Return to Transcripts main page
Rick's List
Robert Gibb Press Briefing; "Baby Killer" Yeller Identified as Texas Republican Randy Neugebauer
Aired March 22, 2010 - 14:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go back to the White House. There's Robert Gibbs, he's the White House press secretary. The briefing has begun, let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- prescription drugs, if they happen to fall into what's commonly known as the doughnut hole in Medicare Part D.
QUESTION: But is this going to be the one health care event he does outside of Washington or we going to doing a series of events outside of Washington (INAUDIBLE) a barn storm in support of this bill?
GIBBS: The president has a very busy schedule coming up on a whole host of issues. I assume the president will talk about health care for a long time, but the president has over the course of the past many weeks, even as the legislative agenda has been focused on getting health care done, which we did last night, the president's also, I think, as you'll see over the next couple weeks, been working on a number of other issues that are at the forefront and that we'll have an opportunity to talk about.
QUESTION: Finally, a lot of Democrats switched their votes, took politically dangerous votes for themselves, frankly, to support this bill. What kind of support are those Democrats in the House going to be receiving from the White House?
GIBBS: Well, I think there's no doubt -- and I don't have a political schedule in front of me -- I have no doubt that we'll be on the road extensively in the fall as it relates to health care reform and as it relates to helping those that supported health care last night and supporting Democrats, even some that didn't.
QUESTION: Robert, did you mean to announce when the bill signing is?
GIBBS: It's likely to be sometime tomorrow. I don't -- they're still working out some of the logistics. In terms of timing, I would plan, as of right now, for a late morning bill signing, weather permitting outside, probably on the South Lawn.
QUESTION: Definitely on campus, nothing -- GIBBS: As of the last sort of update I got, it would be logistically tough to go off campus, but also if the weather doesn't cooperate, it might also be logistically difficult to -- to --
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
GIBBS: I -- I think each and every member of the House and Senate that supported health care reform will be invited. I expect that many of them will attend.
I also believe that the president will have with him many of the stories that he's given lip to over the course of the past year to help demonstrate exactly why the president did what he did for so long and who this impacts the most.
QUESTION: Robert, two questions, one on health care and one on -- one on (INAUDIBLE) question.
What's the White House's reaction to the states that have threatened to sue over this legislation? Is that something that the president and the team are taking seriously?
GIBBS: You know, I heard Nancy Ann talk a little bit about this this morning on a -- on television, I think. My sense is that a lot of big pieces of legislation are challenged in some ways. We certainly have -- you've seen the intent of some to do -- to challenge this legislation on grounds we don't think will be very successful.
QUESTION: You don't think their -- their suits will be very successful?
GIBBS: We don't.
QUESTION: OK. And then is there any kind of a plan or a reaction to dealing with that --
(CROSSTALK)
GIBBS: Well, I assume there will be many things that we will deal with in the coming weeks, months and years ahead, as health care reform is implemented.
But I think that -- you know, look, some of the -- some of the states and some of the players might end being, kind of, curious, but I -- again, I think that pretty longstanding precedent on the constitutionality of this.
QUESTION: My second question is on Google and China. If Google does decide to pull out of China, what effect would that have on U.S.- Chinese relations?
GIBBS: Well, let me -- let me not get ahead of something -- we'll have a chance to, maybe, discuss that later on.
Look, I think that you heard the president enunciate quite clearly in China a policy and a belief that open government and the ability to communicate among people without the censorship of government is tremendously important.
So it may -- may be, as there are on some issues, that we, in a mature diplomatic relationship, have disagreements. But I don't want to get ahead of something that we may have a chance to discuss --
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: -- brief the administration on what it's doing?
GIBBS: I -- I don't know what the latest is, this morning, on that.
QUESTION: Thursday, you guys are going to Iowa to -- the president's going to talk about health care reform. And I know you recall 2007 when the president, then senator, was there. He introduced his health care proposal.
If you look at what he announced in 2007 and what is law or will be law as of tomorrow, there are a lot of similarities but there are also a lot of striking differences, in terms of, you know, whether or not there's universal coverage, whether or not every individual's family premiums -- family premiums will go down $2,500.
Is this just what happens when ideals meet the pragmatic politics? Or why are there such differences between what the president proposed two years ago?
Well, look Dick, obviously what you -- what you propose and what goes through the system sometimes changes. I think the promise that the president laid out in May of 2007 and talked about even before laying out a specific policy, was that we should not, in a country like the United States of America, have to have people deciding between keeping their house and keeping their health care. Or we shouldn't live in a country where -- where people don't have access to affordable health care.
