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President Obama's Rebate Plan; Senator Jim Bunning's Roadblock; Shopping Around for Health Care

Aired March 02, 2010 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Time for your top-of-the hour reset. Hi, everyone, I'm Brooke Baldwin, here for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 12:00 noon in the quaint, coastal city of Savannah, Georgia, where the president will be unveiling his new program he says will create jobs while giving your home a makeover. We'll bring it to you live in about a half an hour from now.

Meantime, back in Washington, a Republican senator is presenting this roadblock to new jobless benefits and other federal spending.

And 2:00 p.m. in Chile, where the president there doubles the number of troops in the earthquake-ravaged zone and welcomes the U.S. secretary of state.

Let's get started here.

First, let's talk about President Obama.

Yes, he's on the road, or perhaps still in the sky, peddling his new rebate plan. It's designed to create jobs and spruce up your home at the same time, make it a little bit more energy-efficient. But there's more to this story now today.

Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry is traveling with the president there in Savannah.

And Ed, I just really want to get to the new point you made last hour, this new information coming out. We've been talking about Kentucky Republican Senator Jim Bunning blocking this bill to extend jobless benefits to so many Americans, and you're saying we may hear the president address that very point.

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke. In fact, White House aides telling us privately we should expect the president to address the situation back in Washington.

It's sort of tailor-made for the president to jump on it. White House aides, for days now, have been hitting Senator Bunning. They've been frankly looking for a political angle to really push back on the Republicans on a whole series of issues.

You've been obviously seeing the frustrations the White House has had about Republicans delaying tactics on health care, but also on the job situation. Now they have an opportunity at the White House to basically say that because of one Republican senator, there are hundreds of thousands of people in jeopardy of benefits that they need.

And Robert Gibbs, this morning, at the White House, in fact, telling reporters that he understands the point in general that Senator Bunning is trying to make about spending in Washington and the need to pay for all of these initiatives, but in this case, Robert Gibbs says, look, it's an emergency, people desperately need this. And he basically said something to the effect of, you can't negotiate with the irrational, that they just feel at the White House that one Republican senator trying to block this, and effectively blocking it for days now, is an irrational act, and that's why we can expect the president, in his economic remarks today, to jump on it.

It plays right into what -- some of the major political points he's trying to make about his efforts. You mentioned weatherizing homes. One way to maybe create some construction jobs, for example. But also, his secondary point that he's been making, a lot of these -- what the White House likes to call White House-to-Main Street tours, is that he's trying to point the finger at Republican delaying tactics in Washington to try to reel in some of those Independent voters who are wondering why in the world can't they get anything done in Washington?

The president has taken his share of the blame from voters, clearly in some of the special elections we've seen in recent months. Now he's trying to point out Republicans are largely to blame for that. And so this is tailor-made for him to jump on -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes. I was reading one of the op-eds in the Savannah newspapers, and some of these people are saying in Savannah, look, we haven't seen the stimulus funding, we haven't seen it translated into jobs. So I bet a lot of them will be listening, and we will also be listening to hear if he says anything with what's going on with regard to the Kentucky senator.

Ed Henry, we'll see you back here in probably half an hour.

Meantime, Senator Jim Bunning refusing to back down again today. This Republican from Kentucky blocked the Senate bill extending unemployment benefits for the jobless. Now the senator's position is under fire from people in his own state who are out of work and running out of their own benefits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA CALVIN, UNEMPLOYED SOCIAL WORKER: Senator Bunning, I would say to him, bring some businesses here. Do something to bring business here.

You're trying to save money, but fine. But bring businesses here. Put the people to work. The economy will improve.

When people have money, they pay bills. They work. They shop. They encourage the economy. They uplift the economy.

