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House to Vote on Monday; Race to Commercial Space Travel; Interview With Rep. Steve Israel

Aired September 28, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Creeping closely to the top of the hour, we're almost there. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Tick tock, tick tock. We're inching closer and closer to a government shutdown. This could happen midnight Monday unless a sharply divided Congress can cut a budget deal soon. Can they do it?

Right now, the ball is in the House's court. The House is set to vote later today on a Republican spending plan that would add controversial measures to undermine Obamacare. The plan includes this: a one-year delay on fully implementing Obamacare and a repeal of a tax on medical devices.

Any House GOP plan faces almost certain death in the Senate. So, democratic leader Harry Reid has said that any bill that would change Obamacare absolutely unacceptable at this point.

We have complete team coverage for you, of course, every angle of this shutdown struggle. Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash is locked down on Capitol Hill. She's going to be there for the duration. Our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is at the White House for us and our chief political analyst none other than Gloria Borger also in Washington. We have got you covered here on CNN.

Dana, we'll get right to you first. Do you have any clues, any idea, on exactly when this vote might happen?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT:: In the House, we expect it to happen early evening. We don't have an exact time yet. But it's just a matter of waiting for the time and waiting for the legislation to actually be written and filed. House Republican leaders insist that they're going to comfortably have the votes to pass what they're doing, but we just learned, I just learned from a democratic source I spoke to in the Senate, that Harry Reid, the majority leader, has no plans to bring the Senate back tomorrow, meaning Sunday.

The current schedule is for the Senate to come back on Monday, the last day of the fiscal year. Just hours before the government is set to shut down, and, again, the source I talked to said that they have absolutely no intention of playing games with the House Republicans. So, that raises the stakes even higher, makes the likelihood even more that there could be at least a temporary shut down of the government, so that's news at this hour. And I also want to read you another bit of news that we finally did get a statement from the Senate majority leader Harry Reid and he said in part "to be absolutely clear, the Senate will reject both the one- year delay of the Affordable Care Act and the repeal of the medical device tax after weeks of futile political games from Republicans we are still at square one. The Republicans must decide whether to pass the Senate's clean CR or force a Republican government shutdown."

Interesting choice of words there, Republican government shutdown. So, we sort of talked from the very beginning of the day and since yesterday about the fact, Don, that Senate Democrats and the White House are very clear unless they get a bill funding the government that's clean or with no strings attached they're not going to deal. They're going to reject it and they insist that they have the votes to do that.

LEMON: Oh, boy. We'll be watching. You will be as well, Dana. Thank you, standby. We'll get back to Dana Bash.

We want to get to the White House right now where President Obama has promised not to approve anything that will defund Obamacare. Friday, the president offered a stern warning to Republicans, here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Past shutdowns have disrupted the economy and this shut down would as well. It would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some traction. That's why many Republican senators and many Republican governors have urged Republicans to knock it off, pass a budget, and move on. Let's get this done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Let's get this done. Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta at the White House. Jim, we know the president is out playing golf today, but can we talk some strategy at the White House?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, Don, I think their strategy at this point is to sit back and watch. One administration official calling this something of a circus what's happening up on Capitol Hill and the way you set this up before playing that sound from the president was perfect, Don.

President Obama has said and administration officials have said that he will not say anything that delays or defunds Obamacare. That's out of here, that's off the table. Forget about that. Now, this proposal from House Republicans to perhaps tinker with Obamacare, perhaps repeal that medical device tax that helps pay for Obamacare, that is not going to fly either with this White House.

The president has said he is not going to do anything with Obamacare under the threat of a government shut down or a debt default and it's sort of irrelevant, Don, with the president and the White House has to say about this any way only because Senate Democrats, you heard what Dana Bash was saying just a few moments ago, that Harry Reid has said "it's a nonstarter. It's dead on arrival in the Senate."

So at this point the White House is sitting back and watching all of this. White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, he's been on Twitter all afternoon sort of responding to some of the news headlines coming out of the Hill. And he said in one tweet, with respect to this proposal, that the House Republicans are going to be taking up in a vote tonight, he said, "Every smart GOPer is shedding a tear." So the White House trying to stay away from this at the moment and that probably explains why the president is playing some golf this afternoon. I don't want to get too close to the hill at this point, Don.

LEMON: All right. Stand by, Jim. I want to talk to our Gloria Borger now. In his weekly address President Obama raised the signature health care legislation while lashing out at congressional Republicans who are seeking to defund it, Gloria, we were watching it here, you and Wolf Blitzer led our coverage here, there you are in Washington.