So I -- I -- look, I think always in this it always goes through the legislative process, but I think what the president promised that day and what the president will sign tomorrow is very much the promise of affordable accessible health care that puts people back in charge of their health care, rather than insurance companies. I think something that will have lasting benefit for tens of millions of Americans for many years to come.
QUESTION: Is there going to be a follow-up legislation to -- since the president had the goal of universal coverage in 2007 and CBO says the current legislation will leave uninsured 23 million Americans? Is there going to be a follow-up attempt?
GIBBS: Look, I -- I -- I -- I don't know if there's been any discussions about that this morning. The coverage, I think CBO said somewhere between 94 and 95 percent of Americans will have coverage. Obviously, we will, after the president signs this into law, get about to the important process or ensuring its efficient and speedy implementation. QUESTION: Does the president feel any -- (INAUDIBLE) a very long hard fight, very bitter and divisive in a lot of ways -- does the president feel any obligation as a man who campaigned on bridging the partisan divide to reach out to Republicans for future legislation, for improving the spirit in Washington that has now been so poisoned by this very vicious debate at times?
GIBBS: I -- I don't know that -- we'll be able to look back and see whether the debate itself poisoned the atmosphere. I think that the president will do on financial reform, on campaign finance, on getting our economy moving again, all of the host of issues -- immigration reform and energy -- that we've talked about still being on the -- on the docket. I think the president will continue to reach out to Democrats and Republicans that want to make a positive effort on these issues.
You know, the president -- you know, I'm -- I'm a little struck by the fact that, you know, everybody seems, on one side, to be talking about repeal today.
So I'll let them answer why, as Mitch McConnell put it in his profile in the New York Times, the anecdote of him having a plan even before the president came to the Congress with an economic recovery plan last January, that he had a plan to simply say no to each and every thing that the president proposed.
I think that's a little bit about what elections are ultimately going to be about. And I think if people want to campaign on taking tax cuts away from small businesses, taking assistance away from seniors getting prescription drugs, and want to take away the -- a mother knowing that their child can't be discriminated against by an insurance company -- if that's the platform that others want to run on, taking that away from families and small businesses, then -- then we'll have a robust campaign on that.
QUESTION: What's your reaction to some of the words that were thrown around, just this past weekend? One Republican member of Congress shouted "baby killer." You had Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights icon, having the N-Word shouted at him.
How did -- what's your reaction to that, first?
But then, how do you pick up the pieces from this debate for immigration and closing Gitmo and some of those other things?
GIBBS: Well, look, you have -- we have talked about on any number of different debates what happens when people say things that have no -- no place in a legislative debate, let alone any -- I think any real place in our -- in our public or, quite frankly, even private discourse.
I don't know that I would want to explain to my six year old why I had done or said some of the things that were done or said this past weekend. I think the president believes, regardless of the passion of your views, which people rightly hold in a country as great as this, that we ought to be able to have that debate without the type of language and actions that we've seen in some places over the weekend.
QUESTION: To follow what Jake was asking about the speech in the campaign about covering all Americans, regardless of whether there was any talk this morning about a second piece of legislation, generally, how do you view this? Is this the first bite of the apple? Does the president hope to complete this by the end of --
(CROSSTALK)
GIBBS: I appreciate you all constructing another mountain for us to climb. I'm, quite frankly, this afternoon just enjoying the view from where we are.
On another subject, Israel. You've got the prime minister coming in to meet the president tomorrow. Ahead of that meeting, we're getting reports that the prime minister has suggested he might make some concessions, including sitting down for direct talks with Palestinians, U.S.-brokered. It sounds like we need to hear whether the U.S. is willing to bring the parties together. How quickly do you think the president will receive those concessions, and will he commence talks?
I think Prime Minister Netanyahu is -- obviously, is here, will meet with some administration officials today, and will meet privately with the president like he did last year, tomorrow -- early tomorrow evening.
Our goal in any of this is to create an atmosphere of trust and open dialogue to bring these two sides together so that the discussions can be substantive in moving towards comprehensive Middle Eastern peace. I think that's what we hope tomorrow is, in his discussions with the prime minister, and we'll see what comes out of that.
QUESTION: Is the president prepared to start talks with the U.S. helping to broker?
GIBBS: The president looks forward to having a -- having a good conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and we'll see where we go from there.
QUESTION: No coverage?
GIBBS: No coverage. It'll be in the dining room off the Oval Office.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) the president learn about himself out of this debate, and about the different parties? And what is, I think it's very legitimate to ask, what is the next big mountain?
GIBBS: It's legitimate to ask. I didn't want to climb a separate mountain on this.