If you're cutting off people's pay, the economy is going to go down. And it's not going to be a pretty picture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, Senator Bunning, again, defending his position, took to the Senate floor, as I said earlier. He read this letter of support that he had received. And the letter essentially praised Bunning and criticized other lawmakers who support the pay as you go legislation only when the cameras are rolling.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JIM BUNNING (R), KENTUCKY: When it comes down to actually doing what they say, they all run for cover and vote for anything they think will win them another vote or another term. Your stance in holding them to their words and expecting them to actually do what they voted for is a refreshing concept in an otherwise corrupt and hypocrisy-based power base known as Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: There you saw the senator speaking on the floor of the Senate. Not really wanting to talk though to this woman, Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash, joining me from Capitol Hill.

Dana, I know I have seen some elevator doors slamming in your face. You have been following -- maybe got your running shoes on, running around the Senate, trying to get him to talk to you. I know you've had a couple of exchanges.

What, if anything, did the senator tell you today?

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Running on heels, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nice.

BASH: Look, one of the questions that the Democrats have been asking is why Senator Bunning has chosen this issue. And frankly, Republicans have been asking this, too, who are worried about the political fallout. Why this politically popular issue to stand his ground on when it comes to fiscal restraint?

So that's what I tried to ask the senator as he was coming off the elevator this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Do you mind if I just ask you -- I have really just a couple of easy questions for you to answer.

BUNNING: I bet you do.

BASH: No, sir. Just specifically on the fact that I understand your point. I understand your point that you're making about the need to pay for these benefits. But what Democrats are asking, and I think it's a fair question, is why now? Why not before?

BUNNING: Oh, it has been.

BASH: Why haven't you called -- what has changed? What has changed? Why are you now calling for things to be paid for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Brooke, that was this morning. Just moments ago, our congressional producer, Ted Barrett, actually rode the subway with Senator Bunning. It's a situation where there was nowhere for him to go, and he actually did give some news to our Ted Barrett. And that is, he suggested, for the first time under mounting pressure, that maybe there is something to be worked out with the leadership.

He talked exclusively to Ted Barrett, and he said that, "We're trying to work it out. We have some leadership and my legislative director working on some alternatives. Let's put it that way."

Unclear what those alternatives would be, because, Brooke, even this morning, Republicans -- a fellow Republican tried to come up with some idea that looked like it could be amenable to Senator Bunning, and he objected.

BALDWIN: Might be able to work something out. You led into my next point. That being, what about Republicans? Are they sort of staying silent on the issue, or are they supporting the Democrats?

BASH: What has been really fascinating, Brooke, is the silence from the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell. He's a fellow Kentuckian who is pretty well known, a pretty terrible relationship with Jim Bunning. One of the reasons why Senator Bunning is actually retiring is because of that bad relationship, so he has been silent.

It was almost like a parallel universe on the Senate floor this morning, all this discussion about this issue. And Senator McConnell came in and ignored it and talked about the issue of health care.

But there was one Republican who went to the Senate floor, Senator Susan Collins of Maine. She's a moderate, and she said, look, many of my colleagues, including myself, we don't agree with Senator Bunning, we want this resolved.

Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: I hope that we can act together for the American people. And again, I want to emphasize that this issue is so important to senators on both sides of the aisle. Many of my colleagues have expressed concerns to me that this was not done last week, when it should have been done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, what she offered was a compromise idea. She said, look, let's vote to extend this $10 billion worth of benefits and programs, and let's allow Senator Bunning to have a vote on the idea of whether or not it should be paid for. And guess what? Senator Bunning objected to that.

So, it's at a standstill right now on the Senate floor, but maybe Senator Bunning gave our Ted Barrett a little bit of news in suggesting that perhaps later today, the intransigence on both sides will change.

BALDWIN: May see some movement today.

Dana Bash, thank you. And thank Ted for us as well --

BASH: Will do.

BALDWIN: --- for making news for us in the NEWSROOM.

Meantime, want to just put a face on this story. Want to introduce you in a moment here to Joe Orr. Here's his lovely family.

He's an unemployed father, you can see, of three. One of the many Americans who found out just this week his unemployment checks will soon stop coming.

So what would he say to Senator Bunning? Here he is. We'll hear from him in just a few minutes.

But right now, the day's other big stories.

