it is incredibly important that we not violate anybody's conscience. we want to protect the conscience provisions that exist. it's also important to appreciate that through committee health centers, the bill being proposed right now would allow greater access to healthcare for they've proposed more money for women's health care than currently exists. so i think they're working their best to address that issue. in terms of whether or not old plans that were available before might be available. absolutely. and we believe that the opportunity to provide a robust market, of robust choices for individuals across this land will be secure. that's one of the keys to bringing down the premium costs, for bringing down the cost for health coverage. we're excited about that. and look forward to that coming to pass. >> if the new plan calls for repealing the revenue generating tax penalties but keeping the

entitlement, how is that sustainable? >> that's the work somebody mentioned over here the congressional budget. once the congress receives that score, then they'll be working through that to make certain that it is fiscally responsible. imagine if you would however a system where the incentives within the system are all to drive down cost, to provide greater choices and competition for folks and respond to the specific needs of patients. and in so doing what you do is get a much more efficient system for the delivery of health care. a system we don't have right now. the previous administration felt the federal government ought to do all of this. we've seen what comes about when the federal government does all of that. that is increasing premiums, decreasing choices. you've got a card that says u'veot insurance and you walk in and you can't afford what it is for the doctor that's trying to take care of you. this is not a system that's working for folks in that

individual small group market and in the exchanges. >> many complained obama care resulted in higher numbers in emergency rooms. >> one of the things that the previous administration said was that they were going to be able to drive folks away from one of the most expensive areas for the provision of health care and that is the emergency room. in fact, they did just the opposite. much of that is because of, again, the rules and regulations they put in place. from our perspective, we believe that if individuals are able to purchase the coverage they want, then they'll have access to the kind of doctors and other providers that they desire and won't need to be able to be seen in the emergency room. they'll already have the care. emergency rooms ought to be for emergencies not for the standard care that individuals tend to receive right now. so we believe that if you put in place the right system, that emergency rooms and emergency physicians will be able to have the opportunity to care for those individuals that

appropriately present to their department. >> mr. secretary, following up on your comment that it's important that no one vote on anything that violates their conscience. federal funding can't be used for abortion. but are you saying the administration has a provision of birth control as you see in health centers? and secondly, is the administration looking to actively with hold funding to planned parenthood if they continue to provide abortions as has been reported. >> we're working through all of those issues. many were through the rule making process. we're working through that. that's not part of this piece of legislation right here. >>o you have a view on provision of birth controlnd access to it when you're talking about women's health care. you said you wanted to expand it. >> what we're doing is working through the rules and the regulations to see where the previous administration was, see how they did it and whether or not it needs to be addressed. with the understanding of what we believe is important when we look at the rules and regulat n regulations is to define whether

that helps patients and decreases cost or harms patients and increases cost. if it does the latter, we need to do away with it. if it does the former, we ought to accentuate it. >> what was the issue of conscience you were talking about then? >> to make certain individuals in the market are not forced to do things that violate their conscienc conscience. >> small businesses have been waiting for this new bill under president trump, so any message for them? >> well, i think that this is the culmination of years of work. it's the culmination of years of frustration by the american people. they knew at the time that the previous bill, the previous law passed that it wasn't gonna help them. they knew that costs were gonna go up. in fact, we predicted at the time that costs would go up and access would go down.

so this is the culmination of years of yard work by the electorate, by the citizens of this country to say that we want a system that respects patients and doctors. >> president tweeted out earlier today that he is pleased, that he's working on a plan to have drug prices come down by spurring competition. can you tell us a bit about what that plan will be, when it might be rolled out? and the second question, is this a tax break for insurance executives that make more than $500,000. why is that tax break important for this legislation? >> to the latter, i'm not aware of that. drug pricing is really important. so many individuals are now having significant difficulty being able to afford the medications that they've been prescribed. so whether it's -- it's not able to be addressed specifically in

this phase one because it's not a revenue or spending issue for the federal government. so it can't be in phase one. but phase two and three which may be concurrent in phase one, but two and three we look forward to bringing solutions to solve the remarkable challenge that patients have across this land with the increasing price of drugs. i have gotta run. you've got a guy here who is gonna answer the rest of the questions. thank you very much. god bless kwra. >> thank you, dr. price. let me just kind of continue on. the bottom line i think that secretary is making is that obama care sought to cover 20 million people and in the process it drove up costs for everybody whether or not you are in the exchange or not. most people get their insurance through their employers. older population get their health care through medicare. low income population get their health care through medicade and veterans get their insurance through tri care. what we're talking about here is

a defined amount of individuals that we are trying to address. obama care turned our health care system on its head to address the pool of individuals who don't fall under anything we mentioned. our plan today will ensure those individuals receive the care that they need if they want affordable costs while not sending rates sky rocketing. obama care was an over complicad bl that served special interest and not the american people. these over 974 pages that were passed and then we're told we had to read them are filled with carveouts by over $1 billion of health care related lobbying that was spent on the year obama care was crafted. our plan imparts fewer pages, 123, smaller, but bigger. so far we're at 57 for the repeal plan and 66 pages for the replacement portion. we'll undo this -- remember, half of it, 57 of those pages are the repeal part. so when you really get down to it, our page is 66 pages long.