Look, what I think he learned about -- you know, I think what -- I think what all of Washington learned about him is that he is willing to make very tough decisions. QUESTION: Why didn't he go for the government plan, then?
GIBBS: Let me -- I didn't even get five words out, Helen.
(LAUGHTER)
I think somebody who's willing to make very tough decisions and see -- see that through.
I think there were many opportunities where he could have turned back. And I think he -- I think very much that what passed last night meant more to him than any election night could have because I think he understands, and the reason that he continued to push forward on something as important as health care reform is he understands just what it will mean, as I said earlier, for millions of Americans for many, many years to come.
They will, just in the next -- within this year, small businesses will begin to get tax credits to help pay for the coverage they provide their employees.
Seniors will get help in their prescription drug coverage, and we'll begin to close that doughnut hole that I've talked about.
Maybe most importantly, in all these immediate benefits, like I've said before, a mother doesn't have -- won't have to sit in her kitchen on the phone with an insurance company, worried sick that the decisions about her child's health care are not going to be made by a doctor, are not going to be made by her or the -- her family but by an insurance company bureaucrat on the other end of the phone in God knows where, determining that that child had a pre-existing condition.
That's all going to change. And that's just what's going to happen over the course of the rest of 2010. So, look, I think he was -- I think he knew what he wanted to accomplish. And despite all of the -- despite whatever -- whatever he was told, he kept fighting for what he believed in.
QUESTION: So will that be his most (INAUDIBLE) from now on?
He started out very slow and not really swinging.
GIBBS: Well, I would say perseverance paid off.
Look, I think the president rightly looks at the scorekeeping that happens on any given or individual day, and I doubt that -- I doubt there's not anybody in here that, at some point, declared health care dead, maybe multiple times.
I think the -- the pace that the president had was to see the long view and to get this done. And I think that's what he did.
As for the next mountains, we've talked about some of them. There's no doubt that finishing the legislation that the president has offered and ideas that he's offered on getting our economy moving again, small business lending, zero capital gains for start-up small businesses, the retrofitting initiatives to, again, create jobs. There's the outstanding case and the loophole that the case generated for Citizens United.
Obviously, financial reform, which Senator Dodd's committee will take up today. And I think we feel there's some momentum building for seeing that through. As well as big issues like comprehensive energy and immigration legislation that are obviously still left for the president to do.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) seem to think that the president's health care (INAUDIBLE) will somehow fund abortions. Can you really speak to that?
GIBBS: I'm sorry. Say that again?
QUESTION: There are some who think the president's health care reform will somehow fund abortions.
GIBBS: Yeah.
QUESTION: Can you speak to that?
GIBBS: I will say this, and I think the executive order makes this clear: The president was -- the president stated throughout this process that -- that health care reform should simply maintain the status quo. He believes that the bill maintains the status quo. And he thinks the executive order reiterates that strong belief.
QUESTION: But that is all it does, isn't it, reiterates the existing law. There's nothing --
GIBBS: Well, I have --
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: -- particular about the executive order that changed anything.
GIBBS: Well, again, the -- the president and I think, quite frankly, many in the -- in Congress on both sides of this, believed, as the president did, that this should be a health care bill, that it shouldn't be a bill about other issues.
And what -- what the bill does and what the executive order does is underscore that the status quo is preserved.
QUESTION: It doesn't say (INAUDIBLE), does it?
GIBBS: That's -- that was the whole point.
QUESTION: So, tomorrow, will there be -- will the president have any new proposal to move the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations beyond where they are with the Mitchell talks right now? (INAUDIBLE) created any new ideas to push this forward?
GIBBS: Well. again, we'll have a sense of what they discuss in the meeting after the meeting --
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So there you go.
This is Rick Sanchez. Welcome back, everyone. We're getting right to the crux of the matter here and that is the executive order that has been signed by the president of United States, which is causing so much of the consternation last night and which led to this key moment. We now know who person was who actually screamed out baby killer while Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak was arguing against a Republican abortion amendment.
Let's start by listening to that together and then I'll tell you more about Texas Republican Randy Neugebauer. Hit it, Roj.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: It is the Democrats who have stood up to -- (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those who are shouting out are out of order.
REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: Baby killer!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker -- shhh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Baby killer was the term that was quite clearly heard there. We now know who said it. It was Texas Republican Randy Neugebauer. There he is. He says he wasn't directing it at Stupak, even though it was said during Stupak's speech. He says it was just a comment in general about the bill. It has caused a huge buzz since it was first heard on Capitol Hill.
I am being joined now by both Brianna Keilar, she is on Capitol Hill, and Jessica Yellin, she's joining me as well.
