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Democrats Laying Groundwork for Health Care Reform Vote; Personal Finance Experts Give Advice

Aired March 20, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Tax time. The deadline is looming, but here's something you don't have to dread, a refund. Two top financial experts reveal five of the most overlooked tax deductions.

And President Obama is heading to Capitol Hill this hour to make his final plea for health care reform ahead of tomorrow's critical scheduled vote. We'll have live coverage of his personal pitch in the next hour on the CNN NEWSROOM.

And at 4:00 Eastern time, a horrifying dilemma for single parents with critically ill children -- how do you care for your child and pay your bills?

Hello everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The big story this weekend is the battle over health care reform. Debate and possibly a vote set for tomorrow. CNN is covering all the angles. Ed Henry is at the White House. The president is getting ready to go to Capitol Hill. Our Brianna Keilar is waiting for him on Capitol Hill. And here in Atlanta, Josh Levs has his eye on which Democrats have not said how they will vote on the matter.

Let's begin with our senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry. So Ed, a lot of pressure on the president, but he is the one who is going to try to apply some pressure, so to speak, on Capitol Hill today.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. It certainly is finally crunch time. We've been talking about this drama building for months and months now. This is the president's signature domestic issue.

And from talking to his top aides this morning, they are basically saying what he plans to do with House Democrats is give them a very simple pitch, that he thinks this comes down to whether or not you are going to give into politics or whether or not you are going to help the American people.

The president believing the fact this bill will cover some 32 million more people. The fact that the cost figures came in the last few days, and it suggested over the long term it's going to save about $1.2 trillion in terms of cutting the long-term deficit and debt in this country. They believe that regardless of what the politics and the situation may look like now in advance of the November midterm elections that this is a historic moment that Democrats cannot miss, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And we've seen the president head to Capitol Hill to talk about health care and other matters before, but why is this different? It seems as though he uses this technique a little bit more than past presidents.

HENRY: It's certainly rare for presidents to go on the Congressional turf unless they are going for the big annual state of the union address. To actually go behind closed doors to a caucus, this president, as you noted, used this in the first 100 days as well when some Democrats were wavering about the cost and scope of the stimulus package. This helped bring his party together.

He is looking to do that once again, certainly to make sure that law makers on the Hill understand the stakes here. That is what his top aides say over and over. He thinks the stakes are enormous and time for the party to come together, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And come vote time tomorrow, at least as scheduled, where will the president be, what are his plans?

HENRY: It's always a work in progress. Just yesterday we were first reporting he was going to be heading to Capitol Hill. The details of that changed about three or four times. Initially lawmakers were going to come to the White House and they changed that, changed the time.

So I think all of this, they are waiting and watch like we are here at the White House with what's going to happen with Brianna there on the Hill and when this will play out.

But I can tell you from talking to the president's most senior advisors, they say that in private he has been very clear saying he does not want any sort of victory dance tomorrow, say in the Rose Garden or something like that.

He'll come out and give some remarks, but they don't want a pep rally because they want to send a clear message this is not done if the House passes it. It still has to go to the Senate. They are going to send a clear message.

And in fact they're doing that today as well. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to be there when the president meets with House Democrats, clearly sending the message they still have to turn the page and a lot of work and procedural hurdles ahead in the Senate, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Ed Henry, thank you very much. Let's go to Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill. So Brianna, exactly what is happening today? We know it is also a very busy working Saturday for many lawmakers.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very busy. And as we speak right now, the Democratic-controlled rules committee is laying the groundwork, setting out the blueprint for this expected vote tomorrow. What they are doing is laying out that idea of deem and pass that Democrats are going to use to get this health care reform package out of the House.

So what are they doing here? Well, this is the Senate passed bill. It passed the Senate on Christmas Eve. It's huge, as you can see. I can hardly lift it up. In fact, I think, OK. There it is, a big bill.

And this is what just came out this week from House Democrats this week, the reconciliation bill. It's smaller, but this is changes to this bigger bill, because there's a lot of stuff in here that especially vulnerable Democrats do not like.

So what the rules committee does is they basically smoosh these together so some of those Democrats don't have to take this tough political vote on the Senate bill separately. And it would deem the whole package passed when this reconciliation bill passes.

Republicans are raising a lot of noise about this, Fred. It has been used before, but the point they make is that it hasn't been used for something so large and comprehensive, which is also true.

