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Health Care Changes; Congressman Neugebauer's 'Baby Killer' Comment; Tiger Woods Speaks Out

Aired March 22, 2010 - 14:02   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, a new hour, a new "Rundown." Here's what I've got on it.

Whether you're for it or against it, or somewhere in the middle, it looks like health care reform is here to stay. So now what I'm going to do is I'm going to go beyond politics, beyond the rhetoric, and straight to your wallet, your waiting room and your well-being, telling you what this health care bill means for you.

Plus, it's home to some of the greatest minds in the nation, but it seems everyone at Cornell University cannot wrap their heads around a tragic trend. A rash of suicides has the campus reeling, a campus that's supposed to be a model of suicide prevention.

What went wrong?

And Tiger Woods' first interview since the scandal that rocked his professional and his private world. We'll tell you what he talked about and what he didn't talk about.

All right. Congress has passed the health care reform bill. President Obama is set to sign the legislation into law. But several states are gearing up to block the changes in a legal battle over state sovereignty.

Take a look at this map. All of the 36 states highlighted in red have done something in an attempt to limit or even block the effects of the federal bill that was passed last night.

State legislators in these areas say they are working to reinforce states' rights. So far, only two states, Idaho and Virginia, have enacted laws, while Arizona is seeking voter approval on the November ballot to block the bill.

And just moments ago, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced that he, along with attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North and South Dakota and Alabama will file a suit against the federal government if President Obama signs the health care bill into law, which he's expected to do tomorrow. In Idaho, Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter signed a bill last week allowing the state's attorney general there to file a lawsuit as well.

Well, how are these states to allowed to fight federal reform? Many are leaning on the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, which says, "Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states." State legislators say that's proof that the U.S. government can't set their health care laws.

All right. It's pretty clear how this health care reform will affect tens of millions of uninsured Americans. They'll now have access to care.

Of course, everyone else wants to know if their costs are going to change and their access with doctors in greater demand now that 32 million more people are going to be in the mix.

So back with us this hour is our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, and senior political analyst, Roland Martin in Chicago.

Elizabeth, let's start with you.

You've been following this cost issue very closely. Tell us what you've learned.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Let's break it down into three categories, and three categories of types of people in order to say what it means to you.

So let's take a look at this first category. What is going to happen to your premiums if you have insurance through your employer? And most Americans who have insurance have it through their employer.

If that is your situation, your premiums, what you pay on an annual basis for your insurance, are going to remain approximately the same, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But now take a look at this.

If you're somewhere who buys insurance on their own, you don't get it through your employer, and if you are making more than $88,000, your premiums will likely go up.

And now let's look at our third group here. If you are getting insurance on your own, not through your employer, and you are making less than $88,000, your premiums are likely to go down because the government is going to be subsidizing your premiums.

So that's sort of the crude breakdown of how this is going to work, as far as how it affects your wallet -- Ali.

VELSHI: Roland, folks you're speaking to, is that working the way they would hope that it was going to work?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, again, I mean, you have people who are saying that -- who is going to pay for it? You also have folks who are saying that, look, taxpayers, especially those who are making more money, are already paying for health insurance when you look at the rising costs in cities and counties when they jack up sales tax and property tax to cover the uninsured who are going to county hospitals. VELSHI: Right.

MARTIN: So the question now is, will county governments have to increase taxes as a result if Americans are now going to be covered? And so, look, you're paying either way.

VELSHI: I remember last summer when I was in Chicago, and you sort of hooked me up to talk to people about health care, one of the big issues in had Chicago was, like you said, emergency rooms that are being used by people for regular course of health care because they didn't have the insurance that allowed them to go to a doctor.

MARTIN: Right.

VELSHI: Elizabeth, do the provisions of this bill, by helping more people get health care, mean that we are likely to see an increase in pressure on emergency rooms, or a decrease?

COHEN: Theoretically, it would be a decrease. And here's why.

The way it works now is if you don't have insurance, you're going to show up at the emergency room, just like you said, Ali, for really basic kinds of things, because you know that they have to take you, they are not going to turn you away. So, if all of a sudden these 32 million people have a regular doctor, just a regular family doctor to go to, then they won't need to go to the emergency room, which, one, clogs up emergency rooms when they go there, and two, emergency rooms are expensive.

