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President Obama Remarks on Health Care Reforms; NATO Misstep; College Credit Crackdown
Aired February 22, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A major misstep by NATO has Afghanistan's government up in arms right now. Air strikes intended for insurgents instead kill civilians. There were no insurgents there. At least 27 dead, including women and children. NATO leaders apologizing and promising for an investigation.
Toyota just can't seem to get out of their own way. A newly released internal document celebrates so-called wins by the company in 2009. Those include getting safety regulations delayed and avoiding a full recall for accelerator problems. That was just a month before the fatal crash that eventually led to more than eight million cars being recalled.
President Obama just moments away. We're awaiting his remarks on health care reform. The White House set to release that plan. He's speaking to the nation's governors. They're talking about states' roles in health care and the economy. They also have a message for the federal government. Get your act together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JIM DOUGLAS (R), VERMONT: We've got a national debt that's now over $12 trillion. We've got unemployment that's higher than it's been in our lifetime. We have an economy and a government that are, indeed, broken. So we have no choice but to get folks in Washington to come together to find some common ground as governors do, as we do in our states, and address the challenges of the American people.
GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We have large numbers of people out of work all across the country in varying degrees, in different ones of our states. The Congress has before a proposal to extend unemployment benefits. That's not because we want people to become reliant on unemployment benefits, it's just because we want people to be able to bridge to a better and stronger economy.
There hasn't been action on that. There's a jobs bill that's been proposed by the White House, been in discussion up on Capitol Hill. I think the House has passed it, the Senate hasn't moved it. We need that kind of action, and we need it now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. So let's go ahead and start with the plan that President Obama will unveil in just a couple of minutes. The goal, reining in the massive insurance rate hikes that have left many Americans suffering. Our CNN crews are going to break it all down for us. Dana Bash takes the pulse on Capitol Hill, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen looking at how the changes could affect you, and Suzanne Malveaux digging up all the new details.
Let's go ahead and start with you, Suzanne, and talk about the president's plan and what it means for us.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we are monitoring the White House web site here. It's supposed to have the full plan and all the details up at 10:00. So we keep our eyes on this. But I have to admit, we do have a copy already. It has been embargoed until 10:00. We can release all the details we know.
Clearly, what this is is it mirrors the Senate bill. It is very similar to the Senate version although there are some key differences that White House officials have pointed out to us. And we've been rummaging through this. One of these things is that it streets all the states the same when it comes to Medicaid funding.
So for instance, they've eliminated any kind of special deals for senators for particular states, particularly that one for Nebraska which got so much heat. The other thing here, it closes the gap or the doughnut hole for senior citizens who have to pay for prescription drugs. So that would no longer be an issue. They successfully closed that, according to the plan.
And then, finally what it does is it creates a new authority, a new provision, if you will, to regulate insurance companies when they hike up those premiums, excessive hikes for premiums. They create this new authority to say, look, these insurance companies, this isn't right. They can't do that. So it gives the Department of Health and Human Services more power to actually move in on those insurance companies.
Other things people have been talking about is the tax on the so- called high-end, Cadillac plans, insurance plans that some people get. Well, it still remains, but there'll be less people who will be subjected to that tax.
And finally, Kyra, what's also interesting to note is there is no public option here. That is something the president made a big deal about in the beginning, saying a public option, a government-run health insurance kind of plan would be important to give competition in the market, in the marketplace.
We had a conference call with some White House officials earlier today who said, look, that was in the first proposal. Clearly there is not the kind of - they don't have the stomach in Congress to really deal with that. But they do feel that there are other alternatives that will lower the costs, health care costs, in a reasonable kind of way.
So OK, Kyra, we're still keeping our eye out on the web site to see if those details come through, but those are the highlights.
PHILLIPS: All right. Holler when you have more of those details, Suzanne. Stay with us. Let's go ahead and talk more about you, the consumer, and what the limits mean to your wallet and also to your health.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen answering that for us. A lot of changes since we first talked about this a number of months ago.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. This is a work in progress. I feel like it's going to change again and we're still going to have more progress. But at this moment in time this is what the White House is proposing that will affect you.
If you make less than $88,000 a year, you will get substantial tax credits to buy insurance. We all know how expensive those premiums are. And these aren't just little tax credits. These are tax credits such that if you earn, let's say, $30,000 a year, you will be paying very little. The government is going to be mostly giving you a tax credit. Now, Kyra, there's another way here. You know when you go to the doctor, the insurance doesn't pay for all of it.
You have to chip in some, and you've got these deductibles, these co-payments and all of that. We've all experienced that. If you earn less than $55,000, the government will help you with that as well.
PHILLIPS: OK. I mean that's that's what folks want to hear. I mean, basically, so many of us feel like we're just getting really stuck to it when it comes to premiums and having to pay our insurance companies. We hope that that can somehow be halted. That, OK, this is what you'll pay, and that's it. It's not going to get any more expensive.
