play. the also have a role to play in working with the industry on some of the infrastructure issues. california had always been interested in hydrogen. again, one of those leading edge technologies, that requires both infrastructure and support. and they also have to provide incentives, not just mandates. what we ask for is certainty, predictability, and clarity in the rules but we have to be careful that we do not see a continued cascading of rules because it is the easy way out. .

guest: buick is the largest seller in china. china will surpass the u.s. in total number of sales. there are market opportunities there. roger pinsky would be like to pick up the saturn network. there will be a number of models up there. this is a highly competitive industry. it is of vital one for this country. i used to represent the electronics sector and i came to this because this is where technology is a flowing. host: are you more positive about the future? guest: my glasses always half- full. i think you will see revitalized industries, much more competitive and innovative than

ever before. consumers can learn a lot about products and new companies and their importance. you will see, once consumers have more confidence, they will go back into the showroom. that is all we're asking. people will be amazed. host: thanks for being with us this morning. we will turn to the issue of health care in a moment. first a news update from c-span3 here. >> president obama back in washington after one week a broad promises to deliver more than 600,000 jobs through his $787 billion stimulus plan this summer. he will meet with cabinet members and a few hours into distributing the money. as for health care reform, the president once congress to look

at taxing wealthy instead of workers. house democrats are working on a plan to require health insurance for most americans. former un ambassador bill richardson as speaking on a national broadcast today and calling it the 12-year sentencing for the two journalists part of a high- stakes poker game in north korea. the mexico governor added that the time might be right to work with the country's leaders in pyongyang on their release. from the north korean -- there warning to stay with northeast coast, that is from the coast guard. the first wave of 21,000 troops ordered to afghanistan are now fanning out across the country's south. the 7000 marines are on a mission to defeat the two. a bipartisan report says that u.s. reliance on private sector employees has grown to unprecedented proportions, yet the government has no central

database of who the contractors are, what they do, or how much they're paid. the study finds that the defense department has failed to provide adequate oversight over tens of billions of dollars for contracts in iraq and afghanistan. after being invited for a second time to speak to the annual joined fund-raiser for the national republican congressional committee in the national republican senatorial committee, alaskan gov. sarah palin was told saturday night should not be allowed to redress the thousands there after all. the event begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. eastern. finally, former first lady laura bush says she is pleased that president barack obama nominated a woman for the supreme court, saying it judge sonya soda sounds like a winner and a good nominee. she made the remarks in an interview broadcast earlier on " good morning america."

"washington journal" continues. host: healthcare is the issue for the next 25 minutes or so. what should the administration's plan look like? from the u.s. news section in this morning's "the wall street journal," this piece about a link senator kennedy. in the newspaper, if the liberal mr. kennedy takes a lesser role that could make it easier for the more conservative mr. baucus, the senator from montana to push the health care legislation into a centrist direction. mr. kennedy is a major proponent of including a publicly run health insurance option. his committee last week began circulating the first draft of

the proposal for sweeping changes, starting the maneuvering in earnest. there will make the bill's details in mid-june. following that, mr. kennedy's committee will engage in negotiations with mr. baucus and then the democrats must guide the passage of the senate floor. on saturday president obama devoted his weekly address to the issue, saying that fixing health care is a necessity we cannot postpone any longer. we will show you in a moment the comments from newt gingrich on health care. iowa on the democratic line. caller: yes, my comment is basically, and i go back to 1992 when the debate between perot,

bush, and clinton ran. perot knows a lot about health care from the blue cross companies in the software. his comment is that we should take a look at them and find out which one is the best inand apply it to the u.s. -- i think that should be used. host: the former speaker was asked about the administration's proposal. here's his reply. >> "the new york times" let out the cat this morning. the government will decide whether or not you live and severe restrictions on health care. a government plan so the government can take over and run the whole system.

if you think the government cannot run general motors, why would you think the government can run health care? >> and the government is running health care companies? >> the we use that model to destroy all the health care companies. >> is it inevitable? >> no, i did nothing so. >> are there enough republican votes to stop it? >> no, but when the average american looks at the idea that we will have a bureaucrat decide what you get the treatment you need, if you look at the death rate from cancer in great britain and compare to hear, i don't think we will accept that model. host: texas on our republican line. which of the health-care plan look like? caller: hello, good to talk with you again. i think the obama plan should be nothing less than medicare

because when you have the existing program that we have right now and at all the amenities they do not have to that in place of another so- called national health care plan, instead of that, put it into medicare and medicaid and that we will have no deductibles, right on down the line. and if you have to have open heart surgery something it is pretty well covered. right to the last dollar. it does not make sense to have one program that is already knowledgeable and has the understanding of what is going on with the nation and on in individualistic basis as opposed to having, creating another program which is going to be what? nobody knows what the itinerary or the schedule of these departments will be to act upon an individual basis when a person needs medical attention. host: to macon, ga. next on our

