dragging its heels in this recall, saying that if it hadn't been for the government pushing them, that the automaker really wouldn't have engaged in this recall. And he said we may not even be at this point if we hadn't pushed them.
LEMON: Well, here's the interesting thing. If they're thinking that it's electronic and they're installing reinforcing rods -- because that's going to be on the accelerator itself -- if it's electronic, that opens up a whole new can of worms here.
TODD: Oh, boy, does it. I mean, it opens up a new and possibly very expensive can of worms for Toyota if that is found to be part of the problem.
Again, we have to reiterate that NHTSA has seen no evidence of this yet. But clearly, they feel there may be something there, or else they wouldn't have announced that they're looking at this. So, Toyota's problems could be running much deeper than we think right now, but the automaker is saying that they believe they have a fix right now with these two separate recalls, first the floor mats and now the gas pedals.
LEMON: CNN's Brian Todd.
Brian, thank you very much.
I want to remind our viewers, we're going to talk with an expert from the auto industry to find out exactly what you can do and what is going on, and really just if this problem can get bigger or if it can be fixed very soon.
And also, we'd like to know what you think, so make sure you go to iReport.com and share your thoughts with us right here on CNN.
The rain just won't stop in the South. Our Rob Marciano is tracking the system that is stretching from Texas all the way to Tennessee.
First, though, here's the latest on the Dow. Take a look at those numbers. The Dow down.
And we're going to get a complete check from the New York Stock Exchange in just a little bit, so take a look at that.
And now "Fortune" magazine is out with its rankings of the 100 best companies to work for. Where does your company rank?
The 100 best companies to work for, we're taking a closer look at that. See if you can guess this next company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): This business has it in the bag. What company keeps smiles on employees' faces with an upbeat work environment? We'll tell you after the break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What company keeps its employees happy with a fun place to work? Grocery store chain Stew Leonard's. The family-owned business operates four stores in the Northeast. The company offers employees a program where moms only work while their kids are in school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very important for me to be with my family and my children, but coming here is also being part of a family.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: The company rewards employees with a profit sharing plan and celebrates workers' successes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations!
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Stew Leonard's is number 64 on "Fortune" magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So you saw the president live on CNN just moments ago speaking to Senate leaders in Washington at the Newseum and you heard the president talk about small businesses. He says they are big job creators and he wants to use bailout money to spur lending.
So let's talk now with our personal finance editor Gerri Willis. Hello, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, Don.
LEMON: How would this lending program be structured?
WILLIS: All right. Well, it's a little complicated, but in a nutshell the program would offer cheap money to community banks that promised to boost their small business lending. Now that means banks with assets of less than $10 billion would be able to borrow money from the Treasury at a very low rate of interest. Then they use that money to make more small business loans than they did last year in '09.
Now experts say this type of measure is desperately needed since it's become almost impossible for small businesses to get loans unless they're already well established. Now, unless lenders cooperate, though, the one major problem here, the initiative will fall flat. So we'll have to see if that works -- Don.
LEMON: OK, so listen, we want to have our viewers prepared. So what do you need to have in hand before requesting one of these loans?
WILLIS: Well, it's a pretty long list. First off, you need a business plan. This includes what you want to do, how you're going to do it, what your expenses will be, your marketing plan, suppliers. And if you want to see examples of what they should look like, go to sba.gov, there are business plans there. Type in the word, the phrase "business plan".
Also you need start-up cash. If you want to borrow less than $35,000 you'll need 10 percent of that amount. For amounts over 35,000, you'll need 25 percent to 35 percent as a deposit.
And of course, as with any loan, you need good personal credit, a credit score of 700 or over.
Previous experience, this isn't a maybe, this is a must have. If you don't have industry-specific experience, work in that field part- time or volunteer.
And finally, you'll need 100 percent collateral. This is serious stuff that. That means putting your house on the line so that if your business doesn't make it, the bank has a place to go to get the money --Don.
