we will be back tomorrow morning. have a great day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] . . >> dan balz and hanz johnson. we will be taking your calls starting this friday on c-span. >> bill clinton kicks off the 2009 bloggers convention.

coverage starts thursday night life at 8:00 p.m. on c-span. and then healthcare panels with howard dean and arlen specter. making change happen and reshaping the supreme court. >> taking a look at our life events today. president obama will host a reception for sonia sotomayor. that is scheduled to begin at 10:15 eastern. more from the white house with a medal of freedom ceremony, 16 recipients including ted kennedy, billie jean king and stephen hawking. see it live at 3:10 p.m. eastern today. until the reception for justice sotomayor, some of your calls from today's "washington journal." host: we're taking a look at some of today's headlines. they have a story on president

obama's management style. how much detail is enough? reporters write many presidents have directed policy from on high, but mr. obama has adopted a different style. as he and his team wrestled with the worst financial crisis since the great depression. the present gathers with his advisers every morning for a debate on the economy. the breadth of topics is wide and mr. obama often dies into them. the president -- mr. obama often dives into them. he often quizzes them and learns counter arguments. his president's management style can set the tone for his administration. jimmy carter caught a lot of

criticism for his focus on details. if the risks are operating at too generalized a level, you need to find a balance between the two. if you want to call and on the republican line, the numbers are on the screen. in an analysis piece on what congress and the white house are facing when they return in september, one associated press reporter writes while democrats did enact the economic stimulus, much remains undone. among those, health care, global warming and a financial overhaul. they did push the rate tax -- pushed through tax cuts. they expanded health coverage to millions more children, and placed the first hispanic on the supreme court.

they bought good will by offering $3 billion in government rebates and allowing people to trade in old cars for new ones. it passed one house committee, only after moderate blue dog democrats prevailed among nancy pelosi to postpone a full boat until the fall. we have laura on the democratic line. -- postponed a full vote until the fall. caller: i was trying to get through to your previous guest. i used to work for johns hopkins for the aids research. i was actually coordinator of the psychological part of that study. i actually work for the government, but i wanted to mention that to you. i also wanted to ask him if he thought there was a possibility of a new equal rights amendment for women that would include

homosexuals. i guess you could read my tweet online. i wanted him to comment on the fact that homosexuality is actually genetic. this is something we knew in the 1990's, that alexander the great was known to be gay and was one of the best generals. that was number one. i went to senator cardin's town hall meeting on monday night. there are people in front of me talking about they wished president obama was here so they could mention, it made me sick and i had to leave. -- they wish president obama was there so they could lynch him. i hope the energy pill -- i hope

the energy bill does not actually make it through. this will cause stricter regulations and things will be more expensive. i think we owe it to this planet to put something back into it. host: seattle, washington on the republican line. go ahead. you are on the air. caller: i am from washington. i am pco for the republican party in this area. it is not all about the health care, it is about everything they have been doing. the big government program has just been overwhelming and people have seen that. these programs have just been here for the wall street people and not for us. i was hoping obama would be

different, but he is even worse than bush. all these programs that he has had have been for the wall street people, so people of course do not trust this health- care thing. they see it going for the illegal aliens. it is more than just the health care, it is illegal aliens, is the wall street bailout, it is the big government programs. they're going for wall street, and that is the problem. host: his front page of the "washington post." the recovery only a statistician can love. the pile of economic data indicating the worst is over keeps growing. the government has reported

that businesses shed the smallest number of jobs in nearly a year. the savings rate held steady at levels not seen in at least five years. productivity surged to a six- year high, but this same data also explained why it this recovery will not feel like want any time soon. -- why this recovery will not feel like one any time soon. it is going to be a recovery only a statistician can love, says one economist. next call from florida on the independent line. caller: guess. am i on the air? host: yes, you are. caller: i am just trying to say something to the homosexual community and the american people. basically i know how i feel, and

i have a feeling that this is away a lot of americans feel. i am not particularly caring one way or the other what the homosexual community does. i will tell you where it bothers me is when is crammed down my throat, and with this marriage routine. as far as the civil unions, i think they could have the same rights and so forth as everybody else. what bothers nee is the cramming it down our throats, -- what bothers me is cramming it down our throats. this is not just an agenda by the homosexual community, it is an agenda to tear down the american way of life and reduce it to something they can start over and have what i consider to be a more marxist approach to the world order. i think this is not what the american people want and i think it is the problem.

it is the same thing with the republicans and democrats. as long as people keep thinking republicans and democrats, instead of an independent approach, where there are good parts in both, and looking at the good parts and not having to support things we don't believe and. i don't believe in the homosexual way of life, that there for a knock -- it should not be crammed down my throat. as a retired military officer, i can tell you there is no reason why has this young man said a few minutes ago, two people walk in and kissed each other on the lips and got thrown in jail. they should not have got thrown in jail but they should not have been kissing each other. heterosexuals -- it is considered bad manners to walk down and show affection in public.

host: tennessee on the republican line. caller: am i on the air? host: yes. caller: i wanted to talk about the housing situation. the housing situation is very obvious what is going on. there is a problem all over the nation with home builders association. a group of powerful builders that go from state to state, and they carry their people from one state to another. my problem that i see here is not accountability, and i want to suggest a book. the title is "the abuse of local government." if someone wants to get what is going on in with the housing situation, they should read

those books. host: jack on the democratic line. caller: health care reform would be beneficial to the entire american public. people think these 47 million people are not being served, they are. they are uninsured, they are being served, and the tax people -- the tax payers are paying for it. so we are paying for those people now. this public option is not a freebie, these people have to pay. the minimum they would have to pay is the same as medicare is paying. her more people you have paying for something, that cheaper is. -- the more people you have paying, the cheaper it is. the public option has to be in there to give competition to

the insurance industry to get them to lower their prices. one person making $102,000 an hour is obscene. we need to pass this with pass thisoption. -- we need to pass this with the public option. anybody that makes $28,000 has to buy insurance. the republicans stance is that this is freedom in america, they should not have to pay. you have to buy auto insurance to drive an automobile. why should these people not by insurance and then go to the hospital and we have to pay for it? host: republican line from florida. caller: i just wanted to make a

comment, i just turned you on and i live in fort lauderdale. my brother turned out gay, he blamed my mother. here in wisconsin back in the old days and no one talked about it. but we do not care. i have been around gay people and i think people are overreacting. i don't know the financial aspect of giving them marriage, but i think it is dumb. why not? it is a small minority of people, ante in terms of giving them their rights, who cares? -- and in terms of giving them their rights. gay people are fun, they are funny, that there are lots of good things about their community. if people would break down the barrier and spend time with gay people, they are just a little bit different, but one thing i

wanted to say was when i served in the military my first sergeant was gay. she was mean, but that could have been other reasons, too. generally speaking, i think people -- let them get married. what is wrong with celebrations, parties and having fun? >> "washington journal" is live every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. we leave to take you live for a reception of justice >> sonia sotomayor. patrick leahy is escorting the first lady. -- for a reception of sonia sotomayor. she was sworn in over the weekend. the senate voted to confirm her last thursday. [applause]

[applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> all right, good morning everybody. and welcome to the white house.

i am glad all of you could be with us today as we honor the newest member of our highest court who i am proud to address for the first time as the justice sonia sotomayor. [applause] we are also honored to be joined by justice sotomayor's new colleagues. we have justice ginsberg who is here as well as justice stevens. [applause] i just want to thank both for being here today and your extraordinary service on the court. i know you will be giving justice sotomayor some good tips.

i also want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to bring us to this day. i want to especially thank our judiciary committee chairman, patrick leahy. [applause] as well as our senate majority leader, harry reid, for their outstanding work. [applause] for their outstanding work to complete this process before the august recess. i want to thank senator schumer, senator kila brand come up both of whom are just as -- senator gillebrand. i want to thank all the members of congress who have taken the time to join us at this white house event. i want to acknowledge all the groups who organized and

mobilized in support of these efforts from the very beginning. your work was absolutely critical to our success and i appreciate all have the -- i appreciate all you have done. pat yourselves on the back. [applause] two members of congress i especially want to acknowledge our senator bob menendez who worked so hard on the senate side. [applause] and congresswoman nidia vasquez, who is the share of the congressional spanish caucus. [applause] and i think we all want to take a moment to recognize the woman who truly made this day possible, just as sotomayor's motherjustice sotomayor's

mother. [applause] mrs. sotomayor is here with her husband and brother and other members of their family. we are thrilled they could join us today. i don't normally do this but let me also just thank my extraordinary white house staff who helped to assure this stuff through. we are very proud of them. -- who helped to usher this through. [applause] of course we are here not just to celebrate our extraordinary new supreme court justice and all those who have been a part of her journey to this day, we are here to also celebrate an

extraordinary moment for our nation. we celebrate the impact just ice sotomayor has already had on people who have been inspired by her lifestyle. we celebrate the greatness of a country in which such a story is possible. we celebrate how, with their overwhelming vote to confirm jstice sotomayor , united states senate toward down yet one more barrier and affirm our belief that in america the doors of opportunity must be open to all. with that vote, the senate looked beyond the old divisions and embraced excellence. they recognized justice so tommyre's intellect and independence of mind, -- sotomayor's intellect and independence of mind.

and her devotion to protecting our core constitutional rights and liberties. justice william brennan said in order to -- in order for government to ensure those rights, government officials must be attentive to the realities at stake in the decisions they make. they must understand the pulse of life beneath the official version of events. justice so tommyre or understands those realities because she has witnessed them firsthand. sonia sotomayor understands these realities. we give people a chance to live out their dreams come out work that she has done with devotion and with an unyielding commitment to give back to this country that has given her so much. she understands these things because she has lived these

things, because her life is one of those only in america stories, raised by a single mother in the south bronx determined to give her every opportunity to succeed, propelled by the talent and hard work that would earn her scholarships by the best schools in the country, driven by the belief that it does not matter where you come from or what challenges life throws your way, no dream is beyond reach in the united states of america. with the depth and experience, justice sotomayor understands how the law actually unfolds in our lives. its impact on how we work and raise our families, or whether we have the opportunities we need to live the lives we imagine. that understanding is vital for the work of a supreme court justice, as justice stevens and justice ginsburg will testify.

