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American Morning
Health Care Reform Kick in; Interview With Elizabeth Warren, America's New Consumer Advocate; Rebuilding Haiti; Deadly Chopper Crash in Afghanistan; Health Care Reforms Kick In; Vote on Campaign Ad Spending
Aired September 23, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thanks for being with us. It's Thursday, September 23rd. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. We've got a lot to talk about this morning. Let's get right to it.
The GOP unveiling its "Pledge to America" today, telling voters what they would do if they win control of Congress in November. We have a copy of it this morning. Democrats are calling it a pledge to special interests. We'll show you some of the sweeping changes the GOP is planning and let you decide how you describe it.
CHETRY: We also have a CNN exclusive this morning. Elizabeth Warren handpicked by the president to protect you, the American consumer. Well, she's going to be live on our AMERICAN MORNING studios and she's hitting the ground running ready to reform the way that banks write mortgages. The plan to uncomplicate the process when Elizabeth Warren joins us live in just 10 minutes.
ROBERTS: And rebuilding Haiti. Eight months after a devastating earthquake, how much real progress is being made? And is the world doing enough to help? Jason Carroll's one-on-one interview with Haiti's prime minister just ahead.
CHETRY: We have the amFIX blog up and running. If you like to weigh in, join the live conversation. Head to CNN.com/amFIX.
ROBERTS: Up first this morning, laying out the blueprint. Today, Republican leaders will tell voters how they would govern if they take back Congress in November, in a 21-page "Pledge to America."
CHETRY: Yes, we have a copy of it here at CNN. It basically promises to unravel, in some cases, President Obama's first two years in office. And it starts by saying, quote, "An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates and enacts laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many."
Now the Republicans also are pledging to cut taxes as well as federal spending to repeal President Obama's health care law and to ban federal funding of abortion. Today marks the sixth month anniversary of health care reform becoming law. ROBERTS: Yes. That means that some big changes are finally kicking in for you. And that could reignite the fight over reform just in time for the midterm elections. Jim Acosta live for us in Washington this morning breaking it down.
Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran. No big parties today for the six-month anniversary of health care reform. But today, a slew of new provisions do go in to effect. Take, for example, a new ban on insurance companies that discriminate against children with preexisting conditions. Republicans vow they will take a big ax to all of these changes to health care if they're put in charge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I would fight to repeal the bill.
ACOSTA (voice-over): It's a GOP battle cry for the midterm elections.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The American people will be heard, and we'll repeal and replace.
SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: I have pledged as my first act of legislation to put in a repeal Obama care law.
ACOSTA: If Republicans win a majority of seats in Congress, one of the first things they promise to do is repeal President Obama's signature achievement -- health care reform.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your response to that?
ACOSTA: Under a new GOP-controlled House, Texas Congressman Joe Barton would likely become chairman of a key House committee overseeing health care. He says hearings would begin as soon as January to dismantle the law.
REP. JOE BARTON (R), TEXAS: If we're given the opportunity being the majority, we are going to try to repeal it and then replace it --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right away.
BARTON: -- with something that makes sense. Well, the sooner the better.
ACOSTA: That threat comes as new portions of the law go into effect this week. Provisions that stop insurers from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions or dropping policies for people who get sick. Big expansions of coverage don't come until 2014. Still, recent polls show the law remains unpopular.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted against the health care bill because I thought it would be too expensive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Even some Democrats are running against it. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius argues the public will come around.
(on camera): Why is this law so unpopular?
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HHS SECRETARY: I think it's more confusing than unpopular. I think that --
ACOSTA: You would grant that it's unpopular right now?
SEBELIUS: Well, when you say that --
ACOSTA: It's not as popular as you would like?
SEBELIUS: That's accurate. I think it's based, though, a lot on people believing that the law contains elements that it doesn't have. Death panels.
ACOSTA: You're ready to have this debate all over again?
SEBELIUS: I am indeed.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, hello, hello.
ACOSTA (voice-over): So is the president who points to parts of the bill that are popular.
OBAMA: If young people don't have health insurance through their employer, that they can stay on their parents' health insurance up to the age of 26.
ACOSTA: Parts Congressman Barton wants to keep.
(on camera): Are there portions of the law that should be kept?
BARTON: I think coverage of preexisting conditions. The ability to keep your insurance and not have it revoked unless --
ACOSTA: Your decisions.
BARTON: -- unless you committed fraud.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Other Republicans say scrap the whole thing. Conservative activist Alex Cortes with the group defundit.org says the solution is to starve the law of money.