Jessica, let me begin with you. First of all, who is this guy? What do we know about him?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Randy Neugebauer, he was elected in 2003. He's from one of those most conservative districts in Texas. He is a fellow who actually was one of the co-sponsors of the bill that grew out of the birther movement, requiring future presidential candidates to reveal their birth certificate. He had said at the time that that was not, because he didn't believe Obama is an American, but because he just wanted to avoid these controversies in the future. And as you pointed out, he has apologized. He says he called Representative Stupak and did apologize to him, that it was out of keeping with the decorum of Congress.
SANCHEZ: Why he did it take so long for his fellow members to either, A, give him up, because we understood last night from our own reporting and other reports on politico, for example, that everyone around him heard it, knew exactly who he was, but they wouldn't tell reporters who he was. Why did it take so long?
YELLIN: Let me defer to Brianna to let you tell her what members are saying.
SANCHEZ: Do we have Brianna? Oh, I'm sorry, Jessica. I wasn't sure whether we had her or not.
Brianna, are you there?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rick, I'm here.
It's hard to tell exactly why other than do any of these members really want to be outing one of their own? I mean, if you think of it in terms of, if you think of it in terms of a PR standpoint, would they much rather not have to be the member by name who said it was another member. It would be much easier to have Congressman Neugebauer go about it on his own so that he doesn't really have to bring other Republicans into the equation. But we did speak with at least one Texas Republican yesterday who said he was sure who it was.
And I actually, spoke with that congressman's spokesperson and I said, can you tell me who it is and he said that the congressman hadn't even told him. So certainly this is something that were playing very close to the vest and here it is, more than half a day later before you find out who it is.
SANCHEZ: Just a moment. Here's a sound (ph) from Robert Gibbs just a little while ago. He was asked the question. He equated this to having to have a difficult conversation with his own kids about things that he said have been taking place over this weekend. Let's listen to Robert Gibbs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBS: I don't know that I would want to explain to my six-year- old why I had done or said some of the things that were done or said this past weekend. I think the president believes, regardless of the passion of your views, which people rightly hold in a country as great as this, that we ought to be able to have that debate without the type of language and actions that we have seen in some places over the weekend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Boy, there's so much to get to here. First of all, if this was adamantly a bill which obviously was paying for abortions, one could possibly understand the heated rhetoric where someone would stand up and say that. But at the very least, at the very least that in and of itself is debatable. I also want to know whether this is going to -- hurt the very sober message that many people thought that the Republicans were bringing forward to contradict this legislation that the Democrats were pushing for. And finally, one the things that we need to find out about is whether there is any now direct tie between this comment and what some Democrats are now saying, is that the ties -- these congressmen or should I say, pardon me, some congressmen, to the tea party movement. So we're going to get into all three of those things. I want to sneak in a break and then both Jessica and Brianna are be coming back. We're going to take you through that conversation with everything that's being said there in Washington from both of them. We're going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Here's what's making the list. Who said that? Who called Congressman Stupak a baby killer? And what are the repercussions of such incivility for the GOP? It was not the only act of incivility. Some tea party protesters over the weekend spit, called out the "N" word and the "F" word against these congressmen. What does health care reform really mean for you?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people are telling me this decision could cost me my job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And who wins politically? If it's a government takeover, why have health insurance stocks been going up? And who asked all the blacks to leave a Wal-Mart? The lists you need to know about. Who is today's most intriguing, who is making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list. Pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news, right now.
Welcome back, I'm Rick Sanchez. Interestingly enough, one of the folks on my Twitter list that I follow is Randy Neugebauer. He tweets a lot, as a matter of fact. Here's a Tweet he just had recently. I'll read it to you. Bart Stupak sold out to Nancy Pelosi and will now support the Senate version that allows for government-funded abortions. Jessica Yellin and Brianna Keilar are both joining me now. They're in Washington, following the story. I guess my first question is, does this -- and either one of you that wants to pick this up. Will this be seen as something that could possibly jeopardize or undermine the GOP's sober message against this legislation?
KEILAR: Well, you know, Rick, I think this is something that Republicans -- they don't really want to be focusing on this. They want to be focusing on why they oppose this bill and moving that message forward toward the election. It's the same way they didn't really want to be talking about the bad behavior of some of those tea party protesters on Saturday, some of these protests that actually some Republican representatives went to. But at same time on the flip side, Rick, it's kind of interesting, because I get the sense the Democrats aren't really thrilled to be talking about this either because they want to be spending their time really touting this major piece of legislation that's sent out of Congress.