For the third time in a week, Toyota executives explaining their safety recall to Congress. Three executives are answering some questions from the Senate Commerce Committee today. Toyota has asked President Clinton's transportation secretary, Rodney Slater, to lead a quality control review.

And it's been talked about for a year now, but today the U.S. Postal Service is taking the very first formal steps to end the mail delivery Saturday. The postal service lost almost $4 billion just last year. In the end, the decision, though, will be up to Congress.

And this is one of the biggest U.S. Supreme Court cases really of the year so far. We're waiting for the high court to rule on whether Chicago's handgun ban violates the Second Amendment. Kate Bolduan is inside that court. We'll go to her as soon as we hear anything from there.

Our "Random Moment," meantime, coming up in 90 seconds.

Also, a man who just found his unemployment checks, we just mentioned, about to run out. We'll hear from him minutes ahead.

And we are also hearing from you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We know he can moonwalk, but can he samba? Buzz Aldrin makes our "Random Moment of the Day."

The Apollo astronaut and second man on the moon -- guess what? He's soon going to be "Dancing With the Stars." He has signed up for the spring season of the hit ABC show. We've got some suggestions for Aldrin and his dance partner to think about. How about this -- "Bad Moon Rising," "Dark Side of the Moon" -- you with me? "Moon River," "Fly Me to the Moon."

OK.

Your "Random Moment of the Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Millions of Americans who don't have jobs claim unemployment each and every week. And one Atlanta man sitting right next to me found out his benefits were ending by logging on to his e- mail. Imagine getting that crushing blow from the computer. That's exactly what happened to Joe Orr here.

And Joe, you hopped online, what, Sunday? You're a dad. We saw the picture of your family -- three kids. Wife, stay-at-home mom.

JOE ORR, LOOKING FOR WORK IN ATLANTA: Yes.

BALDWIN: You get on the Internet, you see what?

ORR: I see that the extended benefits had been stopped. And, you know, of course, hearing the news, we understand why now.

BALDWIN: But before you heard the news, were you just kind of thinking, hold on a second, am I reading this right?

ORR: Yes, I was a little taken aback. You know, you really on that money every day to help you pay the bills.

BALDWIN: To pay the bills.

ORR: Yes.

BALDWIN: Let's back up for a minute and explain your situation to me. You've been out of work for how long?

ORR: I've actually been out 14 months now.

BALDWIN: Fourteen months.

ORR: Yes.

BALDWIN: Not easy.

ORR: Not easy, no.

BALDWIN: How hard has it been trying to find a job?

ORR: It's been tough. I was in the adhesive chemical industry, and as we know, I was tied in, linked in, with the building construction industry, calling on manufacturers for that industry. And we know what happened to the housing market.

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes.

ORR: And overall, the chemical industry is just really down right now.

BALDWIN: So, as you've been banging down doors trying to get a job back in that industry, you've been making ends meet with how much per week?

ORR: Well, the unemployment benefits are about $330 per week.

BALDWIN: $330 per week.

ORR: Yes.

BALDWIN: Three kids.

ORR: Yes.

BALDWIN: How's that been for you?

ORR: It's not easy. I mean, fortunately, my wife and I have saved money, and we budgeted. But, you know, the budget money is starting to get thinner and thinner as we go.

BALDWIN: Starting to erode.

ORR: That's right.

BALDWIN: At what point -- when, again, will your benefits completely run out?

ORR: As far as the unemployment benefits?

BALDWIN: Uh-huh.

ORR: Well, they're stopped right now.

BALDWIN: They're totally stopped right now.

ORR: They're stopped right now.

BALDWIN: So, as you move forward, and you're just working off of this eroding savings, at what point do you, I don't know, sell your house?

ORR: That's right. I mean, the next step would be probably selling the house, or trying to sell it, you know, to stop from any foreclosure, to getting to that point. And I hope I don't get that far, but unfortunately, there's a lot of people out there that are a lot worse off than I am right now, so --

BALDWIN: How do you explain that to your kids? ORR: We actually talked to them about budgeting and everything.

BALDWIN: Did you?