WHITFIELD: And so one of the issues that has stopped many lawmakers in their tracks is that of abortion. Where and how does that play even in this consolidated package?

KEILAR: You have a minority group within the Democrats that is anti-abortion. And they have not been onboard with this Senate bill because, they say, the language is not stringent enough for them to make sure that federal dollars being given to some Americans in the form of subsidies to pay for health insurance, to make sure that money isn't going to go to pay for abortion. So they haven't been onboard with this and want to see a change.

But we heard from Speaker Pelosi, there isn't going to be a change. What we know Democratic leaders are looking at as a compromise whereby the president could do an executive order that says current law has to stand, federal money isn't going to go to abortions.

We have a lot of pro-abortion rights Democrats who are saying, hey, we would be OK with that. What we don't know at this point, Fred, we are trying to pin this down is would some of these anti- abortion Democrats be OK with that, because obviously, Democratic leaders are trying to get as many votes as they can, and that could be key to help them pass this.

WHITFIELD: OK, and as people continue to watch what is going on the Hill, they also want to know, how does this affect me directly? Overall the big package, some people get it, but how might this process be impacting people?

KEILAR: I think what a lot of people want to know, especially in this economy, is it going to cost me more or save me money? So we are breaking it down a little bit.

If you're someone like me, you get your insurance through a company, through your work, here is how it's going to affect you according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Drilling down on their numbers, they say if you're getting your insurance through your company, you are going to be paying about the same. This is speaking generally.

What about those folks -- say you are a freelancer or say you have to buy your insurance on the individual market? This really depends how much money you make. If you make more than $88,000, as a family, a family of four, then what you would see is you're considered to be better off than some and you could see your premiums increase. That's what the CBO says. Those are the folks that may see their premiums increase.

For the people though who buy their insurance on the individual market and they make less than $88,000 as a family, they would see their premiums decrease. They are going to get subsidies, help from the government in order to help them buy insurance, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. We'll check in with you throughout the day because things are changing moment to moment. Appreciate that.

A lot of you have been telling us about how you feel about the issue. On my blog, this is what Jeremy writes. "I imagine most of the people opposing health care reform have insurance coverage. How about a little consideration and compassion for the millions of people in this country that don't have or can't afford health insurance coverage? Ask yourself, why would you want to deny anyone health care?"

And this from Andy, saying, "We need to treat this health care issue like we treat any other personal decision that needs to be made. Do you push forward with a decision of any kind that sends up all kinds of red flags? No. Simply don't go that direction. Scrap it and start all over."

Keep sending me your comments at CNN.com/Fredricka and we'll continue to get them on the air as best we can.

All right, much more straight ahead this hour. We are counting the votes to see which representatives have yet to say whether they are for or against this bill.

The president should be arriving on Capitol Hill before the hour is over to give Democrats a pep talk. Perhaps he can sway a few votes. All that is straight ahead of tomorrow's planned action when the House actually takes up the bill and is scheduled to vote on the matter.

Let's change directions a little bit, because now it's tax time. That affects everyone.

And if you're looking for ways to get even more of your money back from the IRS, the Dolans, yes, they are back this weekend. They have five of the most -- yea, there they are -- five of the most overlooked tax deductions they want to share with you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All weekend long and today, as a matter of fact, we've been talking about the immediacy of health care. We're now, think about this -- 27 days. That's how much time you have left to file your income taxes.

And if you're looking for ways to get more money back, we've got some tips. At least our Ken and Daria Dolan do. They are back with us right now. Good to see all from West Palm Beach.

KEN DOLAN, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Fredricka, I missed you so much.

WHITFIELD: No, no, I missed you all.

DARIA DOLAN, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: It's too cold. Come out down here.

WHITFIELD: Let's try and make arrangements on that.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about these tax preparations. I have date with my files and papers tonight trying to get it all together.

KEN DOLAN: Exciting.

WHITFIELD: Help me out. Five of the most overlooked tax deductions. What should I be looking for?

DARIA DOLAN: Well, the first one you don't need help in. Why don't you do the job hunting? You don't need to hunt for a job.

KEN DOLAN: It's so important now that we minimize the taxes we pay Fredricka simply because of this health care thing which is likely to pass tomorrow. We say it's going to cost more and taxes go up. This becomes all the more important.

WHITFIELD: I was going to ask you about this later. You just answered it before I had to ask the question.

KEN DOLAN: If we have time we can talk, but we think it's very onerous. But that's another story.

