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American Morning

Senate Votes Down Drug Bills; Interview with Chris Hansen

Aired July 24, 2002 - 07:15   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We move to Capitol Hill now, where Senate leaders this morning are trying again to reach a compromise to pass a bill that gives prescription drug benefits to Medicare patients.

Well, yesterday, the Senate voted down two bills, one by the Democrats, one by the Republicans.

Congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl joins us now from Capitol Hill with more on the stalemate.

Jon -- if you want to think of one hot button issue this morning across the country, it's this. How mad are seniors about what is happening here?

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, this is an unbelievably hot topic up here. And yesterday, Paula, this was an extremely partisan vote. Only one Republican voted for the Democratic bill, only two Democrats voted for the Republican bill.

The prospects for a breakthrough here are very dismal at this point, but Democrats went to work immediately after the vote. It went to Jim Jefford's office to plot strategy on how to win over some moderate Republicans.

The official Democrat line on Capitol Hill is that the Senate must pass a bill, but the big sticking point here is cost. The two sides, Paula, are literally hundreds of billions of dollars apart, and Republicans are saying they cannot agree to spend a dime more than the so-called tri-partisan bill they supported yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: To go home without getting anything done, I think is simply not an option. Both parties would pay a very steep price in November, I think, if we fail to pass a significant, meaningful prescription drug bill.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MINORITY LEADER: The tri-partisan bill was absolutely the outer limits of what most of our people could support. We want to get it done. We want to get it done in the best way for our seniors to have an effect now, but that bill was more than what was allowed. That's one of the reasons why it had to get 60 votes. So I don't see us being able to move above that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: In the wake of yesterday's stalemate, Republicans say the only way to get something done now, this year, is to put aside the question of a comprehensive benefit for all seniors, and pass something, Paula, that would specifically help poor seniors buy their prescription drugs.

ZAHN: But you say the chances for that appear to be pretty dismal.

KARL: There is no question. But remember politics here. This is an issue that every one of these senators campaigned on, and there are some very tough races this year in the Senate. All of those races will include debates on prescription drugs, and think about those seniors, Paula. They have already been hit in their retirement accounts by the tumbling stock market. Now, to be told they won't get a prescription drug benefit, that's a tough sell. That's the one thing that's pushing for some kind of a compromise here.

ZAHN: And, Jonathan, if there isn't a compromise, what are the implications of seniors not voting in these midterm elections?

KARL: Well, the senior group is the biggest group in terms of voter turnout. So this is the group that both sides are counting to get out. They usually trend a little bit more towards the Democratic side, so Democrats are under a lot of pressure. After all, they do control the Senate, but they believe they've got the higher ground here.

So both sides think they can go back and somehow, you know, get the higher ground here in the elections, which makes it a very difficult way to break through, at least at this time.

ZAHN: Jonathan Karl, thanks so much for the update.

So what does the Senate stalemate on prescription drug benefits mean to older Americans?

Joining us now from Washington, Chris Hansen with the AARP.

Good morning -- welcome.

CHRIS HANSEN, AARP: Good morning.

ZAHN: So, Chris, how mad is your constituency about this stalemate?

HANSEN: Well, I don't know if they are mad. I think they are still very hopeful that something can be done, although we are disappointed that neither one of these bills passed. I think there is good news and the bad news, and that is that there is a consensus that something needs to be done. There is time to get something done. We've got 35 million members, who are going to be watching this very closely, and we think that they can -- they could get this done. ZAHN: But you say there is a consensus that something could get done, needs to be done. You know, the fact is Jonathan Karl just laid out the cards, I think pretty accurately, that the Democrats and Republicans are so far away on the numbers, there doesn't seem to be much hope there, does it?

HANSEN: Well, I think you have to remember that they had a very spirited debate yesterday. People had their own plans. There was a Democratic plan that got 52 votes, as you pointed out; a Republican plan that had fewer votes. And there was a very active debate. I think, though, once the dust settles a little bit and people talk to each other about the fact that they need to get this done, seniors are continuing to contact their senators and let them know that this is something that they expect them to accomplish this year. I think it can be done. I think it will be done.

ZAHN: What do you think they would find reasonable? What kind of compromise here with the numbers so far apart?

HANSEN: Well, I think if you take a look at these two bills, I think there are a lot of different elements of them that they can be compromised. The dollar figure could be compromised. The delivery vehicle, the type of insurance that's used, whether it's a government- run program or whether it's administered by private insurance companies, I think that's something that can be worked out. It's not easy, but it can be done. And these are reasonable, serious people, who do this all of the time, and I think that they can find a way to do this.

ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about how important this issue is to your constituency. In one of the latest CNN-USA Today polls, it basically showed that among all voters polled last month, the top two issues were the economy and terrorism. And then among seniors, the top two issues were social security and prescription drug coverage.

What happens to seniors if a compromise is not eked out before the midterm elections?

HANSEN: I think if there is no compromise, I think the seniors are going to be very angry. They have been waiting for years and years for this coverage. Nobody would design Medicare today without this coverage in it. So not having it there really doesn't make sense. People need it.

We hear all kinds of stories about people that don't fill their prescriptions because they can't afford to. The time is really now to take care of this problem.

ZAHN: And if the problem isn't taken care of, do these folks not turn out for the midterm elections, where Jon Karl basically explained the seniors in the past have sort of trended towards the Democrats?

HANSEN: Oh, I think the seniors will turn out for the elections. They are very active voters, and they pay attention to what's going on. And I think that they'll make their votes -- their vote heard in the election booth, obviously. I hope it doesn't come to that, where people have to be held accountable for not getting something done. There is still time to get something done, and we're hopeful that we don't have a bad result here.

ZAHN: And at this point in time, who do they blame for the stalemate?

HANSEN: I think -- ultimately, I think they'll blame everybody for not being able to come together on this. I don't think that the blame-game about pointing at the other guy is going to work this time. I think people have promised that this benefit would be delivered. I think whoever is in office will be held responsible for not getting it done. Ultimately, people are going to have to come together and find compromise. They are going to have to govern together.

ZAHN: Chris Hansen, as always, good to see you. Thanks so much for joining us.

HANSEN: Thank you.

ZAHN: Chris Hansen from the AARP.

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