SANCHEZ: But why shouldn't they be talking about it? I come back to my main point and Jessica, you and I have talked about this a lot and I think this is what's most interesting about this. You can easily make a cogent argument when you look at the bill itself before the executive order that's being signed by the president that really puts the kibosh on anything that Mr. Neugebauer can be saying. But even before that, it was really a phantom concern in many ways. The new bill, the health care reform bill, made it impossible for someone to have an abortion paid for. That's a fact. So where's the argument in terms of direct money. Yes.
YELLIN: Right. Well, the -- Rick, the bigger picture here is that health care reform has become a proxy for the frustrations, the rage of so many Americans, especially, in the Republican party who feel that government is doing too much, is going too far outside of their comfort zone and invading their lives. And so the use of the term baby killer, sort of like what they shouted out at President Obama during the state of the union, you lie. It's this distrust of government at large and so the more that the Democrats engage that debate, the more they stir up the frustration, the anger and they stay polarized.
SANCHEZ: Well, let's take it back to the tea party, then, because here's the third part of this (INAUDIBLE) that I'm asking about and I'm wondering about and I've heard folks like Barney Frank's commenting on the fact for example that this in many ways ties not all but some Republican congressmen to the tea party folks who were yelling the "F" word at him on Saturday. Are some Democrats going to make that argument? Will we hear that argument made? Is there any validity to the possibility of that argument now that we have this guy who screamed this out?
YELLIN: Well, there is definitely a link between -- I mean, the tea party or some of them do support certain members of Congress and are lobbying them aggressively to stand up to the White House on health care, on any number of issues. And the tea party is obviously being, you know -- it's an important base of support for Republican members. There's many of them. But the issue, Rick, is that the more -- there are also very many reasonable members of the tea party who aren't screaming out these things. And so for Republicans, they don't want to be attached, obviously, to the most extreme fringes. And so both sides are shying away from this debate, because it keeps it polarized and it alienates those swing independents that both sides need to win over who just think, everyone is nuts, nobody speaks for me, I want no part of government . I want no part of voting.
SANCHEZ: But Brianna, going back to the main point, does this action by this congressman tend to tie the GOP in some measure to some of those folks in the tea party who have been screaming similar things out? Is that a concern, even, in Washington?
KEILAR: No, I definitely think it is. And I think that what happened on Saturday -- and you know, I don't -- I think that Jessica was speaking in kind of a divide. There are some members, some of the Republican party, who are more in tune with these protesters. We saw them. I was standing out at the protest yesterday looking up at the Capitol and there were some members who were coming out on the balcony, trying to keep them sort of riled up and making noise. But privately, there are other Republicans who say we would prefer it if some of these Republican members didn't go out and address -- tea party protesters on the PA system, because we're afraid that something happens like this, a bad incident, where slurs are used and it sort of pushes us together and there sort of rubbed off on it not where we're going for.
SANCHEZ: What happens now by the way -- final question on this. But if you want to get in real quick, Jessica, go ahead.
YELLIN: The one thing I would add is there have always been members of the Republican party and other Democratic party, the other members don't want to associate with. They think, they don't speak for me. I wish they weren't so outspoken and on the fringe. And so now they're getting their voice. They're speaking up. But they have always been members like that.
SANCHEZ: I understand that and that's a very well-made point. And we have had points in fact in the last 10 years, even though in the George W. Bush administration, there were times when some members laid things that others later regret. As a matter of fact, I'm interviewing Allen Grayson (ph) during his newscast. He has said a couple of things and I'm going to ask him about it, that some people of his own party have said I wish you hadn't said that. Final point though, what happens from here? Is this an ethics committee issue? Will he be disciplined? We he be forced to apologize? What usually happens? What are we learning might happen in this case? Ladies.
KEILAR: It depends on what Democrats want to do. Do they want to ask for him to apologize on the health floor? Do they want to try to pass a resolution like they offered with Joe Wilson to chastise him and the question is, it's really up to Democrats whether they want to take that step forward. They did that with Joe Wilson. I get the sense that at least right now, there is no burning desire among Democrats to do that. But that could change, because there were some Democrats who didn't want to do it with Joe Wilson, but some who felt very strongly.
SANCHEZ: Interesting discussion.
KEILAR: It wasn't the president, so it makes a difference a little.
SANCHEZ: That it wasn't the president. You think? It was just -- as you and I say, Stupak.
KEILAR: Well, it's sort he sort of an issue maybe they want to move beyond. It wasn't the president. It wasn't affront to the leader of the nation. Maybe they just want to move beyond it.
SANCHEZ: And maybe it will stay at this point. Hey, guys, great conversation. I hope the viewers enjoyed it as much as I had a chance to enjoy it, having this conversation with you guys. You really are there. You know what's going on. If you learn anything else, please let us know.
