Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Dems To Hold Caucus Meeting Late Monday With Biden Agenda In Limbo; Eight NYPD Officers Hospitalized With Coronavirus; America's Epic Computer Chip Shortage; Texas Officials "In the Dark" About Partisan Election Audit; Professor Battles Cruz, Says Texas Voter I.D. Law Is Racist; Caskets Scattered Around LA Parish Weeks After Hurricane Ida As Residents Struggle To Recover. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired September 25, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: CNN HOST: Pelosi has promised to vote on the Infrastructure deal on Monday, but Progressives are threatening to vote no on that bill if a big-budget package is not also presented. The President admits things are going well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, it's worth a stalemate at the moment, and we're not going to have to get these two pieces of legislation passed. Both need to be passed. And they will have a profound impact according to not just Joe -- not Joe Biden, but according to Wall Street, according to the IMF, according to international organizations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joining us now on Capitol Hill where Democrats are meeting right now. So, Sunlen, what more do we know about these talks?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this is such a critical moment for Democrats as they work throughout the weekend to try to broker a deal, reach an agreement that so far has been allusive to them.

Now, there is still this continued stalemate among House Democrats. You have the Moderates who want Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi to hold firm and hold that vote on the bipartisan Infrastructure bill on Monday

And then you have Progressives in the House, they are pushing back about then. They want to tank the Infrastructure bill, they have threatened to vote against it in mass unless they can first get an agreement on their broader Economic bill, that Social Spending bill, $3.5 Trillion Bill and they're so far has been no agreement from the Senate over the contours of those bill-- that Bill.

Now, Speaker Pelosi, she says it is her intention next week to pass both of those bills but -- at these bills -- but at this moment, the path forward is very, very unclear. Today, up here on Capitol Hill we will see a very rare session of The Budget Committee in just about an hour. They will be working to pull together the Economic plan.

But that's largely substantive -- excuse me, largely symbolic in nature over substantive. They're basically just combining pieces that the Committees have worked within essence to try to show some progress and appease the Progressives as they inch forward on all of these deadlines next week.

On Monday, another critical moment for House Democrats, they will gather for a caucus meeting at 5:30 p.m.ET likely before any vote is held this week to talk about the path forward, to take the temperature from the members, but of course, that path forward, very, very murky at best at this moment up here, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, could be a long day and evening on Monday. All right, thank you so much, Sunlen Serfaty, appreciate that.

So, with me now is CNN Political Commentator David Swerdlick, who is also Assistant Editor for the Washington Post, Margaret Talev is a CNN Political Analyst and Managing Editor for Axios, and Rachael Bade is a CNN Political Analyst and the Political Playbook C0-Author. Good to see all of you.

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Fred.

RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, David, you first -- gentleman first in this case. This Democratic stalemate on Biden's agenda, do you see any way the Democrats can bridge this divide within Party and find a way to unite behind these bills?

SWERDLICK: Yes, good afternoon, Fred. Look, I think Democrats are making this harder than it has to be. If Progressives and they're not going to like hearing this, work backward from the fact that what they're going to get through is whatever Senator Manchin, the most conservative member of their Caucus, is willing to accept, then I think they could get to a quicker solution.

Maybe on Monday, they have to vote down the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package that has already passed the Senate with 19 Republican votes. At least one time just to show they mean business, but at the end of the day, I think they're going to get further by taking what they can get and then moving forward and being able to claim victory.

I don't think the benefit they get out of having, let's say, a $3.5 trillion Reconciliation Budget bill go through is going to be that much greater than if they get, say, 2 or $2.5 trillion versus the political downsides of creating chaos in their Caucus in the House and the Senate and not letting President Biden, you know, throw a clear victory symbol up and say he's moving his agenda forward, we are not that far from 2022, an election year.

WHITFIELD: So, Margaret, this is also a major test for House Speaker Pelosi if she's able to appease or bring together Moderates and Progressives, and help them see exactly what David was saying. Do you want to tank everything, you know, to stay in your corner, or you know, how do you measure what's going to be most beneficial for party, or for policy?

