green news conference today. >> just a quick comment. going back to the issue on medicare, could you imagine senator demint introduce legislation cutting medicare by $110 billion, which you not see press stories, newspaper headlines and so forth saying to republicans want to hurt seniors out there? how badly was seniors be hurt by this type of legislation? the administration is proposing it and i have seen nothing in it, i have seen nothing regarding whether or not this is going to create a problem for seniors. the media ought to be asking that question and i have been silent. >> any other questions? >> there is a hearing going on this afternoon and they're going

to be arguing there is rationing in the current system especially in the for-profit health care and i wonder what your comments on that. >> there is a key difference here. and that is of the government madison currently in medicare if a treatment is not covered, it's not something they will pay for your actually prohibited from going outside the system and paying for it yourself it is denied to you as a covered service. that means that it is illegal for a doctor not to file a claim for a service and is illegal for you to go out and pay for yourself. it is called -- it is called private contractor, not allowed and the differences in a private plan insurance companies don't tell you can't have a treatment, it is just as such a to the terms of your contract with them it's not covered. >> is and that the same as rationing?

>> for bidding someone from getting care and deciding pay for it are two different things if you can get to is if there isn't an alternative source. of any other questions? >> i forgot to mention our website, take back madison.com. >> the web say they want to recommend. i want to thank you for joining us today. it is unfortunate that to the white house is not necessarily going to have a broader discussion of the issue but i'm delighted that we are able to do that today and hopefully begin a broader conversation across the united states. thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations]

one of the goals is have isp take more responsibility for the service they are providing in a sure what they are not just providing a huge entrée to intellectual property for free. >> chairman of the universal music publishing group, tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on the communicators on c-span2. >> following the communicators that a 30:00 p.m. we begin our prime-time booktv schedule with a man jones, the white house special advisor for green jobs on his book, the green color economy.

how is c-span funded? >> publicly funded. >> donations i have no idea. >> government. >> c-span gets its funding to the taxes. >> federal funding. >> public funding think. >> may become i don't know give balckout a c-span funded? 30 years ago america's cable companies greeted c-span as a public service, a private business initiatives. no government mandate. no government money.

>> next a senate hearing on the hurricane is preparedness with the head of a fema and other officials. the reason forecast calls for 14 tropical storms in 2009, seven of which could become hurricanes. barry landrieu of louisiana chairs the subcommittee on disaster recovery. is an hour and 50 minutes. >> the hearing will come to order anthony welcome everyone that has joined us today for what i think is a very important hearing and what is one of a series of hearings that will have happened or happening today and will continue to happen as we strive to get our nation's response in the very best possible shape that we can for hurricanes and of disasters and that is the subject of this hearing today. to see where we are and have the

opportunity to have on our first panel the new fema administrator who will be testifying today for the first time since this confirmation, welcome mr. craig fugate, and frank grass from missouri will be testifying today as well. let me say that this hearing is focused on her cane response because we snap started hurricane season this week, but we will be a salmon issues that affect not just the hurricane region but all regions of the country in this hearing today and we will be focusing on plans and processes that actually have applicability across the board from many different types of threats the its hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.. the ranking member and i both represent stains that have seen a large portions of our states,

major cities and very important role in areas devastated by recent hurricanes. 2004, 2005, in 2008 were particularly hard years for cities and communities throughout the gulf coast from with florida to texas but the last century has been difficult for many states now like to put the first chart up there in a news of a number of hurricanes that is the hurricane belt from 1955 to 2005. and the blue line is very keen katrina -- hurricane katrina which was the greatest among all who the storms depicted there by

a significant amount in terms of size of damage and then hurricane rita which ranks second and most of the storms in terms of damage and out of line to show you the next craft which is even more startling are the storm since 1851 to the present. so when we in the gulf coast are dropped threats it is real, it is frightening, and is important for this committee and of committees of this congress to continue to focus as best we can on the shore a threat of hurricanes that are getting more and more predictable. we know and can be better focused on where they're going

to hit and when they are heading unlike earthquakes although our science is getting much better on earthquakes and fires as wow, but we have gotten pretty good at predicting where the storms will hit. there is very little we can do i think immediately to stop them but we mostly can prepare our people better for this rent than they are facing. it is important for us to understand our capacity to deal with israel and on going and in some people's minds ever strengthening france and that is what this committee will focus on an has focused on hong cents in the wake of cholera katrina which will be four years august 29th. we want to make sure that we continue this science necessary to make more scientific base predictions and warnings for people so they can move out of the way of these powerful storms.