the work of applying principles set forth at our founding to the cases of controversies in our time. our founders did not presume to know exactly how the times would change, what new questions history would set before us. instead, they sought to articulate ideals that would be timeless, ones that would accommodate the changing circumstances of our lives and preserve our most sacred rights and freedoms. when justice sotomayor put her hand on the bible and took that oath, we took yet another step towards realizing those ideals. we came another step closer to a more perfect union we all seek. because while this is justice sotomayor's achievement, the result of her ability this moment is not just about her, it is about every child who will grow up thinking if sonia

sotomayor can make it, then maybe i can, to. [applause] -- maybe i can, too. [applause] [applause] it is about every mother or father who looks at the sacrifice as justice sotomayor's mother made and the successes she and her brother have had, and thinks i may now have much in my own life, but i if i work hard enough maybe my kids can have more. it is about everyone facing challenges in their lives who. justice sotomayor's story and thinks if she could -- and who

think if justice sotomayor's story and things she could do it, then i can, too. her rise from humble beginnings to the heights of achievement is another symbol of that faith. faith that the american dream still in doris, fate that equal justice is not just an inscription. -- faith that the american dream still endures, faith that equal justice is not just an inscription. this is a great day for america. i know that all of us here are honored to have been a part of it. with that, i would like to introduce the newest member of the united states supreme court, justice sonia sotomayor. [applause]

[applause] [applause] [applause] >> no words cannot equally express what i am feeling. no speech can fully capture my joy in this moment. nothing can convey the depth of gratitude i feel to the countless family members, starting with mom and my brother, and the many friends

and colleagues, so many of you zero are here today -- so many of you who are here today who helped me reached this moment. none of this would have happened without all of you. mr. president, i had the most heartfelt appreciation for the trust you have placed in me by nominating me. i want to convey my thanks to the judiciary committee, led by chairperson leahy for conducting a respectful and timely hearing, and to all members of the senate for approving the president's selection. i am so grateful to all of you for this extraordinary opportunity. i am most grateful to this country. i stand here today knowing that

my confirmation as an associate justice of the supreme court would never have been possible without the opportunities presented to me by this nation. more than two centuries ago in a constitution that contained fewer than 5000 words, our fires set forth their vision for this new land. -- our founders set forth their vision. their task was to form a more perfect union, to establish justice and security blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity. over the years, the ideals at the heart of that document had indoor -- have endured as subsequent generations have expanded those freedoms to more americans. our constitution has survived domestic and international

problems, including a civil war, at two world wars and the catastrophe of 9/11. it draws together people of all races, faiths and backgrounds from all across this country, who carry its values in our heart. it is this nation's faith in a more perfect union that allows a porter rican girl from the bronx to stand here now. -- that allows a puerto rican girl to stand here now. [applause] [applause] [applause]

[applause] >> i am struck again today by the wonder of my own life and the life we in america are so privileged to lead. in reflecting on my life experiences, i am thinking also today of the judicial oath of office i first took almost two decades ago, and i reiterated this past weekend. to judge without respect to what a person looks like, where they come from, or whether they are rich or poor, and to treat all persons as equal under the law. that is what our system of justice requires, and it is the foundation of the american

people's faith in the rule of law, and is it why i am so passionate about the law. i am deeply humbled by the responsibility of upholding our laws and safeguarding the freedoms set forth in our constitution. i asked not just my family and friends, but i ask all americans to wish me divine guidance and wisdom in a business during my new office. -- in administering my new office. i thank president obama and the united states senate for the tremendous honor and privilege they have granted me. thank you. [applause] [applause]

[applause] [applause] [applause]

[applause] >> a reminder that coming this fall you can tour the home to america's highest court, the supreme court here on c-span. more from the white house later today with events. first of scheduled for 12:30 eastern is today's briefing with

robert gibbs. that will be live on c-span. later, a medal of freedom ceremony, at 16 recipience including ted kennedy and billie jean king. >> bill clinton kicks off the 2009 bloggers convention. coverage starts 30 -- coverage starts thursday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. pennsylvania politics with arlen specter and reshaping the supreme court. >> as congress breaks for its summer recess, many members are returning to their home states to host town hall meetings discussing health care and the economy. will you be attending a town hall in your community? do you have any thoughts to share regarding the various health care proposals? share your experiences on video

with c-span. send your video files to c- span.org/citizenvideo. ben cardin held a town hall meeting earlier this week outside of baltimore. this is just over 90 minutes. [applause] >> i am vice president for university advancement. i am pleased to welcome you to maryland cost metropolitan university, won with 21,000 students. -- i welcome you to maryland's metropolitan university.

we produce the largest number of health professionals in the state. we offer 15 programs, including nursing, speech and language pathology, and allied health. it is the second largest university that produces nurses in the state. on stage with me is u.s. senator ben cardin. [applause] and [unintelligible] we also have some elected officials, and i would like to recognize them. delegates adrienne jones, delegates steve laferty, delegate john cluster, bill frank, and someone representing

barbara mikulski's office. i see we have our favorites. delegate veronica at turner and diane hutchins representing mayor sheila dixon. the topic of this discussion is health care reform, a topic that has energized the public on both sides of the issues, as you can see from the turnout today. this is a town hall meeting. it is a chance to hear the surrounding health-care reform and answer questions. all of us here tonight have our thoughts and concerns about health care and how it will affect us. that is why we are here, so i

hope that corraled this evening we will demonstrate respect for each other -- i hope that throughout this evening we will demonstrate respect for each other. ibid like to go over the agenda and the rules for this evening. the agenda of will begin with miss handy who will relate her experience with the present health-care system. [crownd -- crowd boos] >> then i will introduce senator ben cardin who will walk us through the proposed legislation working through congress. after his presentation, he will respond to a few questions that some of you riposted -- as some of you posted on cards he received when you entered the theater.

then the senator will take questions from the audience from the two microphones, so that we get through as many questions as possible. audience participants will be asked to present questions quickly and not make statements. i would like to welcome miss dina handy to the podium. [applause] >> a few months ago i sent a letter to senator cardin and other officials to challenge them to find health insurance for my daughter. she was born with a rare de nevitt -- born with a rare genetic disorder. this affects our metabolism and how her body breaks down protein. it puts a person at risk of a

metabolic schnur broke every time they are ill, especially with a fever -- puts a person at risk for a stroke every time they are ill. it left her with its terrible palsy. now at the age of three -- it left her with cerebral palsy. she has proven to be intellectually intact. she knows colors, shapes and letters and numbers. she loves books and to play with her older sisters. she had been on state medical assistance in the expensive management program. with this insurance, we will able to get a wheelchair, all necessary and expenses uses above -- expensive pieces of

durable equipment. this year we received notification that she was no longer eligible for insurance because healthcare had increased. this is when we started to get nervous. we could not afford for it sarah to not have insurance. due to her disorder, she is on a feeding tube, requires special formula, medication and frequent hospitalizations. all of these unique challenges at up to a costly medical condition for our precious little girl. just for medication, formula and feeding supplies for one month, the cost would be $800 without insurance, not to mention that the nurse that usually comes to our house to access her feeding tube would not come when she was not insured.

we attempted to have sarah placed on our private insurance, but she was denied because of her pre-existing conditions. we then fought for two months to get her insurance. it is important to note that sarah could not have a lapse in insurance because then she would have been uninsurable for six months. this is the state managed health insurance program for maryland residents who have been unable to obtain health insurance from other sources. at the time of our original application sarah was two. she was denied because they said she was eligible for medicare. did i mention she was two, not 62? so i spent an afternoon at the social security administration to get a letter stating that she was not eligible for medicare. even after receiving this letter, they denied her again

saying she was eligible for medicare. it was not until i started sending letters to government officials that i saw some progress being made. it is heartbreaking that because we make more money, our daughter may not be well-insured. we are fearful for our financial situation and the burden her medical costs will put on us. we are challenged to get adequate medical care without going bankrupt. i can understand how this situation can cause many families to try untraditional solutions to this insurance challenge. it seems this is one of those catch-22 situation is that helps me understand why some people stay on welfare. why should they want to do better for themselves if they can get more by doing less? there has to be a better answer of their -- there has to be a

better answer out there. sarah is now in short -- she is now insured. we finally received her insurance card the first week of july. we are now working on placing sarah on the waiver list because although this is better than their insurance, it is not adequate for all of her medical needs. i will not pretend i know all the ins and outs of all that is going on about health care reform, or that i even agree with it, but i know there needs to be revisions. i know i need to become more informed because of my daughter, and this meeting is one way of doing so. thank you senator cardin for inviting me to share sarah's story. i hope this will benefit anyone who finds themselves in the similar situation. [applause] >> thank you for your attention

and thank you for your own personal story. it is my pleasure to introduce senator ben cardin. in more than 20 years in congress, he has become a national leader on health care, the environment and homeland security. from 1987 to 2006, he represented the third congressional district in the house of representatives. he currently serves on the foreign relations judiciary environment and small business committees. he also serves as chairman of the commission on the helsinki commission. his proposal to expand medicare to purview of -- to include preventive benefits was enacted into law. he has authorized legislation to fund credit -- to fund graduate medical education and improve the medicare drug benefit for

seniors. he was successful in getting a guaranteed dental benefits included in the reauthorization of the children's health insurance program. it is now my pleasure to introduce senator ben cardin. [applause] >> thank you very much. i do want to thank towson university for opening up this hall. when i made this request several weeks ago they did not know what they were getting themselves into, but i thank them for providing an opportunity for the community to get together. i also want i alsodena handy for being here. -- i also want to thank dena for being here. there are thousands of cases similar to den's -- and

thousands of cases similar to dena's. if she had worked for a small company that had a health care plan for their employees and the insurance cover her daughter's condition, at the small company may have been forced to give up their insurance because it would have been increased dramatically the following year because this experience rated premiums. small companies having a hard time finding large plants in order to join. if it were not for the state of maryland, and i thank my colleagues in the maryland legislature in adopting a program to try to fill the gaps. you may still be uninsured today. we want to be able to provide a system in which every person in this country has access to

affordable quality care. we don't want to see any child denied necessary health care, so i thank you all for joining me at this town hall meeting. i have these meetings frequently. i was asked by a reporter, why did you do this? why don't you just go on the internet and have a chat room or answer the calls? my answer is very simple, i do town hall meetings because i want to give you an opportunity to ask questions. i want to be able to respond to your questions. health care reform is a very important issue that affects everyone in our community. i want to make sure you have the information before you. i was one who encouraged the leadership in congress to take its time so that we could have these types of discussions.

