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CNN NEWSROOM

President's Health Care Push; Debating Coverage and Costs; The Streets of Tehran

Aired June 25, 2009 - 10:59 ET

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



TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Thursday, June 25th, and here are the top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.



President Obama's health care overhaul. He gets support at a rally outside the Capitol this hour. Inside, your lawmakers try to come up with a health care fix.



The brutality of the crackdown. Safely out of Iran, our CNN correspondent tells me what he saw on the streets of Tehran.



A rising Republican governor stumbles on his way to the national stage. Does South Carolina's Mark Sanford have a political future after his long distant sex scandal?



Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.



The debate over the future of your health care playing out on several fronts today and on television last night, and we are covering it from all angles. A group pushing for reform holds a rally later this hour. A House panel holding a hearing right now behind the scenes.



OK, that's the hearing room. Behind the scenes, congressional negotiators are debating the plans,, how to trim the cost and how to pay for reform.



Last night, President Obama made his case in a televised forum.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we are smart, we should be able to design a system in which people still have choices of doctors and choices of plans that make sure that the necessary treatment is provided, but we don't have a huge amount of waste in the system, that we are providing adequate coverage for all people, and that we are driving down costs over the long term.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



HARRIS: White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux begins our coverage.



And Suzanne, this recent push by the president seems to really underscore, doesn't it, just how high a priority health care is to this administration? SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was really fascinating, Tony, to watch. I mean, allowing a town hall to occur in the president's own parlor, as well as the living room of the White House, is really quite unusual, even extraordinary, if you think about it. This really underscores the president's lengths that he's going to move forward on health care reform.



What did we hear? We didn't hear a lot of new things, per se, but we did hear a real emphasis, an emphasis on trying to offer this kind of alternative, a government-run, government-created insurance program that would compete with these private insurance companies, offer more options.



Now, this is something that the president says is going to ultimately drive down the spiraling cost of health care. There are a number of decisions -- there are a number of options, rather, that he has come up with. Some of them deal with building up revenue; others with cutting costs, costs to Medicare, Medicaid, as well as the hospitals.



Here's something the president said last night that struck me.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



OBAMA: What I've said is, let's change the system so that our overall cost curve starts going down by investing in a range of things -- prevention, health I.T., et cetera. We will have some up-front costs, and the estimates, as Charlie has said, have been anywhere from $1 trillion to $2 trillion. But what we said is, what my administration has said, what I've have said, is that whatever it is that we do, we pay for. So it doesn't add to our deficit.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



MALVEAUX: Tony, there's some controversial proposals that obviously he's talking about when he's talking about paying for this -- looking at the wealthiest Americans, perhaps limiting the amount of itemized deductions when you file your taxes that you can actually write off, that that would be limited in some way, or even taking a look at those tax-free health benefits and putting a cap on that, saying wealthiest Americans will not be able to have all of their health benefits tax free.



These are just some of the proposals, Tony, that obviously the president realizes is going to take a big push, a big effort, and we saw part of that last night.



HARRIS: Boy. All right.



At the White House for us last night, where a lot of the action is taking place, Suzanne Malveaux for us.



Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.



Now to Capitol Hill, where the heavy lifting on health care reform is really taking place. While the hearings go on before the cameras, lawmakers are meeting behind closed doors, trying to work out details on coverage and cost control. And debate continues over some kind of government insurance.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



REP. TRENT FRANKS (R), ARIZONA: If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



HARRIS: Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar is following negotiations on the Hill.



Brianna, a lot to get to here. What are the Democrats trying to do to get the costs down, cost containment here?



BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, generally, what we know, Tony, is the Senate Finance Committee is meeting behind closed doors right now, and they are trying to get those costs down by tinkering with the numbers. They call it dialing back.



So, really, they put out a proposal, and we learned that it was going to cost $1.6 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. A huge number.



We know that they have dialed around some of these numbers and they have gotten it down to $1.2 trillion as they crunch numbers with the Congressional Budget Office. But they still have about $200 billion more that they want to cut.



