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800,000 Federal Workers Face Furloughs; Female Lawmakers Speak Out on Looming Government Shutdown; No NATO Apology for Libyan Rebel Deaths; The Help Desk; Talk Back Question, Nuclear Plant Powers Economy
Aired April 08, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Well, top of the hour. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in today for Suzanne Malveaux.
Let's bring you up to speed.
They've got 12 hours to agree on a budget, or much of the federal government will be forced to shut down. Eight hundred thousand federal workers, including members of the U.S. military, would not be paid until the fight is over. Passport services would be suspended, some IRS tax returns delayed, national parks and museums would close.
We just learned President Obama spoke by phone to both Senate and Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Republican House Speaker John Boehner this morning. Reid says only one issue stands between a deal and a shutdown. Republicans want to strip funding for Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides women's health services, including abortions, though those are not federally funded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Republicans want to shut down our nation's government because they want to make it harder for women to get the health services they need. And by the way, Title X does not include abortion. It's illegal to use federal funds for abortion services, so anyone who says this debate is over abortion isn't being truthful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: House Speaker John Boehner says Reid is wrong, other issues remain unresolved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: There's only one reason that we do not have an agreement as yet, and that issue is spending. We're close to a resolution on the policy issues, but I think the American people deserve to know, when will the White House and when will Senate Democrats get serious about cutting spending?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, last hour, I spoke with the president of Plant Parenthood about the group's role as a sticking point in any shutdown. She appeared astounded that some in Congress say Planned Parenthood uses federal money for abortions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CECILE RICHARDS, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: It's such a misstatement, and I think it's really important that the American people know there are no federal funds that pay for abortion either at Planned Parenthood or any hospital in America. And 97 percent of Planned Parenthood services are basic preventive care -- family planning, pap smears, breast exams.
And that's what's actually the topic here. It's simply incredible that we're talking about shutting down the federal government over the issue of whether Planned Parenthood can continue to serve three million women who come to our health centers every year for basic preventive care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, Japan gave homegrown food and dairy products a green light today. The government lifted restrictions on the sale of vegetables and milk from some regions near the Fukushima nuclear plant. An official says radiation levels have been below the legal limit for three straight weeks.
NATO admitted today it may have bombed Libyan rebels by mistake Thursday. Take a look at this amateur video.
A British NATO official refused to apologize. Admiral Russell Harding says NATO did not know Libyan rebels were using Libyan army tanks. The attack killed four people.
And a big Birthers meeting in Manhattan this morning. Potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trumps hosted an Arizona lawmaker and Tea Party activists. Trump wants to draw attention to an Arizona bill that would require presidential candidates to prove they're natural born citizens. Birthers question whether President Obama was born in the United States.
A little later, we'll look at what Trump has been saying in-depth.
Time is running out for lawmakers to agree on a budget and avoid a government shutdown. The deadline, midnight. A shutdown would mean furloughs for more than 800,000 federal employees who would stay home.
CNN's Kate Bolduan is outside the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington.
Kate, how is HHS going to be affected by this?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just take a listen to these numbers.
HHS employees, over 76,000 people. And more than 60 percent of the employees of HHS will be furloughed, I'm told by an administration official, if this government shutdown happens. And how this actually technically will work is that workers, they'll be notified today if they are the ones being told to stay home.
They will have to return on Monday, I'm told, in order to officially be furloughed. Why, do you ask, for that extra step? Well, because the government isn't technically shut down until after midnight tonight. They have to return on Monday if they're Monday through Friday workers in order to be actually furloughed.
And this is impacting some very important agencies that many people know of -- Food & Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So, far and wide, going to be impacting this entire department -- Deb.
FEYERICK: How is the government -- how is the shutdown, or the potential shutdown, going to affect operations specifically? Will some crucial folks be staying around? Will they continue to work, to move the ball forward in terms of what they're doing?
BOLDUAN: It obviously depends on exactly what their work is. But a couple important notes. And I'm sure people, if they don't know this already, they will be happy to hear this, that Medicare and Medicaid, those operations will continue because they have mandatory funding. We won't get into the legislative kind of -- deep into the legislative kind of funding issues there, but they will continue to be operating. Some beneficiaries will continue to get their payments.
