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Government Shutdown; Health Care Rollout Glitches; Tom Clancy Dead; UN Weapons Inspectors in Syria; Obama Cancels Half Trip; Fact Check Slowdown in Health Care Cost Growth; Obama Invites Leaders to Talk; Shutdown Delays New Clinical Trials

Aired October 02, 2013 - 12:30   ET

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

TRISH GILBERT, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: ... our engineers, plans and programs, quality assurance, all the people that keep all of the day- to-day stuff together, the strategic planning, the changes to the air space so we can make it more efficient and safer moving forth, are all furloughed.

We're in a hiring freeze right now for air traffic controllers. We were set to start that process to start hiring again this week. We're not going to be able to do that.

So the hiring freeze from the sequester cuts roll right into the shutdown and we don't have anybody in the pipeline to replace the 3,000 air traffic controllers eligible to retire right now out of 12,000. That is a lot of numbers.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Are there safety issues in your view? Are there safety issues?

GILBERT: Every day that this continues, it starts to tear away at the margins of safety we have in place.

It's not just the air traffic controllers that make the air space safe. It's everybody with them as a team.

So, day after day, those margins go away. They get slimmer and slimmer.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Elizabeth, I know we're running out of time here, but I want to end on you, because this has really impacted your family.

If this goes on much longer beyond day to day but week to week, what will that mean for you?

ELIZABETH LYTLE, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: I don't know. I really don't know.

I'm going to apply for unemployment, but that's not even going to meet half of what I make per paycheck.

My husband doesn't work, and to be honest with you, it's going to be very, very tough.

HOLMES: Yeah. Personal impacts, yeah, Trish Gilbert, Elizabeth Lytle, thanks so much.

MALVEAUX: It is tough-going.

HOLMES: That's something you've got to do --

MALVEAUX: Listen to the stories.

HOLMES: -- is drill down to those individuals and how they are being impacted by decisions being taken by a few people in Washington.

MALVEAUX: I mean, she has got a sick husband, she's got dental problems and she has to figure out, what is she going to do?

You know, the longer this lasts, the harder that's going to get for her.

I want to get a quick check on the markets as well. The Dow, here, down 77 points or so. It is about -- hovering around 15,000.

Investors still nervous about the government shutdown and a looming debt crisis, as well.

HOLMES: Important to note, too, that in Europe, all the major (inaudible) in Europe were down, down, down today, too, so this is already having the international knock-on effect.

Now in other news today, we just confirmed that one of the world's most successful authors and of military and political thrillers has died.

Tom Clancy, you know that name. He exploded onto the literary scene in the '80s with "The Hunt for Red October."

MALVEAUX: The book was big, but the movie, a major Hollywood hit.

Seventeen Tom Clancy novels made it the to "The New York Times" Bestseller List.

No word yet how on he died. He was just 66-years-old.

HOLMES: United Nations chemical weapons inspectors are now in Syria. That team arrived in Damascus, now starting to plan how they're going to hit almost 50 places where they believe the Syrian government is keeping its stockpile of chemical weapons, more than half a dozen of those places in what's called combat zones, hot areas.

MALVEAUX: The team went in only after the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to force Syria to give up all chemical weapons as soon as possible.

And President Obama, he is canceling half of his Asia trip, the president to attend the economic summits in Indonesia, Brunei, but he's not going to go to Malaysia or the Philippines.

He is going to send John Kerry in his place to those two places. The president was under pressure to cancel the whole trip because of the government shutdown, but he is now set to leave, still, Saturday evening

HOLMES: A couple of important things to go to, too, he's not going to be going to, internationally speaking.

Now coming up, we're going to be taking a closer look at ObamaCare and separate fact from fiction.

Stay with us here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Now, of course, one criticism of ObamaCare is that it is causing health care costs to grow. That's what the Republicans say.

MALVEAUX: But President Obama says that the opposite has actually happened.

Tom Foreman joins us from Washington, the fact check desk.

So, Tom, what's the truth?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's the claim that's been recited over and over again by top Democrats.

Health care costs are growing at the slowest rate in the 50 years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.

Listen to what he said in Maryland just a few days back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Health care costs overall are rising much more slowly than they did before we signed the law, so far, so good.

So what's all the fuss about?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Well, the numbers say that is a fact. What he said is true.

But in a broader sense, many Democrats are trying to take it a step further and suggest the cost of health care overall is going down, and that is not the case.