half of what we even have there. we'll undue the disaster and replace it with a plan to return health care back to the patient. as the president outlined in his joint address, he expects five core principles to guide congress through this process. first ensure that the american people with preexisting conditions have access to coverage. second, ensure a stable transition for americans currently enrolled in the exchanges. third, provide more equitable tax credits for people who already don't receive tax advantage health care from their employer. that's something the secretary was talking about. for the vast number of people who get their insurance through their employer, they're getting it tax-free. they are not taxed on that benefit which is something that is not afforded to people who are in the individual market who either run a small business or are sole proprietors. four, we should expand power of health savings accounts to return control to americans over their health care dollar and

decisions. they should be able to choose the plan they want, not the plan that's forced on them by government. and finally, we should give our state governors the resources and flexibility they need with medicare to make sure no one is left out. this is the obama care replacement plan that everyone has been asking for. the plan that the president ran on and the plan that will ultimately save the system. it's also a culmination of years of dedicated work and careful thought by republicans to find a replacement that will undue the damage caused by obama care while ensuring that all americans have peace of mind during this stable transition period. these are the principles for which conservatives have been fighting for for years. president trump looks forward to continuing the dialogue between the administration and the hill on saving the health care system. what's important to remember is we aren't going to do all of this in one bill as the secretary mentioned. there are two other steps that allow us to get more of the president's plan accomplished after we pass this first important major step. the second piece is already under way. that's what secretary price can do through executive action.

he has already rolled out a handful of important actions, including the major market place stablization regulation to help bring stability to the collapses insurance market. he'll continue to enact a number of policy changes in the regulatory and administration space to achieve what the first stat cannot because of the nature of reconciliation. the third piece of executing the president's health care plan requires 60 votes in legislation, maybe more depending on what we can do and when. that's how we'll move forward on the policies of purchasing throughout state lines, lowering drews prices and repealing any of obama care's premium spiking insurance market distortion that can be done through this current bill. also yesterday, in speaking with israeli prime minister netanyahu he also took calls from president abe. during both of these calls the president reiterated the united

states iron class economiedment to stand with japan and south korea in the face of the serious threat posed by north korea. he also emphasized the administration is taking steps to further enhance our ability to deter and defend against north korea's ballistic missiles using a full range of the united states military capability. moving on to today's schedule. the morning the president had a call with the president of kenya. he will have a readout of the call soon. president and first lady announced the official reopening of public tours here at the white house. you may have seen the president stop by to surprise greet some of the first visitors on their tour. we're looking forward to welcoming the people back, the american people back, to what is referred to as the people's house. we are the world's only executive residence in office of head of state that also serves as a museum, free to the people. visiting the white house is an experience to uniquely americans and we encourage guests to come

visit the white house, their house. also this morning secretary of commerce held a press conference announcing that chinese corporation agreed to a record high combined criminal and civil penalty of $1.19 billion after the company illegally shipped telecommunications equipment to iran and north korea in violation of sanctions. this civil penalty is the largest ever imposed by the commerce department bureau of industry security. pending approval from a federal judge the combined penalties between the commerce department, the department of justice and the department of treasury would be the largest fine ever levied by the u.s. government in such a case. this settlement tells the world the days of flaunting u.s. sanctions regime or violating u.s. trade laws are over. president trump is committed to ending the disrespect of american laws and american workers. so back to the schedule for a second. this morning the president also received his daily intelligence

briefing. he had lunch with senator lindy gham of south carolina who will continue to be an important partner of the president nominee for the supreme court judge gorsuch begins the confirmation process in the next couple weeks. this afternoon he is leading a discussion on immigration with members of the white house senior staff. the president and senators are expected to discuss the merit based immigration reforms that the president mentioned at last week's joint address. later this afternoon the president will focus on repeal and replace of obama care. there will be a pool for that meeting. gather time is 3:20. president will also meet with the president of the afl/cio. they will discuss the importance of investing in the country's infrastructure. they'll also be a pool at the top of that meeting and we will have further details on it. this evening the president will meet with a group of boy scouts

who are in washington to participate in a near century old tradition of sharing scouting achievements with government officials. looking ahead, the president will be welcoming two foreign leaders in the coming weeks. i expect additional announcements of additional leaders later. but first chancellor merkel will visit the white house and iraq's chancellor. with that, i can take your questions. jonathan carl. >> it's been -- thank you. sean, it's been a full thraoeu days since the president said that president obama had his wires tapped, phones tapped at trump tower. in those three days has the white house come up with any evidence whatsoever to prove that allegation? >> i addressed this multiple times yesterday. the president, we put out a staple sunday saying that we would have no further comment. we were asking the house and senate intelligence committee to look into this concern and