ALEX CORTES, DEFUNDIT.ORG: The option is defunding. Go after some of the smaller provisions. We will not let Kathleen Sebelius implement and enforce this law.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ACOSTA: Tinkering with health care reform will not be easy. Any bill changing the law would likely be vetoed by the president, and Republicans have no chance of picking up enough seats in the midterms to override that veto. But Republicans say just because they may not have the votes doesn't mean they won't try -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Jim Acosta this morning in Washington. Jim, thanks.
And at 6:40 Eastern, we're going to talk with health care economist Paul Keckley about some of the changes that will impact you directly. And for more on the "Pledge to America," the health care fight and full election coverage from "The Best Political Team on Television," head to CNNPolitics.com.
CHETRY: Well, this morning, there are some new sex abuse allegations against mega church Pastor Eddie Long. The third man is now suing Bishop Long claiming that he was also coerced into sex with Pastor Long when he was a teenager. The bishop was supposed to address the scandal today, but he has now canceled a morning radio show interview and an afternoon news conference.
ROBERTS: Also new this morning, three more victims have now been identified from that deadly natural gas explosion in San Bruno, California. The he death toll from the September 9th tragedy now stands at seven. The coroner's office confirming that the victims were all from the same family.
CHETRY: Well, five million cans of Similac brand powdered infant formula are now recalled. They found beetles, bugs, in the product at a Michigan plant. That facility has now been shut down. It's being fumigated. The recall involves Similac powder products that come in eight ounce, 12.4 ounce and 12.9 ounce cans.
ROBERTS: And a rough water landing for a New York police helicopter. A rotor snapped in the windshield shatter when it slammed into Jamaica Bay yesterday. The chopper was about 30 yards from its landing field in Brooklyn when it went down. None of the six people on board was seriously hurt.
CHETRY: Very lucky. So how's this for good timing? It's a harvest moon, meaning a full moon on the first day of fall. It is the first time in almost 20 years that the stars have aligned for an event like this. It's just gorgeous. I saw it yesterday coming in. Spectacular view of Jupiter out there as well.
And Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center. I know you like to see things like this. You love when things work out the way it does. We talk about blue moons at times and now a super harvest moon.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And who doesn't like to just howl at the moon? You know, just for that reason alone.
Good morning, guys. Listen, it was a beautiful moon last night. It will be a beautiful moon again tonight. If you have the chance to see it, not every did. There were thunderstorms across the northeast at least early in the evening. And with that also comes some high or at least down to the south.
Check out some of the numbers as far as the record-high temperatures yesterday. Louisville, 99 degrees. Another record in Alabama, 97. Memphis, Tennessee, 96. And Georgetown, Delaware, 92. So even up towards some of the major cities seeing well-above average temperatures and we'll see that again today.
As far as where the rainfall is, it's really more across the Midwest and the intermountain west. And that's pretty much where it will stay, I think. There will be a threat for severe weather across this area later on today, as a slow-moving front makes its way slowly to the east.
In the meantime, though, it will be pretty toasty for this first full day of fall with high temperatures today where the cold front isn't, 15 to 20 degrees above average. Ninety-one in St. Louis. That will be 91 degrees in D.C. Seventy-nine in New York. It will kind of get back into the warmth, I think, tomorrow. But pretty toasty out there for you folks who are enjoying that fall harvest moon.
Back to you, guys.
ROBERTS: Ninety-one degrees in Washington today. Wow.
CHETRY: Feels like fall.
ROBERTS: Shine on, Rob. Thanks.
In just a moment, Elizabeth Warren, the woman who is taking on Wall Street, she is the president's special adviser on consumer protection. She's going to tell us how she's already taking aim at credit card and mortgage companies. Stay with us.
Eight minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eleven minutes now after the hour. Keep it simple, that's Elizabeth Warren's plan. The handpicked special adviser to the president has been asked to create a new consumer protection bureau to make sure that the Wall Street giants play by the rules.
CHETRY: And the first thing that Warren wants to tackle is the complicated, often convoluted credit card and mortgage agreements. She says that most Americans simply don't understand what they're signing. Elizabeth Warren with us this morning.
Great to have you here.
ELIZABETH WARREN, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT: It's good to be here.
CHETRY: First of all, what is your vision for this consumer protection agency? What do you want it to be and to do?