Listen carefully to the details about what the president said. Health care costs are still rising about 4 percent a year, but they've been rising at a considerably slower rate than they were.

So the basic claim is correct, but you have to listen to those details.

And here's the bigger question. Is this a result of ObamaCare or could something else be involved? That's the real question about this claim.

Back in the spring, the Kaiser Family Foundation did a study to try to answer that question, and they concluded the record-slow growth rate in health care costs in recent years stems largely from economic factors beyond the health system, with the economy explaining 77 percent of the slowdown.

So three-quarters of this slowdown in the rising cost of health care, they say, is not because of ObamaCare, but because the economy has been so bad that people have been cutting back on their health care spending wherever they can.

Beyond that, the other quarter is also not all about ObamaCare, but in some cases about other changes in the health care system.

Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right. Tom, thanks, we appreciate that.

And, of course, the government has a big problem on its hands. That is the fact that Congress can't seem to pass a budget.

Many are blaming the shutdown on House Republicans, but some of them are pushing a new message, pass the budget with no strings attached.

HOLMES: Indeed.

We're going to be talking with New York Republican Congressman Michael Grimm. That's after a quick break.

You're watching "CNN NEWSROOM." Don't go away. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're going to go live, directly to Capitol Hill. This is Majority Leader Harry Reid talking about the government shutdown and trying to break the impasse.

Let's listen in.

SENATOR HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: ... important fiscal issues facing our nation. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

He can characterize the conversation between the two of us, but it was a cordial conversation.

Senator Durbin?

SENATOR DICK DURBIN (D), MAJORITY WHIP: Thanks, Senator Reid.

An hour ago I was down at the World War II Memorial. An honor flight came in today from Illinois. It was a lot of fun, meeting these World War II vets, all men who had serve the our nation and risked their lives to keep America free.

For some of them, it's the last trip they'll ever make, and you can tell it, but they wanted to be here. I'm glad they were.

What did they want to talk about? About the government shutdown. Over and over again, they said to me, when are you going to get this government up and running again?

I think about that. Men who risked their lives decades ago who can't understand what's going on today in Washington. Well, it is hard to explain. It's hard to explain how we've shut down the government in a manufactured political crisis.

The impact, well, each day we come up with new examples. The examples I brought to the floor, and others have, too, from the National Institutes of Health are heartbreaking, 200 people turned down for clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health, including 30 children, most of them cancer victims.

And so when I raise that issue and others did, Senator Cruz decided to put the NIH on his bucket list of agencies he was willing to save.

Well, you shouldn't stop there. He ought to the ultimately open up the government because there are so many agencies critically important to our country that are closed down today for no earth a reason.

This morning, Director Clapper spoke about the intelligence agencies. and here's what he said before the judiciary committee.

"Each day goes by, the impact and jeopardy to the safety and security of this country will increase."

MALVEAUX: You're listening to Senator Durbin. Before him Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, talking about a conversation he had with House Speaker Boehner.

He sent him a letter, said he had a conversation with him within the hour or so, talking about the need for a conference and for some negotiations.

And all those leaders are going to be meeting with the president in several hours, about 5:30 or so at the White House to talk about what are the next steps, what possibly could be done.

I want to bring in Congressman Michael Grimm. He's from New York.

Give us a sense what you think needs to happen in that meeting. What do you want Speaker Boehner to tell the president?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL GRIMM (R), NEW YORK: Well, I mean, there's no question what needs to happen. We need to get this government open and running again. There's just too many people hurting so much.

Again, you've got to understand, these federal employees that don't make a lot of money, they're the ones that are impacted the most. I understand about monuments. I'm a veteran. Believe me, I want my veterans to see their monuments.

But I'm even more concerned about those that can't put food on the table, can't pay their rent or their mortgage.

You know, GS-4s and -5s, they're making 30-something, 40-something thousand dollars a year. These are not wealthy people. So there's an extreme sense of urgency and I can tell you I've had conversation with the speaker today and there's a group of us that have formed a coalition to get this government open again. And that's exactly what we want to do.

HOLMES: Congressman, I'm curious about your thoughts about your colleagues. I mean it's been said in the last - well, for days now that, you know, Obamacare was something that is being voted on one way or another 40 times. It's been the law for three years. Are you disappointed that this was attached to the bill to fund the government and led - and led to this? Are you disappointed in that? Was that good tactics?

