host: good morning. the house and senate both meet later this morning. president obama at the white house this afternoon. in meeting with the democratic members of the house ways and means committee. the associated press reported that u.s. authorities have brought the first guantanamo detainees to the u.s., flying him to new york to face trial for the bombing of the u.s. embassies in kenya and tanzania in 1998. front page of "the washinton post," the cia objecting to the release of bush-era documents of the interrogation of some of those detainees. the headline this morning, the chrysler deal put on hold as the supreme court reviews the company's bankruptcy

reorganization. all this possibly impacting the deal with fiat. more details coming forth from congress and the white house on health care. and this question, are you satisfied with your health care? the numbers to call, 202-737- 0001, our line for republicans. 202-737-0002 if you are a democrat. if you are an independent, 202- 628-0205. this morning, front-page of "the washington post," an in-depth story by cc connolly, decision makers differ on how to mend broken health system. nowhere else in the world is so much money spent with such poor results. on that point there is rare unanimity among washington decision makers, the u.s. health system needs a major overhaul. researchers have documented the inequities, shortcomings, the waist, and dangers in a hodgepodge of the accord needed

medical services that consume nearly 1/5 of the u.s. economy. exorbitant medical bills thrust families into bankruptcy, ending global competitiveness of companies, and threaten the government's long-term solvency." that this morning from "the washinton post." and this figure, back in 1960, and curtains of current dollars, how much we spend on -- in terms of current dollars, how much we spend on national health expenditures. it was $200 billion in 1960, $2.30 trillion today. joining us from baltimore, good morning, and democrats alike. caller: good morning. i am currently fine with my health care because i go to dental school so i was able to get health care through the

dental school. all i did this was my ankle, and i could not pay for it. even my wife, she could not really change her job because she has high blood pressure and she needed health care. she could not switch jobs because she has to get health care. i really think that the president is trying to have a public auction and that would be really great because people would have a choice to get what they want. in most places i have been, there is only one health-care company in that particular area. people are not really aware of, and a lot of people that are not really satisfied with the health care does not really want government to take control of it. and i understand that,, but i would not want to wait until i have problems with -- medical

problems. host: we appreciate the call. we're going to get two different perspectives on that, with representative gingrey, who says the government should not be involved. here is another chart looking again at the debate over health- care dating back to lyndon johnson back in 1964. he made medicare his highest level of party. then the debate from the 1970's with president nixon and senator kennedy, offering competing proposals. then the clinton administration and president bush, who proposed tax breaks to encourage the uninsured to buy coverage. todd is on the phone from lanthorn, pennsylvania. asking you the question, are you

satisfied with your current health care coverage? what do you say to that, todd? todd, good morning. are you with us? caller: this is pat. host: where are you phoning from? caller: i am phone from california. i am not really satisfied with my health care. i do have a plan through my job, but i did have an illness and i have to pay a lot of money out of pocket. it took me a while to pay for it, but about six years ago i was laid off at 52. i needed to see a doctor, and i did not have any insurance, i paid insurance all my life. and i think that made my situation worse. so, no, i am not satisfied with my health care plan. host: david drucker has a front-

page story, "healthcare storm clouds near. as health care reform takes shape in the house and senate and shows signs of veering decided the left, business lobbyists are considering joining the republican allies and putting the brakes on obama's plans." next call. caller: good morning, steve. yes, i am very satisfied with my plan. we have united healthcare or my wife works, and she is a schoolteacher. she gets it through her job. i retired, and we are well satisfied. we pay about $800 a month for it, but it is well worth it. and i sure do not want no government to run -- look, medicare is going broke. who is going to pay for 50 million more people, health

care who is going to pay for? it is going to be bankrupt, this country. obama, he is just destroying this country. i cannot understand -- he is going to put all these illegal mexicans on at, and their families are going to come into this country? what is going to happen? we have the best health care in the world. . people come here from canada. they have to wait in line -- excuse me, i am just -- host: sammy, let me read to you the piece by david gresser, a physician and a senior fellow at the manhattan institute. he writes about "canada's obama

care president." tens of millions of americans will potentially be joining a new public insurance program and the federal government will increasingly be involved in treatment decisions. born and raised in canada, i once believed that government health care is compassionate and equitable. it is neither. yes, everyone in canada is covered by a single payer, the government. but canadians wait for practically any procedure or diagnosetic test." between 2006 and 2008, ontario send more than 160 patients to york and michigan for emerging research 3, described by the globe and mail newspaper as broken necks, burst aneurysms, and other types of bleeding in or around the brain." caller: what is going to happen here if that happens? we will be waiting and i do not

know what happens. you were talking about the election's over there, europeans, that they are moving right, and we're moving left in this country. they got tired of it over there, and they are moving right. obama is changing this country -- moving this country radically to the left, and i just -- i am just upset. host: well, you are helping me nicely because you are helping me segue into the article into today's "guardian." "brown's great escape," referring to gordon brown. our next call is from alan, joining us from bakersfield,