And Tony, we're keeping such an eye on this meeting that is going on behind closed doors. We have producers outside of the room there trying to figure out what's going on, waiting for any new developments, because this is really seen as the best chance for bipartisan agreement on health care reform.



HARRIS: And Brianna, the real question is, how do they pay for whatever they agree on?



KEILAR: We found out yesterday from the chairman of this committee, Max Baucus, that one of the ideas gaining traction is one that you and I have talked about before, Tony, and that's taxing employer-provided heath benefits. So that idea is gaining attraction.



And Baucus also said that President Obama told him he is flexible to this idea. That's a pretty big deal, Tony, because as you know, President Obama, on the campaign trail, really railed against Senator John McCain when he proposed that very idea.



HARRIS: And, you know, is there some sort of -- did you mention the co-op idea that's emerging?



KEILAR: Yes. This is the committee that is looking at this idea of a health co-op, credit unions, pharm (ph) co-ops. It would operate in a similar way, at least generally speaking, as we understand. It would be governed by patients who receive the very care that the health co-op and the very insurance that the health co-op provides.



We do understand this is gaining traction there, but we're trying to work out the details here. The reason we're watching this, Tony, is because for almost all Republicans, and for quite a few Democrats, even, in the Senate, that idea of a public option, the government-run insurance plan is really a nonstarter. And so that's what these senators are tinkering with, this idea of a co-op.



HARRIS: As we continue to try to stay inside the room with this debate, are you getting a sense that there is some kind of final version of a plan emerging?



KEILAR: Well, we've gotten the sense that they're moving towards something because we heard yesterday the words "coalesce," "gaining traction," so they're starting to make some progress on the idea of how to pay for it. And, you know, they're crunching these numbers to bring the costs down.



They say they're going to bring it down, there's no doubt about that. So what we're really trying to figure out is exactly the details of, what this is going to look like? If they're putting out a co-op, what exactly is it going to look like? So there's still a lot to be sorted out, Tony, but they do seem to be moving in that direction.



HARRIS: All right. You say there's the public meeting going on, and then there's the private meeting. It sounds as though, you know, we're getting close to something here. It sounds like a lot of the hard work has been going on. It is -- to use that word you mentioned just a moment ago, it's starting to coalesce.



Hey, Brianna, if you get any new developments -- it sounds like maybe we might in the next couple of hours -- give us a heads up.



Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill.



KEILAR: That is certainly why we're loitering outside this room -- Tony.



HARRIS: All right, Brianna. Appreciate it. Thank you.



"Defiance but nervous," that's how one resident of Iran's capital city is describing the mood there today. A ceremony to remember the victims of the post-election protests postponed.



CNN's Ivan Watson is at our Iran desk.



And Ivan, detail, if you would, all of this that's taking place. And what are you hearing out of Iran at this hour?



IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we've been getting disturbing reports of family members, parents, for example, going from police stations to Tehran's main Evin prison, where political prisoners are normally kept, looking for missing loved ones -- sons, daughters who may have been arrested over the course of the last 10 days of turmoil in the streets. In the meantime, the parents of a Greek British freelance journalist who sometimes contributed to "The Washington Times," Iason Athanasiadis, they are calling for his release. You see him here. The Greek Foreign Ministry also calling for his release, as well as the media watchdog agency Reporters Without Borders, which has gone on to say that some 59 Iranian journalists have been rounded up and arrested over the past several days, since June 14th -- Tony.



HARRIS: Wow.



And Ivan, the statement now attributed to Iran's president taking on the West and President Obama, detail that for us.



WATSON: Well, he definitely slammed Barack Obama's recent criticism of Iran's bloody crackdown on these opposition protests. Let's take a look at what he said.



Here he's shown speaking to a meeting of petroleum industry workers, and his quote on Iranian-state TV, "We don't expect much from British governments and other European governments whose records and background are known for everybody and have no dignity. But I wonder why Mr. Obama, who has come with the slogan of change has fallen into this trap and has taken the same route that Bush took and experienced its consequences."