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, Fred, I think that is the messaging challenge for Speaker Pelosi because the truth is there are some members of the House Democratic Caucus in the Progressive wing who actually think that it would be the better thing for the Democratic Party to tank everything, have it go down in a ball of flames, and try to have elections where more Progressive Democrats are elected to the Caucus. This is not popular to talk about out loud, but it is an undercurrent that runs through some of the strategies of some of the discussions.

[13:05:00]

TALEV: I would say that the majority of the Democratic Caucus doesn't feel that way, and Biden, himself, has made clear that in order for not just he, and the White House, but for the Democratic Party in Congress to really have a chance in the Midterm elections next year, he has to be able to deliver that $1.2trillion.

When we heard Biden talk the other day, maybe yesterday, the time sort of blurs together, how's it going to take, you know, it could take a year, there's going to be ups and downs.

How I read that, that sounded to me like offering an alternative off- ramp in case -- in case they can't quite pull it together right now to say if somehow a deal can't be cobbled together in the next few days that doesn't mean it's dead. That has to be true for him. If he has nothing to show for it this time next year, his party is going to be in real peril in the Midterm Elections.

WHITFIELD: So, Rachel, you know, despite these divisions, Speaker Pelosi and Democrats somehow seem fairly confident, at least, some are expressing confidence on being able to pass the President's agenda, but what are the repercussions? I mean, give me more on what could potentially happen, the fallout, if they can't get this done?

BADE: Well, it depends on which Democrat you're talking to. I think a large part of the Party feels like if they don't get this passed, you know, they're missing a big opportunity right now. I mean, think about it, the last time Democrats controlled all of Washington was a decade ago.

So, if they're going to do big changes and pass these big Bills, you know, free universal Pre-k, free community college, that -- this is the time to do it, and they could very much and are projected to lose the House in the 2022 Midterms. Just based on history, the power being in power typically loses two dozen seats in the Midterm election, so this is the time to do it.

But look, there are other Democrats who believe that, as Margaret was saying, they'd rather have nothing than two bills that total $4.5 trillion in all. They're looking at inflation problems, they're looking at the economy and they don't think this is a good idea. And so, those Democrats are ready to walk away if they don't get what they want. So, it really depends on who you are talking about.

And when it comes to Speaker Pelosi, you know, the general sort of wisdom in Washington is, don't underestimate Speaker Pelosi. She has sort of this iron fist, she's really able to cobble together her Caucus, but this is a problem unlike she has ever seen before. And that is, there's a group of Moderates in the House who will not vote for this huge Reconciliation bill if Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate are not going to vote for it, either.

And right now, those two Moderates in the Senate are sort of refusing to commit to anything which makes passing this big bill in the House next week, next to impossible.

So, it's a really tricky and sticky situation for Speaker Pelosi. I know she's projecting confidence but behind the scenes, there is a lot of chaos and a lot of problems she's going to have to deal with, this week.

WHITFIELD: And then, David, I mean, this comes at such an inopportune time, right, or could have been a great opportunity. This should be a time when the Democrats are, you know, touting, you know, some big little wins.

I mean, a partisan sham election audit in Arizona, you know, confirming Joe Biden wins, and, you know, my guess, it should be dealing a blow to Trump's big lie, even though there are other efforts going on in Texas still.

So, I mean, if they can't find, I mean, common ground on how to recognize some victories and perhaps use it, you know, as momentum, then what other opportunities might there be around the corner?

SWERDLICK: Right, I think that's the problem, just as Margaret and Rachael were saying. The Arizona audit coming back saying that Biden may have gotten more votes than Trump than even the Republicans were saying and that the audit demonstrated that Biden indeed did win Arizona. And of course, contrary to the big lie, President Biden was duly elected President of the United States both in the popular vote and in the electoral college votes, which is the one that counts.

But I think as Democrats, you get a little bit of momentum out of something like that to be able to say, look, with he told you so, all along with he knew that we won both Houses of Congress, and the White House, and we're going to now continue to do the people's business, but you can't say that if you then don't do the people's business by passing the $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill and the if in the $3.5 trillion budget Reconciliation process and raising the debt ceiling.

Again, Democrats, seems to me, need to look toward 2022 and say we get more mileage out of notching legislative wins and being able to continue some momentum that President Biden had in the spring when he passed the stimulus money, and when they started rolling out shots that they seemed to have lost a little bit of over the summer.