report back. >> can't the president just ask the fbi director? has he asked him? >> no, the president has not. we've gone back and forth with you guys. i think there's clearly a role congress can play in its oversight kaeupblt. they mated very clear that they have the staff, the resources. i think that's the appropriate place for this to be handled. if we would start to get involved, you would write stories about how we are getting involved. the smartest way to address it is to ask the intelligence committee to look into this and other leaks of classified information that are troubling to our nation's national security. so as the president said in the statement sunday, we believe that that investation, as well as the investigation of other classified leaks and other important information that threatens our national security be looked into by the house and senate intelligence committee. we encouraged them to report back. >> do you believe that president

obama did that? >> i guess that's a cute question. my job is to represent the president and to talk about what he's doing and what he wants. he has made it very clear what his, what his goal is, what he would like to have happen. i'll leave it at that. i think we've tried to play this game before. i'm not here to speak for myself. i'm here to speak for the president and the united states government. >> following up on secretary price, whether or not the administration is willing to -- for the american people who like their doctor, like their health insurance plan, is the white house willing to say today that when this replacement bill is passed that they will -- they can keep their doctor? secondly just changing gears radically on to china overnight issued some strong rhetoric prompting consequences. can you explain that.

>> on the first piece, i think, look, one of the things that's important to understand about this process that's very different from the democrats, you recall then speaker pelosi said you're going to have to read the bill to know what's in it. that was the big difference. here is the bill. it's on the website. if you go to the house of representatives website, speaker paul ryan's website, it's listed. everybody can read it. it's going to go through what they call regular order. we're not jamming this down anybody's throat. it's going to go tough a committee process. all parties involved, all representatives will have input into it. that's the way to conduct this process. to do it to allow people to watch the process happen and the committee, allow members of conk to have their input in it, to make amendments, to see that we get the best bill that achieves the goal for the american people. when we've done it the last time, it was jammed down people's throats. look what happened.

you had 974 pages that people struggled to read after ward to figure out what had just gotteden passed and the consequences were, frankly, devastating. so your point about keeping your doctor, in a lot of cases you've lost your doctor. for a people reasons. one, they may not participate in the plan. they may not take insurance at all any more. two three, they may not take medicade. and the list goes on and on about why they might not be there. or the plan, the plan you got, is not yet accessible. one-third of all counties in the united states no longer take medicade or excuse me have only one plan that you can choose from. so it's a fact right now that you -- in most cases you have no choice. in many cases you've lost that ability. our goal is to add more choice and more competition. right now the government tells you you must have this plan or you will pay a penalty. and within this plan here's what you have to have. we've lost the element of choice and competition in health care.

and by bringing all of that back there's a higher degree of likelihood that you're going to get the plan that you want and the doctor that you want. it will be your choice and not the government's choice. this plan was jammed down everybody's throat. consequences took their plans away. it took their doctors away. it drove up costs. this plan allows more competition, more people to enter it. the american people and patients to make a decision on what plan they want, if they have a plan and doctor they like, they're going to choose a plan that allows them to continue with that doctor. there will be more competition and more choice and not less. that's what you have now. with respect to china, i addressed this yesterday. we stand shoulder to shoulder with japan and south korea in doing what we can to protect that region in particular from an attack from north korea. we understand the situation. we continue to work with him as i mentioned. the president spoke to both leaders yesterday. we provided a readout of those

calls. but we obviously understand the concern to china. but this is a national security issue. >> thank you, sean. how concerned is the president with the situation between north korea and malaysia right now? >> as i said, i think we're very well aware of what's going on i the region. president obviously had a conversation with, in paicular, the acting president of south korea last night. and with respect to what's going on there. i'll refer that to the national security committee to give you further. cheryl? >> thanks, sean. >> i know, i for got you yesterday. >> i appreciate it. two questions. one on health care. if the cbo scores this bill and it does not provide the amount of coverage that the affordable care act did, will the president still support it? >> well, i'm not gonna get -- like secretary price mentioned this. let's not get ahead of the cbo going through this. one of the things that's

important to understand, this bill has to be done in the phases it has to to address the repeal part of it and the replace part of it. there are only things we can do through reconciliation. and then through action, the secretary is empowered to do under obama care. and then third is an additional piece of legislation that addresses things. there are cost saving measures that in competition aspects of this that have to be included in phase two or three because they are not allowed in the reconciliation bill. because of the nature of how reconciliation works on capitol hill. i think that one of the things we have to understand is that how that score comes out from the congressional bug office will depend on whether they look at it specific with just a phase one or whether they look at it in totality. i'm confident that if you look at what's going on right now, cheryl, it's unsustainable.