COHEN: Right. They can't - insurance in this country is a private enterprise. So the government can't step in and say, all right, this is what it's going to be. This is what insurance is going to cost. But it is interesting that the White House is proposing that if insurance companies want to have any kind of a rate increase, they have to basically inform the government of this. So that's sort of an interesting kind of government involvement that hasn't been there in the past.
PHILLIPS: OK. Stay with us. We're going to be chatting more with you as the president talks.
So how will the president's plan be received on Capitol Hill? Let's cover that part of the beat with our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. You know, does the new strategy stand a chance of busting through all the gridlock?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is really the key question, Kyra. What's important to remember here, and it's kind of mind boggling when you think about it, what we are going to see on the White House website when it comes up there on Suzanne's computer is going to be the very first time in all of this talk for the past year of the Obama plan. This is really going to be the first time we see actual health care legislation from the White House. And the reason is because the White House strategy was to let congressional democrats deal with it. And, you know, it has gotten bogged down for various reasons throughout the past year.
And so this is an attempt, a final attempt to jump start that by the White House. And the reality is, we're looking ahead to Thursday's big summit. It's - all the talk is about bipartisan summit and whether there's any agreement between Democrats and Republicans. But the big reason the White House did this ahead of that summit is to bring fellow Democrats together.
And Suzanne mentioned that this is basically the Senate Democrats' bill with some changes in it. The whole point, the whole idea here is to have the president's stamp on something to try to say, look, to his fellow democrats here, look, this is the way we think we should go. This is the way we think is the best route for solving health care.
But the big question at this point is whether even his fellow democrats in the House in particular can buy something that doesn't have a public option. That has this tax on high-cost plans. Even though there's a negotiation on that and even though labor unions, which are critical for the Democrats in support of this, it's critical whether House Democrats can go for that. They're going to have a meeting later today.
So that is one of the interesting dynamics here that needs to be underscored, highlighted, you name it. Because this is about Democrats, at least first and foremost.
PHILLIPS: All right. Dana Bash, stay with us.
Let's go ahead and take you back just for a second to kind of tell you how this all started. Just one month into office the president addressed Congress and railed against the crushing cost of health care. And then a couple of days later President Obama's first budget called for $634 billion over 10 years for a health care overhaul.
He calls it a down payment. But the numbers don't add up. An analysis by congressional budget experts actually warned that emerging House legislation would increase deficits by $239 billion over a decade. Well, there was months and months of debate. Lawmakers taking action in various ways.
And then in early November the House passed its health care bill. Then on Christmas eve, the Senate followed suit, passed its own version of a health care overhaul. And this Thursday, President Obama will host a health care summit with congressional leaders of both parties. And, of course, we're going to bring you the president's comments live as soon as they begin.
College. Piece of plastic with your name on it ranks right up there with the freshman 15 as part of the experience. Of course, it can be a lot easier to lose the weight than shed the debt. Now Uncle Sam is helping with the plastic. Students on their own with the pounds.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN severe weather center. A couple of storms, actually three of them that we need to talk about in just a few minutes. And both include rain and some snow. Weather is coming up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Portugal's resort island of Madeira cleaning up and trying to dry out after a disastrous weekend of deadly mudslides. It was prompted by a fumbling Friday night deluge of rain. At least 42 people were killed, 120 were injured. And I want you to see why. The roads and bridges literally washed out. This highway span crumbling right before the camera. Locals call it the worst storm to hit their tourist friendly retreat in seven years.
Here at home nothing so dire. But it's plenty of wet in the southeast and fluffy white stuff further north. Right, Rob?
MARCIANO: I tell you what. I've been to Portugal. It's a beautiful country. I've never been to that island but I've seen pictures of it. It looks absolutely stunning - mountainous, with those type of mountains, it doesn't take a lot of rain to get a mudslide going and these debris flows.
They got about six inches of rain in roughly six hours. So that's a flash flood if I've ever heard one. That's the end result. So dramatic pictures. Unfortunately, damage and deadly results from that beautiful island in Portugal.
All right. We don't expect to see anything nearly as extreme but we do have an active weather week shaping up. A couple of storms to speak of. Both are going to bring some rain. Some are going to bring more snow than others. This one that's currently affecting the upper Great Lakes and parts of the south is going to bring some rain to the south. Already doing that.
And also some snow to the Great Lakes. It's doing that right now. Snow up to about six inches, maybe 10, it maybe eight in some spots. But generally speaking a wintry mix right along that Ohio and Michigan border. Heavy rain to the south of that. Watch out, I believe, in Detroit. Do we have that yet? We don't.