But things like clinical trials at NIH that are already ongoing, they will continue, but no new patients will be accepted, no new clinical trials will begin. The Food & Drug administration, they're going to be significantly impacted. Food and medical reviews and inspections, they will be slowed and have to be prioritized in terms of risk. That's one example.
But also, kind of on a very simplistic way, I asked one official, "So what does it mean if an important experiment, an important study is ongoing? Are they just going to stop it?" He says it depends on the study. If it's going to effect the outcome and to completely jeopardize the study, that will continue, but it may -- but they may delay some of them -- Deb.
FEYERICK: All right. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much for following that for us. Certainly a lot of uncertainty, and people don't do so well with uncertainty.
Anyway, a lot of services that you and I depend on would be disrupted if the government shuts down.
CNN's Casey Wian is outside a federal building in Los Angeles.
Casey, what are you learning? What are the offices there that would be closed?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the biggest impact here at the federal building in Los Angeles is going to be on passport services. And you can see behind me some of the hundreds of folks who have been lining up here all morning, hoping to get their passport applications in before the end of the day, and before the federal government potentially shuts down, ending these services, for all intents and purposes, next week.
To give you an example of how many people might be affected by this, the U.S. State Department processed nearly 14 million passports last year. That works out to about 54,000 passports every single day. And this is the busiest time of year for passports, because a lot of people are getting ready for spring break and for summer vacations.
We spoke with one woman who is planning on a vacation next week to Cabo San Lucas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I blame all of them. I mean, I feel like, get to the table, do what you need to do, and let the people get on with their business. You know?
It's unfortunate that it would have to affect people who are trying to go on vacation. I know Congress is still getting paid if they shut down, which is kind of upsetting. But it's just a really unfortunate situation for people being affected that have nothing really to do with it. You know?
I think they should come to some sort of agreement today. I think it's their responsibility to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: What we're being told is people who get their applications in today will be able to pick up their passports next week here, because there will be a skeleton crew working. But everyone else is going to be out of luck -- Deborah.
FEYERICK: All right. Casey Wian, thanks so much. A lot of agencies out there dusting off their contingency plans.
We're going to take you right now to Capitol Hill. That is where female lawmakers are speaking right now. Take a listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D), MARYLAND: -- will affect over 70,000 people. Ten thousand women in my state have gotten breast cancer examples. They get cervical cancer examples. Ninety percent of the planned parenthood money in Maryland is spent on women's health care, and a lot of it is spent on preventive health care. And it ranges from cholesterol management and diabetic management.
I could tell story after story, but the story I want to tell today is the radical agenda by the Republicans. And they're not only going after us in the Planned Parenthood defunding, if you look at what they did in HR-1, they cut funding for prenatal care by $50 million. Thirty-one children not get maternity and child health care block grants. Then they want to defund health care generally. The biggest amendment in the health care bill was over preventive health care.
We had that fight when they wanted to take our mammograms away from us. They want to take our mammograms away from us, they want to take our prenatal care away from us, they want to take our counseling and family planning away from us, and we just say no.
So we ask them, come to the table. They say they want to be adults? We would welcome an adult conversation.
I've been waiting for days, weeks and months. If you can find an adult over there, I'm happy to meet with them.
And having said that, I'd like it turn it over now to another champion of women, and also a champion for really trying to find a way forward in this very tough negotiation, the senior from California, Senator Dianne Feinstein.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Thank you.
I can't believe it. Here we are, 12 hours to the United States government shutting down, causing enormous dislocation, enormous hurt to people.
In my state, Barbara's and my state, alone, we have 177,000 federal workers, including postal workers and military. As chairman of the Intelligence Committee, I can tell you there are thousands, tens of thousands of contractors. I ran into one the other night who said, "I have 700 people and we're going to be shut down."
There is a whole part of this that has never been measured that's going to be astronomically hurtful to the United States.
OK. What is this over? It is over women's health.
The numbers have been agreed to, but it's an opportunity for the right wing in the House to really sock it to women. I don't usually use this language, but I really believe this is true.
Here's the fact. Under the Hyde Amendment, which is law, federal funds cannot be spent for abortion, except in the instances of the life of the mother or rape and incest.