[applause] at this moment we don't have one bill, we have bills that have been reported out of committee. what i wanted to do tonight is to give you ample time to ask questions. i only have one request, is that you respect people in this room. [applause] they waited a long time to get here in the room tonight, and i think they have the right to be able to hear the questions and answers. the more time we spend on the questions and answers, the more productive the evening will be. i will be here until 8:30 answering questions. we will do the best we can to

have as many people as possible get their points across. let me start off by pointing out the obvious. president obama has made health care his top priority. he said this during the campaign. he has now started to act on it. so far this year we have seen healthcare passed by the congress, the children's health insurance program was enacted into law, covering another 4 million children including dental care. the american recovery and reinvestment act was passed, and includes investment in our health care system. it provides cobra protection for those who lose their jobs so they can continue health insurance even though they may have lost employment. it includes significant money in research for discovering the answers to many of the unknowns,

including one day dena's child to be able to find answers to this disease. it includes a significant amount of money invested in information technology, so we can get more portability among different health-care providers. it provides a significant amount of money for prevention programs, a down payment on what we hope will occur through health-care reform. the president also was successful in getting legislation passed that will regulate tobacco. this will at least give us an opportunity to try to deal with young people and smoking. we have seen a focus on healthcare reform, and the major issues will be whether we will pass major health-care reform this year. i want to start off with some of the basics.

i want to make sure everyone knows where we are today. that is why we need reform. currently, we have 177 million americans who have coverage through their employer or individual insurance protection. some of those are a self employed -- self-insured plans. the numbers reflect the large number of people with private coverage through their employment. we are committed to making sure that those who are satisfied with their current insurance coverage are able to keep it. [crowd boos]

i think most people agree with that. no, i think most people agree you want to keep your private insurance. i will rephrase it. in medicare, medicare today covers 45 million americans under the medicare system. the medicare system, 10 million are in private insurance plans. these are private insurance plans that right medicare. in traditional medicare, it is paid for by the public option medicare. 34 million are in traditional medicare. 24 million have some form of supplemental insurance. in many cases, these are retiree benefits they have from work.

under the medicaid program, which are government plans, another 40 million americans get their health care needs paid for. then it brings as 47 million who are uninsured. [shouting] >> that number has increased by 20% -- has increased by 20% in the last decade. the vast majority of the uninsured, the vast majority are younger workers, people who are working, in many cases they could buy health insurance, they choose not to today. these are young workers. maybe some are in your own family. in maryland, our numbers are slightly different and i want to point this out, because we have a different demographic than the national.

our number in private insurance is similar, 3.6 million, to the national average, but the major difference is in medicare. we only have 48,000 that are in private plans in medicare. i want to repeat that because this is an important number. the maryland seniors and disabled who are qualified for medicare have chosen basically to stay in traditional medicare. they have not opted for the private insurance option that is available to them. the rest of the numbers are comparable in percentages to the national numbers. now, one of the reasons we're looking at health care reform is costs, so let me get to the costs today of what it costs to insure a family and an individual in today's market. in 1999, a family plan in america cost $5,700.

that's what a family insurance plan cost. by 2008, ten years later, that plan cost over $12,000. that's an increase of over 100% in ten years. this is private insurance and the cost of private insurance. i think many of you have seen the consequences of this. employers have shifted costs over to the employee, where employees pay a larger percentage of the costs of their employer-provided health benefit. you've seen it in tougher rules to cover families where you work. they'll cover the worker but it's more expensive to cover your family. and we've seen it unfortunately happen with many companies choosing to eliminate their health insurance. what is really disturbing is what the scorekeepers tell us will happen to the cost of

health care if we do nothing. if congress decides that this is too controversial of an issue to pass, it is projected -- [shouting] -- it is projected that health care costs will go up in ten years from $11,000 a family -- that's 2006 -- to over $23,000 a family by 2016. now, even if your employer covers a significant part of that cost, it affects your compensation. this is what you are paying for as a worker today for a family plan. now, health reform will provide more coverage, not less. let's talk about the facts. i know some of you don't want

noticmeto mention the facts butn to the facts. today in maryland -- [shouting] >> -- in maryland, 71% of marylanders who have private insurance are in one or >> we don't have much competition in private insurance in maryland. one-third of the employers offer no choice to their employees, none whatsoever. one of our objectives in health care reform is to get more competition and choice to bring down costs. [shouting] the major goals of health care reform -- i understand that many

of you really want to hear what is going on, so let me try to get through this. thank you. the goals of health care reform are to allow you to keep the coverage you have. . . >> if we do not stabilize costs, we will see an increase in the number of people who lose their insurance.

>> the second goal of health care reform is to make coverage available to everyone. we want all families to have health insurance. now, the question might be ask asked: how do the 46 million without health insurance affect me? i have insurance, how does it affect me when 46 million americans do not have health insurance? now, the answer is simple. those whoon't have health insurance use the health care system in a more costly way. they use the emergency room. they don't pay their bills. and it costs all of us money. today in maryland, every family that has health insurance is paying an extra $1,100 a year

because of those who don't have health insurance. so one of our reasons for being concerned is to bring that to an end. it's wrong for those who have health insurance to have to pay for those who don't have health insurance, particularly in a more expensive way.

>> number one issue they raised was the ability to keep insurance and to find affordable health care for their employees. today the number one problem is the yen in business because of our economy. you know something? they know they cannot afford health insurance today and they want relief. the president's proposals will grant relief. >> please give they senator your attention. >> [unintelligible] [applause] >> if you give me a moment, i only have a few more slides. we can get to the questions. the next goal is to improve the quality of care.

we improve the quality of care by -- let me give you one statistic here. according to the world health organization, the united states ranks 37 on health care results out of 191 countries. >> [unintelligible] >> if you will just allow the senator a few more moments, we will get to the questions. just a few minutes. [audience shouting] >> let me just complete these remarks. we want to provide better health outcomes and slow the growth of health care expenses. now, all of the proposals --

listen, i know a lot of you have your minds made up and i understand that. that's fine. but what i want you to know -- i want you to know what's in th the -- what's common to all of the proposals. so we can then, therefore, have a discussion. maybe you disagree with that. these provisions are in all of the health care reform proposal as that are working their way through congress. i think -- i think you're going to agree with some of these. first, insurance reform. insurance reform means that insurance companies today will no longer be able to discriminate on preexisting conditions. they will not be able to have exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses for copayments. no charge for preventive health care. no dropping of coverage of seriously ill. no gender discrimination. no annual caps. no lifetime caps. and there will be a guaranteed insurance program. that's included in all of the bills.

included in all of the bills is individual responsibility. everyone will have to have health insurance and carry their own responsibility. that's in all of the proposals. in all of the proposals is employer responsibility, and we'll get to that in a few moments. employers have to help. in all of the proposals, you have a chance of plans, doctors and hospitals, that's maintained in every one of the bills that are moving through congress. in every one of the bills, we have a focus on prevention and chronic care, diseases. we want you to be able to -- [applause] -- >> we want you to be able to take care of your preventive care and wellness issues. in all of the proposals, we are going to lower u.s. health care costs or we're not going to pass a bill.

[audience shouting] >> now, i only have -- i only have one more slide to go. [applause] >> and if i -- look, some of you -- all, again, i ask, is if you give people a chance to have their questions heard and give a chance for response, i think it might be a little bit easier. now, these are open issues. there are no decisions that have been made on the bills that have gone through congress to date. so we can't answer these questions on any definitive answer. your comments on this will be very helpful. we don't know what's going to happen with the public insurance

plan. we do know that there will be exchanges where you'll be able to buy private insurance. we don't know whether we'll have a public insurance option or not. we can debate that issue tonight. i have strong views about it. you may have strong views about it. this issue's an open issue in washington. we have not yet decided employer responsibility. we want to make sure that small companies are not burdened by the health care reform. we want to help the small companies so there's going to be exemptions for small businesses and tax credits for small businesses. we don't know how we're going to pay for the costs in the short term. let me explain that. let me explain that so you'll understand. we have a common rule. there will be -- there will be a ss of revenue to the federal treasury because of the extension of tax relief to more people, as more people become insured, they use before-tax dollars. that costs revenue to the federal government. there will be investment in

getting more primary care facilities because we'll have more people that will need primary care, and we're going to provide subsidies for low-wage workers and small businesses. all that costs revenue. how do we pay for it? we are committed to making sure that it's deficit-neutral. the budget requires it and i can tell you, we are not -- i'm not going to vote for a bill that's not paid for, so it's going to be paid for. [audience shouting] >> now, i'm going to tell you this. i am confident -- i am confident that we're going to get this right. i am. and that's a confidence in the american people. we're not there yet. we're not there yet. but i can tell you, those who are engaged in this discussion

who are willing to look at the facts, are willing to look at the problems that we have in this country understand that our budget and our economy require us to bring in the costs of health care. we know that. if we're going to keep jobs in america, we need to be competitive. we've got to bring down the costs of health care. so we've got to get this right. the current status -- the current status is that more four committees in congress have passed bills. you can get information on those four bills. there is no bill yet on either the house or senate floor. there will be in the fall of this year. there's a fifth committee -- there's a fifth committee, the senate finance committee. the senate finance committee is working over the august break to try it to resolv re -- to try to resolve differences. it's a bipartisan effort -- three democrats, three republicans. i certainly hope -- i certainly hope that we will have a

bipartisan bill because i think we'll have a better bill. so my advice is to get engaged in the process but understand what is going on. my last point -- >> let the senator say his last thought and then we will go to the questions. >> my last point -- my last point is this. we are on the verge of taking up a significant health care reform bill. we want you to get the facts. unfortunately, many of the -- much of the information that's being presented there is taken from one of the bills or a misunderstanding of one of the bills, so i hope -- i hope you're willing to listen to the facts. i will do my best to leave the editorial comments out of answers if you will do the same in your questions. i think that will be of service

to the majority of the people that are here that have sat through quietly as i was making my presentation waiting to hope to get some information. and with that, let me turn it over for the questions. [applause] >> we're now going to address the questions. each of you when you walked in tonight had an opportunity to write down a question on the card. some of you did. some of you did not. here are some of the questions. when we finish this set of questions, we will then go to the questions at the mike. okay? if you'll please respect the members of your audience that are sitting next to you who want to hear the question, we want to hear senator cardin address the question. again, we want statements -- we want questions, not statements. first question submitted: will illegal immigrants have access to health care under the new health plan? [audience shouting] >> the answer is no, they will

no be covered under the bill. they will not be -- they will not be -- there -- i -- there will be specific language on this for the immigrants. those who are not lawfully in this country will not be entitled to any of the benefits of the bill that we're talking about. they will not be part of the universal system. they will be excluded entirely. >> second question. as a small business owner, i am very concerned about the cost of our insurance. it went up 15% last year, 26% this year, and will go up again next year. how will the proposed plan help us? >> small companies today are in plans that reflect the health experience of their employees. so if you have 50 employees and you get a -- a commercial health

care plan, and first of all, your costs are going to be higher to start off with because you have a smaller plan. and then secondly, if a couple of year employees happen to have a bad experience with health care during the year, they adjust your premiums to reflect those claims, making it very difficult for small companies to plan a budget on health care costs that is such a large part of their expenses. so under the new plan -- under all of the new plans, the small companies will be in large poo pools. there will be no preexisting conditions. they will not be able -- the insurance companies will not be able to rate based upon the experience of the people in that group. they will have to use the broader community. that will make the rate very similar to a larger company, protecting small companies in their insurance plans. [applause] [audience shouting] >> these are your questions. question number three: do you support socialized medicine, and isn't that what this plan is ball?