Well, anyway, in Detroit it's snowing pretty heavily. Temperatures around 30 degrees. In the next couple of hours will be the time when you see the most amount of snow in that city and across the border in Windsor. Atlanta saw some heavy thunderstorms this morning. Now heading into Hilton head and Charleston. Because of those thunderstorms, we're still seeing delays at the Atlanta Airport, about 30 minute delays. O'Hare reaching an hour and 30 and San Francisco is seeing a 45-minute delays at this hour.
And back out to the west, the next storm that brought rains to parts of southern California bringing rain and mountain snows to New Mexico, Nevada and also Arizona. This will be bringing some snow to folks - our friends in Texas beginning tomorrow, anywhere from two to six inches in some spots. So that will be a cruel reminder that winter is still here for our friends in the lone star state.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it is. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right. See you.
PHILLIPS: Protecting you from the plastic. Sweeping new credit card rules that limit excessive rate hikes and other abusive industry practices, taking effect today. But some of the biggest changes are aimed at those under 21. CNN's Poppy Harlow explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PROF. HAROLD TAKOOSHIAN, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: The availability of credit is both an American dream as well as an American nightmare.
GERRI DETWEILER, CREDIT.COM: The days of easy credit cards for college students are largely over.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): New consumer protections regulating credit cards take effect today. And American College students are taking notice. Like these ones attending this debt panel Aat Fordham University in New York.
FRANCES PASTROELLE, STUDENT, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: You know, this was just something that was so easy, just to swipe it. I could tell myself I was actually benefiting myself by building this credit history. You know, just one of those things where you don't really think about the risks until it's there in front of you on your statement.
HARLOW: The new rules set limits on how credit card companies can raise rates and fees. A problem that has hit Americans of all ages. But new protections for those 21 and under mean many college students now have to prove that they can pay their balance in full or have a cosigner on the account.
According to Sally Mae, 84 percent of undergraduates have at least one credit card. And they're carrying record high balances, averaging in excess of $3,000. And with the nation's economic downturn, students are charging more than ever before. Even for necessities like textbooks, just to get by.
PASTORELLE: As soon as I would get it down a little bit, there would be another debt I had to put on. Some sort of medical bill or you know, textbooks. So it would just always feel like it was like a weight that I couldn't get out from underneath.
HARLOW: That weight can be a burden students carry with them well into adulthood. Until now, credit card companies targeted students with enticing terms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were flashing like zero APR or like no payments for the first year, you get this and this platinum card. HARLOW: But those terms later reset, much higher. Still, even wary students often feel compelled to open accounts. Why? To start building their credit. But here's the problem. As the debt piles higher, many students end up hurting their credit scores for years beyond graduation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Poppy Harlow joining us live from New York. So Poppy, what are some of the other protections for young consumers that are now in effect?
HARLOW: Well, it's really interesting. You know, you go into any college campus in the fall, really any time, and you see the giveaways. They're giving away way water bottles or teddy bears if you sign up for this card at zero percent APR. They cannot do that. They cannot be on or near a college campus and give away anything whatsoever. That's a huge change that should help students not sign up for cards they can't afford.
Also, in the law there is a strong recommendation, it's not mandated, but it's a recommendation to all universities across the country to offer debt education, credit card classes to their incoming freshmen. Also to seniors as they're graduating, telling them, don't take on all this debt. So a lot of changes for college kids because of the legislation that takes effect today. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: That's good news. Thanks, Poppy.
Who knew what when? A Senate report says a drug maker knew of one medication's dangers, but kept you in the dark for years.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Mission accomplished for the crew of the space shuttle "Endeavor" after a rare late-night landing on Sunday at the Kennedy Space Center. Astronauts completing their two-week mission to install a new solarium style room at the International Space Station. Only four more shuttle launches are scheduled before the fleet retires.
Pilots refusing to fly. Strike at Lufthansa. Grounding hundreds of flights so far. Passengers on partner airlines may soon feel the pinch as well. Salary and job security are behind the four-day walkout. Lufthansa is expected to go to court to get the pilots back in the air before then.
Sneaking a peek at students. The case goes to court today. We told you about this one last week. The lower Marion Pennsylvania School District accused of viewing web cams to check in on students at home. A lawsuit was filed when one kid got in trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLLY ROBBINS, MOTHER: I got a phone call from the vice principal of the school. And she said that she had pictures of Blake that were taken on his computer of him holding up little - what she thought were pills. But turned out to be Mike and Ike candies that my son is addicted to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Her attorney is going to ask that the web cams be shut off permanently. The school says they already have. The FBI also joining the investigation now.
A drug maker knew of the risks, but kept you in the dark for years. It's a scathing Senate report about the diabetes drug, Avandia, and its link to tens of thousands of heart attacks. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here to talk with us more about this idea of what they found.