In the most recent CNN ORC poll, Gloria, conducted earlier this month 57 percent of Americans oppose all or most proposals of the new health care law. Is it wise for the president to be defending an increasingly unpopular law?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, the law has been passed. Secondly when you ask people do you think you should shut down the government over the defunding of Obamacare, a majority of people say no, actually, you shouldn't. So, there's a really good question to be raised, Don, which has the White House done a good enough job in selling their law, in selling Obamacare --

LEMON: No.

BORGER: - to the American public, I think that question can be asked and answered, probably not. OK.

LEMON: No.

BORGER: But then the question is on this particular issue the president has said time and time again that, you know, you can't hold the government hostage to this, you know, running the government is not an option. You know, it's not an option. You know, it's not an option that can be tinkered with. Paying our bills is not optional. These are things that need to occur, and they should be dealt with separately.

LEMON: Yes. You bring up a very good point about not selling it, because many people really didn't know and still don't know what's in the actual bill.

BORGER: Right.

LEMON: And there are measures to find out find out now, but you know, all along these past couple of years people are really confused about that stuff and still are.

BORGER: You know, that's because it's such a huge piece of legislation, Don, that they had a few years to have it take effect. And they sort of had a few things that happened immediately, which is you could keep your older children on your health care plan, that no pre-existing conditions for children, for example, these are things that took effect early that people kind of like and they have digested that and they understand it.

The other issues, the health care exchanges and all of that, they haven't been sold every day, day in and day out for the last couple of years because the states have been trying to adjust to it, each state has been trying to figure out how they're going to deal with it. So, it's so complicated that suddenly the deadline is here and people are going, "Oh, my goodness, I have this law, I have these health care exchanges, I haven't really paid attention to it" and that's where the public education process really needs to come in.

LEMON: Yes. And, you know, my question is, if you can get to this quickly because we have so much to cover here, where are we? Because this is just - this seems to be just political football back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

BORGER: Right.

LEMON: What does this particular vote today mean -

BORGER: Nothing.

LEMON: - if anything? Does it even matter?

BORGER: It doesn't mean anything. It's a vote where John Boehner is having a fight within his own caucus.

LEMON: Right.

BORGER: This is about Republicans fighting each other and Boehner is saying, "OK, I'm going to give you this vote, you wanted this vote. Remember, when this first started the speaker didn't want to go down this route to shutting down the government, OK? So, this is a sort of a ping-pong now that goes back and back and forth. And where it ends, at this point, your guess is as good as mine. I really honestly, I can't see from here to there at this point. We'll just have to stay tuned.

LEMON: Gloria Borger would know, and if you don't know, no one does.

BORGER: We're all trying. Dana Bash would know. We're trying. We just don't know. Yes.

LEMON: So, Gloria's going to be with us throughout the evening here. Jim Acosta and Dana Bash as well and we'll have many more of our players, our political team. Thank you, Gloria. Thanks, Dana. Thanks Jim as well.

The days are ticking down and time is running out so where does the House stand on a possible government shutdown, I tried to get Gloria to sort of break it down for you there. Who really knows, we're going to ask Democratic congressional leader Steve Israel of New York. Maybe he knows. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: There it is. Right there. Over my left shoulder that's the Capitol. That's where this is all going down. That's where the Republican-controlled House is set to vote today on a spending plan that would delay Obamacare. That may get us closer to a government shutdown because the Senate is certain to reject it. They've already said it.

Well, some Democrats are looking for a political advantage down the line from all of this. Is there one? So I want to bring in now Democratic House member Steve Israel of New York. You chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Let's look forward to the 2014 midterm elections. Is there a political upside for House Democrats from all this shutdown talk?

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: Don, thank you for having me on. There may be a path to win the House back in November of 2014, but I'm just worried about the damage that these House Republicans will inflict on the economy between now and then. The S&P index declined last week for the first time since the summer because of this uncertainty.

Last week federal employees had to evacuate a building at the Navy Yard because of a shooter. If this continues on Tuesday they're going to have to evacuate a building at the Navy Yard because of this Republican shutdown. People want solutions. They want reasonableness and they are not getting it from these House Republicans.

LEMON: They would say that, listen, it's going to cost even more money, the government and the American people more money if Obamacare is enacted come Tuesday when all of this goes into place will end up paying more, so this shutdown may actually be a better solution than having the bill enacted.

ISRAEL: Well, they're just plain wrong. You know, you're entitled to an opinion and we know that their opinion is that insurance companies should have free rein over American's health care again. But you're not entitled to facts and the fact is that the deficits are coming down as a result of lower health care costs. The fact is if you are going to be on the exchange in my state, your premiums are going to be about 50 percent of what they were. So they can make this stuff up all they want and the American people are tired of these games and they're tired of the sound bites.