LEMON: Yes, that is serious stuff. OK, so people are watching you then. Where do you find small business loans, Gerri?
WILLIS: Well, you really want to go to an institution that you have a personal relationship with, a human relationship with. As you know it's not easy to get a loan, so the closer you work with someone, the better off you're going to be.
Credit unions are another good place to go since their interest rates are typically lower. And if the amount you need to borrow isn't that big, you might consider taking out a home equity line of credit, if you can get that loan. Generally, you can tap cash for a lower rate of interest than you can get at a bank.
And of course reach out to your local SCORE chapter, that's part of the SBA, for advice and resources. SCORE, you can find at their website score.org.
And of course, if you have any questions, send them to me at gerri@CNN.com. We love to hear from you.
LEMON: You always answer the questions. Gerri Willis, thank you very much.
You know, we're bringing you new developments on two big stories today. More on the reaction -- or the retraction, I should say, of the huge autism study. And the Toyota recall, just the gas pedal or maybe more that's causing these problems. We'll let you know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: If you joined us a little earlier, you probably saw the president live talking to Senate democrats and also answering questions. He's really rallying democrats and rips into republicans during a Q&A session today. The president wrapped up the meeting with Senate democrats just moments ago and just days after he sparred with republican lawmakers at a similar forum.
As we promised, our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash inside of the room joins us with highlights.
Dana, I thought that last question, especially from Evan Bayh, was a really good question, why should people trust us now. And the president's answer, he came right back.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He did. And you know that question from Evan Bayh really speaks to a major theme that went on in that forum. And that is what the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, did when he picked the questioners, is he clearly intentionally picked about half a dozen democrats who are in very, very tough re-election battles and allowed them to get up and effectively make campaign speeches and challenge the president in public before the cameras on issues that they know are giving them big trouble back at home.
For example, Blanche Lincoln, she has a very tough re-election battle this coming year. She said that she hears from voters that nobody thinks that anybody in the Obama administration knows what it's like to go to work on Monday and make payroll on Friday. That was pretty, pretty tough there, essentially saying that people in the Obama administration don't know what it's like to work in the real world. She was able to do that, again, for the folks back home.
You heard again Evan Bayh talk about deficits. That is a problem according to constituents back home for him. Evan Bayh just got a pretty big republican challenger today, Dan Coates, the former Republican senator.
So the theme was quite interesting and I think quite transparent, if you want to know the truth, Don. You know, we talk about the fact that there needs to be transparency here, well I think it was pretty transparent that this was a forum ultimately for these very vulnerable democrats to challenge the president in public on some issues that the voters are worried about, like the way Washington works.
LEMON: You know, Dana, he really stuck to in many ways the same theme he spoke to last week when he talked to House republicans when he talked about the tone in Washington. I mean, he also says, you know, you have to get beyond just getting your news from one single source because it becomes an echo chamber, right? And he mentioned you need to read, you need to watch television, you need to listen to the radio, you need to do your own digging rather than just buying whatever is just given to you by a certain organization.
BASH: That's right. He was trying to tell them to try tune us out. I mean, he actually named us and other cable news organizations by name.
LEMON: I didn't want to say that, I'm glad you did.
BASH: But the reality is, look, the reality is everybody in that room, especially those I mentioned who are facing tough re-election battles, they will tell you that what they are hearing, the concern they are hearing doesn't come from us. It comes from the voters that they are facing back home and the constituents they are hearing from back home that Washington is not doing enough to get them jobs, that Washington is not doing enough to deal with the credit issue, that Washington is not doing enough to deal with health care.
You saw Michael Bennett, again another vulnerable democrat from the state of Colorado, saying that this place looks broken, challenging the president on that with regard to health care being on life support right now.
So, yes, that was the message that the president wanted to give that perhaps they're listening too much to people like us, but again, these democrats are also hearing from their constituents and they hear very, very loud concerns.
LEMON: All right, senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. Thank you very much, Dana. We appreciate you bringing us the scoop from inside that meeting, that Q&A with the president today.