And just before we start, I just want to point out the vice president there just stepped up to the mike. This is the other story we were talking about you. The president is going to be speaking to his health care proposal. Talking about putting limits on those premium hikes by insurance companies, a number of other issues concerning our health care. So we'll take that live as soon as the president steps up. But Avandia, my first story.
COHEN: First, let's talk about Avandia which also has to do with the federal government. This is really as you said a scathing senate report that shows that a diabetes drug called Avandia is responsible for tens of thousands of heart attacks. Take a look at these numbers.
What the report found is that Avandia is responsible for 500 heart attacks a month and 300 cases of heart failure. That's compared to if people were taking a different diabetes drug. And this report says that GlaxoSmithKline which makes this drug knew about these numbers and tried to hide them and that the FDA's own experts knew about this, that these experts said, you got to take this thing off the market and the FDA didn't.
PHILLIPS: We'll talk more in a minute. The president of the United States.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe, thank you very much for your remarks. And I want to, again, thank Governor Douglas and Governor Mansion for their outstanding leadership with this organization. I want to spend most of my time exchanging ideas with you and answering questions. But let me just preface this with a few remarks.
I want us to begin by remembering where we were just one year ago. As I mentioned last night, our economy was in a full-blown crisis. 750,000 Americans were losing their jobs each month. And millions more were hurting at the end of one of toughest decades for the middle class on record.
And just as they turned to you like never before, budget shortfalls threatened your capacity to help. That was just a few days before I signed the Recovery Act into law. A plan that many of you were instrumental in devising. That plan cut taxes for small businesses and for 95 percent of working Americans. It gave direct relief to those hardest hit by the recession, including workers who lost their jobs and families who lost their health care because of it.
It helped most of you close some of those budget gaps that had developed, which get 300,000 teachers and education workers in your schools and tens of thousands of first responders on your streets. And it began rebuilding our economy on a new and stronger foundation for growth. We helped to jump start a clean energy industry in places where there were none, as Governor Granholm can attest in Michigan.
We follow the gospel of Governors Randell and Schwarzenegger and invested in our infrastructure creating private sector jobs, rebuilding today's crumbling roads and bridges but also constructing the smart grids and the high speed rails that are so critical to our future. That's helping many of you prepare your states for future growth. Like Governor Baldacci who's accelerating his vision to connect broad band to every corner of Maine. Or Governor Barbour who's boosting plans to make commerce into Mississippi ports and now by rail to the rest of America.
Independent economists credit the recovery act with growing the economy and for two million jobs that otherwise wouldn't exist. Now, I understand that some of you still claim it's not working or wasn't worth it. But I also know that you've used it to close your budget gaps or break ground on new projects. I've seen the photos. And I've read the press releases. So it must be doing something right.
Overall, the economy is in a better place than it was a year ago. We were contracting by six percent, and we're now growing by six percent. But I know that your states are still in a very tough situation. And too many Americans still haven't felt the recovery in their own lives. So we're working to create jobs by all means necessary. Be it by cutting taxes for small businesses that create them, to investing more in infrastructure and in energy efficiency, or giving you more help to close budget shortfalls.
And I'm not going to rest until we see more progress in each and every one of your states. As governors, I know you feel the same responsibility to see the people we serve through difficult times. And I know you share my feelings that we've also got a responsibility to think beyond the crisis and build an economy that works for our future. To tackle some of the problems and barriers that have held us back and to secure our rightful place as the preeminent economy in the 21st century.
And that's why we've taken up the cause of better health care that works for our people, our businesses and our governments alike. That's why we will continue to fight for the cause of clean energy, an economy that will free ourselves from the grips of foreign oil and generate millions of good jobs and good wages in the process. That's why we've taken up the cause of guaranteeing that Americans have the knowledge and the skills and education they need in this new and changing world.
America's prosperity has always rested on how well we educate our children, but never has that been more true than it is today. And it's true for our workers as well. When a college graduate earns over 60 percent more in a lifetime than a high school graduate. This is true for our businesses when, according to one study, 6 in 10 simply cannot find the qualified workers that they need and are ready and willing to hire.
Unfortunately, we continue to lag in several critical areas. Our eighth grade students are ninth in the world in math and 11th in science. In response to assessments like these, some states have upped their game. I want to point to Massachusetts as an example where eight graders now tie for first in science around the world.
Some, unfortunately, some states have actually done the opposite. Between 2005 and 2007 under no child left behind, 11 states actually lowered their standards in math. That may make those states look better relative to other states, but it's not going to help our students keep up with their global competitors.
When I visited South Korea last year, and I've told this story before, I had lunch with President Lee. And I asked him, "What's your biggest education challenge?" And he said, "My biggest issue, my toughest fight, is that Korean parents are too demanding. They want their kids to learn English in first grade, and so I've had to ship in a whole bunch of foreign-speaking teachers to meet the demand."