california. good morning. we will go to don. go ahead, don, in lancaster pennsylvania. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. good morning. caller: i am not satisfied with my health care at all. like dick durbin said at the meeting with the senate and house, they are owned by the banks. in this case they are owned by the pharma and ama, and the insurers. so we need single-payer. it is simple as that. we ought to join the rest of the civilized world, and what the last fellow said about we have the best health care system in the world, it is just fox news propaganda, republican propaganda. it is not even close to accurate. "the wall street journal," with

their talking about sending people to the united states for procedures, well, those people are covered. you know, when we go somewhere else, it is all out of pocket host: let me be clear, it was an editorial by david gratzer. he pointed out that in the united kingdom where socialized medicine with established after world war twii, patients are allowed to choose among facilities, including private ones. he concludes with this point, "americans need to ask the basic question -- why are they rushing into a system of government- dominated health care when the very countries that have experienced it for so long are backing away?" caller: let me just say this. you guys broadcast, probably a year ago, the producer for pbs, and he traveled the world and

went to about 20 different countries, and their work combination of single-payer as well as private and public. and he said that those combinations were great. i do not know what happened to him. he has great documentation on how health care can work, unlike the united states, where it does not work. people just refused to say that. and phil gingrey will be on there and give the same stuff about how it is the greatest system in the world, and it is just baloney. it is propaganda. host: he will be on, as well senator bernie sanders, as this continues to unfold. inside "the politico," "what obama said and what he meant." "pouring money into a broken system only perpetuates inefficiencies. doing nothing to put our entire health care system at risk. we simply cannot afford to

postpone health care reform a logger." that is a letter to president sent to congress. in this point, "do not try to slow-walk healthcare." scott joins us from new york city. good morning, democrats like. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. a couple of very quick points. you know, the germans and french -- they do not wait -- we are always talking about canada and having to wait. the germans and french have national health care, and they do not wait. france is reported to have one of the best is not the best health-care system in the world that we here would love to have a system like that -- single- payer, nationalized. i think the republicans are using scare tactics that we will not get it good health care under a single-payer system. a few years ago i remember that the talk was about hmo's. i went from an hmo to a ppo.

i now have an hmo. i go to the same doctors, and it was just a few years ago that hmo's were the scourge of the world, that if you had an hmo, nothing was going to be covered, you were not going to be able to go to the doctor that you wanted to see. that kind of myth was just totally busted. my hmo coverage that i have now, and most of the hmo companies, are exactly alike. it covers me just fine, and we do not hear enough -- my last point is -- thank you again -- we do not hear enough about campaign contributions coming from the health-care industry, who they go to, who the lobbyists are, what their names are, what their power is, how they are persuading legislation. i think that behind the scenes information ought to be discussed. host: campaign contributions, a ruling yesterday, a 5-4 decision

by the u.s. supreme court, the front page of "the new york times," "elected judges must disqualify themselves from cases involving people who spent exceptionally large sums to put them on the bench. 39 states elect at least some of their judges, and election campaigns, particularly for the supreme court, have become increasingly expensive. elected judges --" "the state's chief justice in west virginia twice cast the deciding joke -- the deciding vote to throw out a $50 million verdict against massey energy, one of the country's biggest coal

companies. the reaction this morning from "the new york times," and in just about every newspaper in the country joins us from pittsburgh. are you satisfied with your current health-care program? caller: yes, steve, i am very satisfied. i retired and every year i get at least four or five insurance companies sending me literature to change my medicare plan. i decided to go with security blue, and it has been perfect. i have to say one other thing. there is a very simple solution to ensure the 40 million people, and it is using the v.a. health system. if somebody gets unemployed and lose their insurance, when they go sign up, they get a special v.a. card that makes them eligible to go to any v.a.

facility that we have. host: who pays for it? caller: well, the government. he is going to spend over $one trillion already -- $1 trillion already. it would be much simpler, and everybody would be covered. host: go to twitteredr.com/cwj. mike is joining us from lagrange, texas, good morning. independent line. caller: good morning, steve. i would like to say something about this myth about socialized medicine being so bad.

i would like to tell a story about back in the 1980's in scotland. my wife got ill, real sick. a doctor came to her room three times within one night, took her to the hospital. but before they rolled her out of the room, the doctor looked at me and said, mike, i know you are concerned about how much this is going to cost you, but we have socialized medicine. please do not be concerned about the cost. her care was excellent. i would also like to point out that if you look at your chart and see when the price of health care escalated, i think it was senator fritz from tennessee whose family owns a big portion of united healthcare, if i am not mistaken.

it almost doubled from 1994 to 1996. there's nothing wrong with socialized medicine. from what i saw in scotland, it was excellent. host: mike, thank you for the call. another comment from david sampson who says kaiser permanente a, very satisfied. i could not imagine a system working better. from "it will street journal," "lawmakers are getting closer to sweeping changes that would reshape taxes, health insurance, and coverage, for 46 million people in the u.s. who do not have it. as soon as this week, a senate committee is expected to release the first piece of legislation which the second bill to follow later this month. the house expected to unveil its health-care bill by the middle of the month, and both chambers inning to pass legislation by august and deliver a single bill to president obama by october.