Meanwhile, I'm going to be telling you in just a little bit how the whole thing yesterday went down. It is fascinating, get your DVR's set because I'm going to take you through the 1-2, 3s of how this legislation was passed filled with theater and emotion and atmospherics. And you'll see it all.
Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Number two on THE LIST. How this actually happened? Change has come to the United States. This is not a change that the Republicans want, but it is a change that the president says the people want.
Who's right? Well, we're going to be tackling this during this hour.
But first, get ready to hit record, because I want you now to go through this process with us, this historic piece of legislation, as it was passed in the House.
It began on our air with my buddy, Candy Crowley, when she asked the chair of the Democratic Caucus, if he, in fact, had the votes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN LARSON (D), CONNECTICUT: And now, Barack Obama's passage of health care reform.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, you've got the 216.
LARSON: We've got the votes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That was something that some people thought was jumping the gun, because it would actually be hours before they really had the votes when he said that. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House were still putting out fires. President Obama, he was working the phones at the time. There he is. And Pelosi was dealing with holdouts, trying to somehow get around the Medicare question.
But the biggest stumbling block appeared to still be Bart Stupak. He was demanding a change in the abortion language. Stupak, chased by cameras all day long Sunday, continued to insist, there was no deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: Getting there, getting there. If I can get in my office, maybe we can get it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: If I can get into my office.
But after hours, with talks with White House lawyers, Stupak got what he seemed to want. This executive order that has been released by the White House. You should -- you could get it on line, by the way, and you can probably read it for yourself. It's from the president reassuring that the president did uphold the ban on federal funding for abortions. OK, that's when Stupak, surrounded by his supporters, came out and said this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUPAK: I'm pleased to announce that we have an agreement. And it's with the help of the president and the speaker, we were able to come with an agreement to protect the sanctity of life in the health care reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: OK. Now, House leaders were ready to call the vote. After all, they had Stupak, they had the votes with Stupak, Pelosi made a symbolic to the House, arm in arm with Congressman John Lewis as they walked protesters outside the Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The chair recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. Waxman, for 15 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam Speaker --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Then two hours of debate inside the chamber, followed by the Republican punctuation from Minority Leader John Boehner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), MINORITY LEADER: Look at how this bill was written. Can you say it was done openly? With transparency and accountability? Without backroom deals and struck behind closed doors hidden from the people? Hell no, you can't. Have you read the bill? Have you read the reconciliation bill? Have you read the manager's amendment? Hell no, you haven't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It's interesting. One side is screaming yes. The other side is screaming no.
How does Speaker Pelosi, challenged by Boehner there, how does she respond to Boehner? That is coming up next.
Also, this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Lot orders over the weekend, lots of folks being told that they're out of order. But none was less civil than the one calling out "baby killer." We've been giving you lots of information on that. We have more, including the statement that's been put out by the Texas congressman.
Stay right there. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
It does appear that there is movement on the John Neugebauer story. He is the Republican congressman from Texas who screamed out "baby killer," just as one of his colleagues was speaking on the floor. That's what he looks like. Obviously, this is related to the Bart Stupak speech yesterday.
There's an update. And I understand, Brianna Keilar is standing by to bring it to us now.
Brianna, are you there? What's going on?
KEILAR (via telephone): Rick, we're just getting word from the number three Democrat in the House, Jim Clyburn from South Carolina. He just told reporters that Neugebauer owes the entire House of Representatives an apology for this outburst and he said that the apology to Stupak, because remember, Neugebauer said he called Stupak and that he has put out a written statement apologizing to all of his colleagues. Clyburn says that that was inadequate and he says he needs to go to the well, meaning he needs to go to the microphone on the House floor and apologize. He said he disrupted the decorum of the House of Representatives and it was wrong.
SANCHEZ: Can they force him to do this, or is this just an asking?
KEILAR: Now, you know what? This is -- remember with Joe Wilson.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KEILAR: They asked him to do it. And he didn't do it. And then with what they actually did, if I'm recalling right, was bringing a resolution. So, kind of admonish him publicly on the House floor. Whether they're going to go that far, I'm not sure. I mean, it seems like they're kind of laying the ground work for that, but I'm been hearing different things from different people.
I mean, here, we hear from Congressman Clyburn and he's basically saying in some other comments that, you know, you let it go, and you're kind of giving someone an inch so that they can take a mile. But I've also heard from other leadership aides that they would prefer not to be focusing on this. You know, they want to be focusing on the fact that they just passed a huge historic health care bill.
SANCHEZ: What about the Republicans? What are they saying about it -- if anything?
KEILAR: They're pretty -- they're pretty mum about it.