WARREN: You know, we have a broken consumer credit market. And it's broken in the sense that unlike most markets, when consumers go out to shop, to decide to take out a credit card or take out a mortgage or car loan, you can't really compare the products because they've gotten long, they've gotten complicated. They're full of fine print. And here's the bad thing. They've got a bunch of tricks and traps in them. So what appears to be the price, oh, low, low, seven percent financing, low, low three percent, zero percent financing, really isn't that. It's the case that in some of these lenders, they're getting a lottery ticket. And that is they're hoping that you'll take their low, low price because buried back in the fine print, they intend to make a lot of money.
ROBERTS: Since you were named to the position on Friday, I know you've reached out to the industry, lobbying groups, other consumer advocates seeking cooperation. You know, industry wasn't very happy about the creation of this agency. So what's the climate out there? Are they in a mood to cooperate? Are you really going to be fighting an uphill battle here?
WARREN: Well, one never knows. But I have to say the meetings with folks from the industry have been really good. And I think the reason for is that more of them say, this isn't sustainable, this isn't going to work over time. They've seen the numbers. People are unhappy about their credit cards. They're unhappy about fine print. And I think there are more lenders now who want to get on the side of their customers. And you know, if you can get some, then the point of regulation is only to make sure you drag the reluctant ones along.
CHETRY: But, you know, the argument has been made, though, that, you know, these companies, especially credit card companies are going to find a way to make money on the backs of the consumers. They'll just get around a new regulation. People have pointed to banks starting to charge annual fees when they didn't before. So how do you really ensure that what is enacted will in the end benefit the customer?
WARREN: Well, partly if you believe in markets, because here's my view on this. What happens right now is that it's a pretend price and a real price. And so you have no real competition, right? Because anybody looks at this and says, gee, this is the zero percent card compared against the three percent card when all the money is being made back in the fine print. If we can get these products simpler so that the prices clear up front, then the prices are actually having to compete head to head. And the card issuers who are charging the most are going to find themselves with fewer customers. I think that's how markets work.
ROBERTS: You have said that your goal is to get to a two-page credit card agreement.
WARREN: It is.
ROBERTS: Which is a noble goal I think anybody out there will agree, but can you really do that?
WARREN: You know, the basics of it are pretty simple, right? It's about what the interest rate is going to be, what the penalty rate is going to be, what triggers a penalty. If we can't get this thing down to two pages, there's something wrong. ROBERTS: It always seems simple, but then the devil is in the details.
WARREN: Well, because the devil has made a lot of money in those details for some folks. You know, let me just remind you that back in 1980, the credit card agreement for Bank of America was about 700 pages long. Page and a half. So, it's not that it can't be done. It's that it isn't done.
ROBERTS: You mean, 700 words long?
WARREN: Seven hundred words. Did I say 700 pages?
ROBERTS: Yes.
WARREN: It's early in the morning -- 700 words. But you know --
ROBERTS: This is what we're used to.
WARREN: That's right. But I do want to make a point on the credit card companies' side. There have also been a lot of layered in regulations. They've got to do this. They've got to hit this point. They've got to hit this point. Consumers don't read most of that stuff. In fact, most of it is unreadable. So part of the job of this agency is to come through with a pair of scissors and take out the regulations that are doing nothing but driving up costs, not providing any benefit for the consumers, and get rid of those. That will help shrink it some, and then it's up to the companies, and this agency, to work together, to shrink it down to something that's useful to the consumer.
CHETRY: Now, I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise to you that you have critics in the financial words - world. Some of them are saying that, you know, the problem is that you're coming from an anti- business point of view and that you're not really giving them a chance. I mean, other say, you know, you come from the academic world so you don't understand, perhaps, the real life intricacies of how these financial institutions work.
How do you respond to those critics?
WARREN: Well, partly, is to say, you're right, and I want to learn. So teach me more about how this works. But partly it's to say, I've been studying for 30 years what goes on in the financial services industry and what the products look like and what the impact is on middle class families.
Middle class families expect to pay for services that they receive. They expect to have to be personally responsible for things they put on their credit cards or for the car loans they take out.
What they have a right not to expect, what they have a right to object to, is when they think they're getting something at one price, and they find out that the real price is the thing buried back in the fine print. All the costs that you don't know, until they've bitten you, and now it's too late. I saw a piece the other day that some of these credit card stuff, free credit cards, on average, $300 a year.
ROBERTS: You know, one of - one of the points, Ms. Warren, that's been made is that you - you were appointed to a consultant or an advisory position, which screwed around regulations that you would need Senate confirmation to - to achieve your position. I know you've said, hey, if I get in there now, I have an opportunity to work right now as opposed to waiting through the Senate confirmation process.