cal joins us from cookeville, tennessee. what about your health care coverage? caller: not satisfied because i am with the veterans. everybody talks about how great that is. two or three people came down with aids after colonoscopy is because they need cleaner instruments. national health care is not really what we want. first of all, by the gentleman just said about senator fritz -- let me set him straight on this. they have some hospitals here, they do not own anything from united healthcare. that is number one. number two, the reason i do not like the system is because we have only 46 million people who are uninsured. we do not have the entire country. out of that 46 million, 15 million are illegals. it will cost us billions of

dollars, not just -- if not trillions of dollars. host: appreciate the call. from inside "usa today," " moderates in congress feel health-care push pickup susan collins of maine and democratic senator evan by of indiana -- byron york, his column "digging in for obama's healthcare aventis." debbie joins us from alabama. good morning. caller: could morning, steve. a 50% of the american people are happy with their health care? they're asking the wrong question. they are happy they have health care, but as soon as they are sick -- i am a registered nurse, and when they come into the hospital, they do not want to pay their bills, the insurance companies. the second thing i want to say about a public health plan, is the republicans -- this guy who

owned -- the thing he is trying to tell the american people is you do not want to have government between you, the patient, and the doctor. well, what we have right now is the insurance company between us, the patient, and the doctor. if you have private insurance, sometimes it takes weeks just to get approval from the private insurance company to run a test to even diagnose you. so we are having to guess on a diagnosis because we do not approve the study that needs to be done. the third point is, some things you just cannot profit off of. let's suppose that your house catches on fire and the fire department says, "it will take us a couple of weeks to send a fire truck out there because we have to see if there is a family history of someone else having their house put on fire."

sometimes you just cannot profit of someone. we are the only country in the world that penalizes our citizens for becoming ill. they either lose their homes or their premiums get raised. so when you go into the hospital, you are happy with their insurance, and either raise your premiums or do not pay for it. host: let me ask you come as a nurse, you are on the front lines of the health-care debate. what are you seeing in terms of hospitals and doctors and what they are facing in terms of rising malpractice, rising costs, and what that means for nursing care? caller: that is definitely a problem, but the biggest problem are the administrators. we are supposed to be a not-for- profit hospital. you see less and less registered nurses taking care of our patients. 30 years ago there was one registered nurse for every five

patients. now there are 30 or 40 patients for every one nurse. they have to cut back the registered nurses, and now hospitals have become places where patients go to die, not to get well. host: from "the usa today," "on health care, republicans just say no." from "the wall street journal," this you're saying ontario some 160 people out of many millions of people in canada. the canadian government is conservative, why can we cancel it?" walt, good morning. caller: good morning. my only concern is simply that

our health care system is completely out of control as far as the actual cost is concerned. i do not trust government. i do not want them having anything to do with my health care. my health care is between my doctor and hospital and myself. what we need to do is try to get the doctors to tone down their costs, toned down their charges a little bit so that every american can have health care. every american does have health care now because the enemy can go in the hospital any time and get treatment that they need, just the same as anyone paying the bill. you know, the inefficiency is so evident in government. it does not encourage me to give them more power over the health care of the people. host: another comment from a

viewer, "we need a public payer to compete with private payers, not a single pair. this will bring down costs and increase quality. two notes from the "richmond times-this patch." terry mcauliffe, the former chair of the dnc, is being challenged by virginia state senator and a former assemblyman in the primary, and turnout is expected to be key with 200,000 democrats expected to go to the polls today in virginia. and a piece by robert c. smith, a former two-term senator from new hampshire. he now lives in sarasota, florida, and is running for the senate seat in florida next year, the seat vacated by martinez. one of the other themes this morning in the newspapers, at a photograph of senator edward

kennedy and senator robert byrd. senator kennedy is in massachusetts recovering from brain surgery, battling brain cancer, and robert byrd, who continues to battle a staph infection at an undisclosed hospital. also inside "the washinton post," "on the cusp of historic majority, senate democrats miss the pillars." and from inside "the new york times," "senate feels an absence of health bill." chris dodd is the number 2 democrat on the health committee and has taken on the role of health care with senator kennedy. he is supported by leaders of three working groups that mr. kennedy created in november. we are going to take a short break. when we come back, congressman phil gingrey will join us to give us his perspective on the health-care debate. senator bernie sanders. "washington journal" continues in a moment.

>> how is c-span funded? >> private donations? >> taxpayers? >> i do not really know. >> i do not know where the money comes from. >> federally? >> helices been funded? 30 years ago america's cable companies created -- how is c- span funded? 30 years ago, americans cable companies greeted c-span. no government mandate, no government money.

>> the congressional directory with information on house and senate members, the cabinet, supreme court justices, and the nation's governors. how to contact committees and caucuses. it is $16.95 on line c-span.org -- at c-span.org/products. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we want to welcome congressman phil gingrey, the co-chair of the republicans doctors congress. good morning. guest: good morning, steve. host: where do you come down on the health care debate? guest: well, i come down on the fact that we need some reform. there are certain things that we could and should and do agree with in a bipartisan way. i would like to see more sharing of information so that we become closer