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Bill Clinton Says Keep Your Word; Deal Paves Way For Airline Mega-Merger; Obamacare Web Site Enrollment; White House Briefing; Warren Could Shake Up 2016 Race

Aired November 12, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington today. New video emerging that could cause major headaches for the White House over Obamacare. This is the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, talking about the problems with the Affordable Care Act in an interview with the Web site Ozy.com. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I met a young man just this week who has a family, two children. Bought in the individual marketplace. His policy was canceled and one was substituted for it that doubled his premium. Now, I asked him, I said, the same coverage? He said, yes. And I said, but are your copays and deductibles the same? He said no, they're much, much lower. So, he said, in the years when I use health care, I might actually save money. But he said, you know, we're all young and we're all healthy.

So, I personally believe even if it takes a change in the law, the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they've got.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Brought powerful words from the former president of the United States. Our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta is in the White House briefing room getting ready for the -- for the Jay Carney briefing. Dana Bash is over up on Capitol Hill. Jim, we'll get to you in a moment because I know that that briefing is about to begin. Let's go to Dana though. Dana, the president's -- the former president's remarks pretty significant in this ongoing battle between a lot of Republicans and some Democrats on Capitol Hill and the White House about the president's promise that he made, if you like your health care plan, you can keep it.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I can tell you that sources close to Bill Clinton and those in the administration who I'm communicating with are both trying to downplay the importance of these remarks saying that he's not saying anything that different from what President Obama himself said, that he wants to fix it. He's looking -- he's directed his team at the White House to look for ways to fix the problems so that people who really do want to keep their current plans can do that. However, Wolf, you know this as well if not better than anybody. Bill Clinton doesn't tend to say things by accident and he is also somebody who is basically become almost an oracle for this administration on many issues but especially of late on the health care issue. They really turn to him to try to explain health care and the health care law before it was launched, up and running. So, that is one of the many reasons why this is a big deal. Another reason is he's not alone. You're hearing more and more from Democrats here on Capitol Hill that they're feeling pressure. And one of them who actually expressed that is the number two Democrat in the Senate. He told Ashleigh Banfield that maybe there do need to be some changes. This is Dick Durbin earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: Yes, I think we need to look at the political reality. We need to be open to constructive changes to make this law work better. But there are those, frankly, who don't want it to work at all. If those on the other side are willing to sit down in a constructive fashion, move us toward our goal, making health insurance available to more and more Americans and reducing costs, that's a good, positive thing to do. I would say to President Clinton, if we can bring that bipartisan group together, we can start to solve some of the problems we're facing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, that last part of what he said is really critical, if we can bring people together. That is not -- that is a lot easier said than done. What is already happening here on Capitol Hill is Republicans who run the House, they're already got legislation that they plan to have a vote on later this week saying that if you like your health care plan, you can keep it.

And there are some Senate Democrats, including Mary Landrieu and a few others, who are up for re-election next year who have legislation along those lines. However, seeing something that could pass the Senate, pass the House that they could actually agree on is a big question mark.

I think, at this point, the only way that this could get fixed legislatively is if these vulnerable Democrats maybe work with the White House and do something sort of hand in glove and something that maybe House Republicans would find hard to say no to given the fact that they have been so aggressive on trying to make clear that the president didn't keep the promise that he said he was going to do, that people could keep their health care plans.

BLITZER: And, Dana, let's just repeat what the former president, Bill Clinton, said. He said, I personally believe, even if it takes a change in the law, the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they've got. Legislatively, given the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, you're right. It's going to be difficult to get new laws passed that would strengthen, in effect, Obamacare. But I guess the question is, does the president have authority through executive decisions, executive orders, if you will, on his own to make those kinds of changes and force insurance companies, for example, to honor the kinds of health care plans that people had that they liked that they no longer have.

BASH: It's a great question, one that it seems President Obama doesn't know the answer to. I mean, he made pretty clear in an interview last week with NBC that he's directed his team to find out if there is -- you know, if there was something that they can do. And they are looking into it to figure out if there is a way that they can -- through HHS or by, you know, just through the executive branch without having to deal with the chaos that tends to be Congress a way to fix this. It's unclear what the answer is.

And I think that there are -- I know that there are a lot of conversations going on as we speak to try to get the answer to that that question, in the meantime, because this is such a politically -- you know, sort of political dynamite. It's becoming that way particularly for these vulnerable Democrats in the Senate. You are going to see them be much more aggressive, already are and saying that they want to have a legislative fix. You're also going to see Republicans in the House be more aggressive saying that they want a legislative fix.