What they are very crafty about is aiming for the broad programs where some of the private dollars may go for abortion services, but the bulk of other dollars go for preventive health care. More than 90 percent of the care provided by Planned Parenthood is preventative.
FEYERICK: All right. Well, you're listening there to some of the female members of the Senate, and gloves really off.
Senator Barbara Mikulski telling the other side to act like grownups, act like adults, in her words. Senator Dianne Feinstein there, saying this is an opportunity for the right wing to sock it to women.
So, clearly, a little bit of frustration brewing up there on Capitol Hill, certainly among the female lawmakers.
Well, here's a look at what's ahead "On the Rundown."
The medical impact if the government does shut down.
And military families facing hardships. We're going to hear from an Army wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has four children that he's supporting, and if this government shuts down, and he doesn't get paid, I don't know what's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Friendly fire suspected in Libya. Four dead. What NATO has to say.
Also, Social Security checks from paper to direct deposit, and no choice for seniors.
And Donald Trump on President Obama's birthplace. We'll have a fact- check.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, CONSIDERING PRESIDENTIAL RUN: I hope he was born in the United States. I'd like him to be. Because if I decide to run, I would like to really do it on a very, very straight-up, head-to-head, man-to-man basis.
I mean, honestly, I hope he was born here, because if he wasn't, it's the greatest scam in history. Not political history -- in history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: And CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us from the frontlines there, the debate on Capitol Hill.
Brianna, the women just came out. Democratic women came out, lawmakers, and said this is an attack on women everywhere. Is that accurate?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're saying it's an attack on women's health, and I think this is a very complicated issue, Deb. So stick with me on this, because it's very important to really understand what's going on here.
In these negotiations over the budget, yes, at issue is a large pot of money that has to do with family health issues. We're talking about money that goes for everything from cholesterol screenings to breast cancer screenings. It does not go to abortion, but some of this money does go to Planned Parenthood, which does provide abortions, by also provides a number of other services like STD testing.
Now, Republicans object to Planned Parenthood getting any federal dollars because it does provide abortions. And so what they're proposing is changing how this big pot of money is allocated to really get to that end, to make sure that Planned Parenthood doesn't get money. And that is why you have Democrats -- just listen to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- saying that, really, Republicans are targeting women's health.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Now, Republicans want to shut down our nation's government because they want to make it harder for women to get the health services they need. And by the way, Title X does not include abortion. It's illegal to use federal funds for abortion services, so anyone who says this debate is over abortion isn't being truthful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So, you listen to Democrats. They say there's one issue, one issue only in the negotiations that's hanging things up, and that's it there. Talk to Republicans, and they tell you something differently. They say it has to do with spending.
Here's House Speaker John Boehner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEHNER: There's only one reason that we do not have an agreement as yet, and that issue is spending. We're close to a resolution on the policy issues, but I think the American people deserve to know, when will the White House and when will Senate Democrats get serious about cutting spending?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: And here, as the clock ticks, we're less than 12 hours heading into a government shutdown. You have Democrats and Republicans. They are positioning themselves, Deb, so that if there is a shutdown, they can blame the other side. They're also putting serious pressure on each other, trying to get each other to flinch as they work potentially towards a deal even here in the remaining hours.
FEYERICK: And Brianna, just to follow up on something that you said, between Planned Parenthood, which stands to lose something like $75 million, and then cuts that could happen to Title X, that's another $300 million. So, are the Republicans saying, look, we can save some $400 million if we target these two programs, while the Democrats are saying you can't because you're just going to clearly undermine programs that are targeting families and women?
KEILAR: You know, this issue isn't so much about the spending, as I see it. It has to do with the actual policy as it relates to abortion.
So it's not necessarily about saving money, although that would be an element. This is actually something that some social conservative Republicans really care about, and they'd like to see Planned Parenthood defunded.
FEYERICK: So, certainly a little bit of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Brianna Keilar, thank you so -- go ahead.
KEILAR: I was going to say, certainly, this is a consideration for House Speaker John Boehner, this is a consideration for some of his social conservative members. But it's not clearly as cut and dry, as we're hearing it from really a lot of rhetoric here on the Hill today.
FEYERICK: Yes. You're doing a great job following all the various moving parts up there on Capitol Hill.
Brianna Keilar, thank you so much.