But can you really have the trust of the people and the trust of government if you don't go through that process?
WARREN: Well, one of - I do want to quarrel (ph) with you about the word "screwed", it's that the statute specifically provides someone is supposed to come in and start building this agency. This is really - I think the better way to understand it is there were two options.
One option is to go -
ROBERTS: OK, but to - but to the broader point of whether or not you can really have the confidence of the American people and Congress if you're not confirmed by the Senate?
WARREN: You know, the question was, if we go the confirmation route - I'm not a political person, so I don't - I don't understand this. I don't understand what goes on in Washington.
But if I go the confirmation route, what I am told, is that it could take about a year without my even getting a hearing, and, from my point of view, two terrible things happen in that year. I can't do one bit of work on this agency. I'm completely fenced off from it. And the second is I can't talk about it, as a nominee.
So when president and I talked about this, he's very committed to this agency. He said, we could go the nomination route, or you don't get as nice a title, but you could just get to work, because the statute needs someone to get to work, and I said, I don't care.
ROBERTS: But again, will you have the confident - will you have the confidence?
WARREN: Well, that's what we'll find out. I'm going to get out there. I'm going to do the best I can. And, I'll tell you, if I'm not doing my job in a good way, then I ought to be pitched out.
CHETRY: And why did you want to sign up for it? I mean, it's a big task, and you're going to be taking hits from so many sides.
WARREN: You know, middle class families have been hit, squeezed, chipped at for 30 years now, and it's gotten worse and worse and worse. For the first time, thanks to the changes that Congress has put into law and the president has signed, we now have the tools on the table to repair at least one big part of that. And if I can be helpful in any way at all, that's what I'll do.
CHETRY: Well, it's great having you with us this morning. Elizabeth Warren -
ROBERTS: Very good having you with us. Thanks for dropping by.
WARREN: Thank you.
CHETRY: And good luck.
WARREN: I'll need it.
CHETRY: You'll need it.
Well, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're talking about coffee lovers.
ROBERTS: Yes. They're going to be steamed because they're going to have to be digging a little deeper at Starbucks. We're "Minding Your Business," coming up next.
Nineteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 22 and a half minutes after the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning, "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly donating $100 million to Newark, New Jersey's public school system. That's according to "The New York Times." Zuckerberg, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Corey Booker will reportedly make the announcement on "Oprah" tomorrow. The money will be used to upgrade Newark's schools, only half of the city - city's students currently graduate from high school.
CHETRY: And a lot of people are saying, well, why is Mark Zuckerberg from California doing this in New Jersey. He and Corey Booker, apparently, are close. They're friends.
ROBERTS: Facebook friends or more.
CHETRY: Yes. That's how it all starts in Facebook.
Well, the next time you order that half caf, toffee, nut, soy, latte, light ice, no whip, be prepared to pay the price to go from Grande to Venti, I guess you could say. Starbucks is announcing that it's going to be raising the cost of its, quote, "labor-intensive and larger-size beverages" partly because of rising coffee cost. Starbucks says its flagship tall coffee will remain $1.50.
ROBERTS: I - I can't quite figure that one out. Coffee costs are rising but it's only on the labor intensive ones -
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: -- that they're raising their prices.
CHETRY: Yes. But, I mean, for example, you know when you're in line behind somebody who is ordering what I just said and - and all of you want is just a black coffee, it's a pain.
ROBERTS: Then maybe you should get a discount -
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: -- for ordering just something very simple.
CHETRY: It's another way to look at it.
ROBERTS: If the price is going up, maybe your price should go down.
Coming up, the long, hard road to recovery in Haiti, the country's prime minister says they're making real progress there, despite just a trickle of international aid. Jason Carroll's exclusive interview with Jean-Max Bellerive coming up next.
Twenty-four minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eight months after an earthquake shook Haiti to its very core, the island nation is still very much a picture of devastation. Rebuilding Haiti is being compared to rebuilding Europe following the Second World War.
CHETRY: It's astounding to see these pictures so long after this happened.
Haiti's prime minister is in New York this week. He's reporting to the U.N. General Assembly on his nation's attempts at recovery.
Our Jason Carroll had an exclusive interview and he joins us now with more. You look at those images and you think that must have been right after the earthquake?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And it - and it's today, that's what's so sobering. And it was real eye-opening having this conversation with the prime minister yesterday.