ORR: They know it's a tough recession. They understand that somewhat. The two older ones do.

And when we were setting up a budget, we actually -- you know, we would actually do cash only for everything. We actually created envelopes. A gentleman named Bill Furr (ph) actually helped us get started on it.

BALDWIN: So you are teaching your kids through this real-life example?

ORR: And we taught the kids to actually use an envelope. We would give them allowance. They would set aside, say, money for the savings. Then they'd have some spending money, and then maybe some money to give to charitable or tiding of some sort.

BALDWIN: Final, final quick question.

ORR: Sure.

BALDWIN: If you had Jim Bunning sitting right here next to you, what would you say to him?

ORR: I would just tell him and some of the other politicians to really get a reality check --

BALDWIN: Reality check.

ORR: -- and understand what's going on down in the real world, to be honest. I think some of these politicians get carried away and they don't understand what the people are really looking for. And maybe to touch base with his people in his home base and understand that -- you know, what the people are looking for.

BALDWIN: Well, we appreciate you sharing your story.

ORR: Yes.

BALDWIN: Good luck finding a job.

ORR: Great.

BALDWIN: Keep the faith. You want a reality check from Mr. Bunning.

Joe Orr, we appreciate you coming in and talking to me.

ORR: That's right.

BALDWIN: Well, ,you know how to comparison shop when you're buying a car, perhaps even a pair of shoes. But did you know that you can do it for medical procedures as well? Our patient advocate, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, will be here to show you how to save thousands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

BALDWIN: When it comes to your health, and your health care specifically, you probably don't think a whole lot about bargain shopping, but perhaps you should.

Elizabeth Cohen shows us just how much you can save if you shop around for health care.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in Concord, New Hampshire, like any place, when you go shopping, you can do price comparisons, whether you're looking for a car or a pair of shoes. But what I think people here, or anywhere else, fail to realize is that you can also go comparison shopping for health care services and save yourself thousands of dollars.

So, come on. Let's go bargain shopping for a colonoscopy.

Our first stop is Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. They charge nearly $5,000 for a colonoscopy. Let's see if we can get a better deal. Come on.

Here at the Concord Ambulatory Surgery Center, a colonoscopy would only cost me about $2,800. Now, remember, the most expensive place to get a colonoscopy would set me back nearly $5,000, so by coming here I save more than $2,000. See, it pays to bargain shop.

I'm so excited about how well I did with the colonoscopies, that now I'm going to go bargain shopping for a hernia surgery.

Here at St. Joseph's Hospital, they charge $13,400 to repair a hernia. That is so expensive, I'm not even getting out of the car. I'm going to try to find something cheaper.

At Elliot Hospital, they only charge about $4,500 to do a hernia repair. It's the exact same procedure. Why does it cost $9,000 less here?

I'm going to call these high-priced hospitals and ask them, why do you charge so much?

Hi, this is Elizabeth Cohen calling from CNN.

(voice-over): The hospitals wouldn't comment.

So I found someone who can explain these crazy health care prices to us. Her name is Heather Staples, and she analyzes prices of health care for large employers in New Hampshire. I go shopping for a gallon of milk, and there's a huge price difference, I'm going to see it right there on the shelf. But with medical services people don't know. There's no price tag.

HEATHER STAPLES, CONSULTANT, NEW HAMPSHIRE PURCHASERS GROUP: That's correct. And it's even difficult for consumers to call a facility and ask for the price of services.

COHEN: So it's actually -- the reason for these discrepancies in some ways is pretty simple, which is just that when you go buy a colonoscopy, there's no price tag on it.

STAPLES: That's correct.

COHEN: Give me another example of a procedure where there's wild differences all in the same city.

STAPLES: Sure. The knee scope at Dartmouth South, it's about $5,300. In the same region, at St. Joseph's Hospital, it's about $10,500.

COHEN: So, we all bargain shop for cars and things like that. Does it pay to bargain shop for medical services?