For now, those are -- there's a lot of political messaging going on. It gives them the ability to say that they have a legislative fix. Whether or not that can actually become a reality, we don't know. It's just -- it's -- they're trying to figure that out, as I said, as we speak.

BLITZER: The former president, Bill Clinton, livening it up, if you will. This entire debate --

BASH: For sure.

BLITZER: -- as he often does on many issues.

All right, thanks very much for that, Dana. We'll have much more on this story later. But there's other important news we're following here including American Airlines and US Airways. They are now set to merge into the world's biggest air carrier. In the past couple hours, the Justice Department here in Washington announced the settlement that paves the way for the megamerger. First, the airlines have to satisfy a key concern that officials lodged in an anti-trust lawsuit. A concern that combining the carriers would reduce choices for many customers and give the company, in effect, a stranglehold at certain major airports.

Rene Marsh is here. She's watching this story for us. What are you hearing, Rene? What's going on?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we can tell you now, Wolf, is following this announcement, we are going through the details of this deal struck between both DOJ and American and US Airways to make this merger move forward. So, as a part of the deal, the two the airlines are required to sell slots at seven major airports. We're talking about airports at places like New York's LaGuardia, Miami, Boston, Logan airport. They will have to give up some of those slots.

Now, if you remember, the Department of Justice, they filed this lawsuit in 11 -- a lawsuit to block this $11 Billion merger. And the reason why they did that is because they simply thought that it would be bad news for consumers. They thought that this would lead to less options for consumers and higher ticket prices. Fast forward to today and now we know that they have come together, come to the table. And the heart of all of this today, Wolf, is that this major airline, once it combines, it will have to give up slots at places like Reagan National Airport here in Washington, D.C., because the Department of Justice, the main concern was, let's say at Reagan, they'd have control of some 69 percent.

BLITZER: All right. Rene, thanks very much.

I want to back to the White House. Jay Carney, the Press Secretary, answering reporters' questions.

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY (live): And he said, quote, "The enrollment period did not come off well because the national Web site wasn't ready." But this happened once before. It happened when President Bush put in the Medicare drug program for seniors which was not as complicated but had exactly the same problem with the rollout. It was a disaster. There were people that lost their prescriptions for their existing medicine. And they fixed it. So, the president, as you know, has pledged to ask his team -- to ask his team to look at potential actions that could be taken to address this problem because his focus is on making sure that people get quality and affordable health insurance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But what the president said appears to be slightly different from what President Clinton said. President Clinton is -- seems to be talking about anybody losing their plan. And what the president said, and officials afterwards said, was that they were focused more on people who were getting cancellations and then maybe weren't getting subsidies to cover higher premiums. So, is what President Obama is looking at more narrow than (INAUDIBLE) --

CARNEY: Well, certainly, the point we've made is that for more than half of those on the individual market who -- because their plans were not grandfathered in, they did not exist or they were not participants in those plans prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, more than half those individuals will have higher quality insurance with better basic protections at the same or lower cost, roughly half or maybe that is roughly half. More than half will qualify for a subsidy. Some will qualify for Medicaid in those states where Medicaid has been expanded.

For the universe of people, of, you know, that smaller group of people within that five percent of the population for whom the fact that they've gotten a cancellation notice because they purchased plans perhaps in the last couple of years that do not meet the minimum standards and they are facing challenges in terms of affordability, the president has asked his team to look at ways to address that is problem. And that goes to the point he made about the vast majority of Americans here who, if they're an employer provided insurance or Medicare or Medicaid or V.A., will not have any changes if they don't want them. In fact, the only changes they'll see have to do with improvements to benefits.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On another point on health care, there are some reports out about enrollment numbers putting them at about 40,000 to 50,000. Can you confirm that those numbers are accurate? And if not, can you tell us when the administration expects to put out numbers?

CARNEY: Sure, I cannot confirm those numbers. You know, there have been a variety of reports saying a variety of different things. The administration will be releasing data about enrollment in the middle of the month. I anticipate it be later this week, as we said all along, consistent with the way the data like this is released for other programs.

So, I would add two things. First, it was always the case, even prior to the problems with the launch of the Web site, that enrollment in the first month would be low. That is the experience we saw in Massachusetts. And it is the experience we expect here, because especially for healthier younger people, the pattern of behavior is to shop around to wait before you purchase when you don't have to purchase before December 15th in order to have insurance on January 1st, which the earliest possible date for coverage. So, we expect that pattern to play out with the marketplaces in the Affordable Care Act.