One thing you'll never need is one deduction is job hunting. On our website and our travel, a lot of people don't realize resume preparation, printing, travel to an interview and working with employment --

WHITFIELD: That costs money.

KEN DOLAN: Hold on! The key thing is it only applies to you staying in the same profession, like college graduates, first-time job, that's a problem. So great for some people but it has to be in the same profession. Avoid trouble.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: What are other tax deductions we need to look for that are so often overlooked?

DARIA DOLAN: There is a $2,500 tax break on the interest that's paid on a student loan that people may miss if they are not terribly careful, and the interest on home improvement loans providing that that home improvement adds to the value and is not just an improvement to keep the walls from falling down.

KEN DOLAN: Exactly right, like when I hit the wall with my computer and stuff.

WHITFIELD: If you're making it more energy efficient, extending, adding on to the house.

KEN DOLAN: I put a hole in the kitchen wall yesterday. We are still arguing.

WHITFIELD: Careful, careful now. And transportation expenses -- in what degree? Work?

KEN DOLAN: No. It's a big deal. If traveling on business, you have to prove it, 55 cents. When you're talking about medical or moving, it's 24 cents per mile. That's no big deal. Try moving a few miles. Most people don't realize Fred it's 14 cents per mile for charitable work, which is nice.

DARIA DOLAN: If you drive back and forth to a hospital to volunteer there, you can be ducting those miles.

And the last one is a break for the unemployed, finally. It never made sense to me if you're getting kicked not having a job, forced to go on unemployment, why be taxed on it? At least the first $2,400 you received in 2009 unemployment benefits may possibly not be subject to tax. But you need to check with a tax professional on that. There are some restrictions.

KEN DOLAN: Get them all.

WHITFIELD: Hopefully. That would be nice, right?

Let's talk about business trends for this year. Not necessarily taxes, but business trends, to what degree, what do we mean?

DARIA DOLAN: Let me start with one because it hits close to home. Two banks were closed yesterday in the United States, bringing the total to 33, one in the state of Utah and one right there in Georgia where you're sitting.

We see far more bank closures this year heading into next year. It could be as many as 300 over this year and next year. You need to know the safety of your bank. And you can do that with beribanc.com.

KEN DOLAN: We love this company. We don't own it, but you can check the financial stability of your bank.

Number two, we seeing the major goal for small business and investors during the course of this year, preservation of capital. We still have $2 trillion worth of stock market appreciation we lost in the last two years, very conservative.

DARIA DOLAN: And speak of not being very conservative, Wall Street will continue in spite of the mess they made in this country to create more esoteric investments, trying to get people involved in things that are difficult to understand. Ergo, if you can't understand it within a five-minute discussion ...

KEN DOLAN: Or less.

DARIA DOLAN: ... or less, it's probably too complex and probably junk that the professionals wouldn't buy.

KEN DOLAN: We also see a major push, Fred, in medical tourism, because an awful lot of U.S. insurance companies ...

WHITFIELD: What is that?

KEN DOLAN: Medical tourism says I can get a benefit of a vacation, if you will, and I can get a bypass or fix a limb ...

DARIA DOLAN: Carpal tunnel syndrome, a lot of different operations that are done much more economically overseas.

KEN DOLAN: And in a sunny climate, because some insurance companies are making it easier and allowing benefits in places like Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Malaysia -- big business.

DARIA DOLAN: And if health care passes, you need to see if there are any publically traded medical -- what's the word?

KEN DOLAN: Spit it out. It's only a ten-minute segment Daria.

DARIA DOLAN: Tourism -- medical tourism businesses that are publically traded, because I predict that will be a huge stock to own. We are all going to be searching.

WHITFIELD: Hopefully I don't have to rely on, you know, making holiday plans overseas to get an operation. I don't know. We have good pretty medical attention here in the states.

But Ken and Daria, we have a lot of questions coming your way. And I'm still dying to know some of the things we could live without.

KEN DOLAN: What until you these. These are great.

WHITFIELD: We should save money. We'll tackle all of that right after this.

Plus, are you ready for a vacation to your favorite destination? Up next, five ways to cut your travel costs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Our stop stories right now. Pope Benedict XVI is responding to a child abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church in Ireland. Today he released an 18-page pastoral letter apologizing to victims who were molested by priests.

He sharply criticized the abusers, saying they must take responsibility for their sins, but did not dole out any specific punishment to bishops blamed for covering up decades of abuse. Some say they are disappointed because the Pope did not mention any Vatican responsibility.