STAPLES: Oh, it absolutely does. I mean, we're talking about a $5,000 difference. It absolutely makes a lot of sense to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: OK. That is nuts, Elizabeth Cohen. And I know, OK, some pretty good shopping. But I know how it goes. You know, sometimes when you feel like you're buying something that's a little bit more expensive, you think you're getting something better, which perhaps is such a misnomer.

I mean, are you getting better quality services in more expensive places?

COHEN: You're not. And you're also not getting worse quality when you play less money.

Like, Rocky (ph), our photographer, just said to us, yes, at those lower price places, you don't get anesthesia. And that is not true.

As a matter of fact, when you saw that example that we just did, what we saw is that at Dartmouth, you pay $5,000 less for a knee laparoscopic surgery. And Dartmouth is one of the best hospitals around, so price and quality usually do not go hand in hand when it comes to hospital care.

BALDWIN: So, how do you suggest shopping around? Pick up the phone and just asking for different prices?

COHEN: It's very tricky. It's very tricky, so I'm going to tell you a couple of things. First of all, you're lucky if you live in New Hampshire or Massachusetts, because in those two states you can go online, you can put in what your insurance is -- or if you don't have insurance -- and find out the prices.

Now, if you don't live in one of the two states, then what you have to do is you go to your insurance company and you ask them. They'll be able to tell you what's going to cost you the least out of pocket. Chances are that they'll be able to tell you that.

Now, if you're uninsured, it's tough. You're going to have to call places and ask for a price. And that is very difficult to do. I take my hat off to anyone who's successful at it, but you just have to be tenacious.

And by the way, the prices in our story were for folks who are uninsured, because we just had to pick uninsured, insured, what insured, so we just picked uninsured.

BALDWIN: Sure. Great story.

COHEN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I love these pieces. Thank you so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: It's interesting.

So, tomorrow Elizabeth will be back on. She'll have more on how hospitals are saving money when it comes to having a baby.

All right. We'll talk about that tomorrow, shall we?

But we'll be right back.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, take a look, we have people on their feet. This is inside the Savannah Technical College, of course, in Savannah, Georgia. There he is, the president of the United States shaking some hands. And you could say he's getting energized on this trip to Georgia. He's there essentially promoting this program. It's going to give consumers a cash rebate of $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 on these energy-efficient products.

Take it away.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everybody. Thank you so much. Thank you. Everybody, please, have a seat. Have a seat. Thank you. Thank you very much. It is good to be back in Georgia. It is good to be back in Georgia, although where's the sun, guys? I was looking forward to

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) fired up.

OBAMA: I'm still fired up, but we've been getting a lot of snow in Washington, D.C., so I was looking forward to maybe 60, 70 degrees. But I guess I'll take 50.

I want to, first of all, just make some acknowledgments of some wonderful leaders who are here. First of all I want to thank President Kathy Love and the entire Savannah Tech community for their hospitality. I want to thank your governor, who I just had a chance to see recently, host him in the White House with the other governors, Mr. Sonny Perdue. Your mayor, Otis Johnson, is in the house. Congressman John Barrow, you're in his district. That's right. Congressman Jack Kingston, Congressman Sanford Bishop and Congressman Hank Johnson are all in the house.

Well, thank you so much for taking the time to be here today. I really appreciate the opportunity to visit here at Savannah Tech. And I just took a brief tour of some of the classrooms where students are learning about clean energy. They're learning about solar cells. They're learning about efficient heating and cooling systems. You've got young people here, who through the youth build program, are gaining job skills that will help them the rest of their lives. And, by the way, they're building a house right now while they're at it. And so from the instructors to the students, you saw just an incredible enthusiasm for America's future.

And I was just talking to President Love about the focus of Savannah Tech on clean energy. The idea that this can be a real model for green energy as a way of linking students to the enormous job opportunities and business opportunities that exist in the future. These are the skills that will help our country transform the way we produce and use energy. And that's so important. Especially as families in Georgia and across America continue to experience the painful consequences of the worst economic crisis that we've had in generations.

