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State of Emergency in Oklahoma; Mixed Greeting for the President; American Man Arrested in Pakistan, Found Searching for Bin Laden; President Obama's $50 Billion Spending Plan

Aired June 15, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin in this morning for Kyra Phillips. And here's what we're working on for you here.

First, too much rain, way too fast. Oklahoma sees one of those flashflood dramas where a tree becomes one woman's best friend until help finally arrives.

And then the president getting yet another look at the Gulf oil disaster before he talks to the nation about it in primetime. And getting an earful from the locals who have already endured 57 days of this mess.

And the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Not exactly a do-it-yourself project. But one guy might have made the manhunt his own personal mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAQUEL DAWSON, RESCUED FROM FLOOD: Like shaking really bad while I was swimming. And I thought I was going to pass out. And I thought I was going to die.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Unbelievable story. That was 17-year-old Raquel Dawson. She has become the face of Oklahoma's flashflood drama. She was trying to help a woman trapped in the swift and rising water Monday when she herself got trapped.

There she was just swimming through the floods. She finally made her way to a tree and grabbed on to a tree branch before help finally arrived. The first rescue boat, though, flipped over. So they had to send a second boat in. The second crew finally was able to pull her to safety.

And then that's just one of many different rescue stories in Oklahoma City. Amazingly, though, no reports of deaths or even serious injuries. But that fast and furious rain, about nine inches of rain, by the way, in six hours of time has left damage. People there will feel for quite a while.

In fact 59 of Oklahoma's 77 counties are now under a state of emergency. And CNN's Sandra Endo is Edmond. That is just north of Oklahoma City.

Well, Sandra, I know you're in this neighborhood where people are coming home. They're assessing the damage. Tell me how bad is it? And what are people saying to you?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, pretty bad, Brooke, because as the water receded yesterday, this is what Oklahoma residents came back to. Their waterlogged homes. And you can see furniture completely destroyed from the floodwater. Insulation, drywall, just soaked.

And this man that owns this home here has already started the cleanup process which many residents will be going through today.

You can see a perfectly good furniture now just completely damaged by the water and completely soaked. Actually Quinten Cheadle lives here. And he's been here for three years now.

You've started the cleanup process already. How devastating was it for you when you saw the water damage from your home? You were in chest-deep water. Describe what it was like for you.

QUINTEN CHEADLE, EDMOND, OKLAHOMA RESIDENT: It was -- it was pretty devastating when you look at it. You go through a lot of emotions, a lot of thoughts run through your mind. Excuse me. Just -- just rapidly. So you're trying to figure out what to do first. How to deal with this situation.

Because we've never, ever been in a situation like this. So it was just -- a situation of getting my family safe and making sure that they are secure. Getting my dogs out. Making sure they are secure. Just going through a lot of emotions like that. And -- just trying to make sure you -- making good decisions.

ENDO: Sure, this is really unprecedented for this area. This much rain in such a short time. A lot of people here totally caught off guard. And a lot of residents like yourself without flood insurance, what are you going to do now?

CHEADLE: Well, basically, our thing is we -- you know we say a good prayer to Jehovah. And we ask him to lead us and put him first. And basically take it one step at a time. And not panic, not move too fast. But just take it one step at a time and just try to make good decisions.

ENDO: Cheadle, thank you so much for joining us.

And Brooke, that is the story we're hearing from so many residents here. Trying to assess the damage from their home. They're trying to start picking up the pieces, cleaning up all the waterlogged items from their home. But really not knowing what to do because this area has not been hit with floodwaters like this.

A lot of residents here only have tornado insurance and regular homeowners insurance. But they don't know what to do from here -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I just saw that mound of mess in his front yard and just shake your head at it and you just feel for those people.

Sandra Endo there in Oklahoma. Sandra, thank you.

In Oklahoma and other parts of the country, by the way, are looking at more rain today. In fact, some places could get heavy doses of it.

CNN's meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is watching all of that from the Severe Weather Center.

Jacqui, I cannot get over that picture of the guy's belongings in his front yard.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. And unfortunately he's not alone. And it's not just in Oklahoma City. This is getting pretty widespread across the nation's midsection.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: All right, Jacqui, thank you.

And we can't talk about the Midwest here without, of course, not giving you an update on the flashflood situation in Arkansas. Search crews, they think they have found the 20th and hopefully final victim, final body. It was a young girl.