You don't want to go there because you have a sore throat. It drives up the cost.

So, theoretically, this will decrease wait times in emergency rooms. Those wait times have been going up, up, up, over the past couple of years.

VELSHI: Both of you hold on for one second.

MARTIN: You also have lots of money --

VELSHI: Hold on one second, Roland. I just want to go -- you'll remember last night hearing this comment when Bart Stupak, the congressman from Michigan, was speaking. We heard a voice yelling "Baby killer!" in the background.

I want to go to Brianna Keilar. She's on the phone. She's got some developments on who this was, whose voice we were hearing.

Brianna, what have you got?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Republican Congressman, Ali, Randy Neugebauer, who represents the 19th District of Texas, has come out and said that he is the one who said this. We should mention though, he explains in a statement -- I'm going to read it -- he explains that he was saying, "It's a baby killer," and not calling Stupak a baby killer. So here's what the statement says. "Las night was the climax of weeks and months of debate on a health care bill that my constituents fear and do not support. In the heat and emotion of the debate, I exclaimed the phrase, "It's a baby killer" in reference to the agreement reached by the Democratic leadership." He goes on to say, "While I remain heartbroken over the passage of this bill and the tragic consequences it will have for the unborn, I deeply regret that my actions were mistakenly interpreted as a direct reference to Congressman Stupak himself."

And, you know, we were there last night in the chamber, Ali. And it was unmistakable that you heard this, although he's saying that he said, "It's a baby killer" instead. But this is something that just sent a hush over the entire chamber.

You heard Democrats kind of -- someone yells, what -- you know, "Who said that?" And it created quite the commotion, and it really evoked this kind of feeling the same kind of thing that when Congressman Joe Wilson yelled "You lie!" at President Obama. That was what a lot of people were comparing it to.

VELSHI: Any rules that we know of that sort of prevent that sort of thing from happening? Or was it just the kind of thing that he said? In other words, can he face any consequence for saying that, using that kind of language in the House?

KEILAR: You know, I don't know the -- I'm not an expert on it, so I don't want to go too much out on a limb. But I suspect that he could. It's certainly considered a breach of decorum, it's certainly something the Democrats could take issue with.

VELSHI: Right.

KEILAR: Whether they're going to, they aren't so far at this point.

VELSHI: Has he apologized?

KEILAR: He is saying that he is -- he says that he regrets that his actions were mistakenly interpreted. He says -- he goes on to say, Ali, "I have apologized to Mr. Stupak and also apologized to my colleagues for the manner in which I expressed my disappointment about the bill. The House chamber is a place of decorum and respect. The timing and tone of my comment last night was inappropriate."

This is a paper statement. So we're still waiting to see if that's going to be enough for Democrats.

VELSHI: OK. All right. Brianna, let us know what you get.

I want to just talk to Roland for a second.

Roland, you know, there's this comment, and then there were the comments that were made that we heard about as a number of representatives, including John Lewis, a civil rights leader, went into the House on Saturday by protesters who had "Kill the bill" signs and were chanting, "Kill the bill," issuing racial slurs about people.

There is really something very disturbing I think to most people about the lack of decorum that's been going on in the last few days.

MARTIN: Right. And I'm sick and tired of people, analysts and other commentators, saying, well, emotions are running high.

No. Learn to conduct yourself with respect.

It's no different than when you have people on the left who were yelling just ridiculous, stupid things about Bush. This is absolutely -- it makes no sense whatsoever. And so you can have a -- you can have a civil conversation, and we can have a disagreement. And frankly, this congressman is an embarrassment to Texans like myself.

VELSHI: All right. Roland, stay right there. I want to continue our conversation that we've been having with you and with Elizabeth Cohen.

When we come back -- we talked a little about cost of health care. When we come back, we're going to talk about access. We're going to turn our attention to access.

With tens of millions newly insured, are you still going to be able to get in to see your doctor or get to your emergency room now that there are all sorts of people who are going to have insurance who didn't before you?

Stay with us. We'll discuss that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: "JOHN KING, USA" premieres tonight with John King, as you might have guessed. He's talking to Victoria Kennedy, the widow of Senator Edward Kennedy, who died last August. Obviously, health care was his life's work. So that will be an interesting discussion.