Time now to give you your top stories here on CNN.
The suspect in the attempted Christmas Day plane bombing is talking again and he is providing useful information. That word from officials with the Obama administration. They say FBI agents made a secret trip to Nigeria to meet with some of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's relatives and now he is revealing new information to them.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is proposing to swap three American hikers for Iranians in U.S. prisons. The hikers were arrested last July after crossing into Iran from Iraq. A U.S. official says there has been no discussion with Iran about a prisoner swap.
After its federal bailout, AIG is getting ready to dole out another big round of bonus payments. The company will pay $100 million to current and former workers in its troubled Finance Products Division. The payouts will begin this week, they'll go to workers who volunteered to accept reduced bonuses.
I want to turn now to our meteorologist Rob Marciano.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Millions of Toyota owners wondering what to do about recalled cars. Transportation secretary is saying don't drive them, he has some very strong words. Is it a problem with the gas pedal or is it software? We're driving that story home with "Car and Driver" magazine's technical director, there you see him there, after break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want to recap our big story this hour because it really is a big story and affects millions of people. The Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says if you own one of those recalled Toyotas, you should not be driving it -- you should not be driving it. This is a statement coming before a House subcommittee just moments ago.
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RAY LAHOOD, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to the Toyota dealer because they believe they have the fix for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So meanwhile, U.S. officials are now looking into whether electronics are to blame for unexpected accelerations. Toyota insists the problem is limited to floor mats and sticking pedals. Dealerships are about to start installing reinforcing rods on millions of recalled vehicles and I'll talk to an auto expert in just a little bit. He's going to tell us exactly what is going on, how can this problem be solved should you be concerned about it.
Also, I want you to send me your thoughts. You can go to iReport or you go to our blog here at CNNnewsroom.com.
So here we go, is this problem a gas pedal issue or is it something else? Dave VanderWerp, the technical director at "Car and Driver" magazine, joins me live from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Thanks for joining us. I'm looking over what the transportation secretary said. He said they were -- he's telling people not to drive. That's a pretty big statement. He's also saying they're looking beyond the pedal problem, they're investigating electronics as well.
So if it's a problem with electronics or software glitch that's causing this issue, is Toyota addressing this problem correctly? That's, as I said, that opens up a whole other can of worms if it turns out to be electronics.
DAVE VANDERWERP, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, "CAR AND DRIVER" MAGAZINE: Well, it does. And obviously this is a major tragedy for them and it's unfortunate the way they have handled it thus far because when the initial reports came out in November, they said it was purely a floor mat issue. Now they have obviously expanded that and said it's a floor mat issue plus a pedal sticking issue and they have addressed these two things.
But the fact that they didn't catch it all the first time leaves us to be a little bit more concerned about is the second fix in fact the whole thing or is this even more here going on. And if in fact it is some electronic issue in addition to the other two things going on, obviously that's, like you said, a whole other can of worms and another huge part of this problem that could continue on. LEMON: OK. So if it's this one thing -- and it appears to be and we don't know yet, they're still investigating -- as we said this is going to compound the issue. So let's say everyone gets the reinforcing rod or whatever it is and then it turns out to be something else on top of that, this is a tough time economically for car companies, I mean, can Toyota survive this? Because this would just add a whole other issue as we have been saying.
VANDERWERP: It would, and Toyota has built itself up on this reputation for unsurpassed quality and reliability, and that's certainly being questioned now. And you see it, I mean, consumers are concerned about should I buy a Toyota, maybe I'll buy a different brand now. And some of the other brands are stepping in with incentives to try to woo away Toyota owners.
We saw it in the January sales that came out yesterday. Toyota was down almost 20 percent and largely because the recalled vehicles were held on lots and not allowed to be sold.