>> well, i'm a --@@@@@ r)@ @ @ we do have public options in which the government collects the money and pays private doctors. i believe in private doctors and hospitals. i believe in diversity in our health-care system. i do not believe in socialized medicine. i want an american health-care system. i do not want to adopt a health care system from any other country. [applause] >> question four, please explain how the senate plan saves money by implementing preventive care. >> let me just give you one example of managing care where we see a tremendous savings. you all know safeway. they have a program for a large number of their employees, which is a voluntary program. for just four of your health care concerns, if you manage your

heart situation, whether it's high blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood-thinning drugs, if you manage your diabetes so that you can prevent amputations and kidney problems, if you manage your weight and exercise by managing your own needs, and if you go through a smoking cessation program or you don't smoke, then safeway has guaranteed that your premiums will not be increased. and for four years, they've been able to keep costs constant by those four issues. wellness and prevention work. colon cancer can be prevented by colorectal examinations. they're expensive and they're not very nice and you have large copayments and deductibles, people are less likely to have these tests done because of that. so what we're trying to do is make -- we eliminate any copayment and deductions for these types of preventive tests where you can detect diseases, whether it's going to be breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate

cancer, detect it early, prevent it, save money, save lives, make our system more cost-effective. [applause] >> we're now ready for questions from the audience. let me just make a couple of comments. again, one, please ask questions that have not been asked before. there are many concerns in this room. we want to try to handle and address as many questions as possible. there are two microphones in the aisles. you should get behind the microphones. again, we are looking for questions, not statements. you should ask your question quickly. we will not be entertaining lengthy statements. are those in the aisles ready for the first questioner?

>> renee, first questioner over there? please get behind the microphones. [shouting] >> if will you get behind the microphones, we'll have more time to answer the questions. >> [audience shouting] >> renee, are we ready for the first question on your side? first questioner? >> senator cardin, one argument against the house health care reform bill is that there are so many nonhealth and noncatastrophic health concerns covered which will cost billions and billions of dollars. this includes, among other coverages, mental health coverage, covering all problems a person chooses to talk about

with a mental health professional, as well as marriage counseling and other nonhealth concerns. how can you and democrats support such a costly, irresponsible national health care insurance? >> well, as far as -- [applause] >> what we are seeking, we're seeking one simple goal and that's parity between mental illness and other types of physical illnesses. we think it's wrong to discriminate against mental illness. we have for a long period of time. we've had higher deductibles and copayments. [applause] >> and we think that's wrong. it's not up to congress, in my view, to determine what is appropriate mental health services. to me, that's a professional judgment that needs to be made by the medical community. i don't want to substitute my judgment. but i want a person who needs mental health services to be able to get what is reasonably necessary and the health care professional should be reimbursed. >> senator, let me just say one follow-up, that is simply incorrect. if i see a psychiatrist because

my life isn't going well and i'm unhappy, a psychiatrist can say, ah-ha, he has adjustment disorder and you'll be covering that as a medical disorder when it's not a medical disorder. why would you support that? [applause] >> well, i'm going to stick to my answer. i don't think you want -- i don't think you want elected officials making those types of medical judgments. it's not my job. it's unto the medical community. if the psychiatrist is giving -- if the psychiatrist is not giving the right advice, then there should be a way within our system to hold that psychiatrist liable. if it's fraud, let's go after the fraud. if it's abuse, let's go after it. but let's not deny people who may need mental health services because we're afraid of trying to find out the right answer to that question. >> let's have a question from this side of the room. first question? >> thanks for coming, senator.

why isn't tort reform a part of any of these bills? [cheers and applause] [cheese and plawz] >applause]>> there's a second py question. there's a second part to my question. senator, does it have to do with that nearly half of the representatives in congress are lawyers? [applause] >> you know, i don't have to give my own background here but i think i will for one moment. i was speaker of the house when we passed the maryland tort reform bill. i chaired the conference committee as speaker of the house, which was a very unusual thing to do, to bring out the

maryland tort reform caps on damages. so i understand the desirability of having a more efficient system. as relates to unnecessary tests. there are a lot of different parts to tort reform, including alternative dispute resolution, et cetera. i'm not certain we won't get to that in this bill. it may very well happen. so i think you should judge us based upon the final bill bill t moves through congress. >> next question from this side of the room. yes? >> senator, please allow me to also commend you for showing up and taking the heat. i didn't think that you had it in you. please allow me to ask you two very quick questions. the first one is a yes-or-no answer, please. and the second one is -- you're

not going to be able to answer but i'll ask it anyway. please specifically state if you are willing to include yourself as well as other members of the house and senate in whatever bill that the congress, they pass, that you would be subject to all the laws and all the provisions of whatever the health care reform bill may be? that is a yes-or-no question. >> i'll answer the question. i first want to -- [cheers and applause] >> let the senator answer the question. >> it's a legitimate question. >> let the senator answer the question. >> first let me -- >let me answer the question, please. i'll save the humor for the next one. let me -- the answer is that congress, federal employees, all will be covered by the plan. you ask me personally, i happen

to be a -- i turned 65 this year. i'm in a public plan. it's called medicare. >> all right, well, senator, thank you. as a follow-up, if i may, please, senator. >> well, i want to answer the question, though. i answered the question. we're going to be covered by it. we want to have the ability to have backup. we want people to stay in their private insurance. that's our goal. the congressional budget offic office -- >> all right, senator. >> -- the overwhelming majority will stay in their current plans. that's what we want. we want to have the co-op or the public plan available for those who may need it. if i were to lose a job, which you never know -- i might need it. >> all right. senator -- [audience cheering and shouting] >> thank you. that was the longest yes-or-no answer i've ever heard. please, would you please, with your indulgence, would you please specify which article and

section of the united states constitution gives the congress the right to forcibly interfere with my right to contract for my own health care and for that of my family. please cite the constitutional article. >> article 1. article 1. >> thank you. >> article 1. >> thank you, senator. my question probably won't be funny, as you alluded to. the next one might be funny -- this isn't. will you commit to the residents of maryland that you will read this bill before you vote on it, since you completely understand what is there? and i have a second follow-up to that. >> yes. >> you're committing to us this evening that you'll look us in the eye and say that i read that bill and i understand what's in

there? >> yes. >> okay. my second part is, i have a down's child. i am scared to death of what can happen down the road when you have people that are advisors, they may not be, you know, connected advisors but they're there that are showing bell curves of what care they're going to give to people, at what age does a child become viable. will you have someone that says two years, two years that that child may not be valle really ve to our community? and then when my son, a down's child, is 45 years old, what is he going to get for care? are we going to look the other way? and i want to look you in the eye right now and know and understand, are you going to vote for a bill that limits the care that someone gets by the value that you or someone else in that u.s. congress puts on

their ability to produce for the rest of the community? >> no. >> i'm looking you as a father of a down's child, i'm looking you in the eye, sir. >> i said no. i would never support such a bill. >> thank you. >> senator cardin, i wanted to ask, because you repeatedly said in your presentation here, that you will not have to change health insurance that you're happy with. my question is: if i'm happy with the health insurance that i get from my employer and you come out with health care reform, including a public option, which i know is not finalized yet, but if that is part of the final bill, my question is, how are you going to keep my employer from stopping offering insurance and forcing me on to the public option if that's cheaper for their bottom line? [[applause] >> the -- we -- we could tell

you that we have looked at behavior as to what was likely to happen. the -- those who have looked at the likelihood of this say it's very remote. but -- [audience shouting] >> -- what is more remote is that ten years from now, if congress does nothing to keep costs in line, that there will be a significant loss of good private insurance coverage for working americans, that they will dump and terminate and shift costs if we don't figure out a way to get health care costs in america. so i think you're at a much greater risk if congress does nothing than if we figure out a way to bring down costs, get those who are not paying their fair share today to come into the system, i think you're going to be in much better shape as far as preglesk you -- preservig

your health insurance option. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you. question over here. >> senator, you cited that the world health organization ranked us 37th in the world for health care. that same organization has come out and said that nationalized health care cannot occur without rationing of care. you as a senator enjoy the benefits or at least have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the greatest health care plan probably on the face of this earth as a senator. would it not be the easiest thing to offer every american that same plan but -- [audience cheering] and i realize that's not feasible because the only way we could offer health care to everyone would be to ration care or not to have the same benefits and options, availability of medicare that you as a senator have. how is -- what is the difference that is going to be between your

health care that you experience right now and what is going to be offered to the public if this plan is approved? >> right. well, first of all, if we were to provide everyone one plan, that would be a single national health insurance plan, which people support. don't get me wrong. i don't support it. i don't support a single-payer plan. i know there are people out there who do but that's what it would be with the federal government basically@@@@@@@@@ @r >> why don't they have the same plan you do? as to the benefit levels, the benefit levels will change because we will have it mandated federal requirement for all health care plans. i expect all plans will have to conform with that, including the federal employees health benefit plans. we will not be exempt. we'd pay a part of our premium. it is a good plan.

the federal workers have a good health insurance plan. are there better plans? yes. yes. woulwhat i like about the federl employees' health benefit plan is i have choice, i've got different plans that i can join. i can join a h.m.o., i can join a preferred provider network. yes, i would like to see that type of choice offered to more americans where you have real choice, yes, i would. >> we're trying to get in as many questions as we k. question over on this side. yes. >> hello, i'm alex peek, i'm the former president of the college libertarians at towson, here at this very university. [applause] harry brown once said, darwin is only good at one thing -- he knows how to break your legs, hand you crutches and say, "see, if it wasn't for government, you wouldn't be able to walk." considering that mary rubier, author of a best-selling book, has said that we can cut costs of health care by 80% by getting

government out of health care, why have we not -- [audience cheering] -- why are we not going in this direction instead of the direction of more government? thank you. >> i just flat-out disagree with that statement. i don't believe you can take -- cut 80% of health care in america. i think we would be worse than a third world nation if we were to try to do that. i just don't -- i don't agree with those numbers. i think your numbers are way off. i think if we don't have protection about preexisting conditions in health insurance, if we don't put parameters on how the private sector operates, i think you're in much greater danger of health care quality and costs. so i think there needs to be parameters in the health care system. government has a responsibility to protect the health and welfare of its citizens and i think this is a very important function. so i just disagree with the premise. >> question over here on this side the room.

yes, sir? >> yeah, i'm a physician assistant so i understand this problem from the workings, from the inside. i also have traveled abroad as a consultant for a medical products company so i also understand socialized medicine from the inside. europe, asia. my concern is that we've changed the debate here. it used to be called health care reform. now all of a sudden it's health insurance reform. it is health care reform. >> health care reform. >> correct. >> health care. >> now, i need to correct you. we have the best health care in the world. >> yeah, i agree. >> period. >> i agree. [cheers and applause] >> i agree with that. >> please state your question. >> yeah, it needs a little background here. the stanford study just released puts us way ahead, preventive care -- there's a lot there, you can read about it and go check

it out -- my concern though is 46 million -- we're dealing with 46 million people who are -- quote -- "uninsured." 12 million to 15 million are not -- are what they call noncitizen immigrants, illegal aliens. that's a u.s. census report. 8 million to 10 million are medicare-eligible patients that have not signed up for it. so we have plenty of access to health care. my question, seeing it from the inside with reimbursement with medicare is i've seen medicare reduce reimbursements over 20 years and the private health care insurance has followed medicare's lead in reducing reimbursement. never events are now and have been in effect for five months. never events say that after heart surgery, which i do, if you have an infection, it will no longer be paid for by medicare. and in this bill, it's going to continue the never event. it's also going to extend more cuts to medicare. so my question to you is, how can you support a bill -- my

first question, how can you support a bill that's going to cut medicare reimbursement further? second, customer-driven health care is the way to reform costs. private health care accounts is the way to drive down costs. [applause]>> catastrophic heae reform. do you -- >> is there a question? >> do you support private health care accounts, would be question number two? >> i think that was question number three. private health care -- h.s.a.? health savings accounts? >> right, that are not forefitted at the end of the year. >> f.s.a.'s? >> you would continue to keep the money from your employer. >> i think the question relates to right now you can take before-tax dollars, put them into an account with your employer and use them for heal health. you have to use them by the ends of thendsof the year. >> i would say to abolish that and allow the person to drive their own health care.