And now we're going to turn to Carol Costello. Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on the budget and its effect on the military.
Carol Costello, you've got your question. What have you got?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do. And I don't know. It's all about political gamesmanship, shall we say?
U.S. troops, now fighting two-plus wars, are worrying about their paychecks if the government shuts down. Oh, they'll still get their money, but their paychecks will be delayed. And we're talking paychecks that average $1,700 a month for privates.
House Republicans came up with a bill funding the military through the year which the president said he would veto. Maybe it's because the measure also had billions more in cuts, along with a ban on publicly- funded abortions in Washington, D.C.
Well, here's one option for funding the troops. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann offered to donate two weeks' salary toward military families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: It's imperative that our troops not pay a price and none of the families back home should worry whether or not they're getting a check. The troops should not be a political football. That should not be a game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Newt Gingrich tweeted the president was using our men and women in uniform as bargaining chips. But Democrats are calling all of this a distraction, a cynical Republican ploy that blocks a real budget deal. But the Democrats are playing their own games, too, hyping the Republicans' ideological agenda.
Now, Representative Linda Sanchez telling MSNBC, "It's unconscionable to me that they're using these families, real families with real needs, as pawns for this ideological end game."
Plenty of political gamesmanship to go around, with our troops caught right in the middle.
So, "Talk Back" today: Is the military being used as a political bargaining chip?
Send your comments to Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll read some of your comments later on this hour.
FEYERICK: So, Carol, if privates are making $1,700 a month, do we know what two weeks' salary would be for her?
COSTELLO: It's not -- oh, you mean for Michele Bachmann?
FEYERICK: Yes, Michele Bachmann.
COSTELLO: A hundred and seventy-four thousand dollars a year. That's what lawmakers make.
FEYERICK: So a little bit more than $1,700 a month.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. Yes.
FEYERICK: Well, the budget battle is hitting home for a lot of people across the country.
Thanks, Carol.
Our affiliates have been tracking the very real impact from government workers, to military families, to people trying to get home loans.
Here is some of what they found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are people they're dealing with. You know, everyday people that are trying to do the best we can for ourselves an for our families. And work in this part of our everyday being. We have to work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I don't get to come to work on Monday I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills. But I guess they just want me to tell my 3-year-old daughter in the meantime that she can't eat, that she'll have to eat retroactively when I get paid again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be difficult. I have a child, a young son. And my wife is also working in commerce, so we'll be without both of our incomes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Leellyn Mendez Tovar is sorting items for military care packages. This military mom is volunteering for the organization Operation Support Our Troops. But Mendez Tovar knows a care package is little comfort for all the troops who may not get paid if there is a government shutdown. Mendez Tovar's son is serving in Afghanistan. LEELLYN MENDEZ TOVAR, MILITARY MOM: He has four children that he's supporting, and if this government shuts down and he doesn't get paid, I don't know what's going to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The founder and president of Operation Support Our Troops, Deb Rickert, has been on the phone nonstop taking calls from worried military families. A mother of two sons in the service, Rickert says most soldiers live paycheck to paycheck.
DEB RICKERT, OPERATION SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: We have a lot of families that are really, really stressed with multiple deployments. You know, I just wonder how much more our military families can take.
PATRICK HALE, BROKER, SD HOMES: It's a huge market to throw away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Hale is talking about the extremely popular FHA loans. If the federal government can't come to an agreement on the budget by Friday, the resulting shutdown would mean the FHA won't be insuring any new home loans.
HALE: People are strapped for cash these days, and FHA, they can put 3.5 percent down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a big deal, because some experts estimate that 50 percent of all new home loans could be impacted.
HALE: It's going to get rid of a lot of the opportunities for first- time homebuyers to purchase a home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: A lot of fear an uncertainty.
Well, friendly fire on the battlefield may have killed some of the people it's trying to protect. But no apologies from the alliance. The fog of war in Libya.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, no apologies from NATO, despite an admission it may have hit rebel tanks by mistake in an air strike yesterday. The attack was caught on video. It killed at least four people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. RUSSELL HARDING, DEP. COMMANDER, COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE: I'm not apologizing. The situation on the ground, as I said, was extremely fluid and remains extremely fluid. And up until yesterday, we had had no information that the TNC or the opposition forces were using tanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in eastern Libya. He takes us to a hospital where those wounded in the air strike are being treated. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A wounded fighter asks after his comrades. "They're fine. They're fine. Every one's fine," he's told. But they're not.