GRIMM: Well, I think there's -- there's no question, I'm disappointed that the government is shutdown down right now. I don't think any of us should want to be here. This is not what we were elected to do. We were elected to govern. And now we're in a difficult situation.

However, my last meeting with the speaker, and I guess now it is made public, there will be a meeting at the White House. This is something that I called for a while ago, that the president needs to step in when both sides have dug in. We need to sit down and talk and have a conversation.

It sounds like Harry Reid is willing to have a conversation. I do think this is much bigger than Obamacare. I think the conversation is going to include the debt ceiling. I think it's going to include some of the funding issues that we've been discussing for a while now. So this is - this is not going to come down to Obamacare. I think it's going to come down to a much broader picture. And I think that we can -- if we can do it quickly, get the government turned back on, we can also alleviate this problem from happening again in the near future. (INAUDIBLE).

HOLMES: But are you disappointed with your Republican colleagues that there was a rider attached to the bill to fund the government? I mean are you disappointed in that or not? Did you think it was a good idea? It was never going to work.

GRIMM: Well, you know, again, I don't - I don't get to make those ultimate decisions. I'm not going to second-guess leadership at this point. I will say this, I never wanted the government to shut down. My last vote in the House was a "no" vote prior to yesterday on -- before the shutdown, I voted no because I felt that we should have attached a clean CR to just -- when I say clean, just a conference, because we do have to have a discussion. There are a lot of problems that we need told discuss.

MALVEAUX: And Congressman Grimm, I mean really the fact is, we've spoken to a lot of people and they are - you know, I just spoke to one woman who's got to make some serious choices about her husband's health care, her own, you know, dental issues that she's got as well and she's not receiving a paycheck. Are you willing to give up your own during this shutdown?

GRIMM: I'm sorry, I did not get that last part. Could you say that again?

MALVEAUX: Are you willing - are you willing to give up your own paycheck, either to charity or out of some sort of symbolic gesture or something here to empathize with all those people who now are very frustrated and who are suffering because of this?

GRIMM: You know, I said from the beginning, I don't think members of Congress should get paid, just like those that are on furlough. I support that 100 percent not taking a paycheck. Again, I -- you know, these people that are allegedly nonessential, they are essential. And I think what's going on here is making us look like we're the ones that are not essential and that it's Congress that should taking the hit, not the American people, especially those that work for the government and work every day to keep us safe and they form a myriad of functions.

Look, I started as a GS-5 in the FBI pulling teletypes, back when we had teletypes. I wasn't out there on the front lines as a special agent till years later. But those people that are now working counter terrorism and doing analysis and many other things to support the agents on the street, believe me, any are essential. And it's a shame that they're a big part of keeping us safe and they're the ones that are taking the brunt of this.

So I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get this government funded as soon as possible. I think we have, today, broken some ground. We have -- I do see more of a light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope it's immediate. And I think that the leaders going to the White House at 5:30 is a big step in the right direction, regardless of whether it's just turning the government on now and having a conference, or whether it's a bigger package. Whichever it is, I just want the government back on so that we can really start to govern and hopefully get the American people to have a little more confidence in us because they should not have confidence in us right now. They should be upset and disgusted and I understand why they feel that way.

HOLMES: Well, 90 percent, according to the last poll, are not impressed. So, yes, want -- we've got to leave it there. Congressman Michael Grimm, appreciate your time and hopefully sanity will prevail.

GRIMM: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Yes. And he talks about, you know, normal people suffering. This impacts people in clinical trials. This is something that you wouldn't necessarily think about.

HOLMES: This is horrific.

MALVEAUX: But we are talking about kids who have cancer delayed, not able to participate in this because the government is shutdown. We're going to have more on that after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: The government shutdown is affecting some of the country's sickest people. We are talking about 200 patients who begin clinical trials each week. This is at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. And now they're being told they have to wait until the government reopens. Thirty of those patients are children, 10 who have cancer. Elizabeth Cohen is here to talk about this.

It's heartbreaking.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it really is. Can you imagine you have a very sick child, none of the regular treatments are working, and your doctor says, you know, go to the NIH in Maryland. They have an experimental trial that might work for you. You get up, you go and then you're told, sorry, we can't take you - you know, we can't take new patients right now because of the shutdown. It's just horrible.

MALVEAUX: These are people who are just trying something, anything because they are sick.

COHEN: Right.

MALVEAUX: They're very sick. And they're willing to go out on a limb here.