SANCHEZ: Yes. KEILAR: You know, today, I was trying to get reaction from different offices, from Republican leadership, and no one was telling me -- this is before it broke, who it was -- no one was telling me who it was, even though it was clear that at least some members do, and no one was going on the record condemning it. It kind of seemed like everyone was trying to not really touch it with a 10-foot pole.
SANCHEZ: And finally, John Neugebauer (AUDIO BREAK) saying that he wasn't really talking to Stupak, even though Stupak was the only one who was speaking at the time. He said that --
KEILAR: Well, no, what he was saying was -- his assertion is that he wasn't calling Stupak a baby killer. He was calling the bill a baby killer. And he said that he actually said if --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUPAK: It is the Democrats who have stood up --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: He said it's, huh?
KEILAR: He said -- he said that he was saying, "It's a baby killer." Not --
SANCHEZ: Well, let's -- why don't we do this? Why don't we do this? Because there's no time left (INAUDIBLE).
KEILAR: Well, no, but let me tell you -- are you talking about playing the video?
SANCHEZ: Yes, let's play it.
KEILAR: Well, I have to tell you because I was actually there in the chamber when it happened.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KEILAR: You could hear it much more clearly in person than you could hear on the tape.
SANCHEZ: Did you hear it?
KEILAR: So, I actually -- I was coming into the chamber, and I heard my producer Deirdre Walsh heard it, and it was very clear and a lot of the members of the press heard it. So, I was told that it was much clearer in person than it was on the tape.
SANCHEZ: What was clear? "It's a baby killer" or "baby killer?"
KEILAR: Just "baby killer." They didn't hear the "It's a."
SANCHEZ: They did not hear it.
KEILAR: They just heard "baby killer." So, you know, if he said it, it wasn't loud enough to hear -- which isn't to say he didn't say it. But certainly, if he said it, the "baby killer" part was much louder.
SANCHEZ: Well, hold on, Brianna, stay with me. Now I'm hearing that Steny Hoyer has come forward and said he does not want him to apologize on the floor. He thinks we should move past the controversy. Does that make sense to you?
KEILAR: Steny Hoyer -- and this is what I'm hearing now from so many that I've seen now. Steny Hoyer is the number two Democrat, and he's saying that this doesn't need to go any further.
And you know what -- it's interesting, Rick, because this really parallels kind of what we saw happening with Joe Wilson after he yelled "you lie" at the president. We were getting the sense from Speaker Pelosi that she really was happy to say, OK, that was wrong. Let's move on.
And then we actually did see that it was -- it was Congressman Clyburn, the whip, who was kind of doing the bidding of some of the Congressional Black Caucus who were really pressing for Wilson to be admonished. Now, I don't know exactly who is maybe spearheading this, but clearly, Clyburn's opinion is that he needs to apologize, there is certainly not the same story coming from all members of leadership.
SANCHEZ: Well, you know, that's interesting. It almost sounds like some of the folks in the Democratic Party, as you mentioned earlier, by the way, kudos to you, are saying, look, let's just put this thing behind us. We want people talking about what we did, not about what somebody else did in the House.
But regardless, what we should do is, play it for you one more time, when we come back from this next break. Because it's one thing to have an able correspondent like Brianna Keilar, and I do the best I can for you every day here, having a discussion about something. And it's quite another view to be able to hear it with your own ears. And I always like hearing things for myself.
So, I'm going to play it for you, one more time, when we come back. You heard Brianna say everybody there says he said "baby killer." He is saying he said, "It's a baby killer." See if you hear the difference.
We'll be right. This is RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: OK. Let me take you through this process last night, including the scream that we have been talking about. The emotional peak last night occurred around 10:00 p.m. Some of you saw it, some of you didn't. John Boehner had just concluded that fiery closing argument that I shared with you just a little while ago. The usually half-empty chamber was packed with Republicans giving Boehner a loud applause for what he'd said.
And that's when Speaker Pelosi got up -- and suddenly, the Democrats rose to their feet, and they started cheering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has brought us to this moment of a decision. The young lady from California, the speaker of the House -- Nancy Pelosi.
(CHEERING)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Thank you. Thank you, my colleagues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This was interesting. She didn't respond at all to Boehner's strongly worded criticism of here and the Democrats. In fact, she pretty much ignored him. In a low-key tone, Pelosi then compared the moment with the passage of Medicare and the Civil Rights Act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: After a year of debate and hearing the calls of millions of Americans, we have come to this historic moment. Today, we have the opportunity to complete the great, unfinished business of our society and pass health insurance reform for all Americans. That is a right, and not a privilege.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. Let me continue to take you through this. With that, the House began the first of two major votes. Up first, voting on the Senate version of the health care bill itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On this vote, the yeas are 219, the nays are 212. The motion to concur the Senate amendment is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Usually, when they read votes like this, there's hardly anyone there to cheer. In fact, usually, you hear crickets in that place. The bill passed, though, with three votes to spare. The drama was still not over.