we want to make sure that there are evacuation routes that are clear and secure and that the rules and regulations of a -- to us organizing the evacuations. what will people be pulled be reimbursed for is of particular interest to me. immediately stabilize same water food and medicine to of the people that flee from storms like this is important and we haven't quite got that read yet. where do people that flee the storms, where they live in the event that they can't go back to the house or at the shelter or a permanent or that nursing-home and hospitals when they evacuated from. where do we shawnda them? and who pays for that and how long. and then what two redo to recover these communities when

their big cities, large measure malls and areas of multimillion of people, how do we help the small rural communities that don't get attention from anybody once the wind and the waves are gone, had we help them to recover? and i would suggest that we have a lot of work to do. allied is a few words about the devastating hurricanes that struck texas and louisiana last year because the response to those demonstrated progress that has been made as well as demonstrated the requirement for a significant improvement. the evaluations for gustav and ike were the largest in history, louisiana move to million people out of harm's way in fitting the elderly, the disables and those without transport and yet some people were left behind. texas can't residence at home so roads could be cleared on the

coast to flee from ike without getting stuck from traffic when rita was approaching. communications and coordination between different levels of government was better uriko fema declared a free land of disasters in both states in search resources into the areas before impact and in most instances the federal levees held. however in session quantities of generators force hospitals in baton rouge to evacuate patients coming in sufficient supply generators because gas stations to shut down which almost caused a panic in a major metropolitan area as for weeks people cannot access any gasoline. when people can access gasoline and can get to work, it shuts the economy down and people start getting laid off from or even within a weaker to of a storm that happen. though we can't afford a loss of jobs right now. i might remind the people

testifying today. local governments waited days for commodities like ice and water in blue tarp, this did a louisianans bus contractor failed to evacuate as were forced thousands to take school buses without air-conditioning which doesn't seem like much except it when it is 100 degrees out in your bus ride is 10 hours longer, it becomes a real issue for people who are sick or elderly or for small children to sit still on a bus it is very hard. particularly in the half to do so without bathrooms. evacuees from texas and louisiana are trying to in shreveport just as example and i want to these shelters myself sour wholly inadequate. there were no cots, there were no blankets, there were inadequate showers and people were forced to sleep on floors because the cogs and halston not arrive until 17 days after people arrived.

so it was a very interesting >> breaking news into the espnews room. bad news for the houston rocket.

their center yao ming had a broken left foot. the injury not healing. the houston chronicle is reporting the team doctor saying, "at this point the injury has the potential for him missing this season and it could be career threatening." and joining us now from the houston chronicle is jonathan fagen who covers the team. jonathan, the rockets have shown to be team that can overcome injuries over the last couple years for their stars, but how big of a blow is this for the team if yao miss this season but his career is over? >> obviously that would be huge. they're built around yao, and the rockets' general manager refers to him as "the cornerstone" of what they are doing. they are certainly nowhere near that point yet. what this basically was, when they did the ct scan on his injury that ended his season during the western conference semifinal, they expected it to have been healed. they thought that the hair line fracture would be fine by now, and instead not only is it not

healed, but it's actually somewhat worse. and among the solutions, among the treatments that he can now consider, there are some surgeries that are so much more extensetive that if the surgery did not work, that could be career threatening. so it's not necessarily the injury that's career threatening in itself. it's will the treatments that they choose work the way they want? and then there are other treatments that he will consider that are much less invasive and they would hope and see how those go. >> jonathan new york terms of the news right now, what does it mean for the team in terms of free agency or trades or possible deals this off season? >> in terms of free agency, not a lot. there's not a yao ming out there. you know, you can't take the collins brothers and put one on the other shoulder and say, okay, we're there. so they can't just react to this in free agency because there is not that option. in terms of trades, they might have to look that way.

there's always the disabled player exception, which would allow them, if the nba granted it, if he was indeed out for all of next season and the nba granted that exception to the salary cap, you could then spend 108% of a player's previous salary and half of yao's salary, $16.4 million, you can go out and do something like that, but this isn't the free agent you'd want to give that kind of money to. >> what about tracy mcgrady and ron artest, how does this impact the team going forward? >> with mcgrady it doesn't change much. he has to get himself well. he's as uncertain as yao. is there's really not a lot of difference in some ways except that they know the course of treatments with mcgrady. he had the microfracture surgery. he begins on-court workouts. that's very, very telling portion of his rehab begins next month. with artest, he's a free agent. does he come back to a team with

this much uncertainty? by the time he's making that decision, the rockets would have a much better idea of yao's course of treatment and prognosis than they have now. and so that might work itself out in the time it takes for artest to make that kind of a decision, and then the other thing that we kind of know about ron is he has such great confidence in himself and in the rockets as they were at the end of the year that he could feel we got me, we got some of these guy, we're okay that. would be sort of the typical ron way the look at it. so some of the same things he will have to weigh with yao out he was going to be weighing anyway. and the rockets are in a situation to offer him more than anyone else is likely to. there are a couple teams under the cap, but probably the rockets were going to offer a better contract than all the mid-level-type teams and all those offers. the. jonathan, has the team given you any indication in terms of a