Now, I also had a chance to meet with some business owners, who told me what I've heard time and again, that it's tough out there. Unemployment in Georgia is still above 10 percent. That doesn't include folks who have had to accept part-time jobs, or in some cases have given up finding a job altogether.

When it comes to domestic policy, I have no more important job as president than seeing to it that every American who wants to work and is able to work can find a job. And a job that pays a living wage. That was my focus last year and that is my focus this year. To lay a foundation for economic growth that will create jobs, that raises incomes, that will foster a secure economic future for middle-class families.

Now, this depends on not just spurring hiring, but doing so in the areas that will create lasting opportunities and prosperity. That's why we've invested in roads and railways, so that our economy has room to grow and we're laying the infrastructure for the future. In fact, because of the recovery act, there are more than 300 transportation projects underway in Georgia right now. That's why we invested in schools and prevented layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and public school workers, including thousands of educators in this state. Because we know we will not be able to compete in new industries unless we've got workers ready to fill jobs in those industries. And I'd also point out that I proposed the largest ever investment in community colleges and technical schools, like this one, to produce millions more graduates, who are ready to meet the demands of the 21st century economy.

And to spur hiring and sustained growth, we placed a big emphasis on energy. And just a few weeks ago, I announced a loan guarantee to break ground on the first new nuclear power plant in our country in nearly three decades. A project right here in Georgia. Right here in Georgia. A project that's going to create more than 3,000 construction jobs in the next few years and ultimately 800 permanent jobs operating the plant. We're on track to create 700,000 jobs across America, building advanced batteries for hybrid cars and modernizing our electric grid and doubling our capacity to generate clean energy.

And, in fact, here at Savannah Tech, the recovery act provided a grant to youth build to help provide training in these very fields because -- because I'm convinced that the country that leads in clean energy is also going to be the country that leads in the global economy. And I want America to be that nation. I don't want us to be second place or third place or fourth place when it comes to the new energy technologies. I want us to be in first.

So, we have the potential to create millions of jobs in this sector. These are jobs building more fuel-efficient cars and trucks to make us energy independent. These are jobs producing solar panels and erecting wind turbines. These are jobs designing and manufacturing and selling, and installing more efficient building materials. Because 40 percent of the energy we use is used by our homes and buildings.

Think about that. All of us know that we use a lot of gas in our cars. But in terms of energy usage, 40 percent of it goes to our homes and our buildings. So as we're looking for additional initiatives to spur hiring, I think we ought to embrace what's happening on this campus. I think we ought to continue to embrace the incredible potential that awaits us across America in clean energy.

So, in my State of the Union Address, I called on Congress to pass a set of initiatives for homeowners who make their homes more energy efficient, to continue the energy transformation that's already begun. So today I want to explain the details of this program. And I also want to thank the members of the House and the Senate who are helping to usher this proposal through Congress.

Now, many of you have heard of Energy Star. How many people have heard of Energy Star? You've seen that Energy Star sticker on a computer or on a microwave. The Energy Star program was created to promote energy efficiency by letting consumers know which appliances, which electronics, would save electricity, and therefore would save them money over time. The program I'm describing today applies this concept, not to the appliances, but to the home itself, and it takes it further. So, we're going to call it Home Star, just to make it easy to remember. All right?

Here's -- here's -- here's how it would work. We'd identify the kinds of building supplies and systems that would save folks energy over time. And here's one of the best things about energy efficiency. It turns out that energy-efficient windows or insulation, those things are products that are almost exclusively manufactured right here in the United States of America. It's -- you -- it's very hard to ship windows from China. And, you know, so a lot of these materials are made right here in America.

So, we take these materials. And if a homeowner decides to do work on his or her house, to put in new windows, to replace a heating unit, to insulate an attic, to redo a roof, the homeowner would be eligible for a rebate from the store or the contractor for 50 percent of the cost of each upgrade, up to $1,500. Now, if you decided to retrofit your whole house, to greatly reduce your energy use, you'd be eligible for a rebate of up to $3,000.