One of the things he said was, don't expect a speedy recovery here. The prime minister also telling me while many countries pledged to donate to the relief effort, much of those donations have yet to come in. And he says much more money will be needed to rebuild. That's part of the reason why an organization called the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission was formed, and he's speaking to the General Assembly this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN-MAX BELLERIVE, HAITI'S PRIME MINISTER: People are living right now in tents. It's very hard in Haiti right now. Some of the nights, you have heavy rains. You have your children not going to school. And you have your wife that is ill (ph). I can assure you, you would be frustrated also.
CARROLL: You know, I remember seeing the tents when I was there, and I think the thought was, by this point, some of those tents would not be there. But, at this point, you still have - what? - some one and a half million people still living in those camps.
BELLERIVE: Yes. And they're going to live in those tents for some time. You - you're not going to solve the magnitude of that problem or the magnitude of that challenge in months. We are thinking about years, and we are thinking about lots and lots of money.
CARROLL: Are you satisfied with the way that the - the money that has been pledged has been released to your country or not?
BELLERIVE: Again, the first thing that we have to do is say thanks. But it's not enough. We have to work together, and what we have done (ph). For example, last week, in a different meeting with the international committee to improve the way the money is getting to Haiti.
Right now, it's not getting - getting in Haiti in a convincing way, so we can have enough visibility for the population to feel that all that could have been done is being done.
CARROLL: But it's got to be a worry for you.
BELLERIVE: It's - it's a daily worry for us. But I have - I have full confidence that every government that make a - made a pledge to Haiti is going to respect it, and I have no reason to believe that they are going to change their attitude (ph).
We built with the international community commission. That is in fact the Interim Haitian Recovery Commission. One of the reason we have that commission is to understand what is needed in Haiti, on public money, on private money. Probably these are of coordination with the NGOs coming from this country. And certainly, they know that they have to find more financing.
CARROLL: What the point does the Haitian government share responsibility or blame, in terms of why the Haitian people are still living in these conditions?
BELLERIVE: One hundred percent we should be blamed. I'm responsible of the situation of the nation. I'm the chief of the government. So whatever is happening to the nation, I'm responsible. I'm not going to try to say it's not me, it's the international community. It's not me, it's the NGO. At the end of the day, I'm responsible for the institution of the nation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Just to put this into some perspective. So far, out of $5 billion pledged, only 18 percent of that has been dispersed. That's part of the reason why there are still some 1.5 million people still living in those temporary camps. And why much of the rubble has not been cleared and more of the rebuilding has not gotten under way. It's really a shame.
ROBERTS: So, he says, "OK, I'm responsible," but what's he doing?
CARROLL: Well, part of what he's doing is this commission has been formed. He's on this commission. He's going to be speaking to the U.N. General Assembly this week, trying to get more money pledged back into the country and again trying to get more. Over the next 10 years or so, some $11 billion has been pledged.
But the prime minister told me yesterday, he said, "It's going to cost just that much just to clear away the rubble." That doesn't even include rebuilding, adding temporary housing. And so much more is going to be need. He's taken on the responsibility. It's a heavy load.
CHETRY: Eight months out, this is unfortunately not where many thought they'd be. So, we'll see what happens.
CARROLL: Right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jason.
ROBERTS: Jason, thanks.
Crossing the half hour now, it means it's time for your top stories this Thursday morning.
Republicans promising to repeal what may be the biggest achievement of President Obama's first two years, the health care reform bill. They'd have to win control of Congress in November to even attempt it. It's part of their new pledge to America that will be unveiled today.
President Obama says it's good politics for the GOP but bad for America.
CHETRY: Bishop Eddie Long, the mega-church pastor at the center of a growing sex abuse scandal will not be addressing the allegations today. He canceled an appearance with Roland Martin on Tom Joyner's morning radio show, as well as an afternoon news conference.
A third man, meantime, has now filed suit against Bishop Long, claiming he also was lured into a sexual relationship with the pastor when he was a teenager.
ROBERTS: President Obama will warn of more bloodshed in the Middle East when he speaks at the United Nations today. In an excerpt from his speech, the president says the Israelis and Palestinians much reach a peace deal and that other countries must do what they can to help the process along.
CHETRY: Well, a hero's goodbye for some of the U.S. service members who died when their helicopter went down in southern Afghanistan. Their bodies arrived in Dover, Delaware, yesterday, draped in American flags.