Several funerals are set for today. The flooding was as sudden as it was vicious. You remember this happened early, early Friday morning. It hit a remote camping area when many of the victims were just fast asleep.

Turning now to the crisis in the Gulf. It is day 57 and President Obama is beginning his day in the middle of the disaster. There he is. This morning he's wrapping up day two of his two-day visit to the region. Next hour, in Pensacola, Florida, he will receive an update on the cleanup efforts underway there.

Then this afternoon he will hop on a plane and head back to the White House for a primetime address to the nation from the oval office. And in about half an hour from now on Capitol Hill, lawmakers will have a chance to grill top executives. Not just from BP, four other big oil companies.

And as one congressman from Massachusetts put it, the goal here is to figure out if BP's many mistakes are, quote, "the rule or the exception."

As I said, President Obama's fourth visit to the Gulf has really stirred some strong emotions among the frustrated people down there. You think about it. Some of them thrilled that he's there. Some cheering, some booing the president and all demanding answers.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is live for us this morning in New Orleans. And, Chris, we know that, you know, the president can't be everywhere in the Gulf but he's trying to make his way around. And my question to you is what's your sense in talking to people? Are they embracing the president down there with open arms or not so much this time?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really -- really depends on who you talk to, Brooke. You know, again -- you know, he can't go to every single down. But when it comes to the Gulf in general, you know, it does tend to impact everyone. One way or the other.

And we really wanted to get us an emotional sense of, you know, when the president leaves a region like the Gulf, do people feel inspired afterwards or more cynical about the government's response?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (on camera): You're looking at what's left of Dean Blanchard's shrimping business. Boats are docked. No big catch coming in. After 28 years the guys just about ready to give up. So, yes, President Obama's visit matters.

Are you excited to see him back here for a fourth time?

DEAN BLANCHARD, SHRIMPING BUSINESS OWNER: I'm -- I'm little bit of hope I got left that really in his heart he wants do the right thing. That's about the only thing that's keeping me sane right now.

LAWRENCE: And the thing is, the worse the winter, the better the crop of shrimp that comes after it. And after the record breaking winter they had down here, this could have been the best in years.

BLANCHARD: I was licking my chops. And I should be making $100,000 a day. Instead I'm losing five (ph) so you figure it out. Everything was perfect. And here comes BP.

LAWRENCE: Did you see the other name on these signs next to BP? That says Obama. And we spoke to some oil workers who say their lives and livelihoods amount to more than just what they see as a photo-op.

LONNIE GUIDRY, OIL RIG WORKER: Maybe political, you know. You know he could -- makes him look good or something. But I mean, this is our way of living, you know. And him coming down here, don't help our way of living, you know so.

LAWRENCE: Well, he says he's coming down here to try to save your way of living.

GUIDRY: He's coming to help clean up the -- the oil? I mean that's about -- that's about all he can do.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Now even Dean Blanchard says he's going to watch the president's address tonight. But what really matters to him is the follow-through. Three months, six months, a year from now. In other words, is the president going to walk the walk? BLANCHARD: Well, he said he's going to kick some butt. Well, we've got a bunch of pair of boots we're not using over here right now. We'd like to donate for him to use. Because it's time he starts kicking butt. You know it's time for him to start doing what he says he's going to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Yes. Some of the people that we spoke to say in tonight's address they really want to see the president get tough with BP. Really make them commit to that payout, to a lot of the businesses that have been hurting here.

Other people say they don't want him to push the oil companies too far that, you know, a lot of them might leave the area because they are still so dependent on oil for their livelihood -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Look, Chris, you know as well as I do, the president has a tough job. We saw the photo-op of him yesterday eating that snow cone. And some people saying hey, you know, fewer snow cones, Mr. President, a little bit more action.

Chris Lawrence for us in New Orleans. Chris, thank you.

Chris mentioned the big primetime address tonight. We, of course, here at CNN will have full coverage of the president's address to the nation. It is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific. And you can see it right here on CNN along with the best political team on television.

By the way, actor Kevin Costner admitting he may be an unlikely source perhaps of help, right, in this cleanup effort in the Gulf. But that's exactly the role he is now playing. BP has ordered 32 skimming machines from Costner's company.

In fact for nearly 20 years, Costner has spent millions of dollars to develop this special centrifuge with his brother who, by the way, is a scientist. Costner says the machine breaks new ground and officially extracting oil from water basically separating the two.