They want their students learning everything -- math, science, foreign languages -- all as soon as possible. They want their kids to excel because they understand that whichever country out-educates the other is going to out-compete us in the future.
So that's what we're up against. That's what's at stake. Nothing less than our primacy in the world.
As I said at the State of the Union Address, I do not accept a United States of America that's second place. And that means that all of us are going to have to work together to make sure that we are taking seriously the investments we make in our children's future.
That's the reason that we launched the Race to the Top, a national competition top support reform and improvements and our schools. We put $4 billion on the table and challenged states to compete for it saying that, if you embrace reforms that raise achievement, if you track and respond to student needs, if you evaluate and reward great teachers and principals and turn around failing schools, then we're going to help you make those reforms a reality.
Many of you, in your states, already have, and that's why we're going to expand the Race to the Top program. And I want to commend all of you for acting collectively through the National Governors Association to develop common academic standards that will better position our students for success.
Many states have already positioned themselves to adopt higher standards. And, today, I'm announcing steps to encourage and support all states to transition to college and career-ready standards on behalf of America's students. And I know that many of you have had a chance to interact with our secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, who's doing a terrific job. And I think you understand when you talk to him that this administration is serious about breaking down some of the barriers to reform that have existed in the past.
We are tired of arguments between the left and the right, between reformers and teachers unions. We want to figure out what works, and we want to make sure that we are giving you the support and the resources that you need to implement what works.
(APPLAUSE)
Of course, lifting achievement and transforming our schools is going to require more than new standards. It's going to require better teaching, better curriculum. It's going to require better assessments. So we are calling for a redesigned elementary and secondary education act that better aligns the federal education approach to your state-led efforts while offering you the support that you need.
Let me just be specific on some things that we're looking to do this year. First, as a condition of receiving access to Title 1funds, we will ask all states to put in place a plan to adopt and certify standards that are college- and career-ready in reading and math. Once you've got those standards in place, you will be able to better compete for funds to improve teaching and upgrade curriculum.
If a university, state, or school district begins preparing educators to teach to higher standards, we'll give them the support that they need. And to make sure that we're delivering for our kids, we're launching a competition to reward states that join together to develop the highest quality, cutting-edge assessments required to measure progress. And we'll help support their implementation.
This all goes hand in hand with our efforts to give every American a complete and competitive education. We are making college more affordable by increasing Pell Grants. We're continuing a new$2,500 tax credit for four years of college tuition. We are working to ease graduates' debt burdens because I believe -- and I think you do, too -- that nobody should go broke because they decided to go to college.
We've provided the resources to effectively implement the post- 9/11 G.I. Bill because every returning soldier should have the chance to begin a new life prepared for the new economy. We're strengthening our community colleges because all of you know that they are outstanding career pathways for the children of so many working families.
And we're working to reform the student-loan program and save tens of billions of dollars that currently go to subsidizing financial intermediaries because, instead of having that money go to middle men, we think it makes sense to spend that money educating the next generation.
Now, if we can come together and do all this in Washington, instate houses, and across party and ideology, we're going to raise the quality of American education. We'll give our students, our workers, and our businesses every chance to succeed. And we are going to secure this next century as another American century. Let me just close by saying this. We've been trusted with the responsibility to lead at a defining moment in our history. We've been tasked not only to see this country through difficult times but to keep the dream of our founding live for the next generation.
That's not something to shy away from; it's something to live up to. And I intend to work closely with all of you - Democrats and Republicans -- to do just that.
So with that, what I'd like to do is -- is start the discussion. I think that what we're going to do is I'm going to call on Jim and Joe first. And then after they've made their opening statements and remarks, then we'll kick the press out, and everybody'll roll up their sleeves, and we'll -- we'll get to work.
Jim?
(APPLAUSE)
DOUGLAS: Mr. President, thank you so much for, first of all, your hospitality last evening. The governors, their spouses and guests had a wonderful time, and we appreciate that very much, indeed.
And thank you for reaching out to the governors as you've done so many times, initially, when we met in Philadelphia, a meeting organized by Governor Rendell before you took office to discuss the pending Recovery Act and other issues of importance, and the meetings we continue to have here at the White House.
The governors are working hard in their respective states to bring the states of America out of this difficult economic time. We appreciate the help from the Recovery Act, and I want to note in particular the vice president's leadership. He's been not only accessible, but persistent...
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: ... and we -- we appreciate that and perhaps some additional support that -- that might come our way, as well.
But governors are -- are still going to have to make some tough choices. Establishing priorities, reducing spending, balancing budgets, it's a tough time, but working with you and the federal government, we hope we can get our states on the path to recovery.