Now, these are big incentives. And you'd get these rebates instantly from the hardware store or the contractor. So if you went to Lowe's or Home Depots or wherever you went, right there when you pay at the cash register, you'd get that money. You wouldn't have to mail in a long form, wait for a check to arrive months later.

Now, we know this will save families as much as several hundred dollars on their utilities. We know it will make our economy less dependent on fossil fuels, helping to protect the planet for future generations.

But I want to emphasize that Home Star will also create business and spur hiring up and down the economy. I was just meeting with a number of business leaders in different segments of this industry. We've got some manufacturers making insulation and windows and other products. We've got folks who are contractors. So, stand up, guys. The guys I just met with. See, they're all ready -- they're ready to work. They're ready to go.

So, we were just talking about how they are geared up and they've got the capacity to guarantee a homeowner that if they're willing to do this work on their house, they will get their money back. Not just through the rebate, but in the energy savings that you're seeing each year. So let's say you decide to use this rebate to seal up and insulate your attic, because you want to save electricity, but also because you're tired of a drafty house. Think about all the ways in which that will stimulate jobs and growth.

If you really knew what you were doing, you might do it yourself, but you're probably going to have somebody come to the house to carry out the installation work because you did the smart thing and you refused to let your husband do it himself. That's the smart thing. He'll be stubborn. He'll tell you he can do it. But don't listen to him.

So that creates work for small businesses and contractors, like some of the folks who are here today. And, obviously, construction work is -- that's been as hard hit as anything during this recession. So you've got a lot of skilled contractors ready to go.

And that, in turn, means that the contractors start hiring some of these folks who may have been laid off. Some of them may have been trained right here at Savannah Tech. Now, you also have to buy the insulation and the other materials, and that means you're producing business for your local retailer. And that retailer has to purchase those supplies from manufacturers. As I said, most of them located right here in the United States of America. And I mentioned, these domestic manufacturers who are in the crowd, they would benefit -- they would benefit from this program.

And then there's this huge amount of capacity, excess capacity in construction-related industries, to meet any surge of demand that was out there. So the fact is that, you know, there's nearly 25 percent unemployment in the construction industry so far. So construction companies, hardware stores, contractors, manufacturers, they faced a rapid decline in demand in the wake of the mortgage crisis. And to make matters worse, these businesses have seen the same decline in credit that has hurt every sector of our economy.

So these are -- these are companies ready to take on new customers. Their workers eager to do new installations and renovations, factories ready to produce new building supplies. All we've got to do is create the incentives to make it happen.

And this is not a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. This is a commonsense approach that will help jump-start job creation while making our economy stronger. So, ultimately that's what we're called to do. Just like a responsible homeowner will invest in their homes in the near term to fortify their economic security in the long term, we've got to do the same as a country. It will have some costs on the front end. You buy a new boiler or you get some insulation or you get some new windows, that's going to have an initial cost. And the same is true from a government perspective. And it's going to be politically difficult to do some of this. But it's -- it's what right to plan for our future.

The same is true when it comes to reforming our education system. The same is true when it comes to trying to make our health care system more affordable. The same is true when it comes to energy. Each of these things are hard. Some of them have some costs on the front end. And, you know, working stuff through Congress is more than a notion.

But -- but by taking these steps, we'll help foster the kind of broadly shared growth that will serve us in the years and the decades to come. That's how we'll create the conditions for businesses to expand and hire. That's how we'll truly grow our middle-class again. That's how we'll not only rebuild our economy, but we'll rebuild it stronger than it was before this crisis.

I am confident that we can do it. Savannah Tech's leading the way. A whole bunch of folks in this room are leading the way. And I just hope that Washington stands alongside you in making sure that we've got the kind of energy future that we need.

Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

BALDWIN: And there you have it, the president of the United States speaking at Savannah Tech, talking stimulus, talking jobs, speaking specifically about clean energy. Basically outlining what he's calling the Home Star program. So, we Americans can get rebates, $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 rebates if we help retrofit our homes with more energy efficient appliances, windows, insulation, as he was talking about.