Last night he spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper in this primetime exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR, DIRECTOR: I took a technology out of the Department of Energy probably in '92 or '93. And it was a very small little machine and I extrapolated that idea into -- took into R&D for about three years and enormous amount of money, thinking that -- that we didn't have to fight oil spills the way we had been seeing those reoccurring images.

And so basically, I thought that we could do this. And -- and we scaled that up into something incredibly efficient and robust to the point where we could separate, you know, 200 gallons a minute. And -- you know, at the purity of 99.9 percent oil and 99.9 percent water. (END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: How about that? Costner also says BP put the machines through -- multiple, extensive testing processes before placing that order. The actor, though, was not able to say exactly when the 32 machines will be put to the test.

And have you heard the story, this California guy apparently thought he could do what the U.S. and Pakistani militaries have not been able to. That is, capture and find terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

We will tell you why his personal manhunt is on hold and who stopped him in his tracks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The hunt for Osama bin Laden might have gotten a little bit personal for a 52-year-old American who is now in Pakistani custody, for allegedly trying cross the border into Afghanistan.

CNN's Reza Sayah has more from Pakistan's capital of Islamabad.

Reza, let me just start with simply, who is this guy, and do we know what was he trying to do?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police say he was trying to find the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden. But Brooke, when we first heard about this arrest, we thought maybe it was a joke.

But Pakistani police say it is not a joke indeed. They say they found an American citizen who is telling them that they want to find Osama bin Laden.

Let's tell what you we know. Police say the man is Gary Faulkner. A 52-year-old from California, married, with a child.

Police were initially skeptical about his story until they looked through his belongings. Among his belongings, they found a pistol, a sword, double-blade dagger, night vision equipment, and Christian reading material.

It appears as if faith played a part in whatever with this man was trying to accomplish. Because police telling CNN, he told them that he is confident he is going to find bin Laden because, "God is with him."

Police say they arrested Faulkner a couple of days ago, Sunday night in the district of Chitral, a beautiful and scenic area, northwest Pakistan, along the Afghan border. Police say he was staying at a hotel in the region, and they assigned him a police escort, not unusual for tourists who want to do some hiking there and some exploring.

But police say he ditched his escort. There was a manhunt for a couple of hours. They finally found him, and that was when he revealed his intentions.

So, Brooke, this is one of those bizarre stories. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad says they are aware of an arrest of an American. They are trying to confirm his identity in northwest Pakistan. When they do, they are going to try to get him consular access.

Brooke --

BALDWIN: Reza, you mentioned he was found in a district of Chitral, which you said is a popular, perhaps, hiking area. Is there any indication why he might have been there? Was there any intelligence indicating that was a recent spot for bin Laden? Or, no?

SAYAH: A couple of years ago, there were some rumors and reports that bin Laden may be in this Chitral area. Chitral is just north of Pakistan's ungoverned tribal region along the Afghan border, and the last solid intelligence of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts was the tribal region.

Intelligence indicated that when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden may have sea through porous border into this area. But nothing has been substantiated and verified about Chitral.

When police asked him what in the world he was doing in this region, he told police that he had some sources that had told them information about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. But it is not clear who those sources are. It is not clear what that information is.

And frankly, Brooke, it is not clear if this man was really out on some sort of Rambo mission to get Osama bin Laden; or if he is a disturbed person.

Brooke --

BALDWIN: Sources. OK, fascinating. And as you said, Reza, a bizarre story.

Reza Sayah for us out of Islamabad. Reza, thanks.

SAYAH: Yes.

BALDWIN: The named suspect in the Natalee Holloway case, you know the name, Joran van der Sloot. He will have to find a new attorney. We will tell you why the man who has been representing him in this murder case in Peru has quit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A tense calm is holding for now in southern Kyrgyzstan. But ethnic discord is still simmering in two main cities, those being Osh and Jalalabad.

Take a look here, and we will see the scene for the past five days. There it is, thick black smoke really rising over the streets, sporadic gunshots. Some 170 people have been reportedly killed; and hundreds more injured as gangs rampage through Uzbek villages in Kyrgyzstan.

It is not exactly clear what set off this round of violence, but the government is saying it can get the situation under control without international help.

The deadly turmoil in Kyrgyzstan is sparking a refugee exodus. Tens of thousands of people are overwhelming camps and neighboring Uzbekistan, which has now closed its borders indefinitely.

Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance is at one of those makeshift camps right now. He is joining me. There I see pictures of him with what looks like some folks behind him.