>> i would say there would be rollover but have a reasonable amount for rollover. >> all of it and that way you use it to purchase your own health care. >> i think you're talking abt two different things. >> no, i'm saying your employer instead of playing into cigna -- i've sent a lot of e-mails to you and i'd love to talk to you in person about it. >> appreciate it. >> forget the health savings accounts because they're a little bit complex. medicare -- medicare rationing is underway. >> give me a little time here. the first premise of your question about u.s. health care. i certainly agree that we have the best quality health care in the world. there's no question about it. you go to johns hopkins, university of maryland, i agree with you. but we have some real probls in our health care. i -- today i was at healthy starts in baltimore. give me a moment here, people. >> let him speak. >> our prenatal infant mortality rates are not good.

we don't rank well with infant mortality issues now. >> let the senator answer the question. we get tremendous savings in health care costs. they have saved many reaching moms ahead of time with prenatal care and also with nutrition issues. they have directly saved the medicare program $8 million. we know that. so my point is, we can do better and access the care now on medicare -- on medicare. what you about medicare reimburse snments >> i agree. look, if we don't do anything, we're going to continue to have these types of cuts. you know that the physician reimbursement rate are scheduled to go down -- i forget -- about 20% or 30% if we don't do nothing. thaw equals rationing. >> no, it means they won't treat seniors. >> right, rationing. >> they won't treat seniors. we've got to fix that. >> and medicare is hundreds of billions of dollars.

>> we've got to picks it. my point is -- >> unfunded liability. >> right. >> unfunded. which means the insurance companies have to pay extra for that thousand dollar tylenol to pay for the difference. we see it in our hospitals. >> let me answer your question, okay. wmedicare cannot be fixed unless we fix our health care system. you're right when you said -- no, it's health care costs. we've got to get health care costs. right now the medicare system pays a significant amount, which our seniors are contributing to under their -- under their premium for the uninsured. they pay a large part of that. there's a specific part of the reimbursement rate to hospitals that cover for uncompensated care. so we've got to fix the medicare system and strengthen it. it needs to be expanded and needs to be stronger benefits under medicare. it doesn't cover enough now. so i agree with you. >> but the bill is cutting reimbursement to medicare. >> we're not going to allow the -- we are not going to cut any benefits under the medicare

system. we're going to expand medicare. i can tell you that. we're not going to cut benefits under medicare. i'm not going to vote to cut benefits under medicare. . >> i wanted to get a little clarification. i appreciate the manner. i noted during your opening statement, you say you advocate total coverage for every person in america. i would like some clarification, sir. i would like to know whether or not when you say you want all persons to be covered, are you covering people who are here illegally? or only the american citizen? that is the question i want to ask. whether you agree that it is not right -- it is not the right

thing to do for american citizens to be asked to pay for the health care and the health care insurance of people here illegally. do you agree with me on that? [applause] me on that? >> i answered that before. i agree with that. >> the question on the side of the room. >> you stand as a champion for small business. >> have respect for the questioner. >> in section 421 of one of the house bill's, it says that the government will pay for 50% of health-care costs. but this is phased out very quickly, based on the average compensation of the employees. if the average compensation is about $40,000, up that government will not subsidize those all businesses whatsoever

with their health care, according to the bill. are you going to vote for a bill that discriminates based on, say, i shop and an analyst -- in annapolis run by a husband and wife, will they get help? or a small team of engineers helping to make tomorrow better, they are not going to get any health care benefits? i want to know what you are going to bed for a bill which demonstrates again such people? >> i am not sure i understand the question. >> it is in the bill. >> in regard to small business, this issue is not resolved yet. there are significant differences between the committees has to the requirements for company responsibility. there will be an exemption, depending on the size of a company. some companies will not have any new mandates as a result of

the passage of this legislation, based on the payroll for number of employees. others will have responsibilities and maybe a dollar amount, it may be a percentage of payroll, there is a difference between house and senate's bills. i don't know how it will come out. is being negotiated today. but there will be tax credits for small businesses to help pay for those additional costs. >> they are being specifically phased out by the bill. >> you were referring to the house bill. it's connected to pay role which the senate bill does not have. i can tell you that we are in the process of making sure -- and a small business community is at the table talking to us about this -- we got this to be a plus with a small businesses. they are one of the victims of the current system. we wanna make sure that they are protected.

>> $40,000 is the median income -- >> $20,000 -- i don't know what the $40,000 is. >> if someone pays their employs an average of $40,000 of years, all of their employees, even if only two or three, they will not be eligible for the help subsidies. >> i am not aware of that in the senate bill. i do not know the context of that. it does not sound like a logical part. >> so are you going to vote for such a bill? >> i think you are misreading part of the bill. there has got to be a limit -- whether business can participate in the plan. >> i like to thank the senator for having this meeting. i think very few senators would do what you are doing.

[applause] i would like to ask a quiz question for seniors. i have been working for seniors for many years, and they are concerned that in spite of what the president has said, that there medicare will not change, they are concerned about whether they are going have to pay more for medicare or they are going to get laughs. what would you say to them to encourage them to support health care for everybody, which i think a lot of seniors do? >> my point would be this -- there is a lot of pressure on congress to balance the federal budget. one of the biggest items is the health care costs. [laughter] there has already been provider reductions that could have the effect of doctors participating

in medicare. i have talked to a lot of doctors who are not taking medicare patients. it is happening. we have got to bring down the overall cost of health care in america in order to be able to continue to provide the types of support for medicare. there will@@@@@@@@@ we will not let that happen. i want to see an expansion of benefits by have followed a half dozen bills that would provide stronger benefits than medicare. some of those will clearly be in this proposal. preventive care, for example. the copays and deductibles will be eliminated by this bill. you will see a strengthening of the medicare system, not a weakening of the medicare system. you are right. the proponents of this reform are the same ones that brought us medicare. the people who are the loudest opponents were the ones who opposed medicare from the beginning. we're trying to strengthen the

insurance programs that help those who otherwise could not afford afford to have health insurance. a question on the side. >> thank you for being here. i have a two question. you said that it was bipartisan. >> the senate finance committee. >> on healthcare, and you said that senator snowe was on that, and susan collins. >> know, you've got the right one -- or wrong one. the senator from wyoming, senator grassley, iowa, and senator snowe from maine. >> i live in maine and maryland both. my first question to you is, are you going to put into the bill the ability to buy insurance between states? [applause] my insurance as a self-employed person required me to move to

maryland, it went to $2,300 a month. the same exact policy for the same exact sharon's -- insurance company is $789. are you going to require the insurance companies in health care reform to have interstate purchase of insurance? [applause] >> good question. >> and i have a second question. >> let me give you an answer to that. here is the balancing that we have to deal with. health insurance has generally been regulated by the states, not the federal government. i think that there is a strong preference to include the states as the primary regulator, rather than the federal government being the primary regulator. that presents challenges for a state such as maine to regulate insurance practices for someone who purchases in maryland.

there is a challenge to maintaining state regulation and opening up the areas in which they can solicit enrollment. you raise a ballot 0.31 of our primary objectives is to make sure you can continue coverage as you change your location in employment, and that is something certainly worth looking into. >> i did not want have to change by location. i was forced to. along that line, is your new health-care plan that we're going to pay for going have abortion on demand that we are paying for out of my tax dollars? >> the answer is, no, there will be no change in the concept -- current policies as it relates to the funding of abortion. >> i am not talking about roh v. wade. >> let me clarify this. we already have a government insurance.

there have been certain prohibitions about the use of public funds for abortions. they are not changed at all by this bill. >> not two years, like car czar? >> this bill is neutral on that issue. >> of the bills on the committee going to be neutral on this? >> we would like to see what the final bill looks like. so far everything we have seen indicates that the bill will be neutral on abortion. a question on the side. >> thank you, senator cardin. you just give us a synopsis of your health care program in five slides. why does it take congress 1000 pages to do the same thing? and a quick follow up on that. can you give us a specific example of something that was previously public or private that the government takeover and made more if they sent and save

costs? [cheers and applause] >> i personally think that our national park system represents such a system. the medicare system -- if we did not have medicare, but for the passage of medicare, the majority of our seniors had no health insurance. seniors have the most expensive health care of any age group. that is natural. as you get older, you need more help in -- health care. medicare has were. it is more cost-effective.

look at one number. the taxpayers of this country pay over the next tenure as an extra hundred $50 billion because of the private insurance option in medicare. it is cheaper. the government runs at more effectively than the private side. [booing] that is a fact. >> question on the side of the room. >> i want to congratulate you, senator cardin, on all your leadership on health care issue over the years. you mentioned, which is very true, that every time you pay your insurance premium, $1,100 at that coasted hospitalization of the uninsured. that is a hidden health care tax that is now imposed on small

businesses like my friend brian england who owns an oil shock in howard county. that is why the businesses had endorsed a plan in maryland will make sure it that all businesses do their fair share so that no one has to pay a hidden health care burden. what would you make sure to make sure that this this is doing the right thing to do not have an undue burden of health care for the uninsured by making sure that making sure that businesses that can provide health care but do not do so, do so? >> one of the reasons is to help small businesses. they are being priced out of the market. we have 300 more ensured today just in the state of maryland. we're losing about 300 people on health insurance. most that it is small companies that cannot afford their plans. you are absolutely right. if you are a small company today

and you provide health insurance for your employees, you think it is the right thing to do. you are willing to do it and invest in your employees. thing you have to pay for health insurance of the people you are competing against. that makes no sense at all. everyone should be in the system. >> question on this side of the rim. >> first, let me say that i think that this health care plan is probably the best plan that the government has come up with so far to shore up social security. next, i want to say that -- [applause] my question for you is, apparently in the bill that after 10 years, the state of maryland as opposed to take over the cost of this care. that is in the bill. the states will become

responsible for the costs of these plans. does it concern you at all that the state you are from, that you represent, how we are going to ask taxpayers take over the costs of this plan? >> i understand that you're going to talk about medicare? you talk about the cost of medicaid? >> i cost of nationalizing health care. >> the cost of the plan is going to be paid for by the bill we passed. it will not be pushed on to the states. this year or 10 years from now, it is not going happen. i think what you are referring to is that there is an expansion of the medicaid system, making it more eligible for lower income families to be part of the medicaid system. the federal government will pay the cost of that.