Now, we also talked to Iran's ambassador to Mexico. He gave an interview to CNN Espanol, and he basically compared the demonstrators that we saw on the streets to terrorists. Let's take a listen to what he said.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



MOHAMMAD HASSAN GHADIRI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO (through translator): Now when someone comes with rocks, or even a weapon, or Molotov cocktail, and intends to attack various centers, people's houses, can we call this only opposition? As long as opposition behaves peacefully, it will be treated peacefully. But once it enters violence and intends to impose its opinion on the majority, and especially when it is under the influence or intrigue or affiliation with countries that are enemies of Iran, it's natural that we will confront it.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



WATSON: So, there you have it, Tony, the Iranian government's version of what has been taking place. One, the demonstrators on the streets are terrorists. And two, Western governments are making this problem worse -- Tony.



HARRIS: OK. We've asking for a statement. Now we have a statement.



Ivan, appreciate it. Thank you.



So, what is the next step in this crisis with the government and for the opposition? Our Reza Sayah, who has dual American/Iranian citizenship, is with us here in Atlanta, on the set with us here. And he was our correspondent in Iran.



But abruptly left after you were essentially given an ultimatum. I know you have been talking about that throughout the morning.



Reza, good to see you.



REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you. Good to be here, Tony.



HARRIS: You know, maybe we can get to the press restrictions in just a moment, but I'm just sort of curious -- personal reflections time here. Have you reflected on what you have borne witness to? As I recall, you arrived in Tehran after the election.



SAYAH: The day after.



HARRIS: And at the start of the protest rallies.



SAYAH: Exactly. When I drove to the hotel from the airport, things were unfolding. It was late Saturday night.



HARRIS: What have you borne witness to?



SAYAH: Well, I mean, it's been a whirlwind of 24 hours, so I haven't had much time to reflect, but what we witnessed was something significant. This was the most aggressive, most sustained dissent against the Islamic Republic of Iran in its 30-year history. And this is the biggest challenge that this regime has faced.



And what we are getting a glimpse of, a rare glimpse of how the Iranian government responds when its stranglehold on power is in jeopardy. And clearly, their strategy is a vicious crackdown. By any means necessary, they want to hold on to power, and we've seen that over the past couple of weeks.



HARRIS: Does this government care at all about the view of the outside world, what the outside world thinks of what is going on inside that country right now?



SAYAH: Well, they are convinced. They believe that the outside world, including the foreign media, including foreign governments, Washington, the U.K., are conspiring to incite violence and destabilize the Islamic republic.



And when you believe something like they do, it's tough to extract that conviction out. And they really believe this. And that's why they've made a campaign, launched an effort to get rid of international journalists, to snuff out those voices, and strategically, systemically through their state-run agencies, put out their own message.



HARRIS: But Reza, you know, this is not a country in total isolation here. This is a country with trade agreements with Russia and China. At some point, does Iran have to explain to its trading partners, the people -- the countries that it does business within the world, what the heck has been going on here?



SAYAH: After these couple of weeks, certainly. Even with its allies, it's going to have to explain what's happening.



HARRIS: Yes.



SAYAH: This is a government that has recently boasted about its democratic ways, about its democracy. But certainly, what we've seen in the past couple weeks hasn't been democracy. This isn't a government that's serving its people based on what we're seeing, because these are people peacefully protesting, but they're followed a vicious crackdown.



HARRIS: Well, has the dissent, in your view, been crushed by the crackdown, or has it deepened the resolve in the people there for some kind of a change?



SAYAH: It's too early to tell. I think in the days to come, in the weeks to come, we're going to find out. But based on what I've seen in the past four days, this very aggressive, determined crackdown has put fear, reluctance in the mind of protesters.



We have spoken to them in the past four days. We have always spoken to them. Are you going? Where are you going?



In the past four days when I was there, when I asked them that, I sensed the reluctance and the fear, because some of the beatings that we saw were absolutely vicious. And now I think the key is what the opposition leaders, specifically Mir Hossein Mousavi, what type of guidance he provides for these protesters.