ROBERTS: Five of the victims were from the Army, four were from the Navy and three of those men were Navy SEALs, elite warriors who go through some of the most physically and mentally demanding training known to men. We're learning more this morning about why they were on this mission.
Our Kaj Larsen served as a Navy SEAL himself. He joins us live from San Francisco this morning.
So, what are you finding out, Kaj, about the type of mission that these men might have been on?
KAJ LARSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, John, good morning.
The Navy is not releasing any details about the specifics of the mission that these guys were on. The reason is, most likely is because that occur in Zabul province. And it's been an active area in terms of -- in terms of the Taliban. So, there are still ongoing active missions in the area. So, they're being discreet about how they describe what was happening.
What we can deduce from the nature of what happened is that it was a four-man element. SEALs, generally -- a SEAL platoon is comprised of 12 to 16 personnel. Often, they'll break off into smaller fire teams, like the one that was in the helicopter. A four- man element could be -- indicate that they were on a special reconnaissance mission, which is one of the primary missions of SEALs in the area. So, that would involve looking for targets, gathering information about potential targets in the area. That's most likely the case here.
CHETRY: You talk about, you know, the human toll. Obviously, every life that's lost in the military is an equal tragedy. But when you talk about the SEALs and how irreplaceable they really are because of the amount of intensive training they go through. How big of a loss is this for the military?
LARSEN: It is a big loss, Kiran. And it's a big loss for the entire military and it's a very tough day for my community in particular. We have an adage in Special Forces that we emphasize humans, not hardware. Each individual SEAL takes -- costs somewhere between $500,000 to $1 million to train each SEAL, sometimes up to 30 months of training, over 2 1/2 years, before you're given the coveted SEAL trident and ready to deploy as a special operator with naval special warfare.
So, that's an extraordinary amount of training for each individual soldier, an extraordinary investment that going into each individual soldier, into each individual SEAL in this case. So, another adage we have is you can't mass produce Special Forces. So, these three SEALs and the cryptologic tech who was killed alongside them, they will not easily be replaced.
ROBERTS: But, as you said, Kaj, a huge loss for the entire military. Nine families now are mourning the loss of their loved ones.
Kaj Larsen for us this morning -- Kaj, thanks. And coming up: six months after health care reform became law, some big changes kick in today. How will they affect you? We're going to talk with the health care economist coming right up.
Thirty-six minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATALIE MERCHANT, SINGER/SONGWRITER: My name is Natalie Merchant. We've been on the road for 54 days.
I sometimes refer to myself as the child that they kidnapped. Eat this, sleep here, sing now.
I like cuddling with different people. It's a different kind of family and a mobile community. And you really sort of cling to each other on the road.
Usually after the tour, there's a lot of excitement. I think the collective adrenaline is running high. So, we have to eat a lot of carbohydrates.
Everyone fights for these crackers. The cell phone is essential because you want to stay in contact, always in touch. I communicate with my daughter every day.
And you think you just run away to the circus, go away like a gypsy and then go home and realize -- oh, that's not my life. This is my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
ROBERTS: Forty minutes now after the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning.
Six months after the passage of the health care reform bill, some key components are kicking in today. What are they going to mean for you, the health care consumer?
Joining us now is health care economist Paul Keckley.
Paul, great to see you this morning.
PAUL KECKLEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DELOITTE CENTER FOR HEALTH SOLUTIONS: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: Let's put at the screen the changes taking place today -- oh, we don't have that. OK. Well, we're just going to talk about it apparently.
Some of the changes taking place today, no exclusion for children, with preexisting conditions. KECKLEY: Right, under 19 years of age.
ROBERTS: No lifetime limits on coverage.
KECKLEY: Right.
ROBERTS: We have it now. So, let's put it up on the screen so you can follow along.
We'll start all over again. No excluding children for preexisting conditions; no lifetime limits on coverage; young adults get to stay on their parents' plans until the age of 26; no co-pay for in-network procedures, preventive procedures like mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations; and greater rights to appeal insurers' decision.
So, how significant are these changes going into effect, Paul? How many people will benefit from it?
KECKLEY: Well, another 1.2 million will be covered as a result of the 26 -- 19 to 26 provisions. So, that's promising. It's a significant number.
But, you know, the bill's very complex. The last 180 days have been a race. And what's ahead is very complicated, the next three years.
ROBERTS: This idea of no lifetime limits on medical coverage, important for many people, because in the year 2007, 60 percent of individuals who declared bankruptcy, cited medical costs as a reason for it.