premiums in state after state as dr. price mentioned, they're up 25% on average. arizona 116%. minnesota's in the 40s. this is unsustainable for a faly to continue to pay the premiums that they have. for individuals, small business owners, etc. the question is can we allow people to go on this trajectory where more and more of their pay check is getting eaten up in a plan that's not giving them choice or doctors or plans they want. this plan i think clearly achieving those goals a lot better. it gets cost containment down. gets price control under control. and it allows doctors and plans to re-engage in the market place as they were prior to this. that is a major asset. >> from yesterday. i had a nominations question. is there something that's preventing the white house from submitting the nominations of sonny purdue for agricultural and alex acosta for labor stphr

>> i believe alex acosta was sent up to the hill today. sometimes there's a lag. i apologize. i'll check on sonny purdue. some of it's just in coordination with the senate. so pardon my time. >> i have two questions for you. first, will the president offer a correction to his speech this morning that said 122 prisoners were released by the obama administration? and then returned to the battlefield. >> obviously the president meant in totality the number that had been released on the battlefield, that have been released from gitmo since individuals who have been released. that is correct. >> my second question, is the white house concerned about that new information that came out in wiki leaks that u.s. intelligence agencies are essentially purposely providing vulnerabilities to tech products here in the united states? >> i'm not going to comment on that. obviously that's something that has not been fully evaluated.

if it was, i would not comment from here on that. kevin? >> yes. president in the past put his name on buildings and different products. when it comes to health care, does the white house feel the bill being presented today should be known as trump care from here on out? at what point do you think the transition should go from obama care to the new administration? >> this repeal will get rid of that. that will happen quickly. as secretary price mentioned, i think we're less concerned with labels and more in terms of action and results. that's what our focus has been, getting that cost down, getting that choice back that we mentioned. >> dhs reportedly considering separating families that cross the border illegally. how does the presidenteel about that? >> that's a dhs matter. we don't get involved in customs or ice enforcement. that's a question better reserved to dhs and ice. jim?

>> health care question. one of the principles the individual mandate because it allows insurance companies to increase premiums up to 30%. i have one more. >> that's not a -- the difference is, under the current bill that's here, if you don't buy insurance you pay a fine. under the current bill, there's nothing that mandates you to buy insurance. that's up to an individual. by its very definition it can't be considered that. what's your second one? >> you don't think it's a defacto mandate, there's a penalty in place as there is now by the government. >> right. i think you answered your own question on that one. >> i have one more.

>> sure. >> last thursday -- called a recess early, previously adjourned thursday, previously called a recess. does the president have any plans to call for the senate to remain efficient, stay efficient until they improve the nominees? >> this isn't a republican issue. it's not republicans who are playing beat the clock on a lot of these nominees. 'v dcussed this since the transition time. there were several nominees that, frankly, weren't even considered controversial by the standards of senate democratic leadership and yet have been held up over and over again. that's a different scenario than going back and being with constituents which was on the senate schedule. do we have michael medved ready

to go for our skype question? >> thank you very much. obviously the big emphasis on obama which is profoundly important to the american people. it seems that too often in the last several weeks the administration has gotten distracted and media have gotten distracted by talk of wire tapping and trump tower or the president calling his predecessor a bad guy or criticizing the ratings of celebrity apprentice. do you think the white house could do a better job of focusing on the issues that really matter to the american people rather than getting distracted in these conflicts as we move forward into the coming months? >> thanks, michael. you know, respectfully, i would say we have been focused. we're here talking about obama care an the need to drive down the cost and access for health care for every american.

i think that's a pretty significant thing to be focused on. yesterday we were talking about the plt's effort to continue to keep the nation safe, to make sure people aren't coming into the country who aren't here for peaceful purposes. the president's talked to almost 50 world leaders. he's had 30 plus executive actions on all sorts of stuff, from regulatory aspects to things that will create more jobs. i think that's a fairly focused effort. that being said, look, whether it was candidate trump, president elect trump or now president trump, the president has always made it clear -- not he made it clear but the voters made it clear. one of the things they appreciate about him is his ability to be authentic and to speak very forcefully and directly with the american people. and that's an aspect that i think was central to why he was elected. because he's not a canned politician that's gonna give the same state answers over and ove.

sara? >> conservatives started to call this obama care light. president trump promised to fully repeal obama care. if this is the policy that passes, is president trump confident that he can say he fully repealed obama care? >> yes, absolutely. the first half of the bill that we put forward repealed it. there are three things. each phase that we've talked about, phase one, phase two, phase three, there's a repeal and replace aspect to each one. but republicans and conservatives have been talking about adding competition and driving cost down for decades now. selling across state lines. small business pooling. all of those things have been part of conservative plans for quite a long time. instilling that competition in it, allowing more access. there's a big difference. we have, for the longest time, if you're a conservative, you think about this right now.

you have anyone who has an employer based, their job comes from an employer whose job gives them health care. they're getting a credit. they don't pay taxes on their health care. their employer doesn't either. that's a huge disadvantage to anyone who is a sole proprietor or owns a small business. so frankly, to allow the playing field to be level and allow small businesses which are frankly the job creators in this country to, allow self-starters to get the same tax treatment that a fortune 500 gets is a very conseative principle. and again, i think one of the things that's important, sara, for all of the people who have concerns about this, especially on the right, look at the side. this is the democrats. this is us. you can't get any clearer in terms of this is government, this is not. and i think that part of the reason the visual is important is when you actually look at the difference, you realize this is what big government does.