John King tonight. And, of course, lots of examination about health care.

We are also right now looking at some of the changes this health care reform bill will bring and how they're going to affect you.

Let's talk access to care.

With tens of millions of people flooding the insurance rolls, will they be swamping your doctor's office or your hospital?

Again, let's bring in our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, and CNN political analyst Roland Martin.

Elizabeth, we talked a little bit about emergency rooms and the effect that all of these people who are now going to be insured will have. In theory, I sort of agree with you, we should see less pressure on emergency rooms, because people won't be using them as their normal doctors' offices, hopefully, or fewer people will. But those people will be using doctors' offices.

So does that mean we're going to see a tougher time getting an appointment from doctors, or are we going to see more doctors?

COHEN: You know what, Ali? It's interesting.

We asked a panel of experts this. The experts who like this legislation say, oh, don't worry about it, everything is going to be fine, you're not going to have a hard time getting an appointment with your doctor just because we're bringing in 32 million people. And the folks who don't like this say, oh my goodness, you are just going to have to wait weeks for a doctor's appointment.

But let me explain first the mechanism that brings in all of these people.

One of the big things that this bill does is it subsidizes insurance for people who are having a hard time buying -- getting it in the first place. So, for example, a family of four making $30,000, to buy in a policy now is nearly $10,000. Well, they're going to get subsidies so that instead of paying $10,000, they're only going to have to pay about $1,000.

So you can see that that really brings more people into the fold. And those subsidies exist for families that make up to about $88,000.

So here you see the subsidies for folks who make $30,000. That's a lot. If you make $85,000, the assistance isn't nearly as generous. But still, that's -- you know, that's a chunk of change. You're not spending $1,400 that you ordinarily would have been spending. So that's actually quite a bit.

And that's one of the ways that they are bringing people into the fold. So, theoretically, a lot of those families didn't have insurance, and so now they will be able to buy it because they're getting those subsidies.

VELSHI: Yes.

Roland, tell me what we're missing here. How does this play out on the ground?

MARTIN: Well, again, I think what you have seen over the last several years, when you have had a squeeze on city and county budgets, the first thing they always seem to cut had been the community health centers. And so Congressman Henry Waxman, on his Energy and Commerce Web site, they have a breakdown on what the impact is going to be by every congressional district.

You're seeing money that will actually be going to community health centers. But also -- Elizabeth knows this, as well -- these private entities, in terms of these 24-hour care facilities that are located in strip malls, we have seen an expansion of these facilities over the last several years. I think we're going to see even more free enterprise with these kinds of facilities where you can go 24 hours that, frankly, will replace people going to the E.R. But also, if you don't choose a doctor, you can utilize these facilities, as well, and they will actually accept it.

And so, look, so all the people are saying, well, (INAUDIBLE) doctors' offices. If you expansion there, you're now seeing these folks who say, hey, we might do very well. And so I think it really closes the gap where cities have cut out of these various community centers, because if you can get people checking blood pressure, if you can get them prescreened when it comes to breast cancer, other kinds of tests, that frankly clears the way out of these other areas where people need immediate help for more serious illnesses.

VELSHI: Good points to both of you. Thank you so much.

And we're going to continue to discuss this, because I think we're into that stage where people really want brass tacks details on this stuff.

Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent. And our CNN political analyst, Roland Martin.

Great to see both of you. Thank you for joining us.

MARTIN: Thanks, Ali.

COHEN: Thanks.

VELSHI: All right.

When we come back, Tiger Woods speaking out. Find out what he said about his sex scandal and his return to golf. We'll have it in his words when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Let's take a look at this hour's top stories we're following here at CNN.

A Republican congressman from Texas says he's the one who shouted "baby killer" during the floor debate yesterday on the health care overhaul. Randy Neugebauer says he shouted, "It's a baby killer," referring to the bill itself and not, he claims, the Michigan Democrat, Bart Stupak, who was speaking at the time.

In Mexico, four more people have been arrested in the January massacre of 15 people at a house party in Juarez. The case sparked outrage across the country because most of the victims were students with no ties to drug gangs.