HARRIS: Well, it's great to have you back. And perhaps we'll get another opportunity to talk to you, and we can talk about the restrictions you were working under, but I know you're working all the CNN platforms for us. But it's great to have you back.



SAYAH: Good to be back.



HARRIS: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, South Carolina's governor says his vanishing act was covering up an affair. Now that he has reappeared, will his political career disappear?



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



HARRIS: And checking the latest on Iran's post-election protests, video here from demonstrations in Tehran. Security forces blocking anti-government demonstrators. CNN cannot confirm the day the video was shot.



The ceremony today to remember victims of these two weeks of protests postponed, according to the Web site of presidential candidate Mehdi Karubi. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's Web site claims 70 university teachers were arrested after he met with them yesterday. CNN has not been able to verify that. Mousavi's Web site also says he is being pressured to drop his challenge to the election.



He admits the affair. Today, questions surround South Carolina governor Mark Sanford. Did taxpayers pay for trips to Argentina, where he carried on a year-long extramarital fling? And does this rising Republican star have a future in politics? He's been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012.



Here is National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): After triggering a national guessing game over his disappearance, Governor Mark Sanford admitted, yes, he skipped town to be in the arms of a mistress.



GOV. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The bottom line is this: I've been unfaithful to my wife. I developed a relationship with a -- what started as a dear, dear friend from Argentina.



YELLIN: From the governor, who repeatedly called himself a man of faith, there were recriminations.



SANFORD: I hurt her. I hurt you all. I hurt my wife. I hurt my boys.



YELLIN: Tears and quite a few details about how his eight-year e-mail relationship with a female friend in Argentina recently ignited.



SANFORD: About a year ago, it sparked into something more than that. I have seen her three times since then during that whole sparking thing.



YELLIN: The jaunt to Argentina was doubly confusing since Sanford's press secretary had announced they made contact with the governor and he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, which does not stretch to Argentina.



The governor admits he misled his staff.



SANFORD: I would also apologize to my staff, because as much as I did talk about going to the Appalachian Trail, and that was one of the original scenarios that I'd thrown out to Mary Neil (ph), that isn't where I ended up. And so I let them down by creating a fiction with regard to where I was going.



YELLIN: His only justification, human frailty and exhaustion after fighting over the stimulus package.



SANFORD: What I have found in this job is that one desperately needs a break from the bubble.



YELLIN: Sanford's wife Jenny admits the two just separated. In a statement, she writes, "To maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong, I asked my husband to leave two weeks ago." But, she says, "I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage."



(END VIDEOTAPE)



HARRIS: Jessica Yellin joining us live now from Washington.



Jessica, good to see you.



What about these reports that Sanford used taxpayer money to go to Argentina, at least once?



YELLIN: Well, CNN has confirmed that there was one trip a year ago when he was on a commerce delegation to Argentina, met with leadership there on trade relations. And, you know, he said that this relationship began a year ago.



What's striking about this, Tony, is that the hallmark of Sanford's public/political career has been about reducing the risk of taxpayer money. He has been basically super cheap. He believes in not spending whenever possible. So there would be a deep irony here if we found out he was actually visiting a mistress on the taxpayer dime and if there were other trips.



HARRIS: Yes.



Well, Jessica, for lots of Americans, this is really the first they've heard of Mark Sanford. Why was he considered a rising star in the Republican Party?



YELLIN: Because of his deep commitment to fiscal responsibility, what we were just talking about. And because he's a man who has this experience as a chief executive in his own state, who's really held the line.



He was the one governor who stood up to the stimulus package and, as unpopular as his position was in his own state and nationally, he said he didn't think Americans should be contributing to the deficit. So, that's sort of the standard model that the Republican Party and the main has wanted to return to.



He has stood for that, publicly, and there was a view that he could be one of the leaders of the future. If it doesn't knock him out of the governor's office, which I'm not convinced it will, I do think it has severely dimmed his chances of seeking further national office.



HARRIS: Yes.



Our National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin.