KECKLEY: Yes. It's hard to imagine what future health costs will be for anyone. So, the surprise factor catches a lot of people, even middle class and upper class folks, with a big bill they can't pay.
ROBERTS: So, the health care bill, as we said, says that the insurance companies cannot exclude children under the age of 19 --
KECKLEY: Correct.
ROBERTS: -- 19 and under, if they have a preexisting condition.
KECKLEY: Correct.
ROBERTS: But in California and other states, some insurance companies are already saying, well, you know, we're not going to write any new policies for children. And these are some big competes, like Aetna, WellPoint, Cigna -- how much of a cat-and-mouse game do you think is going to be played here?
KECKLEY: No one knows for sure. And it's really a matter if you got new regulations and new costs, so can company actually recover the costs of being regulated in new ways, in addition to the costs of medical care? So, I think anyone looking at this bill would say -- whether you're consumer or a health plan or a pharmaceutical company -- very complicated, lots of surprises, a lot of adjustments that have to be made. And, at the end of the day, the consumers are going to pay indirectly for a lot of that.
ROBERTS: You know, some of the biggest provisions don't kick in for another three years. 2014 is the year for that.
KECKLEY: Right.
ROBERTS: Let's put them up on the screen so that people can see this. Right now, children cannot be excluded for preexisting conditions. As 2014, there's no denial for anyone who's got a preexisting condition. And this is also the time when these insurance exchanges kick in to allow people who don't have a health care policy or want to change can go shopping.
KECKLEY: Correct.
ROBERTS: How significant are those changes going to be?
KECKLEY: Well, every state has to set up an exchange by 2014. And every consumer has to have at least a number of options to choose. So, it's a big job for the states. It's a challenge to states that are facing declining revenues already, that they can actually do all of the things that they're expected to do.
But, again, will people buy insurance, even with subsidies? Will employers continue to provide health benefits after 2014, or maybe exit benefits altogether? And can states do all the work they have to do? Those are big bets.
ROBERTS: Those are some of the big questions that are still out there.
The Census Bureau had a report out earlier this month that found that in 2009, the amount of people who said that they are uninsured is now greater than 50 million.
KECKLEY: Yes.
ROBERTS: It's up 10 percent in just a year. So, the problem is going so quickly --
KECKLEY: Right.
ROBERTS: -- that you have to wonder if this health care reform can keep up.
KECKLEY: Well, the health care reform process is also part of the economy. Twenty-three percent of the federal budget is health care. So, economic recovery and health reform, side by side, you can't separate them. So, for every one point increase in unemployment, you add another million people to Medicaid rolls. You add another million people to the uninsured. So, that's what we're seeing. ROBERTS: You know, there's -- obviously, there was a lot of opposition to health care reform. Forty percent of Americans who are asked in an "A.P." poll disapprove of it. Only 30 percent approve. The Republicans for the new pledge to America are saying -- are promising that if they gain the majority in Congress, they're going to try to take apart this bill and do it all over again.
Is there a better way?
KECKLEY: No one knows for sure. The president, February 24th, 2009, said we'll pass a bill this year. We'll reduce costs and cover everyone.
The bill will take another three years to implement. All the changes coming from the bill may or may not reduce costs. They do cover a lot more people. So, I think we have to wait and see.
ROBERTS: All right. Paul Keckley, it's great to see you this morning. Thanks for dropping by. Appreciate it
KECKLEY: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks.
Well, no joke. Stephen Colbert not only holding a rally in Washington, he's also scheduled to testify before Congress. We're getting details from the CNNPolitics.com desk coming up. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Forty-eight minutes past the hour right now. We get a check on the morning's weather headlines. Our Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. Talk about extreme, last night, New York area, man, we had a thunderstorm rolled through.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you got it again, didn't you?
CHETRY: The lightning was unbelievable.
MARCIANO: Really get little show on radar. A little sad that I left too soon. You see that lightning show across the northeast yesterday. Those storms have moved on. It kind of back toward cool fronter that sunk to the south. So, you won't be quite as hot as you were yesterday, but everyone south of there is going to be hot. Look at all the clear air right through the southeastern third of the country and then all this rain.
Some of this is tropically fed all the way back through parts of the Arizona. Check out what happened in Tucson yesterday. You need a lot, but you don't need much. I mean, you got a half inch or an inch of rain in a few hours, and boom, you get flash flooding. And that's exactly what happens on roads in and around Tucson. So, a lot of water.