They were wounded and others killed in what may be the second NATO air strike in less than a week that hit men on the wrong side, killing not just fighters, but a doctor as well. Saleh Ali Wameh's (ph) death, a harsh blow to colleagues, who, for weeks, have risked their lives up at wildly fluctuating frontline. And yet another blow in a war where little seems to be going right for the anti-Gadhafi opposition.
According to eyewitnesses, a plane they believe to be from NATO struck their column halfway between Brega and Ajdabiya. "We heard a sound like a plane," says fighter Abdel Atif (ph). "We heard them above, far away, then it came close. Then the tanks went up in a huge explosion." "Then," says Khalid (ph), "they came back and hit again."
NATO officials say that without observers on the ground, they can neither confirm nor deny the strike.
Already demoralized by the superior firepower of the Libyan army, fighters and medics alike are showing the strain, and they're lashing out at their should-be protectors. "They shouldn't hit the revolutionaries. We're helpless," says this fighter.
Dr. Ahmed Abu Bakr (ph), a Libyan doctor living in Germany, came to Ajdabiya to volunteer in the hospital. He didn't come here to patch up the wounded from friendly fire.
DR. AHMED ABU BAKR (ph), LIBYAN DOCTOR: I am very, very, very unhappy to the action. They came here to help us, not to injure us.
WEDEMAN: The attack has left the opposition forces reeling and sparked yet another wild retreat. First foe, and now it would seem friend, has them on the run.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, outside Ajdabiya, in eastern Libya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Here in the NEWSROOM we're focusing on "What Matters." We've witnessed some dark days in Japan, but aid groups the world over are mobilizing to help out. The American Red Cross alone made an initial contribution of $10 million and plans to give even more. The U.S. fund for UNICEF is also raising money for children affected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters.
Meanwhile, former president Bill Clinton is headed back to Haiti, 15 months after a quake there left the country in ruins. Clinton's scheduled to tour a school and launch a national cholera awareness campaign. He's helping map out a plan for reconstruction.
And if you want to help in any of these efforts, log on to CNN.com/impact. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Here's what's ahead on the "Rundown." The looming government shutdown hits home, and a culture war's erupting out of the budget battle.
And Donald Trump says Obama wasn't born here. We'll show you the evidence and let you decide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON ASSELIN, IREPORTER: Let's let it shut it down for awhile. Let's see how much money we can save shut down for a little while. You know, it wouldn't a bad idea for a lot of these politicians to take a week's pay and give it to the government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: We're getting lots of feedback from CNN iReporters as the clock ticks down towards a government shutdown.
Right now, let's look at the medical impact. For that, we'll turn to our Tom Foreman. He joins us from the Shutdown Desk in Washington. Tom, we know scientists are involved in critical medical research. What happens if the government does shut down? Is a day or two not a big deal, but a week or more obviously more complicated?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, as we've been saying all along, Deb, it depends on who you are. If you're in the middle of one of these things, it is a big deal. If you're not in the middle of one, it may not be.
Let's look at what we're going to see over at the National Institute of Health. There will be no new clinical trials started at NIH. There are seven scheduled to start next week, several of those dealing with children. NIH has 640 clinical trials which study a new drug or device. 3,000 research institutions are funded by NIH across the country. The clinical center is the largest hospital in the world. Totally dedicated to clinical research. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the single largest recipient of the money there. 6,000 scientists working in NIH's own laboratories.
We do know this: if you are a patient involved in an NIH study, they will continue to care for those patients, continue to provide regular care as they would. What they won't do is enroll any new ones at this point in these some 1,400 different studies going on right now.
So, we know that that's one of the potential impacts but as I said, Deb, it depends on where you are. If you're involved in this, yes, this is a big deal. If you're not, this is something that happens to somebody else. And in any event, the number of days would make a big difference. Deb.
FEYERICK: You know, I was reading one thing that said if it shuts down for a couple days, even a week, it is no worse if a snowstorm were to hit Washington, D.C., for example. But obviously, the implications for greater -- have you a lot of people who rely on the National Institutes of Health to get advances, same with national labs. So, all that, I guess, on hold at least temporarily through the weekend.