time line where decisions will be made for yao ming? >> that's a great question. they have not. the team itself is not commenting at all. i mean, just not even a little bit. i have not been able to reach his agent today, who is accompanying you on his visit to different doctors. i would think it's a week or two away. when i talked to tom clancy today, the rocket's team physician who has done yao's previous surgeries and has examined you, he did not have the timetable for that. the recommendation is those more extensive surgeries, sort of the zydrunas ilgauskas-type surgery. yao would need some time to make that kind of a choice. as opposed to the more conservative approach of, hey, let's boot it up again, let's put him back in the boot, put him in a cast, see if immobilizing it heals by itself as they always thought it would. keep in mind they really were certain that he would heal on

his own by immobilizing it, and he's completely asymptomatic in sort of the oddity of all of this is he has nothing. he has no swelling, no redness, no pain, no soreness. even in the examinations where they press in just the right way and in just the right place, there's no tenderness. so it's really a hard thing to get a hold of, how do you fix something that doesn't hurt, that doesn't have any symptoms? so he's going to take the time he chooses to kind of weigh between the most conservative treatment, put him in a cast, and the most extensive surgical treatment. >> all right. potentially devastating news for the heat and rockets. jonathan fagen, rockets' beat writer for the houston chronicle. jonathan, appreciate the time. >> it's my pleasure. >> after being swept by the yankees, the mets look to end the losing.

♪ 100 calorie light beer with lime. miller chill.

>> what to watch for. brewers hosting the mets at 7:00 eastern on espn. the mets have fallen to the .500 mark for the first time since may 6th.

good thing for the mets fernando nieve is on the mound. he's got a 1.45 e.r.a. and n three starts for new york. time for a pre-game extra. orel her shiez her call the game for espn and joins us now. orel, the mets mustered only three runs in a forgettable weekend for the yankees. why can't they get anything going on offense? >> well, it has to be the injuries. they have like 69 million dollars on the d.l. of players, and that would be more than nine teams' opening day roster. you think about carlos delgado at first base, 38 home runs, over 100 r.b.i.s. 100 on the d.l. in beltran. jose reyes 100 runs scored and david wright is now an average hitter, but he's not driving in as many runs or hitting as many home runs. the run production is down. the mets' lineup as far as their offense may not even qualify for a spring training game to put enough starters in there to actually put a represented club out there for a spring training

buying a ticket. they are so hurt and they need help, and they need the play a perfect game on the offensive side of the ball. >> mets' manager jerry manuel says the team is entering a crucial period right now. how do they get out of it with some wins? >> well, the crucial period is they have milwaukee on the road. then you've got the fill -- phillies and then the cincinnati reds and the l.a. dodgers. they have a make-up game against pittsburgh. most of those teams are very, very solid. they're chasing the phillies, so they have to play well there, but they'll be undermanned. the pitching has to come through. that's been banged up. you have a newcomer on the mound that has done very, very well, but they need a surprise at times in the good side of the category. >> well, good side is red hot fernando nieve who you had eluded. to why has he been so good lately? >> well, back in '06, he had 11 starts. he was the 3-3 with a 4.20 e.r.a. he was like 24 years old. in '07 he hurts his arm. he has to have tommy john

surgery. comes back maybe a little too quick. now he's got a different mindset. he's aged and matured. he's not thinking about what people think about. he's thinking about what he needs to do and to do his job. that execution-type thinking instead of result thinking or situational thinking has really done him well. his secondary stuff has come along. he's giving the league hard time now. >> he's been a bright spot for the mets, nieve has. prince fielder has been a bright spot for milwaukee lately, especially other the last 12 games. what's different about his approach at the plate? >> well, prince has since the beginning of this year has tried a more patient approach. he's getting into better hitters' counts and he's making the pitcher throw strikes. his patience is leading to walks. his patience is also leading to higher-quality pitches he gets to hit. then he's driving in runs. the more he walks, the more disciplined he is. he's been talking the craig counsell and mike cameron about the life and death-type attitude he takes. he's a very intense young man and he wants to do his best, but

he's finding that grind is a lot harder and he's taking things a lot calmer and that approach at the plate and that mental discipline is really helping him a lot. >> it will be the mets and the brewers at the top of the hour over on espn. the great orhershiser will be calling the game. orel, as always, we appreciate it. >> all right. >> still to come on espnews, potentially devastating news for houston rocket fans. we'll tell you the latest on their center's health, yao ming. there's something big happening at pizza hut. - woooh, nice! - that's a lot of food! now get big meals like our stuffed pizza rolls, pizza mia, the p'zone... and our personal panormous pizza starting at just $5. the big eat tiny price menu. only at pizza hut.

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