>> i am talking about the couple plan. it is going to be paid for somewhere. taxes will be paid to pay for the medical health care plan that will cover every single person in the united states. >> the plan will be played for -- paid for, the short-term cost will be paid for from health care itself. it will be paid for because the pharmaceutical manufacturers are cutting down some of their charges to american consumers. we are cutting back on the insurance companies, on the providers. and there are different plans. we might tax insurance companies directly. that is how we're paying for the extra cost, short term. there is nothing on the states and that record. -- on that regard. let's cut a the next question.

>> good evening. those of us that provide services to the uninsured know that the current system is fragmented, medicare, medicaid, community health and senate -- community health centers. at its see bringing these entities together to create a more cohesive system of care? >> that is a great question. i met with the ceos of one of our major urban hospitals a week ago, and that was his major concern. how do we handle the influx of care in america? there are so many families not getting primary care needs. do we have any type of coordination? the past vehicle here are the community health centers. we're looking at significantly increasing the number of community health centers. we have 105 in maryland. we're looking at perhaps

tripling the number, because that is where you get your primary care in the most cost- effective way. you are correct. if this was based upon which plan you are in, we would not have an efficient system. we are looking at it -- a delivery system that will deal with the priorities we are talking about as well as prevention. another reason, even if we want it at face this and quickly, we could not get the facilities in place in our communities to deal with the influx of the uninsured into the health care system itself. >> thank you. and thank you for letting me get my question in. [applause] >> my thoughts and prayers are with the young lady on the stage there. [applause] my question is about fraud. there are approximately $120

billion of fraud in medicare which is a fraction of what this is going to be. it is too big to police. what will happen here? will we have $1 trillion in fraud, $2 trillion? >> you are absolutely correct to be concerned about any fraud or abuse in our system. we have hot lines to try to track that down. my office spends a lot of time dealing with that. [booing] can i caution everyone about the use of the word rod? there are a lot of doctors out there trying to get the appropriate care for their patient and they get very angry at their roles that they have, whether private insurance plans or government plans, and they do everything they can to make sure that a particular task or drug is approved. sometimes they go over the line advocating for their patient because they think is

desperately needed. it can get classified as fraud or abuse. that is not what we are after. but there is too much fraud in medicare and the private insurance. we have got to do everything we can to root it out. i did not bother putting it on the chart but that is one of the major provisions in each one of the bills, to go after fraud much more aggressively. >> you do not know how you are going to pay for the bill yet. no one making under $250,000 will have a tax rates, says the president. are you kidding me? [laughter] you expect me to swallow that one? >> i have not seen how we're paying for the bill yet. i know what the president said. that is one of the points that i put on to the slide. i am withholding judgment until i see the package. i have not seen the package yet.

>> the gentleman over here. >> [inaudible] >> can you speak a little louder, please? . only for the age and location of that small group in the state. in 1996, hippa passed guaranteed

issue in all 50 states and be guaranteed portability of coverage for any citizen that remains responsible and covered in the health-care system for 12 months can never have a pre- existing condition clause imposed upon them. why do we try to reinvent the wheel when merrill lynch is backing off in increments since 1994? -- when maryland is backing off in increments since 1994? now weekend rate for wellness and potential health conditions, -- now we can rate for wellness and potential health conditions. [applause] >> the current law does not protect you from pre-existing conditions. >> that is not true. if you are enrolled in a plan -- >> let me finish my answer. >> as long as you tell the

truth. >> there are preconditions that will be gone under this bill. because everybody has to have insurance. everybody has to be in the system, that is the problem with the current law. we want a seamless system so you cannot game it. >> we need global transparency so everybody knows what is being charged and what is being paid said that the consumer can do their job instead of asking you to do it for them. [cheers and applause] >> the help the exchanges will do that. they will allow consumers to make the choice that they want. today, what choice can you make -- you are working for an employer that offers one plan. what is your choice? that is one-third of our system. >> let me make one point about

global transparency. the point i am making is that the decisions, all hospitals, the insurance companies, they all need tdid -- they all need to disclose their decisions. if we remove the ability to make profits based on behind- the-scenes negotiations -- $7 billion of wasted money said that doctors can negotiate with united healthcare, blue cross, and 70 other payers independently. we should all be paying the same, charge the same, and answer what we want to ensure. >> we had transparency in the bill in that there is -- all that. take a look at that. he seemed to be knowledgeable on that. tell me figure out how to make that provision stronger. i am with you on it. is there time for another question over here? >> we are so far removed from

the philosophy is a founding fathers, that yet they were here today, we would be talking about one thing and that is how to get the government out of health care. [cheers and applause] i want to ask you one question. are you trying to tell me that an anomaly, that government can deliver better health care than the competitive marketplace? are you trying to tell me that the government can deliver lower costs than the competitive marketplace, a monopoly? cannot do that? and then the solution is in more government? [shouting] >> all of the estimates showed that under the bills that are

moving through congress, we're going have more people, not less, in private insurance. >> right. >> more people, not less, in private insurance. i believe in competition and choice. i think that we are moving in the opposite direction if we do nothing. the concentration of a few insurance companies is becoming more and more evidence in maryland and around the nation. i want more choice, not less. and the choice that must employees having today being more expanded, not restricted. i think that this will allow -- tell us allow you to be better consumers. i want transparency not only from the private insurance but on the government plan, so that you can make the right choice. i think that makes sense.

[shouting] one final question from the gentleman over on this side. >> you have said that you want to strengthen medicare and medical care in general. how is that possible when the intention of this plan is to cut $2 trillion in medical benefits, which you know very well can only be done by rationing care? and the board has been set up in the senate version of this bill, at obama insistence, that would kill our elderly by rationing care. [applause] i want to know from you, [cheers and applause] -- i want to know from you, senator cardin, a board that would ration care and kill off the elderly and act capped --

and handicap, had you called that improving medical care? and if the intention is to cut medical costs, why are you supporting a $24 trillion bailout of wall street, when we need a new economic system? we're inches array from an economic breakdown and you are trying to kill off the elderly. >> i urge you to stick to the facts. let me make a couple of points very clearly. >> senator cardin let make his comments. >> i will not support a plan that will cut $2 trillion in benefits. i am not going to support that plan. i do not believe that the final plan will be anything like that. i will not support a plan that will cut off benefits to people that are terminally ill. i will not vote for that. i tell you right now, it is not going happen.

i think he do a disservice -- you do as disservice when you use those types of hysteria comments that are not accurate all. [shouting] you present it the way that you want. i will tell you this. i will not support such a proposal. i can tell you that now. as your united states senator, i will not support that type proposal. now let me confide in you all one thing before we adjourn. i was asked a couple of times, why did i decide to have a town hall meeting when i knew i would get hostile questions? that was not a surprise. but i believe -- i want to share it with you one bit of humor if i might, just to try all light and things up as people go home tonight.

senator cardi[shouting] >> can you let the senator made his closing comments? >> i sat down to dinner with my wife at a chinese restaurant and my fortune cookie told me, you will soon be surrounded by good friends and laughter. i thought that perhaps tonight, it did not actually happen that way, but i think you all very much for being here tonight at this town hall meeting. >> on behalf of the senator cardin, thank you very much for your participation. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009]

♪ ♪ ♪ >> with congress on its summer recess, many house and senate members are returning your their home states to ghost town hall meetings. will you be attending -- returning to their home states to host town hall meetings. will you be attending in the

town hall meetings? share your thoughts on video witte c-span. you can send your video files to us at c-span.org. coming up live at 12:30 in about 20 minutes, it is today's white house briefing with robert gibbs. you can watch that right here. later on, more from the white house with a medal of freedom ceremony witte 16 recipients, including ted kennedy, at billie jean king and stephen hawking. >> bill clinton kicks off the 2009 bloggers convention. coverage starts thursday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. panels on healthcare reform with howard dean and pennsylvania politics with arlen specter, making change happen and reshaping the supreme court >>

now i look at the impact of the economy on ohio with that onmayor from today's -- with that city's mayor. span radio. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we have youngstown, ohio meier j. williams. are you there? guest: i am. host: what is the economy like in youngstown, ohio. guest: it is a mixed bag. certainly we are feeling the affects of the downturn in the economy, but we are battling a budget deficit. i have to tell you that youngstown, ohio, and like many other cities, is holding its own. we have a number of economic development initiatives underway as we speak, but we are anticipating the announcement of several hundred jobs being created, so it is a mixed bag but we survive hard times before.

host: even prior to the crisis, youngstown created economic issues particularly but that loss of the steel industry. how did get to this point? guest: it did face a tremendous collapsed 25 1/3 years ago. we have had to reinvent ourselves. we had to diversify the economy. we still maintain manufacturing as an important part of the economy but i am pleased youngstown was just named one of the top 10 cities of the country to start a business and that is because we had a diversified approach to the economic plan, collaborated on the state, local, and federal level and the business community has managed to survive -- survive, albeit with some difficult appeared we have find what -- found where other cities have fallen by the wayside, still surviving an engaging in economic initiatives. host: what are your thoughts and the economic stimulus package and how that has affected your area?

guest: i am pleased we received about $27 million in stimulus money. $20 million is to assist in half billion dollar expansion of locally-based company. we received a couple of million dollars to help us maintain the police force and tried to minimize layoffs. we have been fairly robust in terms of our economic stimulus. we believe it will result in job creation, and we are looking to attract more funds. host: we're talking with the youngstown, ohio mayor. you can contact us with the numbers on the screen. if you're in the ohio area, we have another line for you specifically to talk to the mayor.

