that joe wilson's website has crashed. his phone is constantly busy. we have a ring tone right up his alley. >> i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." up next, "lou dobbs tonight." kitty pilgrim sitting in. >> top democrats signal the willingness to drop a health care insurance option. also congressman joe wilson apologizes for calling the president a liar and the president's claim about illegal immigrants and the health care plan may not be accurate. we'll examine the issue. a lawmaker resigns after caught on tape bragging in graphic detail about having sex with two women. good evening, everybody. new signs tonight that the democratic deviivide over healt care may be narrowing. democrats may be closer together on the president's plan.

the sticking point is the public option. and many sensed wiggle room from the president and other senior democrats on the issue. the republicans tonight remain unmoved. our coverage begins tonight with dana bash on capitol hill. >> reporter: if the president's speech was meant to bridge the health care divide in his own party, listen in. it may have had an affect. >> the stars are aligned. if we can't do it now, when will he be able to do it? i want to help the president make history. >> reporter: jim mcgovern describes himself this way. >> i'm a proud liberal democrat. he strongly supports a government run health care option but says the president's address helps convince him to be willing to compromise. >> we need meaningful health care reform and it may not be everything i want. i'm a single payer person. at the end of the day if it moves the ball forward, it could be worth supporting. >> reporter: to be sure some liberal democrats are still

firmly entrenched. >> we don't have health care reform unless we have a public option. >> the house speaker softened her stance and this often repeated line in the sand -- >> there's no way i pass a bill without a public option. >> reporter: now noticeably absent. >> this is about a goal and not provisions. as long as our goal of affordability and accessibility and quality, we'll go forward with that bill. >> reporter: that's a sign that liberal democrats are now more accepting of this reality. any health care bill must be conservative enough to pass the much more moderate senate. pelosi even signaled the house will not act until it is clear what the senate finance committee will produce. their proposal now has no public option and on other issues the democratic chairman boasted the president's new plan tracks with theirs. >> very close to being in sync here. that's confidence building. >> the president's health care plan really depends on a what a

large group of moderate democrats can accept and that's why the congress invited 17 of them to the white house this afternoon. we caught up with them as they returned by bus here to capitol hill. one democratic senator told us that he pushed the president on a so-called trigger. that's a public plan would only take effect in several years and only if other insurance reforms don't work. several senators we talked to told us the president in this private meeting made it clear he's willing to negotiate. >> very interesting developments. thank you very much, dana bash. washington is still buzzing tonight over that jarring moment during the president's speech last night. republican congressman joe wilson shouted "you lie" when president obama said his health care plan would not provide coverage for illegal immigrants. wilson apologized for the remarks shortly after the speech. suzanne malveaux has our report. >> reporter: president obama accepted congressman joe

wilson's apology. >> i'm a big believer that we all make mistakes. he apologized quickly and without equivocation and i'm appreciative of that. >> reporter: mr. bomb directly talked to wilson but received the apology through his chief of staff. the fallout from the tense moment gave the president the opportunity to present himself as above the fray. >> we have to get to the point where we can have a conversation about big, important issues that matter to the american people without name calling, without the assumption of the worst in other people's motives. we are all americans. we all want to do best for our country. >> you lie! >> reporter: the congressman's outburst came after a month of emotional town hall meetings surrounding health care reform. >> the time for bickering is over. >> reporter: the president's speech was supposed to lower the temperature but some republicans said it only stoked their anger.

>> i never heard a more partisan speech by a president in that house chamber. the terminologies used bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. >> reporter: mr. obama said the media just can't resist controversy. >> the media can always be helpful by not giving all of the attention to the loudest voices and try to stay more focused on the issues at hand. >> reporter: the issue at hand health care reform. >> we have talked this issue to death. year after year, decade after decade, and the time for talk is winding down. >> reporter: kitty, the talk continues at the white house as dana mentioned. the president hosting 17 moderate democrats to talk about health care reform moving forward. also the white house this evening saying that the president will make what they're calling a major announcement on the financial crisis at federal hall in new york city on monday.