WHITFIELD: And, Margaret, what about this kind of kerfuffle, if you will, this, you know, controversial GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene back in the spotlight this week, this time involved in a shouting match with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell yesterday on the steps of the Capitol over Democrats' support for a bill protecting women's rights to have abortion access? Take a listen.

[13:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, (R-GA): Killing a baby up until birth is a lack of civility. It's called murder. Hey, how about some order down there, lack of civility. How about lack of laws for protecting --

(CROSSTALK)

(INAUDIBLE)

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL, (D-MI): You should practice the basic thing you're taught in church. Respect your neighbor.

GREENE: Taught in church? Are you kidding me? Try being a Christian and supporting life.

DINGELL: You try being a Christian --

GREENE: Support life.

DINGELL: -- and try treating your colleagues decently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Margaret, and then, you know, Debbie Dingell would, you know, tweet this, hold my pearls. So, how is all of this being received on this kind of public altercation?

TALEV: I mean, forget about the Democratic caucus. I'd say (INAUDIBLE) the Republican Caucus is sort of horrified by this particular lawmaker, but she drives so much of her fundraising and buzz from Notoriety and from kind of viral -- things like this that go viral. That -- i think she does feel that it does advantage her.

For Democrats, the balancing act is, you know, what's the point of losing your temper if it a concern for leaders in both Parties is 2022 going to be a year -- a Midterm year when there's an expansion of members like this, or are there still sort of a marginal number of members that they have to deal with in this fashion.

WHITFIELD: And then the personal challenge with everyone, you know, engage or not engage? How is either most beneficial? All right, David Swerdlick, Margaret Talev, Rachael Bade, thanks to all of you. Really appreciate it.

SWERDLICK: Thanks Fred.

BADE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, eight members of the NYPD, hospitalized with coronavirus and now the Police Commissioner is delivering a passionate plea to everyone on the force.

Plus, a computer chip shortage could cripple the Nation's economic recovery. CNN goes one-on-one with the U.S. Commerce Secretary straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. has begun rolling out booster shots for the elderly and those considered high risk, but experts are warning that third doses will not boost the U.S. out of the Pandemic, sounding the alarm on the need to get shots in the arms of the quarter of the eligible that remain unvaccinated.

This, as the pace of vaccinations, lags to the lowest level it has been in more than two months. CNN's Alison Kosik joins me from New York. So, Alison, what more are you learning?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fredricka, one area where we're seeing vaccine hesitancy is in the health care industry here in New York, which is interesting because you think about it, they actually interface with sick people but there are thousands who don't want to get the vaccine. Now, here in New York State on Monday, a vaccine mandate for all health care workers will go into effect.

But as I said, thousands of health care workers here in New York, they aren't yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This, as Monday's deadline, approaches. So, now, hospitals and long-term care facilities across the state, they're at risk of losing thousands of employees because they could face termination as early as Monday.

Now, it was all the way back in Mid-August when the New York State Department of Health issued an order requiring all Health Care Workers to get vaccinated by Monday, by September 27th.

So, as we stand now, about 84 percent of hospital workers in New York, they have completed their course of the COVID-19 vaccine. But with more than 450,000 hospital workers across the state, Fredricka, that leaves more than 70,000 health care workers who are not yet fully vaccinated.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's a pretty significant number. And then, you also have new reporting about vaccine hesitancy among members of the NYPD?

KOSIK: Yes. So, there is this plea coming from New York City Police Commissioner, Dermot Shea, for officers of the Police Department in New York City to get vaccinated. That's as eight unvaccinated members of the NYPD are in the hospital with COVID-19.

The Police Commissioner releasing an internal video message directly addressing Police officers. Now, he started off with the good news, more than 60 percent of the Police Department has been vaccinated, but then, with the bad news, he said that more than a third of the NYPD is unvaccinated. In that message he said, those in the hospital were perfectly healthy before they were infected, and now some are in the hospital on ventilators, some are intubated. One person in the hospital he said is a 23-year-old, now fighting for his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DERMOT SHEA, COMMISSIONER, NYPD: Why do I keep coming back to you on this? I'll tell you why. Because I'm talking to family members, I'm talking to Union Representatives of multiple ranks, I'm talking to you and your partners when it's too late, when you are in the hospital or driving to the hospital, and you're having difficulty breathing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: In the video, the Commissioner also talks about how the vaccine works, saying of the 28,000 vaccinated NYPD members, 225 have had positive Covid tests, you know, afterward, but that not one went to the hospital. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: That's a big distinguishing factor right there. Alison Kosik, thank you so much. Good to see you.