And cutting out the middleman in the student loan system, that's what would happen under a bill passed last night by the House. Nearly all federally-backed student loans would come straight from the government, saving an estimated $61 billion over 10 years. The Senate takes that up in a few days.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are due to arrive in Haiti today. They'll meet with the government officials involved in relief efforts after January's earthquake. The two are making the trip on behalf of the Clinton/Bush Haiti Fund which was established to raise money for long-term recovery.

Tiger Woods fessing up, saying he was living a lie and that he is the only one responsible for the sex scandal that triggered his downfall. Woods spoke out yesterday, answering questions on ESPN for the first time since his car crash last November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I saw a person that I never thought I would ever become.

TOM RINALDI, ESPN CORRESPONDENT: Who was that?

WOODS: Well, I had gotten away from my core values, as I said earlier. I had gotten away from my Buddhism. And I quit meditating, I quit doing all the things that my mom and dad had taught me. And as I said earlier in my statement, I felt entitled, and that is not how I was raised.

RINALDI: Why not seek treatment before all of this came out?

WOODS: Well, I didn't know I was that bad. I didn't know I was that bad. I was living a lie.

RINALDI: How did you learn that? How did you learn?

WOODS: Stripping away denial, rationalization. You strip all that away and you find the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: All right. Woods wouldn't go into detail about the November car crash that eventually sparked the rumors of his affair. He didn't specifically say what kind of treatment he has been seeking.

Woods is set to return to golf next month when he plays in the Masters tournament in Augusta.

All right. It's springtime. You call this spring?

All right, groundhog. Your six weeks is up. I'm going to ask Chad when spring is really going to kick in when I come back.

Stay with us. He's got the news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

VELSHI: All right. When we come back, we're going to look into Cornell University. You probably heard about this. There is a trend toward a whole lot of suicides on campus at a university that prides itself on being very, very big on suicide prevention.

We're going to understand why this is happening at Cornell when we come back. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Cornell University, you've all heard about it. It's an Ivy League school in beautiful upstate New York. It's no paradise right now. Cornell's president says the university is facing a crisis because of a series of recent student suicides. Some of the brightest minds around are at a loss to explain it, especially since the campus has tried to be a model of suicide prevention.

And as our national correspondent Susan Candiotti explains, mental health issues that can trigger suicides are affecting college students across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a breathtaking view from the bridges that mark the campus of Cornell University. And it's from here into a gorge below that three students, according to a medical examiner, jumped to their deaths.

Authorities say all together, six students committed suicide since last fall.

(On camera): What do the students think is behind this?

MICHAEL STRATFORD, CORNELL JUNIOR: I think they're wondering. I think that's -- there's a sense that people don't know what's going on.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): No one at this prestigious Ivy League school nor mental health experts can put their finger on it. Least of all parents of those who died.

HOWARD GINSBURG, BRADLEY'S FATHER: His nickname at the fraternity was Smiles. And that's because no matter what Bradley did or who he saw, he was continually smiling.

CANDIOTTI: Bradley Ginsburg, seen here at his Bar Mitzvah, was an 18-year-old freshman, a straight A student, his parents say, who loved Cornell, showed no signs of stress, called home daily. They don't believe their son would have taken his life, And state police are still asking questions.

SHERRY GINSBURG, BRADLEY'S MOTHER: Nobody can believe that one of the happiest people that they knew would ever do anything like that and that's what's hurting -- besides not having him, that's what's hurting the most.

CANDIOTTI: Last month, his body was found at the bottom of the gorge.

H. GINSBURG: It's just -- you know, my heart being torn apart every day.

I'm sorry.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Do you feel like you're in crisis right now?

DAVID SKORTON, PRESIDENT, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: Yes. We definitely are in a crisis.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): In the 1990s, Cornell picked up the nickname "Suicide University" prompting a model suicide prevention program, where everyone from professors to janitors are taught to look for signs of trouble. But officials acknowledge something has gone wrong.

SKORTON: There'll be plenty of time to worry about our reputation later. What I'm worried about right now is the next student in distress.

CANDIOTTI: Cornell is posting monitors at its bridges 24/7 for now and plans to erect taller barricades as a deterrent.

TIMOTHY MARCHELL, MENTAL HEALTH DIRECTOR, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: We are placing student support staff in libraries and outside of classrooms where midterm exams are occurring with signs that say, "Do you need to talk?"