We've talked a lot during the last day or so about health care reform, and we look forward to learning more about your proposals. Yesterday, we had a great facilitated discussion with Maria Bartiromo. And we had a lot of presentations by governors about things that are happening in our states.
And it's such a good discussion, we're going to send a copy of it to the congressional leaders, because while there's gridlock in Washington, if you went around that room, you couldn't tell who was a Republican or who was a Democrat. There are governors who are implementing all kinds of exciting reforms that are making a difference, that are bending the cost curve, improving the outcome and the quality of care, and we want those ideas to be models for reform at the national level.
So we hope, as this debate goes forward, we'll have a chance to work with you and your administration, with the congressional leaders to put in place ideas that work, that states can implement so we can all work together to bend that cost curve, improve the quality of care, and do everything possible to improve the health and well-being of the American people.
Again, for your leadership, your hospitality, and for the opportunity to discuss important issues with the governors today, thank you.
OBAMA: Thank you, Jim.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Gayle doing all right?
GOV. JOE MANCHIN III (D), WEST VIRGINIA: She's doing good. I first want to report, Mr. President, that Gayle's doing well. I know that Vice President Biden accused me of tripping her, but I did not. My wife fell yesterday --last night, but we had a wonderful time.
Let me reiterate on behalf of my colleagues the hospitality that you and the staff have shown us and also the openness and the dialogue that we've had. At the end of the session that we had yesterday morning, I said that I've never been more proud to be part of an organization that worked across party lines the way we do.
And I believe if we're going to move this country forward, it's going to be with the governors in that leadership position, working with you as a partner, and I really believe that we are still on the front of health care reform.
We know that we can't sustain what we have. Double-digit inflation is going to eat all of our budgets, as you know, and it's something that we can't catch. So we need that help, and we're still at the table. We're not giving up on it. And we think we can come to an agreement on this some way that's going to be workable for all of us.
When we talk about flexibility, we talk about that every state's not the same. West Virginia is different from California. But we both -- both desire to make sure that all our citizens are taken care of. And that's the flexibility we're looking for.
At the end of the day, we've got to balance a budget every year. Every year we have to balance. And we understand that's not always the case here in Washington to where Congress might not look at it as finite as we do, so what we're asking for is that consideration, that tolerance with us, but really to bring us into the fold, that if you're looking for that bipartisan movement this country is desiring, this country is hungry for, I believe you'll find it in this room.
This is a great group of people that I'm proud of and proud to be part of this organization of the National Governors Association. We're proud of our relationship in association with this administration. And we look forward to continuing the good work that all of us want done for this country. We're going to keep this country strong, one state at a time.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
PHILLIPS: President of the United States there is speaking to the National Governors Association, hearing from a couple of those governors. Whoo! Sorry about that. Fade to black. Lost the live signal. Perfect timing.
We're going to try -- we didn't hear a lot of details about the ten-year health care plan, but as you know, we've been talking about it for months and months and months. And the fact that the president, as you can see, is trying to probably make his last-ditch effort there to rescue his health care plan.
Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent, with us now. We didn't get a lot of the details we were looking for. But Suzanne Malveaux was talking about the plan. You've been talking about the plan. We have been getting a number of the details as he kind of goes for the last pitch here to get it passed.
A couple of changes. No public option. Trying to put a cap on these premiums that insurance companies continue to hike up. Number three, you said probably bottom line, one of the most important things is...
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Is the help that actual Americans will get. I think this is important, sort of money in the wallet. What's the problem here? The problem is people can't afford insurance. They can't pay for it.
What this does, this plan says if you make less than -- if a family of four makes less than $88,000 a year, the government's going to help you, either in the form of tax credits or in the form of helping you -- other sort of ways for helping you pay for things like premiums, deductibles and co-payments.
This isn't just little bits of help. I was asking one expert, maybe you get a dollar off your premiums? He said, no, this is serious. If you make, for example, $30,000 a year, you pay very little for premiums under this plan.
But as you mentioned, this plan is interesting for what it doesn't do almost as much as what it does do. There is no government- sponsored health plan in this bill. That is what dogged President Obama all last year. It's just not there. That is crucial. People are going to be mad about that, and there are people who are going to be thrilled about that. PHILLIPS: I guess the point being made he really wants to get this passed, so he's tried to negotiate something that everybody will agree upon. Okay.
So, as we follow that, because he'll have another big speech coming up on Thursday, just before he stepped up to the mike, we were talking about Avandia, the diabetes drug causing heart attacks. We didn't get to finish that segment. In all due fairness, we have a statement, obviously, from the company that makes the drug.
COHEN: Right. Sort of the allegations, if you will, hear, is that GlaxoSmithKline knew that their diabetes drug, Avandia, which is still on the market, was linked to tens of thousands of heart attacks. And that there are other drugs that you can take when you're diabetic besides Avandia, so lots of people asking why in the world would you want to take Avandia?