it crowds out competition. it drives up prices. it stifles entprepb tphaouralship. doctors leaving the markets. that should concern people. when you've got veterans that can't because most of the time medicade and tri care are tried together. so when you have those systems not accepted by doctors, the lowest people on the low income scale, people that have served our country have fewer choice. that alone should be a problem for many people. but the premium spikes are not problem. again, even if you are in the exchange, you're seeing over and over again that happen. you're also seeing young people decide they'd rather just pay a penalty because the cost of those basic programs is out of reach for a lot of young people who are just entering the job market. but again, i think the greatest illustration of the differences in the approach is that size. our bill which is a tent of the size does repeal and replace in what their big just did in massive bureaucracy and government.

that's a big difference. jim? >> just want to ask you, health and human services secretary was on here, talking about this is the republican bill, this is the democrat bill. is that the president's bill? >> that is a bill that we have worked on with congress. we are looking forward, like i mentioned earlier, the president is meeting with the whip team to encourage them to support it. i don't think, i'mot trying to be cute here. it's not his bill or their bill. it is a bil we have worked on with them together. we're very proud of where it stands now. the big difference, jim, is that unlike before, as i mentioned, when the democrats jammed it down people's throats saying where did you get that 60th vote with senator kennedy still around. and then basically said, literally, you will have to wait and see what it looks like before we pass it. we not only posted it out there for everybody to look at. but by sending it through regular order, not just putting it up for a vote. it allows republicans, democrats and independents alike to offer

up amendments and suggestions. i think the president's core principles are what's gonna guide us as we head through the hill and to the house and senate. >> one quick follow-up. the president made a very serious allegation over the weekend. i think we would all be remiss if we went through this briefing and not tried to get you on camera to at least offer some evidence. where's the evidence? where's the proof that president obama bugged president trump's phones? >> i answered this yesterday on camera on your air. i know now this will be twice. i think i made it clear yesterday. >> since yesterday. >> nothing has changed. it's not a question of new proof or less proof. the answer is the same. i think -- which is i think there is a concern about what happened in 2016 election. the house, the senate intelligence committee have the

staff and the capability and the processes in place to look at this in a way that's objective. that's where it should be done. frankly, if you've seen the response especially on the house side as well as the senate, they welcome this. let's let the senate do their job and the house, and then report back to the american people. >> will the presidentithdw the accusation? >> why would he withdraw it until 's adjudicated? that's what we're asking. for them to look at this. >> no regrets about raising this accusation? >> absolutely not. what he wants them to look into is wire tapping, other surveillance. the other leaks threatening our national security. you are seeing the leaks happen over and over again. they've come out throughout the administration that undermind national security. the appropriate thing to do is ask the house and senate to look into it. glenn? >> sean, to follow-up on a follow-up. in terms of, you were given an opportunity on air to say

whether or not the president still supports -- [ inaudible ] >> i have no reason to believe that he doesn't. >> have you seen any evidence yourself? has the evidence been shared with you or other members, senior members of the president's staff as to why he made this particular accusation? >> as far as me? no, i'm not in a position that that would be regularly part of my daily duties, for the president to sit down and go through that. that's probably a level above my pay grade. as i have mentioned, i think the president believes that the appropriate place is for the house and intelligence senate committee who have the clearances, the staff, the processes to go through this, look at it and report back. >> did he share it with -- >> the president made it very clear -- i'm not going to -- as the president said sunday, we're not going to have further

comment until it is resolved. >> just to follow up on the follow-up. does the white house feel that it's appropriate to be adjudicated byhe consional committees. but the president made declare teufrb statements on twitter. so i guess, is the white house position that the president can make declarative statements about a former president basically committing a crime and then the congressional committee should look into that and basically prove it? >> not a question of prove it. as i said now five times in the follow-up to the follow-up. it's not a question of prove it. they have the resources and the clearances and the staff to fully and thoroughly and comprehensively investigate this and then issue a report as to what their findings are. >> president trump's statement shouldn't be taken at face value

about -- >> sure it should. there's nothing, as i mentioned, it's not that he's walking anything back or regretting. he's saying did they have the appropriate venue and capabilities to review this? >> so on the obama care replacement you said it will be in phases and that you're going to need additional legislation. just to clarify, are the cost savings that you guys are projecting, is that dependent on phase three on the national competition plan? >> it's not dependent. i think in order to see it fully come to fruition, yes, you have to see all parts of it. the way that it was passed doesn't allow for -- the way that it was passed is almost the same way we're going through this now. they passed certain things. then the secretary of health and human services at the time was granted significant regulatory authority that allowed her to do