KOSIK: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, in it's one of the far-reaching effects of the pandemic, major disruptions to America's supply chain. CNN's Matt Egan tells us where the biggest bottlenecks lie, and how it could be affecting your everyday life.

MATT EGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, supply chains are a hot mess right now. And one of the biggest problems is a worldwide computer chip shortage. Chips are a key component in the modern economy.

[13:20:00]

EGAN: They're used in everything from cars and coffee machines to pelotons, pretty much anything that has an on/off switch. Now, the chip shortage is forcing Ford, GM, and other Auto companies to slash production, and that driving up costs for American car buyers on new and used vehicles.

The chip shortage is being caused by factory outages linked to COVID outbreaks and extreme weather. It's also a result of Strong demand. Now, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told me that this problem highlights a major vulnerability in America's intricate supply chain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINA RAIMONDO, COMMERCE SECRETARY: The reason we are all in this mess is because, for a long time, we haven't invested. We took our eye off the ball, we used to lead the world in semiconductor manufacturing, and now, we don't. We just have disinvested.

So, President Biden is championing an act -- a bill in Congress called the Chips Act which will put $50 billion to stimulate the production of semiconductors in America and that --the Commerce Department will lead on that initiative. But fundamentally, it's pretty simple, we need to make more chips in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: But that won't solve the immediate issue. In the meantime, U.S. Officials are asking the industry to share information about their supply chains with the Federal government. The goal is to try to catch some of these bottlenecks before they emerge.

The Commerce Secretary told me that they are "asking nicely" for now. But if the industry doesn't comply, she threatened to compel them to share information by invoking a Cold War-era law.

Still, Raimondo conceded, the supply of computer chips won't get back to normal until late 2022, if not later, that means high prices and few options are likely here to stay.

But computer chips are just one part of the problem right now. Companies are also scrambling to find trucks, drivers, shipping containers, and various ingredients.

These issues are so severe that Costco is once again placing limits on purchases of toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies. Except unlike in 2020, these restrictions aren't being driven by panic buying, it's because of supply headaches.

Fredricka, welcome to the Delta Economy where you can't always get what you want when you want it.

WHITFIELD: Matt Egan, thank you so much for that.

All right, coming up next, county officials in Texas say they are in the dark about a so-called Audit of the 2020 vote. Just announced by state officials, former President Trump's involvement in all of this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:00]

WHITFIELD: Four counties in Texas say they have been left in the dark after hearing through a press release about new plans for the 2020 Election audit in their state.

The release came from the Texas Secretary of State's office just hours after former President Trump sent a letter to the Governor demanding an audit.

CNN's Natasha Chen joining us live from Scottsdale, Arizona, where another partisan 2020 Election audit just confirmed Biden not only won but by an even larger margin than previously recorded. So, Natasha, what's the reaction there about how that audit backfired?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, Trump supporters do not see this as a backfire. A lot of them were wearing shirts and holding signs yesterday at the Senate building saying Trump won, stop the steal.

So, they firmly believe what they want to believe despite the fact that this group, cyber ninjas, that was hired to do this review -- they were hired by the Republican-led Arizona state Senate, they have no experience with election auditing, it took them five months with very, you know, changing methods for how they were going about this process, stops and starts, no bipartisan oversight.

So, this is their hand-picked group telling this audience that Joe Biden did, in fact, win Maricopa County, which we've already known for almost a year. But they only spent a couple of minutes talking about that result. They spent the rest of a three-hour presentation yesterday talking about potential issues that could affect possibly tens of thousands of ballots without concrete evidence, and these issues have been debunked by election experts.

At the same time, you have Maricopa County election Officials through their official Twitter account, they were live-tweeting, you know, rebuttals point by point explaining to the public how election processes actually work.

And you've got Ken Matta, the Information Security Officer for the Secretary of state's office here in the State telling my colleague Kyung Lah that 90 percent of what was presented yesterday was inaccurate.