So, we reached out to GlaxoSmithKline and asked them for a statement. They said, look, Avandia was approved by the FDA. In 2007, the FDA confirmed that Avandia should stay on the market. And GSK says the scientific evidence simply does not establish that Avandia increases cardiovascular schemic risk or causes myrocardial schemic (ph) events. In other words, they're saying this study is just not true.
The two experts sat the FDA who did the study -- and I talked to one of them last night -- say these numbers are rock solid, and they say this drug should come off the market. But their bosses at the FDA don't seem to agree with them.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll continue to follow it. Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Remember Tiger Woods said that he thought the normal rules didn't apply to explain his behavior? Kind of wonder if one former mayor of Detroit felt the same way about the rules. You want an example of broken government, here's the potential poster child.
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PHILLIPS: You want to talk about broken government, broken promises, here's an example that isn't broken. Try shattered. Talking about the former Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick. Remember him?
A sexting scandal involving him and his chief of staff pretty much ended his career. Now it looks like those messages were just the tip of the big Kwame iceberg. The Detroit Free Press now reports there's evidence showing that then Mayor Kilpatrick and his dad took bribes, big ones.
Get this. There's talk now of a link to organized crime. Sad political cliche if it's true. Jim Schafer, the Detroit Free Press, one of the Detroit Free Press reporters who actually broke the story.
Jim, I can't help but see you as Carl Bernstein to Kilpatrick's Richard Nixon, kind of sort of.
JIM SCHAFER, "DETROIT FREE PRESS": I don't know if I'd go that far and the end of the story hasn't been written yet. So we'll see.
PHILLIPS: Well, we saw how it began. We've seen how it's developed. We can only imagine what the final story if there's ever a final story might be, Jim. Tell me about these document that you were able to get your hands on and a bit of a smoking gun.
SCHAFER: Well, another reporter at the paper actually did most of the work. Her name is Jennifer Dixon, but we were able to determine, two big things from these documents.
One is that Kwame Kilpatrick, whom we've known for about a year is under federal investigation, now we've learned that the federal government has a witness who claims that he gave Kwame Kilpatrick directly about $100,000 when Kilpatrick was the mayor of Detroit.
As you mentioned earlier, an even bigger scenario is that the feds are investigating this case as a possible riko, which is a racketeering case, an organized crime case. It's the law that was used to take down leaders of the mafia all around this country in the 1980s.
Now it's being used to go after some corrupt government officials (inaudible) in Illinois was charged with riko and now we're learning that the feds here are trying to build a case of riko against Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, and a few other people.
PHILLIPS: All right so you and Jennifer Dixon are Woodward and Bernstein here. So now that you guys got your hands on these documents, and we've been following your reports in the paper, fantastic work, by the way.
SCHAFER: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Can he finally be held accountable? I mean, what's next for this disgraced mayor?
SCHAFER: Well, aside from this massive federal investigation that still hasn't ended up in charges for the former mayor or his father, there have been about 11 people charged, but not him yet. He's facing a state criminal case from the text message scandal.
And, in fact, might be facing jail time sometime this week because he hasn't paid the amount of restitution that the judge has ordered him to pay to the city of Detroit. He was supposed to pay $79,000 on Friday. He only paid $14,000.
I just heard a few minutes ago that he ran in the door this morning or somebody did, his representative, with another $21,000 in money orders. So he's scrambling around, trying to get this cash. In the meantime, the Probation Department in Michigan is probably going to ask for a warrant for his arrest today.
PHILLIPS: Really, a warrant for his arrest today?
SCHAFER: Yes, for violation of probation. Because he hasn't paid back the proper amount that he's been ordered to pay by the judge in his text message scandal. He was ordered to pay back $1 million to the city of Detroit. He has paid back, I believe, about $100,000. But a judge ruled last month that he needs to pay a lot more and he hasn't done it.
PHILLIPS: There's talk that he's been spending all kinds of frivolous money on his wife and he lives in this nice suburb in Dallas. My final question if you don't mind, Jim, because we definitely wanted to lift up your investigation and how well you and Jennifer did.
But this is just one example of a series we are doing this week on broken government. We talk so much about the system failing us. But at the same time, it seems like year after year after year we find somebody, some politician hosing the taxpayer in one way or another.
How do you think the politicians like a Kilpatrick play into our broken government? Because we've got to have ethical leaders in order to have a solid system.
SCHAFER: Well, absolutely and I'm not sure we're ever going to get past having unethical leaders, but we try to find them, the bad guys, when we can. And I think that's what people like us in journalism, it's our duty to call out these people and to spend money, you know, have our parent companies spend money to fund these sorts of investigations.
If the media doesn't keep an eye on these guys, who's going to do it? We find in our experience, if they're not very good at self- policing. So it's up to people like law enforcement officials who have an advantage because they have guns and badges, and subpoena power, but also you need journalists out there who are watching these guys.