Jessica, we don't see you enough in these hours. We need to do something about it.



YELLIN: I love being with you, Tony.



HARRIS: Yes. Let's do that.



YELLIN: OK.



HARRIS: Jessica, thanks.



You know, this isn't the first time Governor Sanford has spoken out about lying and cheating. Just wait until you hear what he said about then-President Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



HARRIS: Iran's capital city said to be calm but on edge today, the day after more bloody demonstrations.



Boy, oh, boy. An ugly scene in Tehran yesterday. Security forces crushing the latest protest against presidential election results.



A ceremony today remembering victims of the demonstrations has been postponed, according to the Web site of one of the defeated presidential candidates.



President Obama's call to public service is being heard at a school in Harlem.



As CNN's Richard Roth reports, students there are deciding how money donated by UNICEF will be spent in the Democratic Republic of Congo.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was an ambassador to the United Nations, ambassador...



RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was a gymnasium, not the U.N. General Assembly. The children are from the Harlem Children's Zone, a nonprofit school in a community with generations of problems.



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young people in this country have a great generosity and a great capacity, even when they have tough times themselves, to understand and be interested in the circumstances of kids and other parts of the world.



ROTH: This school, in a community where 70 percent are born into poverty, is a New York success story. Now a chance to hear how to help others in another continent.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, occasionally, a child will get shot.



ROTH: UNICEF provided the sometimes grim show and tell.



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day around the world, 25,000 children die from causes we know how to prevent.



ROTH: These students will get to help by choosing which humanitarian items to send to Congo from $10,000 donated by UNICEF. (on camera): So you are going to determine what kind of help people get in Congo.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.



ROTH: That's a pretty big responsibility.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know, and I think we can handle it.



CATHERINE PABON, STUDENT: I'll do whatever I it takes to help those people, because they need help.



ROTH (voice-over): Richard Roth, CNN, New York.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



HARRIS: You hear that? A big responsibility, I think we can handle it.



If you'd like to learn more about the Harlem Children's Zone school or how you can impact your world, just log on to CNN.com/impact.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



(BUSINESS REPORT)



HARRIS: A day after Iranian security forces crushed an anti- government demonstration, today's ceremony to remember victims of the violence has been postponed.



Here's what we know. Word of the postponement of today's event comes from the web site of presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's political party. The site doe not say when it might be rescheduled. The better known defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi says on his web site, that 70 university teachers were arrested after he met with them yesterday.



Also today Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called President Barack Obama inexperienced and suggested he apologize for quoting here, "interfering in Iran's affairs." Iran's regime says it has arrested more than 600 protesters. Now some are appearing on state- run TV and what it calls confessions.



Here is CNN's senior editor for Mideast affairs, Octavia Nasr.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My son and I were carrying grenades in our bags. My son was very keen to show his power, to tell the world that he was against his country and his countrymen.



OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR FOR MIDEAST AFFAIRS (voice-over): According to Iran's government-funded press TV this is a confession of an Iranian woman who was arrested during street protests. She says her actions were quote, "influenced by foreign media." Blurring their faces, press TV offers another so-called confession.



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I was influenced by Voice of America, Persian TV and BBC. They used to blame the government forces for the violence, so I was very interested to see what was going on and when I attended the rally I realized that it was the protesters who attacked public property, soldiers and even other people.



NASR: That's just a sampling of the alleged confessions being aired on state TV, which has all along insisted that the situation has been under control. And that the protests are illegal and will be dealt with as such.



Iranian TV also reports on what it calls a conspiracy linking foreign countries to the ongoing anti-government demonstrations across Iran.



According to this anchor woman, it was all planned in this building.



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The documents found at the building reportedly proved that certain foreign countries and media fan the flame of the recent riots.



NASR: Within newscasts, a constant reminder that the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered that quote, "all must obey the law." State TV also reporting that Iran's judiciary has formed a tribunal to look at the files of those arrested. As for the punishment --



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran's first deputy judiciary chief says the proceedings aim to teach the writers a lesson.