The next vote was on the fixes to this Senate bill, this reconciliation thing that so many folks have been talking about. Republicans tried to use an abortion amendment to block the bill. Bart Stupak himself then rose to urge its defeat, assuring that he had a deal with the president that was right. Listen then to what happened, and here's where you get to listen for yourself as to whether he actually said "Baby killer" or "It's a baby killer."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUPAK: It is the Democrats who have stood up --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspend. Those who were shouting out are out of order.
REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: Baby killer!
STUPAK: Mr. Speaker --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Did you hear that for yourself? Congressman Randy Neugebauer from the Republican side of the chamber yelled "Baby killer." Once again, here's that moment. I'll let you take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUPAK: It is the Democrats who have stood up --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspend. Those who were shouting out are out of order.
NEUGEBAUER: Baby killer!
STUPAK: Mr. Speaker --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: With emotions still high in the chamber, the amendment was defeated and the House then voted on the second version of the bill with its changes. This time, Nancy Pelosi, holding a historic gavel, made this announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: On this vote, the yeas are 220, the nays are 211. The bill is passed.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The White House, for its own, chose a quiet response to the vote. No ceremony, no room filled with congressional leaders. Instead, President Obama and almost a teary-eyed Vice President Biden who said later he was reflecting on his old friend, Ted Kennedy, talked to a mostly empty East Room, just before midnight, saying progress had been made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, this isn't radical reform. But it is major reform. This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system. But it moves us decisively in the right direction. This is what change looks like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The president is now expected to sign the first version of the bill tomorrow at the White House. We don't know the exact time. Obviously, we'll cover it life for you here at CNN, as we do every other event there. While waiting for the Senate to vote on their changes, by the way. And that still has to go through.
Take a look at this. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come to America to mend fences, perhaps. That's what some insiders say. We're following it for you. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: He is a lawmaker -- a Michigan lawmaker, a Democrat. And today, he's the most intriguing person in the news.
(MUSIC)
SANCHEZ: Fifty-eight years old and in Congress since 1993. Who do you think he is?
He was a hero to the anti-abortion Republicans on the other side of the aisle but he's also not very popular over there today. And here's why -- he was against the president's health care bill on the grounds of its abortion funding language. But that was before he made the White House sign over an executive order assuring federal money won't be used. Because of that, an anti-abortion group that wanted to give him an award is now taking it back.
Listen to this. Quote, "By accepting this deal from the most pro-abortion president in American history, he has not only failed to stand strong for unborn children but also for his constituents and pro-life voters across the country."
They're talking about Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak. The same guy someone called a "baby killer" on the House floor, and we now know who that someone was.
No, Susan B. Anthony Award for him, but he gets mentioned as one the most intriguing people in the news today.
(MUSIC)
SANCHEZ: All right. There's no question that since we call our show RICK'S LIST, we should collect for you a list of all the folks who are tweeting on this day about health care and everything that happened last night. We called both Democrats and Republicans list, and here's what we've come up with.
The tweet, first of all, from Republican Congressman Steve King from Iowa: "Just back from drafting. I will introduce a bill to repeal Obamacare. Language to be posted Web site ASAP. I have co- sponsors, encourage more." That's Steve king.
Additional support from Republican Michele Bachmann from Minnesota, who tweeted this today: "This afternoon, I introduced legislation to repeal the Democrats' government takeover of health care."
And there's some from Democrats. Here's a tweet from Representative Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin: "Nothing can sully the pride I feel today in taking this critical step in providing health care coverage for all Americans."
And this from Representative Keith Ellison from Minnesota, what's next: "Now, let's get a real jobs bill, real financial reform bill and real immigration reform. We did this, we can do more."
Obviously, we're going to stay on top of that for you. Big changes are coming your way in health care. But what does it mean specifically for you? And when will it kick in for you? Will it kick in in six months, or will it kick in in 2014? I want to take you through the specifics of this in terms of what it means for you.
Also, health insurance stocks seem to be going up of late. How can that be?
As the market gets ready to close, we've got Poppy Harlow standing by and she is all over it. That's coming up next. Poppy, you ready?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm ready, Rick. Bring it on.
SANCHEZ: Are you ready to take us through this?
HARLOW: Bring it on.
SANCHEZ: OK. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