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To seek help when you have a concern or a feeling pain.

CANDIOTTI: They're also using the Internet and taking out full- page newspaper ads. Students echoed the college president's message on a bridge. "If you learn anything at Cornell, learn to ask for help."

But Cornell isn't the only school touched by a string of suicides. Three University of Southern Mississippi students reportedly committed suicide since last summer. At New York University, six students killed themselves during the 2003/2004 academic year. Another last year.

And at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon, a student jumped to his death last summer.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Is stress to blame?

MARCHELL: Stress is often part of it. Most students that die by suicide have an underlying mental health problem like depression.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Even though Bradley Ginsburg's parents are not convinced their son took his life. They want Cornell to make sure parents of new students are aware of the dangers.

H. GINSBURG: At the beginning of the year, talk about the possibility of people taking their lives right up front but put it right on the front burner as it is now.

SKORTON: We're not going to let up at all.

CANDIOTTI: Cornell is taking its cue from students.

(on camera): There is a message that the students have written. Life is full of --

SKORTON: Wonder.

CANDIOTTI: Wonder.

SKORTON: They are helping us to look forward beyond a very painful, horrifying period toward the future.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Susan Candiotti, Ithaca, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: We'll continue to follow that story as we learn more and we get more developments on understanding why these students at university campuses are taking their own lives.

When we come back, the Stimulus Desk here at CNN continues to be hard at work. Part of the stimulus is geared toward funding alternative energy like wind turbines and hopefully creating more jobs. But critics say not enough of those jobs are being created here in the United States. We'll look at how authorities are trying to put more of an American face on alternative energy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Timberland, "Way I Are," which is the music we are using to introduce T.J. Holmes, who has decided to grace us with his presence again on the Stimulus Desk. He was one of the original Stimulus Desk boys.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

VELSHI: Back when we started this a long time ago.

HOLMES: I would like to think Stimulus Desk Man, but whatever. You know, whatever works.

VELSHI: So you're working on this thing and one of the things in the stimulus was money for alternative energy.

HOMES: Yes, a lot of money was in there for this. And as well, many people say, should have been. This is key to have so many more jobs created because of this.

VELSHI: And it's got a good end result to it.

HOLMES: Oh, yes.

VELSHI: So this was a good idea.

HOLMES: It's has long-term implications, sounds great.

OK, part of this was wind energy. Now we can show you here, $2.1 billion has been used so far, we're told. Now, the problem here that some are saying is right here -- 80 percent of the grants going to overseas-owned companies. Now, some senators up in this Washington, some democrats are kind of in a fight with the White House right now, saying, hey, this ain't right. Let's listen right now. We got Chuck Schumer, we'll let you listen to him and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), TEXAS: In west Texas, there is a $1.5 billion wind energy project, about to receive $450 million in stimulus grants, even though it's creating 3,000 jobs in China and a fraction of those jobs, a few hundred, in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. He's talking about a wind farm they're building in Texas. The problem, he says, the money they're going to get, so much of it is going to be used to pay for wind turbines that were actually built elsewhere.

VELSHI: Because we don't have a huge industry. General Electric mentioned, but we don't have a huge industry doing that right now.

HOLMES: Not yet, but according to the company in Texas, they say, wait a minute, 70 percent of the money is actually going to will be used for turbines in the U.S. So they dispute his facts.

But now let's move on to another project that's happening in Nevada right now. They are building an actual plant to build the actual -- these actual turbines, OK? So they're going to create 1,000 jobs there, going to have this up and running by late 2000. And also, their argument too, even though this company is not directly getting stimulus money, saying 70 percent will be made right here in the U.S. So the dispute and the back and forth continues.

But one thing before I let you go here, on the 80 percent of the companies, you know, 80 percent of their foreign companies, well some of those companies are actually doing business in the U.S. Even though maybe based in China, they're still doing so much of their work here in the U.S. So it is going to, no doubt, create some jobs here in the U.S. But no doubt, some of that money is going to --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: That's a tricky issue, cause it sounded like it was just a good deal. It's like, stimulus money for alternative energy, creating jobs, long-term implications. This is the interesting thing about the Stimulus Desk, now that you've come to visit us again, you learn these little interesting things.