let's talk also about home foreclosures. what is the rate in youngstown? guest: the rate is about 14.7%. while it has been exacerbated by this recent decline in the housing market, our difficulty stems backed to the collapse of the steel industry. we have been on a long road to recovery. we have had some setbacks but right now we are facing about eight 14.7% foreclosure rate. host: what is the industry in youngstown now? guest: the industry -- there is still in manufacturing industry and some steel manufacturers for doing global advanced manufacturing. we have emerging technology industry. one company spun off the most popular technology company. we still have an automobile

presence. one city outside of youngstown will be producing the chevrolet cruise, which is the next generation small car. care, the government, education. we have a much more diversified economy than we have seen probably in the past decade. host: what about population changes? guest: we have lost some population. the population is about 80,000, which is half of than the peak in the 1940's and 1950's when all of the many factors concerns were going. what we decided to do was take a very pragmatic and innovative approach. in fact, a youngstown is often cited as one of the leading cities when it talks about smart growth or right sizing the city. we understand we will not have a population of 150 or 160,000, but it does not mean we cannot be an attractive city of 80,000 or 85,000 with a desirable quality of life. host: let us hear from our

viewers. on the republican line from louisiana, was late. caller: am i on the air? mayor of youngstown. i know a lot of people in this city got a tax cut, what they don't know it is not a tax cut, it is attacked the leg. i got my tax cut, $67 more in my check and i am retired military. i called my county finance center, and asked why. it said they were instructed to do that by the administration. i asked can i get a new tax table. they said we did not get anything like that. what you are saying is i am still going to be taxed at the same rate, which means i will pay including the amount that was cut. this said he probably will. that is not a tax cut, that is a tax delay. instead of paying it now, we

will pay it by april 15. host: mr. mayor? guest: i can tell you there are dozens of businesses and ceo's in youngstown, and the workers will tell you that there have been benefits to the federal tax policy and the state tax policy. obviously there is a lot of debate, but as far as a city like youngstown, ohio -- you are refering to a federal level that impacts youngstown. but some of the changes in the state tax policy have benefited businesses in youngstown and we've worked diligently to help them take advantage of that. host: from virginia, democratic line. william. caller: i would have to say to my ear williams of ohio that the state of virginia is in what you got a mixed bag also. president obama's stimulus package is working, as far as i'm concerned, because it has

given infrastructure and also give the money to the college to retrain people who want to go into another profession that is laid off or something. also we have a highway going through here called the highway express. paid for it, too, also by the stimulus package. but i would like to let the american people know that it takes time to get things done and president obama did take a -- for what he inherited. i have to say as far as the united states economy, it fell through, 911 calls the first recession, -- 9/11 called the first recession, and in the second recession happens three months before bush left office. so i think president obama of the in the best he can do. guest: to your point, president

obama said last week the battle for the future of the economy will be fought in cities like youngstown, ohio. he mentioned ford wayne, indiana, south bend, indiana, places and virginia. the stimulus package does take time. we don't anticipate that in just a matter of a handful of months we will find ourselves with it economically robust environment. but i could tell you as i sit in youngstown, ohio, a city that has been economically devastated, it will serve as a model on how to put forth the stimulus money, how to use it to facilitate job creation and i think in the next year or two you look at cities like youngstown as a model. host: from youngstown, ohio. norm on the independent line. the have a question? caller: yes, i the question for mayor william spirit i am calling from youngstown, ohio.

-- yes, i have a question for mayor williams. i am calling from youngstown, ohio. he made some very good changes to the city. of the fire department areas, the police department, a lot of positive production. if he had the means, the money, to maybe create some more inner- city jobs -- and i know the mayor is working on this -- there are a lot of skilled people that can do these jobs. ic -- i see them, these are hard-working guys. but the way that the housing has hit, all of my construction guys are laid off.

my question to mayor williams, if he can answer this, are there going to be any jobs coming up in a downtown area -- immediate work force? guest: a great question. i am pleased to talk about this afternoon we will announce a major economic development initiative in downtown youngstown that is expected to result of the creation of 500 jobs over the next 12 months to 18 months. in addition to that, i offered a stimulus guarantee to this administration. we are so confident in our economic development programs that offered to guarantee that an investment in our economic development programs, specifically the youngstown initiative, we would triple the investment with private investment. i used the figure of $5 million. that we would make sure $15 million of matching private funds and we would create or

retain 2000 jobs over the next 24 months. this is based on our track record. our challenge now are not the programs themselves. we have the programs but finding stimulus funding to activate the programs. we have businesses calling us on a weekly basis looking to tap into the programs. there will be a big announcements in youngstown today about 500 jobs will but the next six months to 12 months there will be major announcements. host: another column of democratic line. robert from missouri. caller: yes. well, i don't even know how to start. host: do you have a question for the mayor? caller: i have been observing all of this over the last 20 years -- nafta. this was a program put together by, i would say corporate

america, which was bought and sold to you liberal democrats. i just can't believe what is going on. you guys are throwing money at a problem, and it is not going to solve it. guest: elwell, it depends on, again, your perspective. as it relates to youngstown and investments, we don't see it at -- as throwing money at a problem, but investing in the city. our approach has been validated by the fact that an independent third party, a private sector magazine, a "entrepreneur" rated youngstown, ohio, as one of the top 10 cities in the country, and the insider united states to start the business. named with places like san diego, atlanta, ga., places you would not typically see youngstown and the same category. but i believe that the money has -- that has been invested in youngstown has been well invested. there have been significant

return, as evidenced by this month's article and "under bernard" magazine. while not every government program solves problems, as it relates to stimulus money, investment in cities like youngstown will be well returned in terms of future job creation and a boost to the economy. host: will have a question coming in on twitter -- can you comment on the importance of green jobs? guest: they will be extremely important. congressman tim ryan of the 17th district, a dynamic congressman who worked closely with myself and other local officials to help create green jobs. we have been known as the rest out for the past 20 years. we are now looking to be the greenbelt, working on initiatives that involve youngstown, pittsburgh to the east and cleveland to the west to create a green technology and bio medical bills that will be cutting edge job creation. i can tell you in our business

and industrial parks, while over the past decade we have had traditional manufacturers and traditional the shivers. the egyptian distributors, we have emerging individuals and companies creating green jobs, whether solar panels, windmills and turbines. congressman tim ryan has really been out in front of this initiative. i think over the next year you will see the companies like that being spun out of youngstown. host: i want to remind viewers in youngstown, where a separate line, 202-628-0184. maryland on the republican line. kenneth. caller: mr. mayer. -- mr. mayor. i heard your earlier comments about $27 million for police hiring or -- and other projects. the have municipal-bond -- i live in maryland, selling munis

for water projects. the other thing for infrastructure, do you ever applied for federal@@@@@@@@ guest: only $4 million was for waste-water projects. we do use bonds and work with the ohio water development authority, so we have had a significant investment in our waste water infrastructure. , about $27 million, $20 million of it -- out of that $27 million, $20 million of it would be a $1 billion expansion in one of the locally-based companies that has a global presence off, so we do use the ohio water development authority to invest in our waste water infrastructure. the police hiring was about $2 million also. it was not $27 million just to

hire. host: the next call from illinois. caller: i was calling to find out -- i am sure the mayor is aware of aig. a lot of that money was used to compensate bankers for bad loans that they had purchased. my curiosity is kind of two- fold. a lot of people may not be aware that not only did the bankers receive payouts through the insurance policies on aig, they also received stimulus money to bolster their bucks, which is double indemnity on an asset. at the same time, they are able to keep the asset to resell it, and then they will receive triple indemnity. i am curious if there has been

any question on a local level and regionally, or if you have heard of a banker is being investigated who have participated in defrauding american people by purchasing insurance policies on these assets and becoming double indemnified? at the same time, they will be trouble indemnified by being able to resell the asset later on? -- they will be a triple indemnified. it is my understanding that supposedly there is a holding company that may be taking on the assets. i am curious if pena as anything about what direction that is going -- i am curious if he knows about that. guest: i do believe there is some congressional inquiry and help the banks deployed the stimulus money -- in how the

banks deployed the stimulus money. on the local level, we are working with financial institutions. our big challenge is out of town lenders purchasing bulk properties and trying to flip those properties, and finding the value is not there. we are also concerned about activities banks are taking as it relates to foreclosures and not necessarily completing this foreclosures. i cannot tell you specifically how it relates to aig, but i am aware of congressional inquiry at the national level. host: we have laura on the independent line. caller: good morning. how are you? guest: i am well, thank you. caller: recently the former governor's past that has a 16% cut with schools. this is a devastating cut for

those of us with schools. i am wondering if you are in support of that. i also have a very quick comment regarding youngs down. -- regarding youngstown. no matter what president obama ends up getting in the health bill, nothing is going to help youngstown citizens more than a focus on eating better and exercise. the population is just not getting on the movement to be healthier. your health costs will never go down unless you have a healthier population. guest: that is just not a youngstown issue, that is a national issue. we try to do things working with health care providers within the city and even working with youngstown state university to try to promote healthy

lifestyles, but that is a national epidemic in terms of obesity. as it relates to education, i am a firm believer in parents being able to provide a decent quality their children. i do believe there needs to be school choice. i have gone to public schools and a parochial school as a child, so as it relates to school funding in ohio, it has been declared unconstitutional refunded four times. gov strickland made a commitment he would fix school funding. in the meantime, the charter schools that exist need to be held accountable, but parents do have to have a measure by which to have their children educated adequately. that is why we need these

alternative schools, but they have to be held to a certain standard. host: we have david from indiana. caller: i am from indiana. we have a democratic mayor here, and we are highly dependent on a lot of that stimulus money coming in, but something that concerns me is i am sure the chinese were quite amused that we had decided by legislature to borrow $1 trillion from them. the first round of treasury bills were bought by the fed. what happens when we stop chasing our tails and this money does not come in? when china refuses to loan us this money? host: we will just go to our next call from new jersey because we have temporarily lost the mayor. caller: good morning.