Matthew, talk to me about what it looks like there; what are the people saying? What is the situation?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the situation is that according to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, they have now allowed in more than 100,000 refugees who are fleeing the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan. They are being housed in camps like this.

They are pretty well looked after, as far as refugee camps go. They have beds; they have blankets; they have plenty of food.

But one of the reasons the Uzbek authorities have closed the border, or had closed the border to other refugees, they didn't have enough supplies, they say, enough resources, enough food, to feed anymore people coming in.

And so they have had a situation where thousands of people, very much panicked, very much in a state of distress; have been standing behind the barbed wire fences in southern Kyrgyzstan, desperate to try and come into these camps, but they have not been allowed to do so.

We have just heard within the past hour or so that the Uzbek authorities have agreed to reopen their borders sporadically to allow some more refugees to come in from southern Kyrgyzstan, because there are still reports in that part of the central Asian country of gunfire, sporadic fighting, even as the country's security forces in Kyrgyzstan attempt to put a cap on the unrest that we have been seeing the past four, five days, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Matthew, thought, I want to just talk specifically about the people are behind you, these Uzbeks in these camps. I mean, talk about amazing access where you are right now. And, you mentioned the supplies. I know I have read they are starving. There have not even been loaves of bread. Are they getting aid? And where would it be coming from?

CHANCE: Yes. These people all around me here, they have been getting a lot of food; they have been getting a lot of shelter. They have been getting it from the Uzbek authorities. They are ethnic Uzbeks. They live in southern Kyrgyzstan. They fled across the border to Uzbekistan, which is of course, majority, Uzbek. And so it has complicated the ethnic divisions across this region.

I think what is interesting about looking at these people in this camp, Brooke, is that they are all women and children. There are virtually no men amongst them. We have seen a few around, some of them with quite severe injuries. They have been shot; they have been cut with knives.

But the vast majority of the people in this camp and in all the other camps along this border, with more than 100,000 people in, are women and children who have escaped the fighting in fear for their lives. They left their men folk, their husbands, their brothers, their sons, back in southern Kyrgyzstan n order to try and protect their property and what little property they have, in many cases, from what they describe as rampaging gangs of Kyrgyz' militia, backed, at times, they say, by the Kyrgyz' security borders, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Matthew, to our American audience, so many people are looking at the situation there and just still wondering why. What is behind this violence, this discord? I know there were reports, or dare I say speculation, that this all has to do with the ousted former president, perhaps his son? Can you clear any of that up for us?

CHANCE: Yes. There is no evidence that I have seen, or that anybody else has presented us with, that it was the former president of Kyrgyzstan, that (INAUDIBLE). But there is definitely a rumor out there; a lot of people think it is the case.

What is certainly true is that back in April, the government of Kyrgyzstan was overthrown in a popular uprising. And the president at the time was ousted; he was sent into exile. And he enjoyed the majority of his support in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Now, the new government in Kyrgyzstan has been really unable in the months that have passed since April to fully impose its authority on southern Kyrgyzstan. And so within that context, there has been chaos. No one has really been in control; and that has allowed these old ethnic rivalries that have been going on for decades, probably centuries, between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz people, to come to the fore.

And it has resulted in this terrible bloodshed. We have at least 170 people confirmed dead now inside southern Kyrgyzstan. The real figure could be much higher, because the reports from eyewitnesses on the ground there are saying that there are bodies still strewn across the streets in cities like Osh, in cities like Jalalabad, these main population centers in southern Kyrgyzstan.

So it really is, in the words of the Red Cross officials that I have spoken to, a humanitarian catastrophe.

BALDWIN: Matthew Chance for us with a unique view at a refugee camp in Uzbekistan.

Matthew, thank you for that.

I want to take you back to the oil disaster ongoing in the Gulf. And really, the outrage that ripples all the way to Washington. Lawmakers demanding answers from BP, and the nation's other big oil company executives; and those executives are arriving right now. We have pictures inside. What is that, Capitol Hill? That is one of the House subcommittees, and everybody as you can see -- take a look at those photographers -- everybody is waiting for these men to arrive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. We just want to show you real quickly here. This is a live picture inside the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee. It is headed up by Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who, by the way, has been a big critic of BP in the past. And we're going to be hearing from, not just the head chair and president head of BP America, Lamar McKay, but four other big oil heads. And they will be talking and testifying really to see if this lack of contingency plan with BP was the exception or the rule. More on that in a moment.