Police in New Jersey have arrested a 16-year-old boy for making a racial comment on a Wal-Mart public address system. The boy was charged with harassment and bias intimidation and released to the custody of his parents.

The incident happened last Sunday when a male voice told all black people to leave the store. The announcement provoked anger and an apology from Wal-Mart.

And it may be the first day of spring, but you wouldn't know it in Oklahoma. Yes, look at all that snow. A winter storm is hammering the state with a foot of snow expected in some areas. And it's not the only state in the region to actually get hit. Snow is also falling in parts of Texas, Missouri, and Kansas.

We are back now with Ken and Daria Dolan, personal finance experts joining us from West Palm Beach. And they've got all kinds of great tips, particularly on how you can cut some costs, what things you really can live without, and how do you cut travel costs?

Let's begin with the things you should be able to live without to save some money. No, this is can't live without. Right, cannot live without.

KEN DOLAN: Our friends at one of America's premier research firms, bigresearch.com, did a survey we had to share with you guys. They asked for a list of 25 things you can't live without. Here are the top five answers, and I agree with all of them. Number one, because I'm a junkie -- Internet service.

WHITFIELD: Cannot live without.

KEN DOLAN: Number one.

DARIA DOLAN: Number two is cable and -- basic cable and satellite. People can't live without that, which is good for us.

KEN DOLAN: Cell phone service basic is number three. I can't live without either of those three. The fourth one is discount shopping on apparel.

DARIA DOLAN: And the fifth, thankfully, charitable contributions.

WHITFIELD: OK, so what we are saying, these are things you cannot live without, which means you're not looking to trim these from your budget. You don't have to be, I guess you don't have to discriminate against how you get these services?

KEN DOLAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: No matter what it cost you, you've I got to have it?

DARIA DOLAN: Most people will say they have to have it.

KEN DOLAN: That's why we need to save money when we travel.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, let's go there then. How do I continue to travel and save money and not break the bank?

KEN DOLAN: You hear about twittering all over the place. The fact of the matter is there are some great deals that the airline are actually putting on their own twitter accounts, tweeting them out there. Sign up for twitter. It's free -- Twitter.com.

KEN DOLAN: If you don't know how to do that, ask Josh Levs.

WHITFIELD: He's the master. He knows.

KEN DOLAN: Number two, you may want to consider leaving from an airport or arriving at an airport that may not be the one you want. If you can leave out of Ft. Lauderdale because Miami is a little expensive or if you could land at an airport that is not the same one, you would be surprised how much money you can save. Be flexible.

DARIA DOLAN: And just because you book a ticket doesn't mean you pay it and forget about it. Keep checking that price at a great website -- yapta.com.

KEN DOLAN: That's a good one.

DARIA DOLAN: If you find that there is the same ticket at a cheaper price, some airlines will give you a refund for the difference.

KEN DOLAN: Travel voucher.

WHITFIELD: Really.

KEN DOLAN: Yes.

And this is my favorite all time. Number one is this one. When you're making a reservation for a hotel, don't call the national hotel line, the 800 line. No way.

WHITFIELD: I have learned that. You get better deals if you talk to people directly at the hotel. That means calling at a more reasonable hour because 1-800 numbers are for after hours.

KEN DOLAN: Fredricka, you stole our tip.

WHITFIELD: I've been learning from you all.

DARIA DOLAN: After 6:00 at the local hotel they make their cancellations and you may be able to pick one of those up.

KEN DOLAN: They always tell you be sure to be here by 6:00 or we'll cancel your reservation. Call the hotel you want at 6:01 and see what's been canceled.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, let's bring in that twitter master.

KEN DOLAN: Josh Levs.

WHITFIELD: We are all together again. He has lots of questions that have been pouring in from people.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been too long, guys. Delight to have you back.

KEN DOLAN: How are you, daddy?

LEVS: Love it.

All right, let's get to the first one. This one comes from Sonny. "My son is 25, no dependents, not married, graduated from college, works full time, and lives in an apartment. What can he do to save on his taxes? He contributes to a 401(k), but only about three percent."

KEN DOLAN: Good news is the 401(k) contributions are a great way to get started. But here's the deal. The deal is obviously if he is doing it, he doesn't have a lot of dependents, he may want to look at many plans that will allow you to put up 10 percent with a maximum of $16,500. Three percent is nice but he could do six percent or more.

LEVS: Is it worth it this the economy?