COHEN: Right. These are usually people who have tried all sorts of things. Some of them have tried everything. And they're doing this experimental trial because they have nothing left. That's right. So that - so this makes it -- there's no other place to go usually for this experiment. I mean it's the NIH or nothing.

MALVEAUX: So what happens? I mean what happens to those folks, especially those kids? Are you talking about as more and more time, days go on, weeks go on, they no longer qualify for the trials, or are they just -- they end up getting sicker?

COHEN: Well, right now, they will still get care. So I want to be clear about that. They will still get care, they just can't join this clinical trial at this moment. Now, if this - you know, hopefully, only goes on for another day or two, it probably won't be such a huge deal, right, they will eventually get to the enter that trial. But if this goes on and on, this is going to be a huge problem for some of these folks. If they can't get that experimental treatment, that could mean the difference between life and death if this goes on for a while. Or, as you said, they may - it may turn out that they don't qualify anymore. They might have qualified September 30th, but if this goes on and on, by October 30th, their disease may have progressed to the point that they don't qualify.

MALVEAUX: Is there any way that they could make an exception here for NIH or for somebody? I mean they're already, you know, suggesting that maybe there are certain parts of the government that they would be able to fund temporarily.

COHEN: Right. I think that all depends on how -- if Congress gets themselves together and passes these little sort of piecemeal things and funds this particular program at NIH, then hopefully that means they could continue their care.

MALVEAUX: All right. This is life or death.

COHEN: It is life or death for some people. It really is. And I think that we forget that. You know, I think that it's easy to think of sort of the government as just kind of being nuts and bolts. But the government does some of the - I mean the NIH does some of the most incredible research out there. I mean I've actually visit this facility. Some of the most - some of the HIV drugs that are out there were -- are out there because of the work done at the NIH.

MALVEAUX: It's cutting edge.

COHEN: It's cutting edge stuff and hopefully it will be allowed to continue.

MALVEAUX: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, we've got to get this sorted out. We've got to get it resolved here.

COHEN: Right, it can't go on.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: And if you've been furloughed, there are a few perks that you might be able to take advantage of. They're trying to make it a little bit easier for you, I guess. One, a free game of ping-pong. People are helping those directly impacted by the shutdown, giving them a little bit of relief, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Almost 800,000 federal workers are out of a job while the government is closed.

HOLMES: And one military worker says it is affecting his ability to, quote, "put food on the table for his family."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regardless of what the Army tells me, I still have to put food on the table. I've still got to pay my bills.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lose money, first of all, because of the shutdown. And I don't think it's fair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't get paid. I go home. And on the good side, I get to spend more time with my daughter. And on the flipside, I might not get paid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. It's pretty tough going for a lot of folks, but there are some people who are trying to lighten the load, make it a little bit better, more comfortable for folks who are not working, who are furloughed.

HOLMES: Yes. Some bars, in fact, bars and businesses in D.C. offering some freebies, cut rate services, to try to, you know, make people feel a bit better. Check this out. One Capitol Hill bar offering $3 "shut it down" whiskey shots. The Capitol Lounge opening its doors until 2:00 a.m. and selling what it calls "screw the shutdown" drinks. Well, I suppose if you're not going to work, you can stay up until 2:00 a.m. knocking back shots.

MALVEAUX: Wow. A popular burger - Z popular burger chain giving away free burgers. Korean automaker Hyundai is deferring car payments for federal workers.

HOLMES: That's nice, actually.

MALVEAUX: Yes, that's a pretty good deal.

HOLMES: Yes, that will certainly help.

The synagogue Sixth and I (ph), I guess, is inviting government employees to come in for a game of political ping-pong. The paddles featuring the faces of key U.S. lawmakers. Someone should do that with hockey or something a little bit more brutal.

MALVEAUX: Or I would say punching bag.

HOLMES: Punching bag.

MALVEAUX: Punching bag with the names of their lawmakers. That's what I would do.

HOLMES: That will work. That will work.

All right, we've got to go. Thanks for watching. CNN NEWSROOM with Wolf Blitzer right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now it's day two of the federal government shutdown. Members of Congress are at work, but the same can't be said for almost 800,000 federal employees who are being forced to stay home.

Right now at the World War II memorial here in Washington, representatives from the National Park Service have opened the barricades so visiting veterans can pass through. This is the second straight day veterans have tried to visit what's supposed to be the closed memorial.