Let's set this up for you. Day 57 of the Gulf oil crisis, and President Obama beginning his day in the middle of the disaster this morning. He's wrapping up his two-day visit to the region. And next hour, in Pensacola, Florida, the president will be getting an update on all those cleanup efforts under way down there, and then, this afternoon, he will be on a plane back to the White House for that prime time addressing the nation from the oval office. At any moment, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers will have the chance to grow top executives, as I mentioned, from BP and also four other big oil companies.

And as one congressman put it, the goal here is to figure out if BP's many mistakes are, quote, "the rule or the exception." Let's get more on that hearing. It's about to get under way here in the tone could get testy immediately. CNN congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, covering this hearing for us on Capitol Hill, and Brianna can help us set the stage. And Brianna, I know we kind of mentioned this here, but if you can, just give us a bigger context as to what really the purpose of this committee? What are they trying to find out today?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the purpose has to do, Brooke, with when it comes to safety standards, when it comes to taking risks. And of course, what can happen when you take risks is BP the exception? Is it an anomaly? Or is it the rule? Is this what all of these other oil companies are doing as well? And here is who we will be hearing from today. Here's who's facing Congress, BP, of course, but also Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell oil as well.

Now, you mentioned the chairman of the subcommittee, Ed Markey of Massachusetts right there about to begin his opening statement, it looks like. And he clearly believes that BP is the rule. That all of these oil companies basically practice safety standards in a very similar way, and he says he believes this because if other oil companies had higher safety standards, he thinks they would have been able to provide some support to BP more so than they provided thus far, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And not only is Brianna and Congressman Markey really sort of this outspoken critic of BP. You know, let's be transparent and just also say he also had a very clear point of view, right, that the country should be weaning itself off of offshore drilling.

KEILAR: That's right, Brooke. Following the disaster in the Gulf, he has been a critic of BP, but he's also been, even before that, a longtime opponent of deepwater drilling. So, this is his history. And this certainly plays into how he feels about the disaster in the Gulf.

He, as well as the chairman of the full committee, Henry Waxman of California, they both basically think and they've supported legislation and passed legislation out of the House of Representatives for cap and trade, for controlling carbon emissions. And this is what they want to see the U.S. move towards when it comes to the energy future and dealing with climate change.

So, what you're going to see from them is some very tough questioning. But there are also lawmakers, many of them Republicans, but also the Obama administration, President Obama, who believe that oil production is an essential part of the energy future of the U.S. And I should also mention, Brooke, that this hearing today, which, of course, is going to really bring out the what we call the hot seat here on Capitol Hill is sort of a preview of what we're going to see on Thursday which is when Tony Hayward, the head of BP, the CEO of BP, for the first time, testifies before Congress. That is certainly going to be a hearing to watch as well.

BALDWIN: Hey, Brianna, thank you. By the way, I think we're going to go ahead. Let's listen in. Let's see what they may be talking about as they're opening this hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. EDWARD MARKEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Content is 90 percent identical. Like BP, three other companies include references to protecting walruses which have not called the Gulf of Mexico home for 3 million years. Two other plants are such dead ringers for BPs that they list a phone number for the same long dead expert. The American people deserve oil safety plans that are ironclad and not boiler plate. We now know the oil industry and the government agency passed with regulating them determined that there was a zero chance that this kind of undersea disaster could ever happen.

When you believe that there is zero chance of a disaster happening, you do zero disaster planning. And the oil industry has invested nearly zero time and money into developing safety and response efforts. The oil companies before us today amass nearly $289 billion in profits over the last three years. They spent $39 billion to explore for new oil and gas, yet, the average investment in research and development for safety accident prevention and spill response was a paltry $20 million per year, less than 1/10 of 1 percent of their products. The oil companies may think it's fine to produce carbon copies of their safety plans, but the American people expect and deserve more.

It is time to expect more from the oil industry and that needs to start today. First, Congress must ensure that there is unlimited liability for oil spills by oil companies. While we try to cap this well, we must lift the cap on oil industry liability. Second, Congress must also enact wide ranging safety reforms for offshore drilling. If oil companies are going to pursue ultra deep drilling, we must ensure that it is ultra safe and that companies can respond ultra fast.