So, you've now got these copy-cat efforts that you just mentioned in other States hoping to do third-party reviews like this all in efforts of not to overturn election results, we know what those results are, but this is an unprecedented effort to politicize election administration and to sow doubt, and you know, crack at that confidence over election results, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Natasha Chen, thank you so much from Scottsdale.

Let's talk more about all of this and more, with me now, University of Southern California Law Professor and CNN Election Law Analyst, Franita Tolson. Good to see you, professor. Boy, have you had an interesting week?

FRANITA TOLSON, CNN ELECTION LAW ANALYST: Absolutely.

[13:30:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Before I get to the other interesting part, let me ask you, how concerned are you about these partisan-led audits that they continue to fuel the Big Lie and that the one that failed in Arizona is not enough to put others potentially to bed?

TOLSON: Well, to say that this is alarming would be an understatement, Fred.

I think the fact that millions of dollars were spent to confirm what we already know, right, Joe Biden won Arizona, it really obscures the fact that this causes substantial damage to the process because it pushes this false narrative. The damage is substantial. Democracy works based on faith and

participation. People have to believe in the system. And the system has to be validated by ensuring that those that are eligible to participate can participate. Having these fake audits undermines that process.

We know it's not about finding the truth. And what that means is the other states will follow suit even in states that Trump won.

WHITFIELD: What does it mean to you that even though you have this audit that did -- it was carried out, it didn't result in the numbers and the findings that the former president wanted but, instead, it further revealed the truth, that Biden won?

Then that's not enough to stop other states, like Texas, more recently, from saying we want as well to have another audit, even though there have been no findings of fraud or anything to legitimize the argument that this election is not to be believed?

TOLSON: So I think it's hard for people who -- you know, who still retain faith in the system. They believe that Joe Biden won this election. They look at the results and they think that the results are accurate.

We're dealing with a certain segment of the population who have never believe that no matter what happens.

We can have more audits. I even hesitate to call them audits. These are just attempts to overthrow a free and fair election. We can continue to do this process and, no matter what the outcome is, they will still believe that Donald Trump won in 2020.

There's nothing we can do about that other than to make sure that we continue to protect our elections, continue to push the truth.

And let me emphasize, push for federal legislation to protect the electorate so that the people who -- so that people can vote and turn out in our elections, and we can continue to hopefully move forward and move fast this.

WHITFIELD: Are you concerned that it's unrelenting. Just this week, not just on a state level that you are talking about efforts, but now on the federal level, too, with just your exchange this week with Texas Senator Ted Cruz on -- during a voting rights hearing.

Let's just listen to a portion of your experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): In your judgment, are voter I.D. laws racist?

TOLSON: So it depends. One thing we have to stop doing is treating all voter I.D. laws as the same.

CRUZ: OK, so your answer -- I want to move quickly. So, "It depends," is your answer? TOLSON: Yes, that's my answer.

CRUZ: So what voter I.D. laws are racist?

TOLSON: Apologies, Mr. Cruz, your state of Texas, perhaps. The fact that the voter I.D. law was put into place to diminish the political power of Latinos with racist intent and have been found to have --

(CROSSTALK)

CRUZ: You're asserting that? What's your evidence for that?

TOLSON: The federal district court that first resolved the constitutionality of Texas's voter I.D. law.

CRUZ: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So we're hearing from him, court findings aren't enough.

But as long as you are determined to believe that there are no disenfranchised voters, the Senator wants us to believe that these new efforts shouldn't be challenged at all.

So does this set the stage, in your view, for something else on the horizon?

TOLSON: So one of the things that I've been thinking about lately is particularly in light of this exchange for Senator Cruz is we continue to fight this every generation. None of this is new. Suppression evolves and doesn't ever go away.

To your point, Fred, there will always be something but we have to continue to fight.

With respect to that particular exchange, one of the things is that voter I.D. laws can vary. Voter suppression is based on context.

If you look at Texas the fact that the Texas law only accepts a small number of I.D.s, a driver's license, a handgun license, a military identification card, but not a student I.D. or a federal I.D. is just a sign that they're trying to exclude certain demographics.

That law has an effect on communities of color. And that's in addition to the discriminatory intent finding from the federal district court that first looked at the case.