LEMON: Short of fixing the problem, there is probably not a better fix for this at least for a public relations campaign, it's just fixing the problem and making sure it doesn't happen again. I'm sure that is the best thing. But here's the thing, not everybody owns a Toyota, right? I don't have a Toyota, but I'm concerned when you think about it as millions of cars had this issue that they're recalling if there's one on the road now and it could cause a problem. Then what gives for consumers who either own Toyotas or don't own Toyotas, what do we do?
VANDERWERP: Well, I think, like I said, consumers are going to consider other brands more so than Toyota and I think there could be a long-standing result. What comes out of this is you might see a shift away from Toyota. They may lose additional market share because there's a lot of great cars out there and why would you go with one that might potentially have a problem or has a history of having problems.
LEMON: And therein lies the problem right there that you said for Toyota.
Hey, thank you very much, Dave VanderWerp, an expert on cars for "Car and Driver" magazine, we really appreciate it.
VANDERWERP: No problem.
LEMON: One in 100 children right here in the United States diagnosed with an autism-related disorder. What causes it? The retraction of the study linking it to vaccines raises all kinds of questions. We're going to dig deeper right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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LEMON: Over the last decade, really 12 years now, thousands of frightened parents have opted not to get their children vaccinated against mumps, measles, and rubella. Why? A prestigious medical journal linked vaccinations to autism. In a bombshell first reported on CNN this time yesterday, a retraction from that journal, it's called "The Lancet," the study discredited. And parents, well, they are fuming today.
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JOE DIMINO, CNN IREPORTER: I find it a -- the whole debate on whether or not vaccinations, which are supposed to prevent your children from getting nasty diseases, to a potential that they're getting nasty diseases or they're getting something like autism to be irreprehensible. And I hate to even go down that path as a father of a 5-year-old who is in the autism spectrum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: As you can imagine, this controversy is far, far from over and we'll get a detailed report from our Alina Cho just a little bit later this hour.
So pushing forward, what does this mean for parents of autistic children and doctors trying to find treatments and cure? In the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM we'll talk with a mother of three autistic children, he name is Kim Stagliano (ph), and with Dr. William Shaftner (ph) about where we go from here. Good information that you need to know.
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LEMON: For many people, the American dream boils down to one thing -- you know, white-picket fence, 2.5 kids -- talking about owning a home. But these days, that dream is increasingly out of reach.
Our Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange, who has details about a new government report. Hi, Stephanie. Not good news.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Not good news, Don, that's true, and you can blame the economy on this one. About 67 percent of Americans owned their home at the end of last year. We haven't seen a number that low since 2000, and analysts say it would be much lower if it hadn't about for the first-time buyer tax credit.
We saw home ownership hit a record high of 69 percent, just to put it in comparison here, in 2004. That was an era of free and easy money. Two years later, however, the economy took a turn and then home ownership rates, well, they've been falling ever since then.
Here's the problem, many people lost their homes to foreclosure, a million people filed for bankruptcy last year, unemployment is at 10 percent, and credit is still hard to get. And when it comes to paying a credit card or a mortgage, Transunion are choosing to pay their credit cards so they can eat and buy gas and do those other daily activities. Until these issues go away, home ownership is going to just be a dream for so many people.
Just to give you a quick check of Wall Street, the Dow is on the downside by 50 points it's at 10234. Nasdaq on the downside by 10. So, we're mildly weaker, Don, but we'll keep our eyes on it.
LEMON: All right, let's keep our fingers crossed, we want that to go up, help people buy homes.
ELAM: Indeed.
LEMON: Stephanie Elam, good to see you, thank you very much.
ELAM: Thank you.
LEMON: Well, I'll tell you guys what we're working on next right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, it'll happen next hour.
The study linking autism and vaccines discredited and retracted. So, now what? What happens? We'll talk with a mother with three daughters with autism and a doctor who is a vaccine expert. We're going to get some information that you really need to know here.
Meantime, fellow church members arrested in Haiti and accused of child trafficking. The pastor says they were trying to do good, but was their mission misguided? Our Dan Simons travels to Idaho, where the church is.
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