And they're just starting to see some of that drain today. Minneapolis back through Southern Minnesota, you're getting some of this moisture as well today. And we have flood watches and even some flash flood warnings out for parts of Southern Minnesota. And I think that's where most of the rain will stay today. Over 5 inches of rainfall in these areas yesterday. We could see another 2 to 3 inches of rainfall throughout the day today.
The other big story, of course, the heat. Talking about the record highs yesterday. Some of the highs two days ago were the latest they've ever been that warm. Louisville, Kentucky got 99 degrees, Memphis, Tennessee, 96, Georgetown, Delaware, 92 degrees. And it's going to be another toasty one today. 91 expected in D.C. and 91 degrees expected in St. Louis. I want to touch on what's going down on in the Caribbean.
This area of disturbed weather, we still think this is going to probably develop into a depression or even a tropical storm. They're going to fly hurricane hunter aircrafts into that yesterday. They canceled that. They may take a trip into that area later today. We're a little bit concerned about it. Right now, things are cool. Back to you guys in New York.
ROBERTS: Are they going to track in that storm at this point?
MARCIANO: Usually, they wait until they fly in there before they start running series computer models at least once that we can actually trust, but the indications are that it will get at least close to the Gulf of Mexico if not into it later next week. ROBERTS: OK.
CHETRY: We're watching.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
ROBERTS: Look for an update coming up.
The senate is set to vote on a bill that could change the way campaigns are run and won. Details from CNNPolitics.com. Our political desk coming right up.
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ROBERTS: Welcomes back to the Most Politics in the Morning. The midterm election is less than 6 weeks away now, and this morning, we're breaking down new poll numbers from Colorado to Wisconsin.
CHETRY: Our senior political editor, Mark Preston, is live at the CNNPolitics.com desk this morning for us. Hey, Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kiran. Hey, John. How are you? CNN is going (INAUDIBLE). We're trying to figure out really where these close contests are and really where the voters are. And first, we're looking at Colorado, There's a Senate race out there. Michael Bennett, he was appointed to that seat. He's a Democrat when Ken Salazar decided to join the Obama administration.
However, he is in for a tough fight to try to win that seat on his own. Ken Buck, the Republican candidate, the tea party favorite, currently holds a five-point lead right now over Michael Bennett. That race is 49-44.
Moving into Wisconsin. Republicans are very bullish over the fact that they think they can knock of the incumbent senator, the Democrat, Russ Feingold, who really is a darling for progressives across the country. Russ Feingold trailing in that race to Ron Johnson, a small businessman who came out of nowhere by six points. Russ Feingold, 45, Ron Johnson, 51. We also tested the governor's races in both of those states, but I'm going to leave that for you, folks, to go to CNNPolitics.com to check out the numbers in those races.
But moving on, here in Washington, D.C., a very big vote today regarding the future of campaign finance spending, specifically when it comes to television ads. Democrats are going to try to bring up a vote on what's known as the disclose act, and this is in regards to a Supreme Court decision earlier this year that lifted restrictions on what corporations and individuals could do and say on campaign advertising. Right now, Republicans say that the Supreme Court got it right and that it's a violation of free speech to put restrictions on this advertising.
However, Democrats say the fact is these restrictions are needed because people with deep pockets and corporations can really influence elections. So, that vote later this afternoon. Right now, it looks like Republicans have enough votes to stop that from moving forward. And let's close it out with this, Stephen Colbert is coming to testify on Capitol Hill. I kid you not. In fact, Stephen Colbert is talking about the whole idea of illegal immigration.
Last night, he did a segment on his show where he agreed to actually go out and work as an illegal immigrant on a farm up in New York. Well, he's going to testify in the House of Representatives on Friday. And he's going to talk about the whole issue of illegal immigration. The big question is, will he act like he does on TV or will he be the Stephen Colbert of normal. So, we'll check that out tomorrow -- John, Kiran
ROBERTS: They swear you in for those hearings, right?
PRESTON: They absolutely swear you in for those hearings.
CHETRY: So then, he has to be himself.
ROBERTS: Yes, it would be pretty difficult to stay in character if you're sworn in. We will see.
PRESTON: Yes, no doubt. No doubt. But it will be interesting to see, anyway. ROBERTS: It will be fun. Mark, thanks so much. We're going to check back in with Mark next hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our website at CNNPolitics.com.
CHETRY: We'll take a quick break. Your top stories coming up in just a minute. It's now 57 minutes past the hour.
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