KEN DOLAN: Put it on to the side. You don't have to put it into the stock market, just get it into plan, maybe even a money market fund. Get it in there first. Don't worry about it market about it. Stay out of the market.

LEVS: Let's get to the second one, which is from your favorite of the day, twitter. "Just coming out of bankruptcy discharge -- what is the best way to reestablish my credit?"

KEN DOLAN: We get a lot of that, wow.

DARIA DOLAN: More than likely it's going to be difficult, particularly in this economic environment, to get a new credit card. So what you want to do is you want to find a secured credit card, which means that you take $500, whatever you can spare, you give it to the credit card company, they put it in a little nominal interest, maybe even no interest at this point. They put that on the side. It becomes your credit line. WHITFIELD: So you do well with that and it eventually helps restore your credit?

DARIA DOLAN: One tip though -- not all secured credit cards report to credit bureaus. So you want to go to cardtrack.com to find the best ones, ones that report to the credit bureau.

LEVS: This is great. I didn't know that existed. That's great.

KEN DOLAN: Is there no end to the information on this program?

WHITFIELD: That's why we have you. I knew you could have a designated limit, $500 whatever. I didn't know about putting money in.

KEN DOLAN: That becomes your credit line. As long as you pay it off up to that, they'll give you a regular credit card in a period of time.

LEVS: Then you get actual credit.

DARIA DOLAN: Exactly. Good news.

LEVS: Let's get in one more. "I am 29, and I want to know how much money should I put away monthly for retirement. And how do I start?"

KEN DOLAN: I love this question. We just read -- what statistic did you see?

DARIA DOLAN: Well, 27 percent of all working Americans have less than $1,000 put aside for retirement. And the fact that 54 percent of all Americans working right now are 40 or older, I hope a lot of that 27 percent isn't in that group.

LEVS: Some of them lost it, to be fair. Some people had retirement funds and spent it.

KEN DOLAN: No doubt about it. In this particularly case for the young guy ...

DARIA DOLAN: I think it's a gal.

KEN DOLAN: Thank you, Daria. I would simply say, if you could put away 10 percent until you got your bearings until you got your bearings, if you could put away 10 percent of your pay that would be spectacular.

DARIA DOLAN: Assuming you already have an emergency rainy day fund of probably six months worth of savings.

KEN DOLAN: Especially these days.

LEVS: Dynamic duo, thank you. Quickly, let me show everyone where you can send your questions and comments, to CNN.com/josh or Fredricka. Bye, guys. WHITFIELD: And Ken and Daria, there is another place in which people can get tips on saving, right? Your Web site, dolans.com

DARIA DOLAN: I think so, yes.

WHITFIELD: Lots of interesting tips on deductions as well as you get ready for tax filing season and other strategies to help you get the most bang for your buck, as they say. Ken and Daria, thanks so much. Good to see you.

KEN DOLAN: Bye, Fred. Bye, Josh.

DARIA DOLAN: Happy spring.

WHITFIELD: That's right.

And here is a live shot right now on Capitol Hill. This will be the location where the president momentarily, about an hour or so from now, president of the United States will be making his way up Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill to be entering this room. The Democratic caucus meeting will take place here.

The president trying really hard to persuade anyone who was on the fence about health care reform, and this is just ahead on the eve of what's expected to be a vote on Capitol Hill tomorrow on that Senate bill.

Well, you heard Ken and Daria say "happy spring." Who says it's spring in some parts? You sure can't tell the folks there in Oklahoma. It doesn't feel like it or look like it either. We'll get the latest on the snow storm in the southern plains and the flooding in the upper Midwest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This just in, new information on Capitol Hill as a planned vote is -- we are on the eve of a planned vote on Capitol Hill. Brianna Keilar joins us now. Brianna, what do you have?

KEILAR: We are just learning at this moment, we've been talking for days now about this process that House Democrats were planning to go through, Fred, this idea of deeming and passing the bill, because they have to pass the Senate bill and they have to pass a bill of changes to the Senate bill because there is a whole lot they don't like.

We just learned they are not going to roll it all in together. And we are expecting an announcement from House leaders soon on this process saying they are going to have this up or down vote on the Senate bill, up or down vote on the changes bill, and we are waiting to figure out exactly why this is.

As soon as we know, Fred, we'll bring it right to you.

WHITFIELD: OK, so and up or down vote on both of those measures, either the Senate bill, the big one you just had there that they've been talking about for months now, or perhaps even that truncated, smaller, abbreviated version, up or down on both.