Now, do you say tur-bans or tur-bines? I say turbines.

HOLMES: I will go with whatever you say on this show. Let's go with tur-bines.

VELSHI: Turbans, to me, are those things you put on your head.

HOLMES: We're going with tur-bines.

VELSHI: Turbine, alright. T. Boone Pickens is big in the business, he says turbans and he's invested billions of dollars in it. I'll have to see, maybe it's a Texas thing. I don't know.

Good to see you.

HOLMES: Good to see you, my man. Have me back any time, all right?

VELSHI: Thank you. It's nice, I used to come on your show and talk about business and now you come on my show and talk about business.

HOLMES: Something ain't right about that.

VELSHI: The world has turned upside down. Pretty soon, I'm going to be good looking and have hair like him.

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: All right, let me bring you up to speed with some of the top stories that we're following here at CNN.

This hour, top republican -- a republican Congressman from Texas says he's the one who shouted "baby killer" during floor debate yesterday on the health care overall. Randy Neugebauer says he shouted "It's a baby killer" referring to the bill itself and not, he claims, to Michigan democrat Bart Stupak who was speaking at the time. He also says the timing and tone of his comments were inappropriate, and he apologizes to his colleagues.

Pope Benedict is apologizing to Irish Catholics for decades of child molestation and abuse by Irish priests and decades of inaction by Irish bishops. But in a pastoral letter read aloud at Irish masses over the weekend, the pope didn't mention the priest sex scandals that have come to light elsewhere in Europe including in his native country, Germany.

And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is Washington today. He's meeting with Secretary of State Clinton, Vice President Biden and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, and that's just today. Tomorrow, he meets with President Obama at the White House. Relations are strained, as you may know, over Netanyahu's insistence on building new Jewish housing in Arab East Jerusalem.

All right, when we come back, Ed Henry is standing by. There's stuff going on in the room at the White House. So this is going to be your opportunity to have a little bit -- it's our opportunity to have a little fun with Ed, because he's going to be embarrassed because his colleagues are around him. So you are definitely going to want to tune in for this one in just two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Normally, you tune in every day, you see our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry in a different light than you normally see him here on "The Ed Henry Segment," but you're going to see him in even a different light today because right now, this is Ed presenting to the front of the class. He's there with the rest of class in the briefing room. They're about to get a briefing, an important one.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Do the live shot, too. The rest of the class is going to join the live shot apparently.

VELSHI: Tell us what's going on. Why are you there with everybody?

HENRY: Well, we've got Robert Gibbs is going to have his first on-camera briefing since the president's big victory last night on health care. And so, obviously, there will be a lot of questions about how they're going to implement this, what they're expecting from the Senate in the days ahead.

And maybe talking a little bit about what went on last night. I was here late. He came out to the East Room, as you may remember, to talk about this, and really played up the history-making nature of it. Not shy. He was pretty bold about directly saying, look, this is the picture of change. We had not heard him speak of that directly, because it was all hypothetical until last night. And that's why it was such a big moment for this White House.

VELSHI: And you were there last night. The president came to speak, you were in the East Room, a little different than the digs you're in right now.

HENRY: Yes. Sunday evening, about 11 -- gosh, what was it? Like 11:40 p.m. or so on a Sunday night, pretty rare to even be here at the White House at all. To be in the East Room for an historic moment, that was pretty interesting.

But I'm told it was an even better moment later on, which is that the president invited some of his staffers up past midnight up to the Truman Balcony, which is sort of one of the coolest spots in the White House. It's got this direct view. It's on the south side of the White House, so it overlooks the South Lawn, has a direct view of the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, a lot of presidents have been out there before, smoking a cigar -- sort of the cigar bar for some, I guess, maybe not for this president.

But he had his aides out there, drinking we're told, some adult beverages, as well as some non-adult beverages. They were letting off some steam. Let's face it, this was a long slog for them, 14 months. A lot of people were predicting just a couple weeks ago it would never happen, so I think they're pretty pumped about it.

VELSHI: Ed, I know you are going to have to go when Robert Gibbs gets there. We are going to lose you.

HENRY: He's not here yet.