Here's what they want us to do, they want us to figure out how to compromise. And by the way, the Senate sent over a compromise. We accepted the Republicans lower spending number. We were prepared to accept that and then what do they say, no defund Obamacare and repeal the medical device tax and whatever other goodies they want in this bill to shut down the government.

LEMON: I'm looking over your shoulder there and there's a tour group it looks like some kids who are obviously with some adults and they are touring the Capitol behind you. ISRAEL: Well that must be some Republicans that they're walking around with if they're kids.

LEMON: And so I would - I'm wondering, you know, this is your government in action, what they're thinking. What actually is going on? Are you guys just sitting there sort of scratching your heads? What is happening?

ISRAEL: Nothing. If you look at the closed circuit televisions all over the Capitol there is a picture of the dome with the words "The House is in recess subject to the call of the chair" this is where your tax dollars are going under these Republicans, you deserve better than that. These Republicans if they were in a crowded room that was on fire, they would be so busy arguing about the fire that they couldn't see their way to the exit signs.

LEMON: It's that bad.

ISRAEL: It's horrific. And the polarization is no longer about Democrats and Republicans. The polarization is about Republicans versus Republicans. And until they can figure out who is winning this civil war, I think you're going to be continuing to look at this protracted stalemate. The way out is one side or the other of the Republicans has to win those civil war so we know who to deal with or elect a Democratic House majority in 2014, with national leaders with reasonable, common sense solutions to the nation's problems.

LEMON: That's the quote of the day I think, couldn't find their way out, you say without an exit sign, right?

ISRAEL: Correct.

LEMON: Congressman Steve Israel, thank you, sir. We appreciate your time.

ISRAEL: Thank you.

LEMON: All right. The Affordable Care Act commonly known as Obamacare will impact nearly everyone in the U.S. in some way and you can find out more at cnn.com/healthcare. CNN.com/healthcare. And if you don't currently have health insurance, we want to hear from you. We want to hear your story. Make sure you logon to cnnireport.com and share your photo or photos and video describing your experience on our Web site.

We're not going far away from this story in Washington, much more coverage straight ahead on CNN but in the meantime it was hard to forget the images flames destroying Yarnell, Arizona, earlier this year. Finally, we know the cause. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tuesday is the launch of enrollment for Obamacare insurance. Polls show that most Americans are still confused about the basics, so we're going to explain how sign-up works and also if you really need this.

And the safety issues with e-cigarettes something else we're going to be talking about.

And finally a rap legend who is taking this creative approach to a very complicated issue which is obesity. All that coming up at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

LEMON: Just a short time ago, Prescott, Arizona, fire officials released what they learned from studying the wildfire that killed 19 firefighters this summer. Accident investigators concluded nobody was reckless or negligent and nobody violated protocol. Nineteen members of the Granite and Mountain Hotshots were hit by a wall of flames and they all died. According to the report, a sudden windstorm pushed the wildfire into the men and they could not have survived. Officials did say some radio equipment failed that kept the team from staying in touch with other crews.

It was one of the deadliest wildfire accidents in U.S. history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New Jersey!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was excitement in New Jersey after a court legalized same- sex marriages in the state. A judge ruled that not allowing gay couples to marry deprives them of rights that were guaranteed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June. That ruling ensured that same-sex spouses who are legally married in a state may receive federal benefits. The New Jersey case could set a precedent or other successful challenges. The marriages are set to start October 21st. Governor Chris Christie's office is planning an appeal.

Next here on CNN, a quarter million dollars with a personal flight into space. Why hundreds including big-name Hollywood celebrities are already signing up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Want to be an astronaut. Sir Richard Branson wants to make your dream come true and next here he hopes to for some people who are willing to pay a small fortune or is it a big fortune, I don't know. CNN's Poppy Harlow met some of them on a trip to California's Mojave Desert. So, how excited are they?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY: They are beyond excited.

LEMON: How much less rich are they?

HARLOW: Yes, some of them are less rich. We'll tell you how much it costs at the moment. But they are beyond excited, for so many of these people. I mean one of the guys we met is 71 years old. This is truly a life's dream realized. I can't say that I would do it. I'm a little scared of flying, but take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW (voice-over): Who would spend up to a quarter million dollars just for minutes in space?

CAROLINA FREELAND, VIRGIN GALACTIC TICKET HOLDER: Seeing the spaceship here is just absolutely mind blowing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not about the destination, it's about the journey.

HARLOW: These people more than 600 have signed on.

(on camera): How much to charter one of these puppies?