FOREMAN: Yes, exactly. And -- well, through the weekend, one thing that's been pointed out, if this even started and it only went through the weekend, a lot of these things are on hold through the weekend anyway -- I mean patient care is different. But the studies, people aren't in there necessarily doing research over the weekend. Might be, but generally not.
So, again it is a question of time and space and how this is going to actually impact people as opposed to theoretically impacting people. And that depends on time and space.
FEYERICK: OK. Tom Foreman tracking that shutdown. We'll be in touch with you a little bit later. Thanks so much.
FOREMAN: All right, Deb.
FEYERICK: Well, he's a reality TV superstar and some want to see him in the White House. But Donald Trump isn't so sure the sitting president should have ever been allowed to take the oath of office. We're going to check The Donald's claims.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, he's a mogul of both real estate and reality TV. Lately, his name has been popping up as a potential presidential candidate. But Donald Trump is also stirring controversy for reigniting the debate over whether the current president is a natural- born United States citizen.
Suzanne Malveaux spoke with him on the phone yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, CEO, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION (on the phone): You have to be born in the country. If he was three years old or two years old or one year old and people remember him, that's irrelevant. You have to be born in the country.
There's no birth certificate. There's only a certificate of live birth, which is a totally different thing and a much, much lower standard. There are no hospital records. His own family doesn't know what hospital he was born in in Hawaii. But have you no hospital records in any of the hospitals that he was born there. There are no bills, no room numbers, no nothing. They do that for other people, but they don't have for Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, our Brian Todd is breaking down fact and fiction in the birther debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He may soon announce that he'll take on President Obama in 2012, and to gear up, Donald Trump's slamming the president's leadership on the economy and on Libya. But Trump has recently spent almost as much time talking about the president's birth, as he did on "The Today Show."
DONALD TRUMP, DEVELOPER/REALITY SHOW HOST: Three weeks ago when I started, I thought he was probably born in this country. And now I really have a much bigger doubt.
TODD: CNN and other news outlets have investigated and so far found no evidence that the president was not born in the U.S. But Trump says he sent a team of investigators to Hawaii to check on the president's past. And he says they can't believe what they're finding.
We called Trump's office to find out who the investigators are and what they found. They had no comment on that. In a CNN phone interview, Trump laid out some of his key intentions.
TRUMP (via phone): There's no birth certificate. There's only a certificate of live birth, which is a totally different thing.
TODD (on camera): We checked on that distinction. The Obama team and the state of Hawaii have released a certification of live birth, saying the president was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu. This is not the original birth certificate. But we're told by state officials that in Hawaii and some other states, they don't release the original birth certificates when they're requested later on. They release documents like this one.
The director of Hawaii's Department of Health says she has personally viewed the president's original vital records and verified that he was born in Hawaii.
Donald Trump also says there's no signature on this document. Well, the group FactCheck.org, which viewed the original document. took a picture of the back of it, and you'll see here that there is a signature, but the signature is on a stamp. We're told most of these records are like this.
(voice-over) Trump says certificates of live birth like those issued by the president have other credibility problems.
TRUMP: You can't even get a driver's license with a certificate of live birth.
TODD (on camera): We've checked on a couple of state regulations on that, and we have excerpts from the Web sites here. In the president's adopted home state of Illinois, it says to get a driver's license, birth certificates must be original or certified by a board of health or bureau of vital statistics.
In Georgia, it says to get a license, you need an original U.S. birth certificate or a certified copy of one.
Also we checked with the state of Hawaii. And officials there have told us that a certification of live birth is accepted to get a driver's license or to even buy land.
(voice-over) Donald Trump makes one claim about President Obama's step-grandmother.
TRUMP: His grandmother in Kenya said that he was born in Kenya. Now, he could have been born -- and she said it very strongly, that he was born in Kenya. She was there when he was born.
TODD: But the interview in which the grandmother said that was done by a man characterized as a street preacher through a translator. And there appeared to be confusion over her answer. The translator then came back several times and said Sarah Obama was saying that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.
In one new poll from NBC and "The Wall Street Journal," Trump is now in second place among Republican presidential prospects. Are voters responding to Trump's focus on the birther issue?