Secondly, the fact that the Web site has been so challenging and so problematic in that first month means that the enrollment numbers will be even lower than expected. But beyond that, I don't have specific figures. I have not seen specific figures. But I anticipate that we will be releasing data about enrollment by the end of the week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you don't have a specific date set?

CARNEY: I do not. Mark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Jay. The president spoke last week about gaps --

CARNEY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- and problems with the rollout of the Web site that need to be fixed. What are those gaps and what fixes would you --

CARNEY: Well, he was referring to, and I'll quote, "I've assigned my team to see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law." And he was addressing the issue of cancellations and some of the concerns that he has about individuals who've had their existing policies canceled. And that issue has obviously gotten a lot of attention. The problems with the Web site, which you just mentioned, are being addressed by a team of tech experts as well as by Jeff Zients who is overseeing that team. And they essentially have a punch list of problems that need to be fixed in different areas of the Web site, and they've been working through that punch list and making progress, gradual progress each day. There's no question that the Web site is functioning better today than it was a week ago or 10 days ago and certainly much better than it was in the first two weeks of October. But there is more work to be done as Mr. Zients has said. So, that work continues. And our goal is to have that Web site functioning effectively for the vast majority of Americans by the end of this month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if it's not up to par by the end of the month, do you have a plan B in place, alternative?

CARNEY: We expect it to be functioning properly and effectively for the vast majority of Americans by the end of the month. What we have been doing since the issues with the Web site arose -- has focused -- you know, we've expanded our efforts to create ways through which Americans can get more information about the options available to them both by in-person consultations or over the phone. They can also apply and enroll by mail. So, those efforts continue.

But we expect, and I'm citing here, those closer to the ground that the site will be functioning effectively by the end of the month for the vast majority of users. I think I said last week and I would reiterate, and I think I said the week before, that any Web site of this size and complexity will, you know, occasionally have issues with it. That's true of major Web sites today in the commercial-sphere. But we expect it to be functioning effectively for the vast majority of users, so that they can navigate through it, review their options, find out whether or not they're eligible for tax credits, and choose coverage that fits their needs, both their financial needs and their coverage needs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say whether Todd Hart will testify for Congress tomorrow?

CARNEY: I can say a couple of things about that. First of all, I'd like to point out the administration's extraordinary cooperation with the six separate congressional committees currently conducting oversight into the Affordable Care Act, as you have all seen and covered. Administration officials have testified at numerous committee interviews and briefings. And they've testified at more than two dozen congressional hearings, including four in just the last two weeks. The administration has also produced thousands of pages of documents and our cooperation on these issues continues.

The subpoena issued by House Republicans on Friday is an unfortunate and unnecessary step since we made clear several times that Todd Park is willing to testify. The issue for us is not a question of if he will testify but when. We had hoped the committee would work with us to find an alternative date to give Mr. Park time to focus on his immediate task at hand, which is getting the website fixed. This is a goal that is ostensibly shared by the very House Republicans now demanding his appearance on Wednesday. An appearance that would take him away from his work on the website.

In fact, Chairman Issa told CBS News a few weeks ago that he wanted the website fixed and, quote, "fixed quickly." Well, Todd Park is very much engaged in the effort of fixing it as quickly as possible. So I have no update on that except to tell you that the Office of Science and Technology has said they are reviewing the subpoena and they will respond as appropriate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me just ask about Iran.

CARNEY: Sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran's, I guess, foreign minister has sort of rejected the claim that it was Iran that was the result of the failure to reach an agreement in Geneva recently and has said that divisions among western nations were the cause of the failure of the talks. Can you comment on that? Is it really up to the west to --

CARNEY: Well, what I can tell you is simply that the P-5 plus one were unified on the proposal that was put forward. And that the Iranians did not accept that proposal. And that's a statement of fact.

There was important progress made at these negotiations. And they were cordial and substantive and serious. But as I said, the P-5 plus one were united there and we remain united in our proposal to Iran and our approach to these negotiations.

Gaps remain and there are still important issues to be addressed between the P-5 plus one and Iran and that is why there will be a break, as you know, and the P-5 plus one will resume negotiations with Iran on November 21st and 22nd.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so there you hear Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, saying basically what we heard John Kerry saying, that the allies, they were united in their position going forward with Iran. It was Iran that rejected that position put forward, what's called the P-5 plus one. But the negotiations will resume on November 20th in Geneva. We're going to speak later this hour with Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on this split that appears to be developing, though, between the Obama administration and many members of Congress, including not just Republicans but some Democrats as well when it comes to Iran and its nuclear program.

You also heard a lot from Jay Carney on this latest development, the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, suggesting that the president and the administration should find a way to honor that pledge that they made to the American people, that if you like your health care plan, you can keep it and maybe that even means a change in the law. Much more on that coming up.