I think it's important -- I wasn't saying that all voter I.D. laws are discriminatory. It just really depends.

But to the broader point, we have to stay vigilant because things that look race neutral often disproportionately harm communities of color. And voter I.D. laws can do that.

WHITFIELD: How concerned are you about whether it's midterms, 2022 or whether it's the next presidential election, that it will be more difficult for people to vote and that it will stand in the way of people exercising their right?

[13:35:12]

TOLSON: That's an amazing question because I think part of the story that came out of 2020, people look at the historic turnout and they say, wow, we did it. People turned out. They wanted to vote.

We don't think about the people who had to stay home because they were eligible but couldn't supply with the requirements in their particular state.

We have to stop applauding people for overcoming unnecessary barriers to vote and start questioning states when they seek to put barriers in place.

In 2022, we might have historic turnout but we cannot forget those left behind. And these regulations cause people to not be able to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

WHITFIELD: Professor Franita Tolson, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

TOLSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, a heartbreaking scene. Nearly four weeks after Hurricane Ida, caskets scattered throughout a Louisiana parish as people struggle to recover in other ways.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:40]

WHITFIELD: All right. A horrifying scene is playing out in parts of Louisiana, almost a month after Hurricane Ida.

Just look at these pictures. Caskets out in the open, on streets, in fields, even in people's yards.

Many graves were above ground before this storm and enclosed in cement and other heavy materials. But after the heavy winds and rains of Ida, they really, you know, couldn't withstand those forces and they were moved.

Joining us right now, Haywood Johnson. He is the pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Ironton, Louisiana, about 25 miles southeast of New Orleans.

So good to see you. Sorry, under such circumstances. I mean, this is terribly disturbing.

You know a lot of the families, right, of many of these caskets that were moved because of this storm. I understand somewhere between 30 and 40 caskets that have been displaced.

So how are people handling this?

HAYWOOD JOHNSON, PASTOR, ST. PAUL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: It's been difficult. Most of those loved ones I buried. After the storm, to see the devastation and see the loved ones that we have put to rest, it's devastating to see this.

And the families are pretty well disturbed over seeing their loved ones scattered throughout the community.

WHITFIELD: It's just heartbreaking. And that you helped, you know, bury so many of, you know -- and carry out the ceremonies of so many of these family members, loved ones. I mean, that is horrifying.

And I understand the casket of your mother is missing. You're looking for it. Tell me about that.

JOHNSON: Well, my mother passed a week before -- two weeks before Katrina came and the funeral and she had been -- she was dear to me and it's difficult right now because I can't locate -- I can't locate the casket.

So my sister -- my sister also and my uncle, most of my relatives, but most of the family members, grandparents and great-grandparents and mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, they are all affected because their loved ones have been removed.

WHITFIELD: Pastor Johnson, I'm so sorry about this.

So what kind of help is there or what kind of help has there been to help in this recovery process?

JOHNSON: One of the things I know, in the past, due to a lack of -- for an episode like this and we didn't get help from elected officials. And, as a matter of fact, we experienced the opposite effects. More harm was done to us than good.

After we rebuilt the community, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Isaac, we thought that these two episodes somehow -- a lot of help that comes to the community in protection and elevation. We waited, but we didn't get any help. Nobody would listen to us.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. This has been devastating many times over.

Pastor Hayward Johnson, I hope that the right kind of help comes the way of your town for you, your family members and for so many other of your neighbors and family members to be reconnected with their loved ones in these caskets.

Thanks so much for being with us.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And, of course, I'm hoping the best. Let's hope some resources, the right attention, does come your way.

JOHNSON: OK. Thank you. WHITFIELD: Thank you.

And to read more about this, perhaps there's a way in which you could help or you know someone who can help, see the entire story at CNN.com.

[13:45:00]

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, all this week, in a special series called "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE," we spotlight innovative thinkers and bold doers, challenging norms and making lasting impacts.

My champion is Kramer Wimbley, with a group called "Diving With a Purpose." He and his team are passionate about the oceans that cover 70 percent of our planet.

And among the concerns, the vitality of coral along the Florida coast which inhabits 7,000 species, plus helps protect shorelines during storms.