STU ROTHENBERG, "ROLL CALL": I think his strength in the polls is the function of the fact that there were a lot of people out there who hate politicians and are looking for somebody who's a straight shooter and tough and in-your-face, but that's now. They're not really picking a president of the United States.
TODD: Stuart Rothenberg says Trump could risk his credibility with other voters, including establishment Republicans, if he becomes too closely associated with the birther crowd.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: If Congress can't pass a spending bill by midnight, the money stops flowing to a lot of people. And here's what they're saying about how a government shutdown will interrupt their lives. In San Diego, thousands of military families will see their paychecks stop. It's a situation some find mind blowing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY EAGLE, MILITARY WIFE: There's a lot of stress. And then on top of that, having no idea if I'm going to be able to make my bills next month.
PAUL STEFFENS, ARMED FORCES YMCA: You're taking money from a man or a woman that you just sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to pull a trigger. It doesn't get more ludicrous than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: In Florida, plenty of seniors rely on government funded programs for basic, everyday needs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LORRAINE STRAUSS, MID-COUNTY SENIOR CENTER VOLUNTEER: Some of these people, it may be the only meal they get all day. I understand we're in a budget crunch, but they're looking at the wrong things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And in Hot springs, Arkansas, a local business owner isn't sure what he'll do if people can't get into the city's main attraction, Hot strings National Park.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Downtown, it's -- it relies on tourists and everything else. Close the parks down, we'll get no business. I don't know why the government can't come to a conclusion here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: You're talking back on our question of the day, is the military being used as a political bargaining chip if the possible government shuts down? Well Lisa says that, quote, "our military is fighting to preserve our freedoms and now they're worried if they're even going to be paid. This is ridiculous." More of your responses are moments away, including yours, Matthew.
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. And joining me this hour is Donna Rosato, a senior editor at "Money" magazine, and John Ulzheimer is president of consumer education at smartcredit.com.
Let's get started with Jane in Tennessee. She asks, "can you tell me a credit card debt relief agency that I can trust?"
This is a great question, John.
JOHN ULZHEIMER: Yes, there is no generally accepted good guy in the debt settlement world. But I'll tell her where she can find the absolute best one. All she has to do is look in the mirror because she can do it herself. She doesn't have to pay someone to do it for her. If she does want some help to facilitate the process of dealing with credit card issuers, go to one of the member agencies of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at nfcc.org. You can enter your zip code. You can find an affiliate of theirs in your local area. It's going to be infinitely better working with them than working with a debt settlement company.
ULRICH: Work with yourself of the good guys.
Now we've got a question from Joe in Connecticut. Joe asks, "I purchased a primary home and closed on May 1, 2010. I took out a home equity loan of $100,000 in April to pay for it. Although we agreed to the home in April, the only signed document says May due to when we received the cash to pay for it. Can we still get the $6,500 tax exemption?"
Donna, that's a big tax break. DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": It is. And the home buyers tax credit was very popular. It really spurred home sales last year. But, unfortunately, it expired April 30th, 2010.
Now, Congress did extend the closing period until September 30th of last year. So if you hadn't closed on your home, you could have that extra time. But since he doesn't actually have a signed, ratified contract, unfortunately he just missed the cut-off. So he's a little bit out of luck on that.
ULRICH: All right. Sorry about that, Joe.
Thank you guys so much for joining us.
Do you have a question that you want answered? Send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: You're talking back on one of the big stories of the day, the potential shutdown of the federal government. We asked you about whether the military was being used as a political bargaining chip. Carol Costello joins me with your responses.
People -- you're getting a lot of calls, Carol, from military wives.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of comments from military families. And thank you for that because I know you're really worried right now. "Talk Back" question today, is the military being used as a political bargaining chip.
This from Jennifer. "Yes! The military is being used as a pawn. I'm an Army wife and scared to death about whether or not my husband is going to get a check next week."
This from Mary Beth. "My husband is a Marine and is currently training to go on combat deployment in Afghanistan, his second tour. This is very troubling because we live paycheck to paycheck. The morale of our troops, if this shutdown happens, will be out the window. And so will mine."