Other news we're following including the forecast secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. She may not necessarily be alone in 2016 when it comes to Democratic candidates. There's talk now another influential woman potentially hitting the campaign trail. We're going to tell you what's going on, the possible impact. Lots more news coming up right after this.

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BLITZER: To politics now. Sarah Palin, over the weekend, she was at a Faith and Freedom Coalition Banquet in Iowa, talking about people worshipping the church of government, her words. This morning, she sat down with our own Jake Tapper. He caught up with Sarah Palin to talk about several issues. She's out there promoting a new book. She also is promoting her appearances and her political thoughts. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, HOST, CNN'S "THE LEAD": So I know you're not - you wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton if she ran for president, but I remember in '08, after you got the nod, you talked about the unfair media treatment that Hillary Clinton got when she was running for president.

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. Yes.

TAPPER: And you probably feel like you got some of that unfair media treatment, as well -- sexism. What -- if there's any woman out there thinking of running for president, what can she expect?

PALIN: She could expect that sexism, but you overcome it. You know, you ignore it. You do -- thicken your skin and you march forth with your message, your priorities, your agenda that you believe is right for America. Yes, Hillary Clinton was mistreated when it came to appearances, when it came to wardrobe. You know, petty, superficial things that the men don't ever seem to hear much about, but a woman candidate will.

TAPPER: Governor Christie hears about his appearance.

PALIN: That's because it's been extreme, OK? So it's hard to -- it's hard for some people not to comment on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You can watch Jake's full interview with Sarah Palin later this afternoon, 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN on his program "The Lead." Talk of presidential possibilities is gaining steam for at least one first term senator, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. She's speaking right now at a financial reform event here in Washington. And as our Erin McPike reports, a Warren campaign in 2016 could make things very - it could make things very interesting, not only in Washington, but as well as on Wall Street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With fund-raising and speaking engagements from coast to coast, Hillary Clinton continues to dominate the 2016 presidential speculation.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you.

MCPIKE: But there's an unapologetic liberal who could stir things up.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: You don't get anything you don't fight for. But if you fight, you got a chance to win.

MCPIKE: First term Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. WARREN: I don't want to go to the United States Senate to be there for women some of the time. I want to go to the United States Senate to be there for women all of the time.

MCPIKE: She's another fast rising star who could make history and might threaten a Clinton Democratic coronation if they both run for the White House three years from now.

NOAM SCHEIBER, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE NEW REPUBLIC": Hillary has run once before as the inevitable nominee. Another new, fresh face came along with an issue and was able to kind of excite passions among the Democratic rank and file was able to do it. So I don't think it's crazy.

MCPIKE: Warren is a former Harvard professor, a progressive populist who burst onto the scene in 2008 when Harry Reid tapped her to oversee the controversial bank bailout. Next, she urged President Obama to create a government entity to protect consumers and their finances. The left wanted her to lead it, but banks and Republicans balked.

WARREN: It is so good to be here with so many progressives. I love it!

MCPIKE: Instead, she took on Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown in 2012 and won after a sharp and expensive campaign. In the Senate, she got right to business, grilling financial regulators, like at this Senate Banking Committee hearing which produced a video that became an Internet sensation earlier this year.

WARREN: Tell me a little bit about the last few times you've taken the biggest financial institutions on Wall Street all the way to a trial? Anybody?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Erin McPike is joining us now.

Erin, has she publicly supported Hillary Clinton as the Democratic potential nominee in 2016?

MCPIKE: Well, Wolf, not publicly, secretly, because according to sources, all 16 of the Democratic women in the Senate signed a letter to Hillary Clinton urging her to run for president. Elizabeth Warren hasn't talked about this publicly. Now, on her way into that speech earlier this hour, CNN tried to talk to her about this idea of her running for president and she wouldn't talk to us about it. She has said publicly that she does not plan to run. And it would seem like a Warren candidacy is contingent on Hillary Clinton not running for president. It's progressive groups that are really trying to draft her into this race. And we've been hearing from them, they're urging the media to take a look at her.

BLITZER: A lot of these prerogative groups don't necessarily trust Hillary Clinton, is that right?

MCPIKE: That's absolutely right. BLITZER: All right, Erin, thanks very much. Erin McPike reporting for us. The Obama administration is hoping it can still make a deal with Iran on its nuclear activities. But while talks are on hold, at least for a few days right now, Iran is still enriching uranium. Are tougher U.S. international sanctions the answer? We're going to ask the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He's standing by live. That's next.

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