NASR (on camera): What that lesson will be is anybody's guess and, of course, there are many questions surrounding these so-called confessions and what prompted them.



Octavia Nasr, CNN, Atlanta.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



HARRIS: OK. We quickly want to get back to our congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar. We've had a sense, and Brianna, you tipped us off that something big might develop today on health care.



What are you learning?



BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just heard from senator Max Baucus, Tony. He is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee -- the committee that all eyes has been on today, as they've been meeting behind closed doors.



And he said just a short time ago that they have come to a number, working with the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office -- a cost of $1 trillion and that a plan that would be paid for, meaning there have been some questions about whether this could be paid for with the number that they had before. Initially they were told it would be $1.6 trillion --



HARRIS: Yes.



KEILAR: They widdled it down with this CBO to $1 trillion and they have options now as to how they're going to make sure that it doesn't add to the deficit through taxes, through savings and that kind of thing.



Exactly what is the makeup of how they're going to pay for it, we still don't know that. But we do have some sound, I understand, Tony, is that right, from Senator Baucus.



Let's listen to what he said a short time ago.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



SENATOR MAX BAUCUS (D), MONTANA: We are much closer on scores (ph) from the CBO. In fact, the CBO now tells us we have options that would enable us to write a $1 trillion bill fully paid for. We have options, we have ways to, according to CBO today, fully pay for this bill. Senator Grassley and I worked closely with CBO to get those CBO numbers and we now do have them. But, as I've said before, I'm not going to put a mark -- Senator Grassley and I will not put out a mark until we're sure we have it right.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



KEILAR: So the big question remaining, Tony, is exactly what does their agreement look like? We know they have said -- we've heard from Senator Baucus that their idea of a health co-op instead of a public government-run insurance plan has been gaining traction. But he's not coming out today and saying, yes, that's what's going to be in there.



What he's saying is that we've worked to get to a number. We've worked to find a number that we can pay for so it's not going to add to deficit spending and now we have to see what our options are in terms of the policy and he's going to be working with Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on this committee to try to find an agreement that will get enough Republican and Democratic votes on this -- Tony.



HARRIS: All right. Yes, this is a big move forward, correct?



KEILAR: This is a significant step. And even though there are a lot of details that we're not getting, you get the sense here that this is a breakthrough. They've come to some agreement right ahead of this July 4th recess because Congress is away all next week -- Tony.



HARRIS: And working with the CBO -- just to drill down on it -- working with the CBO, this finance committee chaired by Max Baucus has found a way to take this number from $1.6 trillion to $1 trillion, correct?



KEILAR: And it's not necessarily that they found just one way. What they're saying is we have options. Maybe they have more than one way, maybe they have a couple ways, or a few ways. But the big issue was before you could decide what your policy was going to be, before you can decide whether you're going to have a health co-op and exactly how it's going to look. You know, whether or not you're going to tax benefits and at what level -- what tax employer provided health benefits --



HARRIS: Yes.



KEILAR: You have to know what your price tag is going to be. And, so, now they have some options that they can look and see what of these options that they move things in and out will get the most support from Republicans and Democrats to actually move this along.



HARRIS: Which was the issue that many Republicans had with whatever was being talked about.



I remember a quote from John McCain, Senator McCain saying, look, look at the stack of papers here. How are we going to pay for this. How are we going to do this? And I think it's also important to mention that when we talk about $1 trillion or whatever the number ends up being, that this is over the course of --



KEILAR: A decade.



HARRIS: A decade.



KEILAR: Yes. This is over the course of 10 years. And, so, they're looking at ways to finance it through tax revenue and through savings in the system and it's all over the course of 10 years.



HARRIS: Terrific. Brianna, terrific reporting on this. Thank you.



And we'll talk about all this with our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in just a minute.



You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



HARRIS: All right. Let's take a look at some pictures here -- live pictures -- Roger, correct me, here. Live pictures? OK. A rally for reform. Don't get angry with me, Roger.