kitty? >> thanks very much, suzanne malveaux. congressman wilson's outburst does, however, draw attention to the president's remarks and in his speech the president said "the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally." as lisa sylvester now reports, there's more to the president's claim. >> reporter: it is hr-3200. section 246 in black and white states that people who are not lawfully present are not eligible to receive the health care benefits. but republicans say there is a catch. there's no enforcement mechanism whatsoever in this house bill to make sure illegal immigrants do not participate in the health care program. representative john boehner and others that came out today and they're pointing to a recent report by the congressional research service and to put that into context. this is an independent bipartisan research office that's used by all of the members of congress and it concluded hr-3200 does not

contain any restrictions on noncitizens whether legally or illegally present or in the united states temporarily or permanently from participating in the exchange. now, to take you back, we need to go back to july. representative dean heller introduced an amendment in the house, ways and means committee that would have specified and required that people who are applying for the health care subsidies make sure they are screened through a program called a systematic alien verification for entitlements program. that's a system that is currently being used. it's used to verify eligibility for other social services programs to make sure that illegal aliens are not receiving this benefit. steve is with the center for immigration studies and he's among those who is concerned because there is no provision in there. no enforcement mechanism to make sure that illegal aliens do not receive these health care benefits. >> if you want to sign up for food stamps or cash assistance

welfare and programs of that kind, we run your names through these data bases through what's called the save program and that way it's supposed to weed out illegal immigrants. that's not being done here. >> so what republicans are saying is that there is a lot more to this story. that when democrats say and point to this provision 246 that it is right there in black and white that illegal immigrants would not be eligible to receive this, they say, yeah, but the congressional research service has determined that they would be able to receive it and on top of that, republicans had tried to through this heller amendment to put in place the enforcement mechanism and that was voted down along party lines. 26-15. >> very interesting. thanks very much. lisa sylvester. coming up, we'll have much more on the impact of the president's address on health care and also e-verify. the successful federal program to confirm worker eligibility mandatory for federal contractors. is there a doctor in the

house? in the next ten years that answer is more likely to be no. we'll have a special report in dobbs and jobs. now, stay with us.

as the president struggles to bridge the health care divide, a crippling issue looms. it's a doctor shortage. a shortfall of 40,000 family physicians by the year 2020. if health care coverage is extended to the millions of americans currently uninsured, the problem will only escalate.

>> reporter: this doctor has been a physician for the last 19 years in ohio. he sees up to 32 patients a day. >> every day i have a patient that's upset about how long it took to get in or i have a message from a patient that can't wait until the next available appointment. >> reporter: over the years the wait time for an office visit has grown. >> so few physicians because they're so full are taking new patients that for a patient to see me because i'm taking new patients is anywhere from 2 to 2 1/2 months. >> reporter: among factors contributing to the shortage of primary care doctors, population growth, ageing patients, low reimbur reimbursements and more female workers that work fewer hours. a shortage of 124,000 physicians is expected by the year 2025. 46,000 of them primary care

doctors. currently a shortage of 16,000 primary physicians especially in rural areas. a fifth of the states already have just one primary care physician per 1,300 people. the average physician earns $161,000 a year. medical students graduate with $140,000 in debt. the health care bill in the house contains provisions to address the shortage but the doctor group we spoke to says more needs to be done. >> if there aren't enough physicians, health care won't function properly. >> reporter: primary doctors will help save money through prevention and early treatments. >> making sure patients have flu shots, pneumonia shots, make sure cholesterol is controlled to appropriate levels. that blood pressure they didn't know they have was treated. without primary care to coordinate that, to manage that and to look for that, those

things get missed and they go by the wayside. >> reporter: costing more in the long run. it's estimated that one out of every three physicians are over the age of 55. that means they will retire soon and if it takes about seven years to train a doctor, that's why these medical groups are saying this is so urgent. >> seems very essential and critical to the whole discussion of health care and quality of health care. thanks very much. the e-verify system allows employers to check the legal status of their workers. it's the most successful federal program in place to keep illegal immigrants out of the nation's workforce. the use of e-verify is mandatory for all federal contractors. this rule went into effect this week despite a last-minute legal challenge by the u.s. chamber of commerce. bill tucker reports. >> reporter: e-verify is now the rule of the land. for contracts lasting longer