This from Matthew. "I have dedicated 13 years of my life to the U.S. military. How can they expect their forces to keep their mind on the war when they have to worry about feeding their families stateside?"
This from Amanda. "Service members and their families should not be pawns in a political game of tag. There are spouses in a panic -- myself included -- wondering how they're going to pay the other half of the rent, buy gas, food, diapers, lunches for their children so they can go to school fed."
Thanks again to all of you for your responses. And please continue the conversation, facebook.com/carolcnn. It's just a lot of worry out there.
FEYERICK: Yes. COSTELLO: And a lot of people say, why can't they just sit down and come to some sort of agreement?
FEYERICK: It's heart-wrenching. It's heart-wrenching.
COSTELLO: It's ridiculous!
FEYERICK: A lot of people caught in the crossfire.
COSTELLO: Yes, so to speak.
FEYERICK: A lot of people caught in the political crossfire.
Thank you so much, Carol.
Well, watching Japan's unfolding nuclear crisis on television is one thing, but how would you feel if you had one of those plants in your hometown?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALVIN FRYER, BURKE COUNTY RESIDENT: Well, I guess it's all right so far. Got to put one somewhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Japan is assessing the casualties and damage after its latest earthquake. A 7.1 magnitude aftershock that rocked its northeastern coast Thursday. Three people were killed, more than 40 injured.
No additional damage was reported at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, though a small amount of radioactive water leaked from another plant to the north. Workers have been battling to keep overheating reactors under control since the historic March 11th quake.
In the U.S., a rural Georgia county has had a nuclear plant in its backyard for the past two decades. CNN's Dave Mattingly finds out how folks feel about that in light of Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-four years ago, rural Burke County, Georgia, jumped out of farming and into the nuclear age. And today we're on the trail of a nuclear explosion of money.
MATTINGLY (on camera): The welcome sign here is clearly up. Welcome plant Vogtle and hunters.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Just a few miles away, county store customers tell me they don't see much of a downside to a backyard nuclear plant.
CALVIN FRYER, BURKE COUNTY RESIDENT: Well, I guess it's all right so far. You got to put one somewhere.
MATTINGLY: The Georgia power company's plant Vogtle already generates electricity for 600,000 homes and 69 percent of Burke County's property tax revenues.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Something interesting we learned about this place, it's not only the county's biggest employer, it's also its biggest tourist attraction.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Last year, 2,000 people visited the plant. Many asking about one thing.
ELLIE DANIEL, COMMUNICATIONS SUPERVISOR: Mainly, jobs.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Jobs?
DANIEL: Yes.
MATTINGLY: People want to know if they can get a job out here.
DANIEL: Right. And that's one of the things with having students come to the site, students want to know, is there a career in nuclear power for me. And there is.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): That's because Vogtle is about to grow from two to four reactors. The first of its kind in the U.S. Already the promise of more than 3,000 construction jobs has people talking.
JOHNNY JENKINS, BURKE COUNTY RESIDENT: We're happy because Vogtle's been a good neighbor for us.
MATTINGLY: A neighbor who's helped pay for new schools and an emergency management system with a $700 million annual budget. That's over $300 per person. In case of a plant emergency, it's Chief Rusty Sanders' (ph) job to evacuate everyone in a 10 mile zone. All 3,100 of them.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Thirty one hundred people. That's it?
CHIEF RUSTY SANDERS: That's it.
MATTINGLY: You get more people at the Friday night football game than that, don't you?
SANDERS: Very much so, yes.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): There was a brief half-hour emergency at the plant in 1990 when power was lost to one reactor's coolant system. Evacuations were not needed, but that doesn't mean everyone today is comfortable.
ELIZABETH BARNES, BURKE COUNTY RESIDENT: If a meltdown happened down at plant Vogtle, that's in my backyard (INAUDIBLE). I live right up the road and it's right down there. So if they say go to the high school. That's not far enough.
MATTINGLY: But for now, Burke County's nuclear powered economy keeps growing.
MATTINGLY (on camera): If you could go back in time to do it all over again, would you let that plant be built?
MAYOR GEORGE DELOACH, WAYNESBORO, GEORGIA: We sure would.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): A thought echoed by other residents who believe that when it comes to a need for nuclear power, there's no looking back.
David Mattingly, CNN, Burke County, Georgia.