Health Care for America now holding a rally on Capitol Hill. The group describes itself as a grassroots campaign made up of 1,000 organizations representing 30 million people. Among those expected to speak at the rally, actress Edie Falco and Senator Chuck Schumer. Health Care for America now says it supports comprehensive, affordable health care.



All right. The Senate Finance Committee has found a way, it says, in working with CBO, Congressional Budget Office, to bring in health care reform at a price tag of about $1 trillion over a decade.



Let's talk to our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about this. And breaking news. It just happened just moments ago. The chairman of that committee, Senator Max Baucus telling us that they have found a way -- maybe several options to get this done and bring the price down from an estimated $1.6 trillion, correct? .



ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. To $1 trillion.



HARRIS: To $1 trillion over 10 years.



Significant development here?



COHEN: Sure, that is a significant development because this is all about making it affordable.



HARRIS: Yes.



COHEN: Everyone agrees there needs to be reform. What they don't agree, how to pay for this.



HARRIS: Yes.



COHEN: So if they can bring it from $1.6 trillion to $1 trillion, maybe -- $1.6 trillion to $1 trillion -- maybe they'll even be able to get it down farther. If they can make this affordable, this is going to happen a lot more easily.



HARRIS: Yes. And as we pivot to this week's Empowered Patient report. Look, the truth is that part of the reason health care is so expensive is because so many people without insurance end up going to emergency rooms around the country for care because they, in many cases, don't have a primary physician to treat them.



COHEN: Right. And E.R. is really the last place you want to go for basic care because it is so expensive.



HARRIS: Yes. Basic care. Good point.



COHEN: Basic care. Right. Obviously, in an emergency, you want to go there.



But, for basic care when you go there, it ends up costing all of us a lot of money. But if you don't have insurance, you know, people without insurance know the E.R. well, they kind of have to take you. So that's where people end up.



So, there's a new report out that says that between 2002 and 2008, E.R. waiting times went way up now or in 2008, the average waiting time was four hours and three minutes. And E.R. doctors I've talked to said it's gotten even worse in the past year because of the recession.



HARRIS: Well, any ways, any ideas to shorten that wait time?



COHEN: You know, I talked to some E.R. doctors and I said, what would you do if you were in the E.R. and you felt you weren't getting the attention you needed. They said, first of all, you should trust the E.R. staff to do their triage properly. Maybe you're not nearly as urgent as other people. But, they said if you're worried you're not getting the care you need here are some things to say.



You can say, look, my wife, she is not acting normally. This is not normal for her. They will listen to you because they know that you are a good gauge of what's normal for that person. Also, you can just say, I'd like to speak to the charge nurse and that's sort of like in a restaurant, I want to talk to the manager.



HARRIS: Right, right.



COHEN: Kind of a similar principal there.



Also, you can say please reevaluate my husband, he's gotten worse. Because obviously, You're sitting there with him. If you're seeing that they've gotten worse, you can ask for a reassessment. This is something that they commonly do in E.R.s.



HARRIS: And do VIPs -- you know a lot of people believe this -- VIPs get special treatment?



COHEN: I asked these E.R. doctors this and I got to tell you, they said, yes, it really is true. VIPs do get better treatment in the emergency room. It's just the reality.



So, if you are a VIP, or if you can start dropping names, you know, you can try that. Now, it might backfire on you if they realize you're a total poser. But, they --



HARRIS: Ha! A total poser!



(LAUGHTER)



HARRIS: You've been hanging out closely with the kids, haven't you?



COHEN: That's right. Exactly. Yes, yes, I'm so hip.



HARRIS: Oh, that's good. That's good.



All right. Tomorrow, empower me Friday. Where can people send their e-mails, their questions for you?



COHEN: Right. Empowerpatient@CNN.com. And I try to empower people on Fridays to answer viewer's questions. Empoweredpatient@CNN.com.



Please, give me your problems.



HARRIS: Awesome. You're back with me next hour?



COHEN: I am.