host: we have temporarily lost the mayor, but what do you want to ask? caller: based on the numbers mr. williams was talking about, i was wondering if he could give us a definite amount -- definite number amount of jobs that were saved with the stimulus. host: we're talking about state budgets and local economies, and in reference to what the states are facing, we have a story from yesterday's "washington post." it has allowed states to avoid laying off teachers, prison guards and firefighters. the bad news is that for the next fiscal year, the picture looks even bleaker. revenue is expected to remain depressed even if the national

economy improves. most states have just approved a budget for the fiscal year that began july 1, and legislatures had adjourned for this summer, but those states have already gone into the red about $24 billion. more than 30 states are projecting deficits for the next year. let's go to our next call from georgia on the democratic line. caller: [unintelligible] i just retired from trucking. what have they done and what will they do to try to improve their family? they do not stand for nothing. they don't believe in no organization. they don't believe in doing anything to help the working person. most of the poor working people

in this country have been brainwashed, especially in the south. when will they wake up and think for themselves? if they look around, they are getting rich [unintelligible] but the working people in this country -- i've worked 33 years as a trucker, and the last eight years when bill clinton left, george bush got in there and every truck driver supported george bush. i told them that george bush don't believe in organized labor. the company laid them all off, and obama has been in office less than one year and they are blaming him for everything. they just have to go down to home depot and they will see who is getting on the back of those

trucks. host: do you have a question? caller: i just wanted to tell the mayor to hang tough. don't be like the mayor in detroit. host: next call from texas on the independent line. caller: my question is on the economy, and it is why the city's cannot resist more when the federal mandates come down that are unfunded. i will hang up and listen. guest: that is a great question, and we to resist, but if a federal mandate comes down that is unfunded, it is difficult for the city to resist. youngstown, ohio at times has challenged the state of ohio on certain issues when we believe our sovereignty as a city or

authority was being challenged, but there is always a leveraged of state funding that the federal government has, so we just do not lie down quietly. when we believe something is unfair we will work with our delegation in columbus and in washington, but you can imagine there is often some very heated battles when it comes to these mandates that are pushed to cities who have fewer resources than the state or federal government. host: next call from kansas. caller: good morning. i have a comment and question for the mayor. i think what we need to look at right now is what happened in california. they are $30 billion behind in their budget, and no one seems to understand why. the major reason i believe is because the illegal immigration

that has happened there. it is not being challenged, the federal government is not making the la stayw and of. they are allowing these people to sneak into the country. -- the government is not a tv law stand up. -- is not making the law stand. they're taking the money into mexico. that is money that is not being collected as far as workers compensation. that is not being collected in fica. it is also not collected for taxes for local, state and federal government. if you don't stop that problem, all of this throwing money around is a waste of time. host: mr. mayor? guest: certainly that issue is more pronounced in border states like california. i am not saying it does not

exist in ohio not to the extent and some of the border states. i am not here to disagree that we don't have a federal issue as it relates to the legal and illegal immigration beard but at the end of the day, when it comes to the stimulus package will have to address problems at hand. you cannot exchange one problem for the other. but the president, when he talked about having to address those issues that have long-term ramifications while at the same time addressing the immediacy of the financial crisis -- again, border states have additional challenges thahat states >> we will have to leave it there. >> live now to the white house briefing room where press secretary robert gibbs is scheduled to give his daily briefing. we will have that for you live on c-span. also a programming note that later on today, and medal of

freedom ceremony. 16 recipients, including stephen hawking and billie jean king is coming up today at 3:10 eastern on c-span. now the white house briefing. >> how are you? that is one good place to start. let me make two quick announcements. this evening the u.s. ambassador to the united nations will deliver a speech at newark university's center for global affairs. she will detail how the u.s. is changing the course of the world. that is at 5:30 p.m. the second announcement on monday president obama will give a speech to the 110th national

convention in phoenix, arizona. he will be discussing our responsibility to maintain the world's finest military, to give our troops the care and respect that they have earned. that is on monday. i think i am relatively organized. >> [inaudible] >> we did not last year. i don't the -- i don't think the format will be that way. yes, sir. >> a report today that the ambassador said a lot more money needs to be spent, $2.5 billion appears to be progress next year in afghanistan. we're talking about developing civilian projects. how has that fall and in the white house? what kind of reaction has there been?

-- how has that fallen in the white house? >> when the present first came in we conducted an initial assessment of our policy as it related to afghanistan and pakistan, understanding that the president had said that we had under assessed our efforts in that area. he had already requested $2 billion in assistance. the president agrees that, as he said during the campaign, about our efforts in the afghanistan and pakistan region and in iraq, a military solution alone was not possible. we have to figure out how, through using all elements and all tools of our national and power, how we can best attain our goals in that region.

that review continues. the president ordered an increase in troops in afghanistan leading up to the important elections that will be held in only a few days by the afghans. we anticipate that an assessment of -- a further assessment by the investor and general m ccrystal will come after that election. >> this request that would nearly double -- >> the president wants to, as i assume the secretary of state wants to evaluate not elements of but a package for a different strategy of this region, which the president has advocated. we will do that as part of an entire package, but i will say

the president has requested as part of that budget, a substantial increase in our assistance to that region kennebec understand it -- assistance to that region, understanding that we are going to have to build things. we will have to build a civil society and a governing structure in that country. yes, sir. >> on friday, some big companies like bank of america, citigroup, gm have to turn in their executive pay plans. will that be made public? >> i don't believe cell but you should ask treasury for the specific answer, but i am not

under the impression that is the case pitt >> help conserve is the administration about executive pay? banks are beginning to bring money and it seems like they are paying some executives a great deal. is that still an issue of concern? >> two things on that. one, what the president believes is an important proposal to give shareholders a say on executive pay. it has had impacts on other countries and is moving its way through congress. we hope that is ultimately part of legislation that gets to his desk quickly that will have an impact. secondly, the president continues to believe, as he has long before he got here, compensation has to be based on not on wrecks less risk taking

-- not on reckless risk-taking but on the value you are providing, and doing so in a way that does not jeopardize your firm or tax payers. that is what the president has talked about. i don't think the american people begrudge that people make big salaries as long as they are not jeopardized in -- as long as they are not jeopardizing the will of the public. that will be the test of all of this. >> i don't know if you think it is unfair to say, but it occurs to me that the president finds himself in a town hall meeting telling the american people he does not want to set up a panel to kill their grandparents. perhaps at some point the president has lost control of the message.

i am wondering if what you have seen in the last few weeks is one of the reasons why it was so important to the president earlier this year to pass health care reform in the house and senate before the august recess. is everything going on right now what you feared would happen? >> there are a lot of ways to take this question. i am trying to figure out which ave. to go down to. i could just say yes and go to the next one. that is one way to do it. let me split these up a little bit. i think there is a tremendous amount of disinformation out there. we have seen at, and let's be honest, and you all tend to cover x said this, y said this,

but some of you does not investigate whether what the person said is true. that is not a blanket statement, not everyone of you is like that. >> [inaudible] >> i do not think everybody has called it false. a lot of people have done stories -- it is he said, she said. i don't think there is any doubt that in some ways -- i think some of you were disappointed that the president did not get yelled at, sure. i don't think there is any doubt about that. >> [inaudible] >> i was going to yell at him. >> was the president disappointed with the confrontation? >> nel, the president wanted to have a rational discussion. -- no, the president wanted to have a rational discussion about health care.

did everybody agreed? the answer to that is obviously no. what the president said is let's have a conversation where we talk to one another, not over one another. i think there is some disappointment because of a bunch of your stories had more to do with the fact that the inside shell on each side of the street outside and what was actually going on inside. -- the side show on each side of the street outside than what was actually going on inside. we find it more important to take it did for -- take disinformation anyone may have about a proposal or something the president is trying to do and address directly that misinformation. i think that is the most important thing. again, the notion that did we

always expect this was going to happen? i said this before, i don't think the president had ever done a town hall meeting where everyone agreed with what he proposed. the president believes that the town hall meeting is a structure where people can discuss those issues in a way that they think -- the way that he believes in gender's a positive discussion -- that he --engenders a positive discussion. >> is this one of the reasons he wanted it passed before the august recess? >> the president wants to get through the process of getting something to his desk because delay now simply means, as the president discussed succinctly yesterday, delay means more people work that discriminate against because of pre-existing conditions. more people will get thrown off

their insurance because their employer can no longer afford to pay it. that is the reason the president wants to see this done as quickly as possible. >> there were many applicants for tickets to town hall that are chosen. >> randomly. the president asks people to raise their hand and picks on them. >> what about the stark difference in the scene? people were very polite with the president yesterday, they were less than polite with some lawmakers. >> i don't know how many town hall meetings you have been to over the summer. >> i have not been to that many but i have watched a number of them. >> let's just address that. you have watched clips put up

about certain segments of certain town halls in order to demonstrate the consternation. >> i saw enough to show the president did not get the kind of treatment certain lawmakers got. >> i am just asking you to compare that to all the ones you went to over the summer. >> is it just that people are more polite when it comes to talking to the president? is it something in the way folks are allowed him to your meetings? >> again, i incensing your disappointment he did not get yelled at -- i am sensing your disappoint andment. -- i am sensing your disappointment. >> it is hard for me. i doubt we are seeing a representative sample of any series of town hall meetings despite the food fight on cable

every day. my sense is that people wanted to take the opportunity to find out from the president to have him answer their questions about why he is doing what he is doing and the concerns they may have. that is why when he asked let's take some questions from those who have concerns, at that point do you like to take that opportunity to have a discussion with the president about what he wants to see on healthcare reform? i think most people took that opportunity as something that was positive. i think the president thought it was a very good conversation about the issue we were dealing with. the president went out of his way to bring up some of the

misinformation out there in order to address it, because he understands he has a pulled that is large enough -- he has a pulpit that is large enough to deal with the misinformation that some may not inquire about because they have read it somewhere and assume is true. >> what does he think is the biggest obstacle to passing this legislation? >> the people who want to keep the status quo. the people who believe that somehow what we have is working for the millions of americans watching their health-care premiums skyrocket every day. who are watching small businesses drop their coverage, who are part of the 12 million people over the past three years who had been told by an insurance company in seeking to buy insurance that they are not eligible because of what somebody has decided.

that would be what the president would believe is the greatest obstacle and has been for 40 years. people that have a vested and monetary interest in keeping things as they are. >> is it his fault that he is not getting the message across? >> i don't think the president was under any illusion that with his presidency there would be the end of misinformation. i think the president believes -- i am sure there are communications experts that would tell you -- if you are explaining you are losing. i think the president believes these meetings provide an excellent opportunity to explain what his ideas and principles are. if you can affect misinformation by telling people what is not in a piece of legislation, i think he will take that opportunity.

>> in addition to the town halls and the web site to knock down these myths, is the white house considering other and then used to try to correct the record? -- is the white house considering other venues to try to correct the record? >> we had two of town halls leader in the week, one in montana 81 in colorado. -- and one in colorado. the president will be back here for a bit and have some down time for his family. i don't doubt we will take this battle of in some earnestness in september, but i don't think there are any specific venue announcements. the president believes the format of the town hall and the ability to discuss directly with people what their concerns are, he finds to be tremendously valuable. >> is he concerned this

misinformation machine continues and the record cannot be corrected, that it could make it more difficult to get health care reform? >> if the debate is dominated by something that is not true, of course. i don't think the president believes that when all is said and done that most people will make their decisions on something that is false and that has been said as false. i rant on cable a little bit in answering another question. take a couple questions at a town hall meeting. you guys have shown enough video of people with people withthe bill. take one of those concerns and

address whether it is true or not. >> so much attention is being focused on the mix -- focused on the myth, that that message will help you? >> i do, if people believe that this plan is government- controlled health care, which is not, if the president can address that each time he goes out there and more people believe the truth, then i think that helps the prospect of millions to see health care reform this year. >> yesterday the president seemed disappointed, and wanted casting about for a real skeptic, and not really finding one. there was the one republican and then the guy at the end.