KEILAR: Yes. This is what we are hearing, and we're waiting to hear it officially from Democratic leaders. But remember when they had this idea of rolling that Senate bill that had a lot of stuff vulnerable house Democrats didn't want to do the up or down vote into, there were Republicans who were saying, why are they doing this? This is horrible, this is trickery. They were calling it a "deem scheme."

They were hitting Democrats very hard over this, because this deem and pass tactic has been used before by Republicans and by Democrats, but Republicans said it's never been used for something this big, this controversial. And they had a point when they said that, Fred.

So we are trying to figure out exactly why this change, and assuming that Democrats think that this isn't going to get in the way of getting the votes. We are trying to answer those questions.

WHITFIELD: OK, Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. That update taking place in less than an hour before the president is expected to be on Capitol Hill in what you see that live shot where they are testing out the mikes right there. They'll be entering that room, we understand, that Democratic caucus.

KEILAR: Meantime, we are just minutes into spring now, but you would never believe it in parts of the country. Along the Red River, in particular, icy flood waters threaten thousands of homes and businesses. The river is expected to crest tomorrow several feet below last year's record level.

Right now, folks there are hoping to sandbag and the levees will hold back the water.

In the southern plains, winter hangs on there. More than a foot of snow is expected in some areas this weekend. A state of emergency is already declared in every county in Oklahoma.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Let's take a look at our top stories right now.

With votes on health care reform in the balance, President Obama sets set for a trip to Capitol Hill. He is scheduled to meet with House Democrats on the Hill at any moment. The House is expected to vote tomorrow on the Senate's version of the reform bill.

And Democratic leaders say they are confident they will have the votes they need, but they are still trying to convince fellow Democrats who are straddling the fence.

And there is no legal settlement yet for thousands of people who got sick after working at the World Trade Center site. A federal judge in New York says the deal doesn't give them enough money but pays lawyers too much. The $657 million settlement involves police officers, firefighters, and other workers. More top stories in 20 minutes. In Texas now, funeral services were held earlier today for an American worker at the U.S. consulate in Juarez, Mexico, and her husband. Both were gunned down last weekend after leaving a birthday party at the consulate.

The husband of a Mexican worker at the consulate was also killed after leaving the party. More than 200 federal, state, and local police are searching for leads in that case.

And "Building up America," how a global effort is providing jobs for Americans in a small town in Alabama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time to build up America. We are looking at where jobs are being created, how they are being created, and which communities are thriving. Our Tom Foreman visited Montgomery, Alabama, a not so small town, where foreign cars are actually creating domestic jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just south of Montgomery at the gleaming new Hyundai plant, almost every minute another new car rolls off the line. And just about as often, you can find someone like Yolanda Williams singing the company's praises.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it. I enjoy what I do every day.

FOREMAN (on camera): Did you ever have any idea you'd be making a living from the car industry in southern Alabama?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I didn't. It's changed a lot of people's lives now.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Winning this massive economic prize over other states that wanted it had local leaders scrambling at one point, making sure Hyundai knew how transportation services, power grids, and most of all, the local community could and would meet all their needs.

RICK NEAL, VICE PRESIDENT, HYUNDAI: So this location was great.

FOREMAN (on camera): And they made sure that you had everything.

NEAL: Everything.

FOREMAN: The land, the communications, the transportation.

NEAL: Yes. Utilities.

FOREMAN: And it seems like it's working.

NEAL: It is working. It's working for them. It's working for us.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Last year, Hyundai was just one of three car companies to increase sales in America, the success for the community.

FOREMAN (on camera): So you're just looking to see if there's anything wrong with this piece.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Good jobs.

JASON THOMAS, HYUNDAI TEAM MEMBER: Means the world to me, and I know a lot of other people feel the same way.

FOREMAN (on camera): How secure do you feel in your job?

JAMES LENOIR, HYUNDAI TEAM MEMBER: I feel really secure. I really do.

FOREMAN: Enough to buy a house, enough to move forward?

LENOIR: I have.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Hyundai doesn't make everything it needs, so that means that lots of suppliers have sprung up all throughout this region to make bumpers and sunroofs and dashboards, and that has created many more jobs. About 800 have come from Mobis, another Korean company that followed Hyundai here.

(on camera): I'm guessing a lot of people are pretty happy about this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are. As a matter of fact, I'm one of them.