certain things at the time to implement pieces of obama care that we now have to act backwards and go almost in the same steps to do what they did to lay it out. we've got to reveal . and we've got to replace it. it literally depends on how that was done. john frederick? >> sean, in the replacement plan, it says that the states that accepted the medicare expansion money would continue to be funded. so what is the message you have to republicans state legislators that thought they were fiscally responsible in rejecting medicade expansion in their state and now they didn't get the federal dollars on either end? what is your -- >> i think what we need to do is to make sure, as the president said in his statement that secretary price did, we've got

to make sure we continue to protect people through this transition process. let the bill work its way. this is the first time as we address the medicade portion of this. this is probably the first time we've really addressed an entitlement aspect of something in almost 30 years. we've got to let this piece of it work its way through the house. remember, one of the things that happened through the medicade expansion, the goal has always been on medicade to help people who were disabled or poor or met a specific number of criteria. for the first time in obama care, we expanded obama care or the obama administration did rather to able bodied individuals in a way that had never been done before. it was not a specific class. that led largely to the ballooning costs. i think a lot of the reforms that will be contained in this bill will address that. but we've got to let it work its way through the process. >> i want to ask you two communication questions. >> good. >> because the president gave

himself a grade on communication, let me ask you about the experiencehat the prevus administration had when obama care was going through its own stages. the president, president obama said, the opposition to the legislation was able to seize the opportunity while it was being legislated to create public perceptions about what was in the legislation. so my question is, what is the president going to do to improve communications, to be out there explaining what is in the bill, to working the bill. that's the first question. >> thank you. on the first one, as i mentioned, it has and continues to have significant outreach to members of congress. he talked to health insurers. we've read out a lot of the activit activities. just within an hour he's going to sit down with the house deputy whip team to talk about the legislative pieces in the house. this will be a very aggressive

laser like focus of this administration to get this through the house and over to the senate. there's a big difference. what we're doing is vastly different. they were expanding government promising people something. i think what's happened is, there was a lot of -- there was a lot of differences in how they were approaching it. right now the american people, you understand the state of your health care. in many cases you realize when you're going to see the doctor, that they're not getting -- they're not either able to get in, they're not taking the medicare, the insurance they got, costs are going out of control. it's -- one of the things dr. price mentioned that is so appropriate, having a card does not mean you have insurance. it's like handing someone a blank check. doesn't mean that you have money. it means that you have a check.

what we've seen over the last few years with obama care, you could have an insurance card but that doesn't mean someone's gonna take it. it sure doesn't mean that it will be affordable. there's a big difference between having a card and having health care that's affordable. that's the difference that we're trying to solve. when it comes to communication, one of the things that's helpful is that part of the sale is done for us. the american people understand the state of their health care. they understand how much they're paying. they've gone to see a doctor or gone to a hop or had a notice from their carrier saying we are no longer part of this. or their employer says whatever your particular carrier is, it's no longer available. we're switching you to this. so, for so many americans, health care is a very very real part of their daily experience because they're caring for themselves, dealing with an ailment or dealing with children or a loved one where they're seeing first hand the devastation and disaster that

obama care has caused them in their personal life. so i think there's a welcoming of this effort. it's a lot easier. we don't have to explain the problem. people are living it. what we're giving you is more choice, greater competition, we're incentivizing more people to be part of the process. we will be driving down the cost of premiums. you had a second. >> question on communications had to do with the president's assertion about the wire tapping. because the white house wants this to be handled by the legislative branch and in confidence and classification, can we count on the president to, himself, while this investigation is going on, to cease and desist using twitter or any other public venue to make accusations that are in public but he will not respond to in public. >> with respect to this particular situation, i'll ask that and get back to you on that. >> thank you, sean. just getting back to the

question about if one likes his or her health care, they can keep it. in 2013, the chairman of the house energy committee offered a legislation that put precisely though words into law and it received the votes of every republican member in the house and between 40 and 50 democrats. then it died in the senate. would the administration support a revival of the upton amendment? in other words, putting the right to keep one's health care plan and doctor if he or she liked it today? >> i think that's the goal. i don't want to start talking about what we're going to -- as we go through the process. we've put our stamp on this and sent it to the house. it will work its will as amendments come up through regular order. our team will weigh in on those with their staff. again, the president's meeting with the whip team today. i don't want to start saying we're going to support this amendment and that amendment

right now. generally speaking the goal is to make sure people get a plan that they like, that meets what they need to have met. they shouldn't have to have a one size fits all government instilled health care system that doesn't offer any choice or isn't tailored to the needs that they have. that's an important thing. john? >> sean, right now you're two votes short of passing repeal and replace in the senate. you've got four republican senators who are saying they can't support the bill because rolling back the medicade expansion. what do you say to those senators who are very concerned that people will lose coverage, that this does not provide enough stability to people who rely on medicade? >> there are two things. one, we're at day one. we're going through the house first. so we've got a little bit of time. as we go through that process, these senators. not just the additional two, but there is a hope that we will get additional ones. recognize those people, as i have said, if we do nothing,