PING CHUANG, BOUGHT SPACE TICKETS FOR FAMILY: 1.2 mil.

HARLOW: Wow. And I hear you're going to leave two seats empty, so it's just the family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's not empty. There's two angels coming with us.

HARLOW: Passengers won't just check in and hop on board, the whole experience will mean three days of training and health checks. Then a few hours in the air and three minutes weightless in space.

(voice-over): The mother ship will carry spaceshiptwo up and then release it to glide back unlike NASA's rockets, it won't orbit the earth. It's Sir Richard Branson who is determined to take them there.

(on camera): Is this the new space race?

RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN ATLANTIC: I think it's the start of a new space race. It's not been easy. It's taken us five years more than we thought it would take. But finally they pulled it off.

HARLOW (voice-over): That is if the FAA gives Galactic the green light. Virgin says commercial launch is just months away.

MICHAEL MOYER, SR. EDITOR, "SCIENTIFIC AMERICA": You are broaching out into a new field in the sky, and we're going to have some mishaps that happen now. Hopefully they won't be catastrophic.

HARLOW (on camera): Do you ever fear that maybe you're putting too much at risk with this?

BRANSON: People risked a lot to get space off the ground in the first place, but unless you risk something, you know, the world, you know, stays still.

HARLOW (voice-over): Branson is such a believer he plans to take the first flight with his own children. David McKay will be at the controls.

DAVID MCKAY, CHIEF PILOT, VIRGIN ATLANTIC: We don't want to push too hard, too quickly. It would be nice to be first to do it but the most important thing is to do it right. Whoever is first has to do it right.

HARLOW (on camera): What is your ultimate dream for this?

BRANSON: We'll start with giving people a taste of space. Then we'll send people into orbital flights. We'll start building hotels in space.

HARLOW: Really, in our lifetime?

BRANSON: In your lifetime, definitely and hopefully in my lifetime.

HARLOW (voice-over): But will this ever be for the masses?

(on camera): Is this is a playground for the wealthiest, the one percent only?

BRANSON: Initially it's very much the wealthiest who will use it, but through these wealthy people, you know, being willing to be pioneers I think millions of people will one day have the chance to go to space.

HARLOW (voice-over): Like Mikey Oliveri who has a dream perhaps bigger than most.

MICHAEL OLIVER: I want to be the first disabled person in space. I don't have 200 grand but I have a dream.

HARLOW: Hoping he may get his moment among the stars.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Wow. Very interesting. I think the key is to start buying real estate now in space.

HARLOW: Hotels. Sir Richard Branson's for real about that.

LEMON: Really?

HARLOW: Yes, he definitely is.

LEMON: So it's a lot of money. Do you think that the average Joe will ever be able to afford to do that?

HARLOW: I think it's really hard to say, industry watchers look at this and they say don't be confused here. This is not going to be affordable for the masses any time soon, but then Sir Richard Branson said look at commercial airline travel, that was so expensive when it started, it has come way down. Those are some of the people -

LEMON: What's a quarter million dollars.

HARLOW: Right. And you know, 630 people have signed on, so far, you know, some celebrities like Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, Leonardo DiCaprio but I think for me and you and normal folks -

LEMON: All with a lot of money.

HARLOW: There's a long, long way to go. They still need the FAA to approve this but I think it's interesting because you also got fellow billionaire Elon Musk in Spacex and he's neck in neck with this competition to get people up to space and Branson said if the FAA approves, they're a few months away. So how amazing would it be to watch if this takes off?

LEMON: Would you do it?

HARLOW: Absolutely not. Because I told Branson, I'm scared of flying. I'm terrified for flying regular planes. It's not for me. You?

LEMON: And as much as we have to fly. I am too. Flying is not natural for humans right? Obviously.

HARLOW: It's not.

LEMON: So, I have a healthy fear of flying every time I'm on a airplane.

HARLOW: Yes, we fly multiple times a week. We deal with it. But I told Branson not for me and he was trying to convince me to go up there one day.

LEMON: Yes, the people in the airport say, "Hey, welcome back" or the people on the plane wake you up.

HARLOW: I know. Then you know you traveled too much.

LEMON: Way too much.

Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: All right. You got it.

LEMON: Good to see you.

Let's talk about late night, because Arsenio Hall is back on late night TV and silenced a lot of his critics because people are watching, a lot of people are watching and he sat down with me and talked about that first time around and how all the critics back then started to get into his head and we talked about his comeback, growing up without his father and how that's pushed him to be a better dad. You don't want to miss that in our next hour 5:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

I'm going to go away for a little bit here and I'll be back with you at the top of the hour. In the meantime, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to tell you everything you need to know about the health care bill.