independent line. please turn down your television or radio and go ahead. caller: i am definitely for single-payer because we have to get the companies out of the health care process. they only have an incentive to profit. when to take the incentive to profit away it will reduce costs. that is it. host: "the wall street journal" writing about the bills circulating on capitol hill. the first draft of the senator kennedy bill calls for guaranteed access for all americans and would require employers to provide coverage or pay a penalty if they do not. the paper also writes, administration -- an administration official said on sunday at the white house would detail in the next 10 days a

savings of $200 billion up to $300 billion that could be realized from medicare over the next decade. massachusetts on our democrats line. caller: the new journal of medicine says that hmo's amount to 30% up to 50% of costs compared to 2% for administrative costs with medicare. [inaudible] 31%. they are lying to us in a tim geithner says there are green shoots to recovery, but they are threatening social security benefits because of the depression going on. that is what the reports say.

these same people -- not just obama, but his advisers who are advising to cut medical costs because we have given trans to banks -- they are saying that americans need to reduce the cost -- give up dollar value to human life. the value of saving a life is the market estimates. it is profits only. not on one human life -- it is sacred, you know? host: next on our republican line. caller: good morning. i have a comment and some questions. i hope that we do not good to

socialized medicine. i have been in serious condition for over 10 years. my insurance has covered the entire thing and it was not cheap. for the people who do not have or have lost their job and have no coverage and a their chronic pain patients, where do go for help? how can they get help for their conditions? is there website or doctor or somebody that can help them when they have leukemia, they have lost coverage, or they lost their jobs, and with their job gone they have lost coverage. and also, on the other guy who said that the democrats and the union -- excuse me, there are republicans also in the union's.

we pay a high price for being in the union. host: about 50 more minutes for your calls on the health care proposals of the administration. the first draft circulating on capitol hill. here is another headline from "usa today and it mentions that business groups are critical of the early draft. it is a risk that could complicate president obama's goal of achieving bipartisan support for his top domestic priority. criticism comes during what obama's called a maker break time for health care. he hopes to sign legislation by a october, but business groups say the provisions of the draft bill are too far reaching for broad support. senator chuck grassley is involved in the negotiations. over the weekend he used twitter to make his sentiments

known to the president. he is a top republican in the senate finance committee. he said obama had the nerve to call for prompt action while sightseeing in paris. iowa is next on our independent line. caller: to the last caller -- where can all those people go? will we had a single-payer system we would not be having that discussion. is a shame that mr. obama has not even allowed that to be discussed. -- it is a shame. i understand from the meeting last week it was supposed to be discussed. back in 2003 obama said he was a proponent of single-payer and it was the only way to go, but that we had a long road to get there. he said first we needed to take back the white house and in congress. guess what? we have all those things, yet

we're not even talking about it is too big to do with and people will not stand up to the establishment. the status quo will stay the same until you get a new third party. i encourage people to call in and talk about the single-payer system and it to do some research to get through all the propaganda out there. host: ohio is next. caller: i believe we should have a single-payer universal health care program for health care and medicare. i think all the propaganda that we are hearing from various people, the newt gingrich comment about decisions about whether not the government or

for-profit companies are going to decide who gets what care and such -- i think that is nonsense. the health care companies are robbing us blind. the only people we will be able to trust is the government. the people need universal health care. from what i've understand there is 60% of bankruptcies caused by a catastrophic health care problems. if you think the for-profit companies will care and do anything, it is ridiculous. it is totally ridiculous. host: royal oak, mich. on the

our republican line. caller: i work in a physician's office so i am familiar with some of these things. in regards to newt gingrich's comment about having the health care run health care and look what they did to general motors -- the government did not do anything to general motors. general motors did that to itself. the government is in there trying to help recover. insurance companies are the people who oftentimes determine the treatment for a patient. when you call in and a certain policy does not meet certain specifications they are the ones who say no. the summer i was in england and became ill and was taken to a hospital emergency room. they did not ask me what kind of insurance i had. they knew i was born, but the

same treatment applies. -- the new that i was foreign. i paid $175 at the time, but the doctor in the emergency room was very competent. we are spending billions of dollars in iraq. iraq is off the radar screen now. that money should be spent on the people of our country. thank you for listening host: a store this morning from the ap about president obama. part of the announcement he will make today. he promised to deliver more than six under the jobs -- 600,000 jobs through his stimulus plan this summer with federal agencies pumping billions into public works projects, schools, and summer youth programs. he is ramping up his tennis program this week even as advisers are ramping down