they're going to be in a very very worse scenario than they are now. more and more people -- if you're on medicade, which serves so many low income americans, as i mentioned, they have a card. that card does not allow them to go to doctor after doctor or saying we're not going to take medicade or tri care. i would ask those senators, what are you doing to get them insured again. for too many americans they have a card but they don't have insurance. that's a big distinction to make. they're the ones who have the problem right now. they've got a medicade card and nowhere to go. and what we need to do is make sure that low income americans, veterans, small business owners, individus who desperately need health care have options and affordability. >> one other piece of this. you can break down the cost of the insurance itself through new

efficiencies. the biggest driver of the increase in health insurance cost is the sky rocketing cost of medicine. what in this overall plan do you propose to do to either cap the? >> i think secretary mentioned this. cost of prescription drugs -- it's a big factor. >> when you're paying $50,000 out of pocket to get a stent. >> what is the biggest thing -- fair enough. when you talk ab procedures or drug, the biggest thing that's missing in this whole equation is competition. there's no -- we're down to one plan, in many places. there's nothing for places to compete. >> there's competition between hospitals. >> if they know they will get the same reimbursement rate. if they know there aren't reimbursement rates. right now there's a lack of

competition in the industry. one of the things the president -- i get it may be one part of that, but all over medicine. there's a reason he met with drug executives and talked about getting those costs down. there's a multifacetted approach. how do we instill competition? how do we drive down costs? we have to do more to get the cost down of the procedures to allow additional options. think about your insurance. right? one of the things that was driving up costs in the past was people were exercising the option of going to an emergency room over and over again for their primary care. what happened? you saw all of thes quo unquote, clinics pop up from around. insurance carriers made it cheaper in terms of co-pays to go see that than an emergency room, driving people to somewhere that didn't continue to drive up costs, clog insurance. that competition alone started saving the plans money.

we've got to instill more aspects of competition in medicine. jennifer? >> can you give us an update on the effort to roll back regulations as a tax force regulatory reform tax force identified in the regulation to roll back and have it then repealed. >> i think they have had their work cut out for them. they started, the president has met with different industries and companies, corporations, associations. that is a constant subject of discussion which is those regulatory aspects of our economy that are keeping companies from growing, expanding and hiring. so i know the domestic policy team and others have been working on that. if i can get further updates on specific legislation or specific regulatory actions, i'll get back to you. halle. >> two comments for you. trying to get clarity on something my colleagues have tried to follow up on as well. the president stands by his tweet saturday morning. that president obama ordered a

wire tap. you've also said the administration wants congress -- found out this information. you also said the president wants congress to investigate, some members of congress have asked the white house and asked the president to come forward with that information. bottom line, why would the president want congress to investigate for information he already has? >> there's a separation of powers aspect here as i mentioned to jonathan. >> why waste time? >> it's not a question of waste it. it's a question of appropriateness. >> if he's sitting on this information that we found out. he's now directing or asking or recommending the intelligence committee look into it. you talked about they have resources and staff, which they do. why expend those resources if the president found out this information and has it? >> there's a difference between directing the department of justice which may be involved in an on going investigation and asking congress as a separate body to look into something and add credibility to the look as

an elment that wouldn't necessarily be there if we were directing the department of justice, for example. but again, i think we've made it very clear how he wants this done. >> second question then. many americans are working on their tax returns. will the president commit to releasing his tax return for this year? >> my understanding is he's still under audit. >> question and quick follow-up. how do you understand what we've seen on the growing number of cases, canadian born and raised in canada with valid passports being stopped at the border and told just to go back. they won't let them come into the u.s. >> i'm not aware of that. that's something that probably should be addressed to the department of homeland security. >> there may be a misunderstanding of the message it's sent. >> i think that's a good question, but it's probably best directed to the department of homeland security.

dr. swan. >> is the white house going to keep its promise to withdraw from the paris agreement and our understanding is that there are differences of opinion. rex tillerson wants to stay in, steve bannon wants to get out. what's going on? will you keep the promise? if not, why not? >> that's something i would be glad to follow up with you. i don't have anything on that now. let me get back to you. mike? >> i have an unrelated question but i want to follow up. >> unrelated questions are m rite >> talked about a communications strategy. will t presint play a public role in spelling this bill? will he speak to the public about it? will he answer questions about it? >> that's a good question. i think we will have a very comprehensive strategy. as i mentioned the president is going to engage with members of the house whip team to talk to them. i understand. i know. i understand. this is step one.