Third, the free ride is over. Oil companies need to pay their fair share to drill on public land. Right now, every single one of the companies here today and dozens of others are drilling for free in the Gulf of Mexico on leases that will cost American taxpayers more than $50 billion in lost royalties. And fourth, we must ensure that new technologies are developed for capping wells, boosting safety, and cleaning up spills. I will soon introduce the oil SOS act to ensure that we have 21st century technologies in place for 21st century drilling risks.

And finally, America must move to a safer clean energy future so that we don't have to rely as much on oil to power our cars and our economy. The American people deserve answers from the oil industry, and I look forward to the testimony of our witnesses. I'd like now to recognize my distinguished colleague from Michigan, the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentleman, again, from Michigan. Mr. Upton.

REP. FRED UPTON, (R) MICHIGAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right. You've already been listening to some very tough talk from Congressman Ed Markey, Democrat of the Massachusetts, kind of outlining steps one through five of perhaps what he's expecting to accomplish with this House Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing, involving not only Lamar McKay, who is the head of BP America but four other big oil heads. He outlined how they want to lift the cap on the oil industry liability. Right now, it's sitting at $75 million. Perhaps, even an act safety reforms from offshore drilling, saying, hey, the free ride is over.

Oil companies definitely need to pay when they're drilling offshore. For now, they're just leasing that area, doing it for free. He wants new technology to clean up these messes and cap these wells. And finally, he said look, America needs to be less reliant on foreign oil. We will certainly dip back in and out of that meeting as it becomes more interesting, certainly, throughout the day there on Capitol Hill.

Meantime, President Obama is asking congress to sign a big spending check. How big are we talking? $50 billion big. That's a whole lot of zeros. So, what would taxpayers actually get for that cash? We're going to dissect some of the numbers with two guests coming up here in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Let's talk spending and jobs. President Obama is asking for $50 billion to keep our economy on track for recovery but many lawmakers here say they are kind of reluctant to sign another big stimulus style check.

In fact, in the letter to Congress, I have mine right here, President Obama says states need the money now to keep teachers, police officers, firefighters, on the job. And he also points out that some 84,000 state and federal jobs have already been lost this year alone.

But some of his critics and a lot of you taxpayers are more concerned with the numbers or specifically -- let's take a look at the one in the upper left-hand corner, yes, you see the U.S. debt clock ticking along -- the national deficit, $13 trillion and it's getting bigger by the second.

So to the little -- give a little perspective on this from two gentlemen. Peter Morici, professor of International Business at University of Maryland joining me live from D.C. -- there he is. And Ryan Mack, President of Optimum Capital Management live in New York.

And Ryan, I would like to begin with you. I have a letter, I read the letter and the sense I got from this letter, the President is very much so underscoring the sense of urgency to continue to support this economic recovery.

But still there is mixed -- mixed reaction from both Democrats and Republicans but still do you say to taxpayers, hey we need this, don't panic?

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, it's hard to look at the debt clock as you saw that. And I'm a little concerned especially when you see the numbers like the Congressional Budget Office saying that we might have an $800 billion interest bill by 2020.

However on the other side, I mean, looking at $68 billion in additional cover subsidies, a lot of folks out there who've lost jobs, they need additional health care insurance and they can't quite frankly can't afford in order to get -- to continue their coverage. You're looking at an additional $25 billion to a lot of these firemen and police officers in order to keep their jobs.

And additional -- states don't have access to the printing press like the federal government does. So the original legislation stimulus package they actually cut over $100 million in order to be a little bit more moderate. Funding that was actually supposed to go to these states.

So for $23 billion in order to assist in that funding so they don't have to cut their Medicaid rolls, it actually seems like something -- for like the hard working American people can actually be able to sleep at night. BALDWIN: OK.

MACK: So I think an overall $50 billion compared to how much they are spending totally is not that large. But it does give a lot of people additional assistance right now.

BALDWIN: All right, Ryan. So you say it could help some good hard working Americans perhaps sleep better at night.

Professor Morici, what say you? Because you know, the very final line of this letter is talking about restoring fiscal discipline in Washington. Yet, when you look at that debt clock tick, tick, ticking, you think spending is discipline? When we see these numbers?

PETER MORICI, PROFESSOR, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Barack Obama is anything if he's not a model of indiscipline when it comes to spending.

However, Steny Hoyer the Majority Leader in the House, has suggested that he rearrange some of the stimulus money that has been allocated but not yet spent. You know, there's a lot of stimulus money that doesn't do very much to create jobs.