As a scuba diver myself for 30 years, their missions are dear to my heart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRAMER WIMBERLY, A CHAMPION FOR CHANGE & DIVING WITH A PURPOSE: I want to save the ocean because it's beautiful. I want to save the ocean because I spend my life there. I want to save the ocean because I want my children to be able to see and experience the beauty of it.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Kramer Wimberly's passion is coral reefs. They're vital to global ecology and they are dying.

Wimberley is a lead instructor with the group, Diving With a Purpose.

(on camera): What is your purpose?

WIMBERLY: My purpose has morphed over time.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): At first, the avid rec diver of 30 years joined because the scuba diving group, founded 16 years ago, assembled mostly black divers to help look for a sunken slave ship, a watery tomb.

Spending so much time in the water, he noticed other mysteries.

WIMBERLY: There's a lot less fish and a lot less coral.

WHITFIELD: So he and his dive partner, Rian Tyler (ph), added an ecosystem monitoring program to the group's mission. They call it "Diving With a Purpose Cares."

WIMBERLY: Corals can't move, right, so they are directly affected by the changes and the rise of sea level. We're dumping seven million tons of plastics and garbage in our oceans annually. So we're killing the corals.

WHITFIELD: Once a lawyer and firefighter, DWP Cares is now his life's work.

(on camera): What caught my attention about them is that they were combining a sport that I love, scuba diving, and of course, they were conscious of the environment.

More importantly, they had incorporated the next generation.

And 18-year-old Ohio State freshman, Greg Hood, gets it. He learned to dive through DWP and has committed to the organization's five-year training program that teaches ocean conservation techniques.

GREG HOOD, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN: A lot of people don't know what's going on. I like to say I'm an advocate for the reefs.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): In Key Largo's Pickles Reef, they lay down a 100-meter tape measure then count and measure species along it.

(on camera): So I've loved diving for a long time. And I was really excited and anxious when my son became of age where he could start to process and getting certified. Now he's 16 and he's my best dive buddy.

I love hearing his observations. I'm looking for things whereas he is seeing things.

(voice-over): This partnership between the young and seasoned diver is behind the magic of Diving With a Purpose.

WIMBERLY: Problems that I think are insurmountable, they're problem solving now on how to resolve.

WHITFIELD: That was very beautiful. Beautiful, but not bountiful.

What I saw were just beautiful pockets of colors. But just as I was in that moment, I looked down and I thought to myself, well, what is that? Suddenly, I realized I'm floating over a reef graveyard. Just broken, crushed, demolished finger coral.

Plus, this sobering catch of the day. A floating tangle of plastic. The good and the bad are uploaded to NOAA's coral reef database, inspiring the activists of tomorrow.

WIMBERLY: All of the youth in the program are not going to end up working in the field of marine biology. Or ecology. But they are learning the importance of it and what their place is and what their responsibility is.

For me, that's enough. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And be sure to tune in tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for the "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" one-hour special.

More news in a moment. But first, today's "START SMALL, THINK BIG."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON KALLENBERG, FOUNDER, WILD ALASKAN COMPANY: The Wild a Alaskan Company is a sustainable seafood service. We ship the highest-quality seafood that Alaska has to offer to consumers across the entire nation.

My name is Aaron Kallenberg. I'm the founder of the Wild Alaskan Company.

[13:55:03]

The Wild Alaskan Company is a three-generation overnight success. It started with my grandfather moving to Alaska. My dad grew up fishing with him and I grew up fishing with my dad.

I left Alaska and, after college, I spent nearly two decades in the tech industry. I wanted to reconnect to the roots where I grew up fishing.

I turned to my wife and I said, I'm going to sell frozen seafood on the Internet. We just took a leap of faith.

Wild Alaskan's mission is to accelerate humanity's transition to sustainable food system. You get a box that's curated monthly based on availability.

There's five species of salmon that are commercially harvested in Alaska. There's the Wild White Fish box, with a combination of Pacific halibut, rock fish, wild Alaska pollack. And there's the Wild Humble box where you can get white fish and salmon.

When I started, I said, if I could just have 40 members across the country, that would be enough to pay our rent. We've had nearly 200,000 people subscribe.

What I feel an immense sense of gratitude, responsibility and stewardship. The sky is the limit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)