HARRIS: All right. Here's what we're going to do. Elizabeth and I are going to talk with the new president of the American Medical Association. His name is Dr. J. James Rohack. And he will address the AMA's health care concerns and we will really talk about solutions here. Help me get him to talk about solutions. Help me to pin him down.



COHEN: Specifics, specifics, specifics.



HARRIS: OK.



COHEN: OK.



HARRIS: And James knows that this is where we're going and he's going to help us with this. This is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



HARRIS: Iran's capital city said to be calm but on edge today. A day after more bloody demonstrations. This is amateur video from Tehran, but CNN cannot verify the date this was shot. A ceremony today remembering victims of the demonstrations has been postponed according to the web site of one of the defeated presidential candidates.



Coming up, in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, how could the South Carolina governor scandal affect the future of the GOP? We will have a report from Candy Crowley.



The new president of the American Medical Association weighs in with his concerns and suggestions for reforming health care.



And in this week's "Money and Main Street" segment, how one family is coping with the recession. We're back in a moment.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



HARRIS: South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's political future is in doubt this morning. He admits to an affair with a woman in Argentina. The scandal came to light after the governor disappeared a week ago and was deceptive about where he was going. Still unanswered is whether taxpayers cover the cost of his trips to Argentina. Sanford gained national prominence when he refused federal stimulus money. That position stirred talk of a presidential run in 2012.



Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley talked with Anderson Cooper.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is some serious damage here, particularly in the Republican Party, where the core is conservative Christian.



But there is also the sort of redemption side of a story. Americans tend to -- voters tend to love redemption sagas. I mean and we can point to any number of politicians beginning with former president of the United States Bill Clinton, who never lost their popularity. In fact, the president -- former president -- became more popular after he left office, as well.



So, it is not one size fits all here. But right now, tonight, certainly serious damage, not just to the governor, but to the party as a whole.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



HARRIS: Well, Governor Sanford isn't the first politician to ride his high horse on to a low road. He surely won't be the last.



Here's CNN's Carol Costello.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



COSTELLO (voice-over): Maybe America's cynicism about politicians and affairs took permanent root on January 26th, 1998.



BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.



COSTELLO: But Clinton was lying and his public humiliation wasn't enough to prevent other politicians from cheating, even though many were appalled. Mark Sanford was a congressman in 1999.



GOV. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The issue of lie is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of democratic government, representative government because it undermines trust.



COSTELLO: Fast forward to 2009, that same guy, a governor now telling the country he wasn't really hiking the Appalachian Trail. He was exercising something else in Argentina, and yes, he uttered that old tired line.



SANFORD: Let me first of all apologize to my wife, Jenny.



ELIOT SPITZER, FMR. NEW YORK GOVERNOR: I've begun to atone for my private failings with my wife, Silda.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Especially my wife. I'm truly sorry.



JOHN EDWARDS, FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ask her for her forgiveness.



COSTELLO: The log cabin republicans who long fought politicians anti-gay marriage stance say, "and you think gays are destroying the sanctity of marriage?"



CHARLES MORAN, LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: I find it hard to talk, to hear it's hard for me to hear as a gay man, you're, you know, the relationship that you might want to engage in with another man that you love is going to be less equal or not as valid as the love between - I have with my wife. And then when he sees and goes sees what he does with his wife. COSTELLO: Others are tired of the hypocrisy too. And cynicism aside, they're angry.



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are they having affairs and aren't they supposed to be working?



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has to be stopped. You're sending out a message to the youth of America that it's OK to have an affair.



COSTELLO: William Donahue of the Catholic League put it this way -



WILLIAM DONAHUE, CATHOLIC LEAGUE: If we're proponents of traditional values, we don't expect you to be perfect, but if you're carrying on an affair for how long? Month after month after month and then you disappear. I mean, this is borne of arrogance and it's borne of narcissism and people like me are fed up and I hope you show him the gate.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



COSTELLO: Sanford is resigning his post as chairman of the Republican Governors Association but there is no sign that he'll step down as governor. And yes, he is working to repair his marriage. His wife sending out a statement that in part reads, I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and welcome him back in time if he continues to work towards reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.



Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