FOREMAN (voice-over): In all, local officials estimate more than 20,000 jobs have rippled out from the Hyundai deal, building up south Alabama one job, one car, one minute at a time.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Montgomery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All eyes are on Capitol Hill. Momentarily President Barack Obama will be heading to Capitol Hill, a meeting with Democrats during a caucus trying to make his final push to get legislation on health care pushed through.

And then we just understood from our professional Hill correspondent Brianna Keilar reporting that the House rules committee decided the House will not use what's been considered a controversial deem and pass method.

Instead, they will be voting, the House vote separately on the Senate bill and then vote on the package of amendments of that Senate bill as well. All that scheduled for tomorrow. We will hope to find out what the president seems to think about this kind of movement on Capitol Hill as we await his arrival.

Much more is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Wheelchair users in certain countries like Kenya and Guatemala can have a hard time navigating bumpy roads and broken sidewalks, but that's changing. In this "Edge of Discovery," we have an MIT student with an invention that's changing people's lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMOS WINTER, LFC INVENTOR: My name is Amos Winter, I'm the inventor of the Leverage Freedom Chair, also known as the LFC.

In the developing world, most people with disabilities have to rely on their own power to travel from point a to point b. Many have to go off road long distances. Using a conventional wheelchair is pretty much impossible, so what is required is something that you can travel long distances on rough terrain efficiently just using your arms.

The way this works is you have two levers that you propel yourself with. So to go through mud and sand, pull high on the levers to produce a lot of leverage. And as you slide your hand down you create a greater rotational velocity which makes the chair go faster.

You can take an LFC to a rural village. If is there a guy who knows how to fix bicycles, he knows how to fix the LFC.

We recently received $50,000 to take this next version of the LFC to Guatemala starting this summer to make 30 trial chairs which will be tested for a full year. So ideally after that year we'll get the feedback from the users. We'll refine the design so it's ready for large-scale production, and then we'll have a model we can distribute to any workshop and they can make it anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is a fabulous invention.

It is crunch time on health care reform. We've been waiting for this vote, many have, for months. And we should get it tomorrow. Both sides are still chasing votes. We'll look at the latest count.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The president of the United States going to Capitol Hill to give members of his party a pep talk and maybe sway a few votes. House members are getting set to vote on health care reform tomorrow.

This is a big deal. It affects just about everybody in this country. We are tracking all of it for you.

And it is still a cliffhanger. Not enough votes yet to pass or defeat it. Our Josh Levs is keeping track of who still has not said how they'll vote. What does it look like right now?

LEVS: It is done to the wire. We are talking about a handful of law makers who have the future of health care in a sense in their hands. Not to over-dramatize it as there are more steps, but this is, as we know it, a huge vote.

So we have a picture here of some of the faces we've been showing you of some people who have been undeclared. Steadily some of them move off that list. Our latest count is here for you. The exact number of yes votes is actually shifting a lot.

CNN has been able to get a pretty firm count how many no votes there are on the legislation. As of this moment, the total Democratic no votes that we know of right now is 31. That is seven away from the needed number to kill the bill. Then again it means seven people remain cog make this bill happen at this point.

I'm going to focus in on a few of who these are for you. We'll start here, Representative John Spratt. He is a Democrat from South Carolina. He's had some concerns along the way. We are keeping an eye on his vote today.

And Representative James Oberstar from Minnesota, and we've been looking into this. He said in the past he had some concerns about the language on abortion. Apparently that has been resolved, but we don't know if he has other concerns about the specific legislation.

Two more over here -- Representative John Tanner of Tennessee, who also is one of the ones that remains undeclared. He said the most important thing to him is cost control. He really wanted to study that report from the Congressional Budget Office coming out that we've been seeing yesterday.

And finally, let's take a look at the fourth example here. This is Representative Gabrielle Giffords. She's from Arizona, and she in the past has said she is leaning towards yes, and she had some concerns about social issues and also some budgetary concerns.

So just a handful of examples there. I will tell you, we're talking about this on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I think we can show you where. But some people are saying do you think these lawmakers are maybe trying to get some attention for themselves by holding on to the last second?

We don't know all their intentions. We do know that there are some people who truly have been struggling with how to vote on this legislation and that's one reason it's down to the wire, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh yes, there's a lot at stake on all sides no matter which way you look at it. Thanks so much, Josh.

LEVS: Thank you, yes.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate that. We'll check back with you momentarily.