For example, summer money for professors like myself, well, that doesn't create a job, it just gives me something to do in the summer when I'm already paid. It's possible to finance this $50 billion to avoid essentially layoffs at the state and local level of teachers, policemen and firemen by reallocating money within the stimulus package.

However, longer term, state and local governments have really been practicing indiscipline and their spending habits. And they are going to have to straighten out their budgets. This will be a band- aid or a tourniquet. But down the road, 2012, 2013, they're going to have to get their houses in order.

BALDWIN: And I want to be clear here both of you. And Ryan, let me just, I'll have you respond to this, this $50 billion, too, that the state and local governments, it doesn't necessarily create jobs. It just keeps the layoffs from happening -- correct.

MACK: Well, I mean, this is -- this is exactly right. This is just a band-aid. This is a short-term fix.

BALDWIN: Yes.

MACK: But you know, the -- and you have to understand that the government's job is to -- this is what it is about, stimulating the economy. We will have to get down to a lot of fiscal responsibility on the government's side and the stateside, but also in the individual side.

For those individuals right now, if you get additional time if you are a teacher or a fire officer or a fireman or a police officer and you have to get to stay on your job because of additional funding, now it's your responsibility to say, now they bought me a little bit of time, what do I need to do to start putting some money aside, to start saving more responsibly, putting some money away for a rainy day. Maybe looking for an additional job, starting companies

The majority of S&P 500 was started during times of recession so a lot of folks try to -- we're able to create good times out of hard times. So this is what the American people, the government and the individuals have to start doing while the government doing their job of stimulating it, we have to sustain it ourselves.

BALDWIN: We have been talking, I know, a lot about firefighters, police officers, teachers and how perhaps they would benefit. Professor Morici, I'm going to give you the last word. I want to also to talk about small businesses. How might this help them?

MORICI: Well, this really isn't aimed at small businesses. The President has a separate proposal to increase small business lending. Unfortunately, that's a drop in the bucket compared to the lending that the small businesses are not receiving from the 8,000 regional banks that were not much assisted by the TARP.

The TARP has significant funds left, it should be used to clean up the books of the regional banks so they can begin their historic role of lending to small and medium-sized businesses. That's the best thing the President can do and he has not done it.

BALDWIN: Peter Morici and Ryan Mack -- gentlemen, good conversation. Thank you both.

MACK: Thank you.

BALDWIN: All right, baseball fans. You get a little bit of excitement in San Diego, the foul pole wasn't moving because it was hit by a baseball. Take a look at this, you see that. No, that's another quake in sunny, Southern California.

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BALDWIN: Oh, yes. Do you recognize that song? Let's take a quick look back in history. On June 15th, taking it back to 1969, it was cool for a lot of reasons. Think about it, moon landing, Woodstock and oh yes, "Hee Haw". Yes, it premiered on CBS 41 years ago today.

Baseball fans attending San Diego's home game against the Toronto Blue Jays got a bit of a jolt last night, try a 5.7 magnitude earthquake. It hit about 22 miles west south west of El Centro California that is east of San Diego. Take a listen to the announcers from the game.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are experiencing a tremor right now, an earthquake here at the ballpark in San Diego and it's very significant out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Experiencing a tremor. That's not something you hear often, is it? Some of the players though apparently were joking about the swaying caused by the quake. The refs -- rather the umps a looking confused. No one in the stands appeared too upset. They were kind of cheering in fact. No damage, no injuries, but there were at least 20 aftershocks.

And on this Tuesday morning, we have a lot going on for you here in the CNN NEWSROOM. And our crew, of course, have it all covered. Let's check in with our correspondents beginning first here with Ed Henry in Pensacola, Florida with the President. Good morning Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning Brooke. In just a short while, the President will be here speaking to Navy and Marine personnel, thanking them for helping with this oil crisis.

But first, he's going to take a tour of Pensacola Beach. I can tell you, a lot of people are angry there about the federal government's response. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. Just when you thought you were eating right, the federal government says, no, you need to do better. There are new rules about how much salt and fat you should have in your diet. I'll have that at the top of the hour.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill where the top five oil company executives are on the hot seat testifying before Congress and facing Democratic lawmakers who say they were as unprepared to deal with the disaster as BP. I'll have that right ahead.

BALDWIN: All right. All of you, thank you.

Also, Democrats in South Carolina have a bit of a problem. His name is Alvin Greene. How did the guy who didn't campaign win the senate primary? We will take a look at some of the theories coming up on our next hour here on CNN.

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