expectations -- his ramping up his spending program this week. many of the stimulus plans that obama announced were already in the works, including hundreds of maintenance projects at military bases, 1600 state road and airport improvements, and money for schools. louisiana, on our independent line. caller: thank you. i want to say that i am a cancer survivor at 49 years old. i have fought cancer for nearly five years. they removed my bladder and prostate last year. i do not believe the government are the people to take control of my health care. i wanted to be between me, my

doctors, and my health care coverage. host: who is your health insurer? caller: i have united healthcare and cigna because my wife and i have worked hard all our lives to put ourselves in a position to take care of our family with their health coverage. -- with our health coverage. look at all the illegal aliens. you can go to an emergency room somewhere and you will understand. i am paying for them. i have watched my health insurance go up in skyrocket. host: you said you and your wife both have health care from united healthcare in cigna. part of this proposal circulated by the president would call for companies to provide -- part of the law would ask the companies

to provide health care or face a penalty. would you be in favor of that? caller: not really, because i don't believe the government belongs to the private sector business. that is well beyond the spectrum of what the government should be doing. host: here is the view of "the baltimore sun" 01 way to pay for health care. charging for the pop in soda. slapping a tax on sugary drinks could be good for health. but dcent a 3¢ excise tax on the strings may prove to be exactly what the doctor orders, not only if it means less consumption of the stuff of dreams, but if it can help finance barack obama as health reform.

it hits low-income people the hardest. but, in fact, it is just the opposite. if poor people are less likely to buy sugary drinks they stand to benefit the most. omaha, neb. on our democrats' line. caller: and a person goes to see a doctor the doctor is very compassionate and tell the client what is needed. my sister who is a doctor in joyce it. there are always tests which caused thousands. my sister was a doctor always enjoys it. when it comes to the billing department of the hospital is an entirely different entity. they have a credit company call and make threats to my sister. i am tired of this. my sister is trying. she tries to pay this bill. but when i hear my doctor or her

doctor giving her nitroglycerin and telling her that she is a walking time bomb and then i hear these credit companies -- i call them personally to ask them who they think they are making threats to muster. they say that she owes money. they have no consideration. the hospital is the same way. does the hospital really care? or is this really two different entities in the hospital? the hospitals need to be straight up with their clients. my sister can only afford so much. host: thank you, omaha. thank you for all the calls this half hour. we're joined by shane harris, the national journal intelligence correspondent. he has a feature length article called "the survivor of," about the cia and relations with congress. your article starts out with

profane language from the former senator jake in his encounter with the head of the cia back in 1984. what was he upset about? guest: he was a member of the senate intelligence committee and upset at what he felt was the unfair grilling that other members of his committee were given to the cia chief over the agency having planted mines and several harbors in nicaragua. the context going back was the reagan administration's broader policies in central america and dad reading the various countries there of communist forces. the members of the committee were shocked to find at the cia had put these mines in the harbors. bill casey so they should not have been surprised because he

had mentioned it in a briefing months earlier. it is reminiscent of her current interrogation techniques. essentially, the chief of the cia failed to make mention of of the mining testimony and buried the lead. he did not tell members explicitly what had been going on. there were furious when they found out. garn exploded back at the numbers, alleging that it had broken down along the local party lines. that is what prompted the outburst. host: you used this incident as a launching point to talk about the current discussion over who knew what about the treatment of detainees. a sidebar to your article says that the cia typically gives a 1100 briefings to the members of

congress. it seems like congress should be getting all they need to know from the cia, but from your article that is not the case? guest: what happens is that these briefings are mostly mundane matters. sensitive matters happen and closed briefings. concerning waterboarding, these were extraordinary briefings which were rare. the entire length of the program over roughly six years -- the agency only get 40 briefings about this program to members of congress. it is not yet clear what they said in those briefings. from the perspective of the lawmakers these briefings are rare events. some have questioned whether something like waterboarding was not dramatic enough to stand out

to them. if they really had a problem with whether it was legal or moral, why did they say something at the time? the picture that emerges though, is that these members are mostly inundated with information and depend on officials to bring it to their attention with flashing lights in some cases. host: one of those briefings took place in the vice president's office, not on capitol hill. this once said when he received a schedule from a staff, the meeting with the vice president was omitted. aides informed him that cheney's office did not want them to put the meeting on his daily schedule card. that is so closely guarded the administration wanted to keep the surveillance program and

briefings about. guest: yes, that is right. hoekster told me that when he first got the call the administration wanted to brief him, it was only the day before. they did not tell him what it was about. he said he took a rather seriously. more so the next day when he realized that the vice president's office did not want to record of it on his schedule. a number of these briefings were held at the white house in the situation room or the vice president's office. i think that is a measure of how the cia and officials tried to control the information from their end. and that may have included doing and on what they called ". friendly "" -- "