there's a lot of time. we expect to be dealing with for the next several weeks. there will be plenty of opportunities for the president to speak about that, to engage with the public. but it is going to be a comprehensive plan that we will discuss. i can even begin to tell you how many administration folks and members of congress flooding the broadcast and radio air waves today, both nationally and in local markets. we were very very active throughout the country getting out the word on what we're doing and why we're doing it, from national broadcast shows to cable, to radio. we had a very very aggressive start to this effort. we're working with the house in particular. we're continuing to start really engaging with the senate. this will be a comprehensive effort working with the house and the senate to get this done and other partners, doctors and outside groups that share concern. one of the other folks, there is a need by companies and corporations who are feeling the

weight of additional costs to join us in this effort. i just want to say this is something that needs to get dealt with. the escalating costs are having a significant impact not just on our economy, but on the ability of people to get hired or frankly people who are hired, lose their job because the cost of health care is not allowing especially people in the small and medium size businesses to keep up with those costs. with that, thank you guys very much. i look forward to seeing u. >> congressman cummings meeting with the president. >> i'm sorry. that's not fair. mike gets his unrelated question. >> will the trump administration continue the obama administration practice of releasing publicly -- >> we're currently evaluating our procedures on that and we will have -- when we have an announcement, i'll let you know. april, i'll have a readout on our schedule later. once it's confirmed, i will let

you know first and then everybody else. thank you, guys. have a great day. >> sandra: all right. wrapping up the daily white house press briefing with health and human services tom price to kick things off. that was about 75 minutes ago. quite a lengthy one there for the press secretary sean spicer. when he took over, lot of news coming out of there. we've got matt schlapp joining us. simon rosenberg former campaign adviser for president bill clinton. good of both of you to hang on. we've only got a few minutes left, matt. i want to get your take on what you just heard. tom price did read things off. he was really trying to sell this new gop health care plan. dy this help convince some of those that are even on the right that are skeptical of what has been unveiled? >> first of all tom price has a stellar conservative voting record. his voting record is in the high 90s. he is reassuring.

he's a doctor. he's an expert on this policy. he led the charge in the house. he reminds conservatives is this is how it startsit issen necessarily how i ends. but there are principles that we have to lay out. i think he did a great job explaining those. >> he was pressed on whether he supports every aspt ofhis bill. he has said it has been a work in progress. that president trump and his administration support this step in what they believe is in the right direction. he said that we will work with house and senate in this process. what did you make of what you heard? >> well, i think i have now said this is clearly a first step. there's already lots of republican opposition, not just democratic object significants. some of the freedom caucus members have come out against this bill. there are at least four republican senators that have come out against it. my guess is over the next six, nine months the republicans will

have to come together around some modified version of this. i will say the final point is i do want to take exception to something sean spicer said, which he said we weren't jamming this thing through. there is no cbo score. we have to idea how much this will cost. >> we'll find out. we'll find out. >> they're asking people to vote on it before they know the cost. that's not a conservative thing, matt. >> i have only got a few minutes. the fbi director james comey who was at a ribbon cutting ceremony at a new fbi office in boston. we were watching and monitoring some comments we thought maybe he would talk, obviously, to the wire tapping allegations coming from this president. i want to show you how he led off his brief comments at that ribbon cutting ceremony. listen to this. >> right at the beginning i should hit an issue that i know is on the minds of many, and that is controversy, so i should speak to it directly. i am a new york giants fan.

>> sandra: ah, we were all listening. of course he is asking the doj to dispute those allegations. a funny moment coming from the fbi director. >> yeah. i don't actually think there's much funny about this. i think jim comey has a huge credibility problem. i'm glad the house and senate intelligence committees are looking at this. because all the reports that i have seen on the fact that it was understood that there were wire taps and people being monitored by the government. all of a sudden everyone is acting like it's a crazy idea. i think everybody wants answers. they want them fast. >> sean spicer was asked if the president supports james comey. his response was, i have no reason to believe otherwise. simon? >> yeah, look, what can be true is that it can be true that there was surveillance and it can also be true that president obama had nothing to do with it. presidents don't direct these

things. they're walled off on these decisions that happen way outside of the per view of the president of the united states. on bills that were passed by ronald reagan in the 1980s. so i do think, my own view is there was actual surveillance, but the president is wrong to blame barack obama for what happened. >> sandra: while all of this was going on, the fbi director talking tom price, sean spicer, lindsay graham the senator from south carolina was meeting and having lunch with the president. he tweeted this when he came out of that meeting. he said, how good was the meeting with potus? i gave him my new cell phone number. that is a reference to that infamous moment on the campaign trail when donald trump gave out his cell phone number. >> i think lindsay graham should be careful. >> sandra: all right. fair enough. simon, last word to you. >> i'm sure it was an interesting meeting. lindsay graham has been very tough on trump. i'm sure they cleared the air

today. >> sandra: lot coming out of that. he is currently tweeting about that. everybody is busy this afternoon. thanks for hanging on and joining us at the fine minute. good to see you all. i'm sandra smith. here's shepard smith. >> shepard: house republicans are pushing their plan to repeal obamacare and replace it with trumpcare. we still haven't heard how much this will cost or how much people could lose coverage. ahead, why some conservatives are coming out against their colleagues saying the plan won't work. get used to hearing the name rod rosenstein. if the senate confirms him, he will have to investigate moscow's connections with the trump campaign. today senators grilled him on how that will go down. wikileaks dropping thousands of