VELSHI: But we're just looking at that shot of the room there, like no one is paying any attention to you. Do they not know you're on national TV right now?

HENRY: I don't think they care about what I have to say. I mean, Howard Fineman is here from "Newsweek"; David Jackson, "USA Today." They're doing their own thing. You know, they're getting ready, they're getting their questions ready, and I don't know, maybe they're just not into "The Ed Henry Segment." They're just not into "The Ed Henry Segment."

VELSHI: That would be crazy and inappropriate.

Are other people doing reports right now? Is this common? I mean, can you just stand up there like somebody --

HENRY: You know, sometimes we have got reports going on on other networks we won't name. And it's sort of funny, because you're trying to keep your train of thought as you hear, you know, Chuck Todd shouting in your ear a few feet away, and that's always funny. It's bigger at prime time news conferences when the president is about to walk out and you're only allowed to do this sort of live shot in the two-minute window before he comes in. Always sort of peeking over your shoulder more than anything, trying to keep your concentration with other correspondents shouting.

But the other thing you're trying to do is peek over your shoulder, cause God forbid the president were to sneak out in the East Room, say, and get in there, and you're blabbing with Wolf or Anderson or whoever, and the president sort of like -- let's get going, Ed, shut up. That would be pretty awkward.

But I have to tell you, we're also wondering, this is one of those days where the president has nothing on his schedule, publicly, at least. He's got a lot of stuff meetings, met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this afternoon. So we're also sort of wondering whether maybe he'll poke his head in. And I know you'll be ready to go in cause this is the kind of day where he might want to take a couple of questions.

VELSHI: Well, let me ask you this, is the mood different at the White House ever since last night and what did it feel like? Was it palpably jubilant? Was it exhausted? What was the mood like?

HENRY: I think probably exhausted. I don't want to exaggerate sort of the moment too much. I mean, there was a still photo that the White House put out of the moment when the House finally passed the Senate bill, so the president could sign that into law tomorrow. And it was in the Roosevelt Room, just steps from the Oval Office, and you saw the president sort of excited, but he wasn't -- they're being really careful, frankly, not to look like they're dancing in the end zone just yet. They've still got some work to do in the Senate, first of all; and second of all, you heard the president last night talk about how this is a victory for the American people, not for any one political party. They're walking that fine line, because let's face it, between now and November, the president is going to cast this as a victory for democrats, whether they're saying that now or not. This is -- there's a big midterm election coming up.

But they want to be careful and make sure they're calibrating this right, that this is about individuals, small businesses. He's not going to be out there sort of, you know, pumping his fist every day saying this is about individuals, small businesses. He's not going to be out there pumping his fist every day saying I told you so.

VELSHI: But while you were here in Atlanta and we were listening to the president speak in and around that week, there was a real shift in the calibration. They realized that they were going to get some traction if they made this about the insurance companies and about people who were already insured who thought, I don't want health care, because I'm already insured. And when they sort of sold the idea that it was going to be higher premiums even if you already had insurance, that seemed to gain them some traction.

HENRY: Well, and is they were really helped, you're right, in that window between, say, around the time in late January when Scott Brown was elected in Massachusetts and they lost the super majority, a lot of people were predicting they couldn't get this done. Between January 20th and last night, frankly, the other big thing that happened that you sort of alluded to is that you had had companies like Anthem Blue Cross in California saying they were going to raise premiums up to 39 percent. And that gave the president a terrific talking point from his political perspective to say without any reform, these companies may keep driving up the premiums. And so that played right into his wheel house.

VELSHI: All right, Ed, I was going to keep you talking to see what would happen, how you would handle it when Robert Gibbs comes out, but Robert Gibbs is not on our schedule, apparently.

HENRY: It's too bad, because it would have been fun to have him join the segment. But he probably would have done something and we would have all felt awkward.

VELSHI: Well, we'll check in as soon as he does actually come out.

Ed, good to see you, as always.

Ed Henry on "The Ed Henry Segment," presenting his segment today in front of the entire class. We'll be checking in with him momentarily when Robert Gibbs comes out for his briefing.

The showdown between Google and China at its boiling point and Google is threatening to pull the plug soon. How this could have a ripple effect far beyond China and far beyond the cyber world. We're weighing the options when we come back.

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