than 120 days must use the federally run program to verify whether the employees are legally able to work in the united states. >> once federal contractors sign up and they see how simple it is and how easy it is to use and quick it is to use, they'll learn what 148,000 other employees already know. the system does work. >> reporter: the u.s. chamber of commerce is the program's staunchest foe and wants the program stopped arguing that e-verify harms business, the government and public interest. it's a claim that supporters of the program strongly contest. >> there's really no harm to a business that could be caused by using e-verify unless their spi entire workforce is illegal and they'll lose it. >> reporter: one of the parties to the suit with the chamber explains. >> what we would like to see is a system that goes toward a

biometric dive identifier so be we impose it, we need to make sure we have the best system in place. >> reporter: currently 97% of employees run through the system almost immediately are found to be legally eligible to work in the u.s. fewer than 3% have found problems that are cleared up like social security number, incorrectly written down. or a failure to change a name after getting married. the remainder, .3 of 1% are found to be unauthorized to work. >> there isn't anything out there that works at a higher level of efficiency than e-verify does. >> and it's free to employers. 1,000 employers sign up for e-verify every week and according to the u.s. citizenship and immigration service, 9,000 federal contractors have voluntarily signed up before this past tuesday when it became mandatory. the courts have denied request for injunctions to stop e-verify

from being instituted but it's not stopped the chamber of commerce to pursue overturning the program through the courts. >> the biometric check option seems a lot more invasive. >> it's more expensive and invasive than someone typing in your name and social security number and checking your legal status. >> thanks very much. coming up in tonight's face-off debate, the president's health care plan, the benefits, the cost, the chances of reform happening this year. and we'll have our special report on health care and how it is handled in other countries and tonight we look at argentina. stay with us. my own lunch now-- for less than $3. thanks to walmart. just two times a week saves my family over $500 a year. save money. live better. walmart. saves my family over $500 a year. it's an idea that makes america strong. it's a fair day's pay for a hard day's work. it's health insurance when you're sick or injured. it's job security to provide for your family. it's the fabric of a sound economy.

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we continue our coverage with health care systems around the world and how they compare to health care in this country. tonight argentina. in that country health care is funded and the funding is a big problem. many facilities are run down. there's an abundance of doctors and those in need can readily find care. life expectcy in argentina is 75 years. argentina probably has one of the most complicated health care systems in the world. the system is partially funded by direct national taxes and payroll taxes. the majority of funding, 58%, go

to social security organizatio s s band 72% of the population. 8% of the population also pay for private health care services. this man once ran one of the largest private health companies in argentina. >> it's a system based on the provisional governments so the provinces that collect better taxes, they can render better services, have better hospitals and it all depends on which province you live the kind of health care that you may receive. >> reporter: argentina says 10% of gdp on health care compared to 16% in the united states. an issue unique to argentina is the oversupply of doctors. there's one doctor to every 333 people compared to 1 to 416 in the united states.

even if a public hospital is underfunded or located in a poor area. there are enough doctors. >> so what one usually finds in public hospitals is the institution and facilities are run down but the quality of the resources is outstanding. >> reporter: in the private sector the level of care and technology is the same as many private systems. argentina offers full health service to all people in the country whether legal or illegal. >> hospital administrators are often frustrated with their requirement to provide care which is so frequently uncompensated care that they often don't even bother to attempt to bill a patient. >> reporter: culturally there's an overdemand of medical

services. people in argentina go to the doctor often between seven and eight times a year, more than double the rate of the united states. because the three systems co-exist there's a lot of duplication and confusion. there's no widespread move to reform the system in argentina. coming up, more on the president's address to congress and in tonight's face-off debate what should be in the health care plan and what should be out. also, a brand new controversy surrounding the left wing activist group acorn. two acorn employees were just fired. you will not believe why. stay with us. (announcer) take your time to find the right time

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president obama took his case for heal care overhaul to congress in a televised speech last night. but did the speech provide enough detail about the health care proposal? did it change any minds? that's the topic of tonight's face-off debate. joining me now is congressman scott garrett, republican of new jersey. he says the current health care system needs to be changed but a government takeover is not the answer. and congressman steve rothman, a democrat of new jersey. he supports the president's plan. he says last night's speech changed the health care debate entirely. let's start with basically --

we'll start with you congressman garrett. was this a make or break moment for the president? did he stand up and make his case? >> well, i think it was potentially make or break but it's the same speech and points he's been making since day one. i'm not sure that much of america tuned in and heard anything different. my take away from it was what he was describing as far as ideas and plans isn't what we're seeing in the bill that speaker pelosi and harry reid would have us vote in the senate any time soon. it's very different in a lot of key and crucial points. >> this is sort of a war of words at this point. we need details. we need specifics. tell us what you think should go in it. >> i think my colleague, scott garrett and i, the democrats and republicans in general in the house agree on 80% of what's already in hr-3200. i did ten town haul meetings