But I want to point out one thing. Here's what we didn't here. There was not a single reference to that Kentucky senator who was blocking the extension of unemployment benefits. I want to read you an e-mail I got. A White House official tells CNN's Ed Henry the president and his aides decided last minute not to talk about Senator Bunning to avoid getting mixed up in the Senate debate du jour today. But our congressional crews, we've not given up on this. We have new pictures, new sound from Senator Bunning. We'll bring it to you on the other side of this break. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So essentially what's happening in the Senate, and the story we've been following for you, is they need this unanimous vote, unanimous consent, to extend jobless benefits for thousands and ultimately millions of Americans. But there's this one senator, a Kentucky senator, Jim Bunning, who is blocking this extension. We heard him again this morning blocking it again. We've been following him around in the halls of the Senate. Here's new sound. Want to bring it to you now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: How long will this last? When would these people expect to their -- excuse me, when will these people expect to see their benefits? How long are you willing to keep this going on?

SEN. JIM BUNNING (R), KENTUCKY: Until we get it settled.

KARL: And when do you think that will happen?

BUNNING: We're working on it.

KARL: Do you think it will be settled today?

BUNNING: Hopefully.

KARL: And are you concerned about how this has played out?

BUNNING: No, no. I'm not concerned, except for the people.

KARL: And when will the people begin to see help?

BUNNING: As soon as possible.

KARL: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, in Jim Bunning's defense, he is saying he wants Congress to be able to pay for this. This is $10 billion. He doesn't want it to come out of the American taxpayers' pocket. More from Jim Bunning, more from people who are up in arms over this issue throughout the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Should you cash in your bonds early? And what's the best way to really improve your credit score? Our Stephanie Elam is at the CNN "Help Desk."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions.

Joining me this hour, Doug Flynn, a certified financial planner and founder of Flynn Zito Capital Management, and Donna Rosato, a senior writer at "Money."

Thanks for joining us.

All right. The first question is from Buzz. "I own some Treasury bonds that I bought about four years ago and mature in 10 years. They pay about 4.2 percent interest. If I choose to sell at some time before maturity, how much interest should I be looking for in new bonds?"

Doug, what do you think?

DOUG FLYNN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: Well, what he's got is basically a six-year bond, because that's the time he has left, at 4.2 percent. That's actually excellent, so new bonds around that time frame are 2 to 3 percent. So rates have to come up a lot.

The problem with when rates go up with Treasury bonds, a lot of people don't know, the principal actually goes down. Most people don't look at what the current value of those bonds are if you were to sell them today. But if rates are higher a year or two from now, you go to sell them then, the principal is actually going to go down.

What likely is going to happen here is he probably should end up sticking with it. The rates are going to have to be much higher than 4.2 percent. The only way he can get that if he goes out 20 or 30 years. I wouldn't recommend locking in 20 or 30 years with rates where they are now. You want to do that when rates really have a chance to go up.

ELAM: When they've gone back up, yes. All right, our next question comes from Claudia. She writes, "my credit score is pretty low. I've never been good with credit cards and I never learned to manage all my accounts. I just got a stable job with great pay, which I hope helps. What can I do to bring my score up? And how long will it take for any changes to occur?" I bet you there's a lot of people in her boat, Donna.

DONNA ROSATO, SR. WRITER, "MONEY": Very much. But I think it's great that she's found a steady job where she can now start tackling her credit problems. And the good news is, with your credit score, is that more recent activity counts a lot more than older activities.

So if she can start paying more than the minimum, start paying down that debt, that's going to start helping her improve her credit score. But, again, she wants to make sure she's making on-time payments, she's whittling down that debt and making sure that she isn't going over the limit on any of her credit cards. She wants to make sure that she's making the most of the good, stable job. And if she does those things, within a few months, she should start seeing a change in her credit score.

ELAM: Really good info. Thanks so much, Doug and Donna.

"The Help Desk," of course, is all about getting you answers. So send us an e-mail to CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com. We might just answer it right here next week. You can also pick up the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.

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BALDWIN: And now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with Ali Velshi -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Brooke, thank you so much.