It's very, very important. This case is a classic example. Without the Detroit Free Press, I'm not sure -- and many other people at the paper besides just me and Jennifer, I'm not sure that this scandal would have ever come to light.
PHILLIPS: That's a good point. Scum bags keep us employed. That's the good thing, Jim.
SCHAFER: They certainly do.
PHILLIPS: Great work to you and Jennifer Dixon. Jim Schafer, "Detroit Free Press," thanks so much.
SCHAFER: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: That brings us to our blog question today. Give us your example of broken government. Just go to cnn.com/kyra. Post your thoughts. We'd love to read them later in the hour.
Now, broken the government, the right, the left, everyone in between agree on one thing. The government is broken. All this week we're digging deep into the mess to find out what, if anything, can be done to clean it up. No more politics. It's time for answers. Broken government, all this week, right here on CNN.
Let's check the markets real quickly. Look at the big board there. You can see the Dow Jones industrial, see the numbers. We're going to take a quick break. More from the "CNN Newsroom" straight ahead.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Couple of storms to speak of on the weather map.
One heading towards the east coast and one just getting through the west coast now. The one heading east the dumping snow across parts of Detroit, pretty much north of I-80 is where you're seeing much of the accumulating snow. We anticipate seeing anywhere from 2 to 4, in some cases 8 inches in isolated spots but it's moving pretty quickly.
The trailing end of the cold front down in the south, this brought heavy rains to parts of Georgia including Atlanta and that has slowed down travel to the Atlanta airports so if you've traveling through (inaudible) be aware of that.
Some cool valley rains across the southwest. High elevation snows. Notice how this is kind of driving down to the south. It's going to be a bit of a problem as we get through tomorrow. Texas, you'll see some snow tomorrow, in some cases 3 to 6 inches of it and then another storm rolling into the west coast.
That's a quick check on the weather. CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.
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PHILLIPS: All right, just getting some news here into CNN. We've got an update now on that key suspect that was involved in that alleged plot to attack New York City with homemade bombs. Apparently, Naji Bolazazi has been cooperating with investigators and preparing possibly for a possible plead deal.
Remember he was caught in Coloroda as an airport shuttle driver there. He began talking to authorities and now we're being told he plans to plead guilty sometime today. Now is important as a plea would be Zazi maybe far more valuable to investigators as a source for information about co-conspirators in the U.S. and Pakistan as we well know.
It's always good to have sources on the inside for trying to prevent any type of terrorist attacks in the U.S. But we'll bring that to you soon we hear more about Zazi and this possible guilty plea that he may be making. Bode Miller, Apolo Ohno, Lindsey Vonn, American Olympic stars, all adding to the medal hauls now. CNN's Mark McKay live once again from beautiful Vancouver. I tell you what it's been pretty good stuff.
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESOPNDENT: Yes, for team USA it's been fantastic, Kyra, as we head into the second week of the Olympics. Of course, Bode Miller one of the stars for Sunday as he was able to score gold on the Alpine skiing slopes up at Whistler Mountain.
He taking the super combined race. It was a fantastic race for Miller as he's able to pick up a gold medal to go along with the silver and the bronze that he earned earlier here at the games. Bode miller, Kyra, had never won a gold medal before in the Olympics. He has a gold and this guy could come away with two more medals, Kyra, as he races in the giant -- on Tuesday and the race on Saturday. And this Olympic certainly had put the disappointment behind for this guy.
PHILLIPS: I tell you what Canadians known for their hockey skills pretty disappointed because the U.S, good for us, beat them.
MCKAY: Yes, the United States found themselves in a situation where they come to Canadian soil and they have to beat team Canada with everything going against them.
Everything went team USA's way last night, Kyra, as they win, 5-3, beating the Canadians behind two goals from Brian Rafalski. Ryan Miller with lots of saves. Team USA has placed well here in the mens Olympic hockey competition.
They find themselves the top seed team as they head into the quarter finals. The host nation, Canada, this hockey mad nation, now find their mens team a long road if they want to win gold at the Vancouver games, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK, Mark McKay, appreciate it. Going on 20 days of hard work at beautiful Vancouver. That does it for us. We'll see you back here tomorrow "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Brooke Baldwin -- Brooke.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, thank you. It is Monday, the 22nd of February. Here are the faces driving the headlines today. First, a family feeling the middle class squeeze. They're blaming broken government. We're rolling out a week-long CNN investigation.
Former Army Captain Roger Hill, former because he protested the 96-hour rule. What it is, what he did, and why the rule may cost lives.
Glenn Beck, talk show host rallying the right and mocking the mainstream Republican party on spending. Good morning, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin in for Tony Harris for you and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