over the summer and we learned about what language needs to be tightened up and what things concern people and those suggestions are going to be incorporated into the bill that if you have insurance, we're going to make sure it's more affordable and bend the cost curve and make sure insurance companies can't dump you if you get sick. >> who could disagree with that. let's talk about the public option. that seems to be a point of contention although some of our reporting points out that there may be some movement on this. the president said last night "it's only one part of my plan and should not be used as a handy excuse for the washington ideological battles. congressman rothman, are you for the public option? >> i'm for the public option because it allows for us to keep the insurance companies honest so they can't dump people if they discover pre-existing condition or the person gets sick or if the person loses their job and they can't get that insurance policy again. but if my friends on the republican side of the aisle happen to be a democrat have other solutions as the president

said we have an open mind and are ready to hear what their solutions are. the democrats have put forth solutions. we're tightening them up after our august town hall meetings but we're waiting to hear from republican friends that identify same problems but don't offer solutions. >> congressman garrett, senator grassley said the speech passed a big opportunity and it would have been pivotal for bipartisanship if they ruled out a government run plan. do you you a gree with that? what's your view on the public option? >> i don't support the public option. it's disconcerting that steve makes the point that he's waiting to hear from the republicans for different ideas and plans. we've been laying them out since day one. as the president walked down the aisle last night i reached out and extended my hand to him and handed him a packet with over two dozen republican bills on health care that had been filed. it's on the record. it's right there for you to look

at. if the president has it now, he said he would be glad to look at it. republicans have had the suggestions out there. we're asking to have the administration be able to be open to the american public to hear the other ideas. >> you know, scott, i looked on your website tonight. i saw that we share the same concerns and you were criticizing the democrats ideas but you didn't offer one specific program on your website of how to address the problem of insurance companies dropping people with insurance when they get sick or providing competition so the insurance companies can't raise rates, double and triple as we've seen them happen before. plus there was no suggestion from your website or my other republican friends on what to do with those american citizens who are uninsured and the public option is an option only. if you don't want to do it, you don't have to take it. it's an option that we would provide with private insurance policies. you pick the public one or the private ones, whatever makes sense for you. that's what we think americans want. affordability and choice. >> congressman garrett, response

to that? >> we certainly do want affordability and choice. that's why when i listened to the president i said he's describing some good points but it sure ain't the bill that speaker pelosi would have us vote. on the public option the president says he wouldn't have that public option being subsidized by the government. that's a good point. if you look at the bill the house is about to vote on, the one that steve says he is behind and would support, that has s s subsidization by the government. it says the government will set the rates they will pay on. i guess the question for steve is we both want to do the same thing but you say you support the house bill so you're really not supporting what the president was saying right now. i guess you have to go back to your constituents and say are you with the president and what he said last night or are you with speaker pelosi? >> i did ten town hall meetings. i gathered you didn't do any. the language in the bill says

after two years there will be no subsidizatioe subsidization. we need to hear from our republican friends. what's their solution? the president said if there's something wrong with the language of the bill, help us tighten it up. most americans, 80% of them, agree on 80% of what's wrong. let's keep what's right about america's great health care system but fix what's wrong. we can do it. we'll do it. >> gentlemen, we conclude it there. we'll be discussing it for quite some time. good luck with your work. congressman steve rothman and congressman scott garrett. an update on other stories that we're following tonight. >> two former pennsylvania judges are now facing 48 counts of racketeering, extortion and other crimes. the two judges are accused of taking nearly $3 million in kickbacks to place youth offenders in private detention centers. hundreds of youth convictions have been overturned as a result

of this case and more convictions are under review. an earlier plea deal by the judges was rejected. in california the station fire is now 71% contained. cooler weather is allowing firefighters to set backfires to gain more control of the blaze. two los angeles county firefighters lost their lives in the station fire and 81 homes have been destroyed. officials say arson is to blame. it is the largest fire in los angeles county history. and finally, there's one fast cat in ohio. sarah the cheetah broke the land speed record for an animal covering 100 meters in 6.13