more small businesses cut benefits because they are simply too expensive and more americans filed for bankruptcy because of high medical bills. that is why it is the time to act. . this is our chance to reform health care in america. we cannot let this opportunity pass. last week, president obama laid out what he believes are the key criteria for reform. to provide more security and stability for those with health insurance today. it should expand coverage to those who do not. it should slow the growth of health-care costs, and it should keep insurance companies honest. the bill on releasing today

delivers on these critical reforms. it delivers a vision for meaningful health-care reform. i share with president obama and millions of americans of all stripes that goal. it meets the criteria laid out by president obama, and it can achieve our common goals for health-care reform. it reflects months of work and more than a year of separation -- preparation. it represents an effort to reach common ground and a real chance for health care reform, and it is balanced, a common sense bill that can pass the senate. achieving real reform means we need to hold the insurance industry accountable, and that is why we are presenting this package, and that is exactly what this package does. it provides competition, holds insurance companies accountable, and ensures americans they have real choices when they buy insurance.

it ensures choice and competition in the health insurance market so that every american can find quality, affordable coverage that cannot be taken away. it protects those with pre- existing conditions. it prevents insurance companies from discriminating and capping coverage, and it requires insurance companies to sell and renew a policy to anyone who applies, so long as the policy owner pays their premium in full. our package makes clear that if you like your doctor and health plan today, you can keep them. it delivers affordable coverage to tens of millions of americans and reduces cost and expense options for millions more. it increases the focus on prevention and wellness and begins to shift the focus of our health care delivery system toward quality of care provided, not quantity of services provided. it protect medicare and makes the medicare program stronger

to ensure future generations can benefit. it lowers prescription drug costs dramatically. for small business, it establishes a new market place to shop for coverage to help make benefits affordable again. in fact, the congressional budget office estimates that our reforms will significantly reduce costs for individuals and groups markets. for the uninsured, our package guarantees immediate access to quality, affordable coverage. it is fiscally irresponsible. it reduces the deficit for 10 years, and it controls health care spending in the long run. we have done everything imaginable to get the most generous, most affordable coverage that we could within president obama's target of $900 billion. there are honest and principled differences among all of us working for reform, and this

package may not represent all of our first choices. but at the end of the day, we all share a common purpose -- that is to make the lives of americans better tomorrow than they are today and to get healthcare reform done, which means the time for action is now, and we will act. we will act to pass health reform legislation this year. next week, we will do our part to control costs, and we will do our part to work closely with president obama to deliver healthcare reform to the american people. i look forward to the efforts of my colleagues on the committee to make this an even better bill. i also look forward to working with leader reid and chairman harkin and dodd and the rest of my colleagues so we can work quickly. this is a good bill. this is a balanced bill.

it can pass the senate. i look forward to making sure that we have an even better bill that passes with an even larger margin. thank you. >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] how disappointed are you? do you honestly think you will get a majority? >> i believe i have an obligation to work as diligently and as hard as i can to get the most broad-based boat possible because after all, the american people want us in washington to work together -- republican and democrat. they do not like the partisanship that is going on. i also think this approach is more endurable, more sustainable

and will generally mean better policy. i will work very hard to get that bipartisan support, and i think that we will get it. that is, i think that certainly, by the time the finance committee in this room votes on final passage for health care reform, there will be republican support. no republican has offered his or her support at this moment, but i think by the time we get to final passage in this committee, you will find republican support. this is a bill that should enjoy broad support. it is common sense. it is a balanced bill. i think this bill -- i know this bill will pass. it certainly is a bill that can pass. the choice now is up to those on the other side of the aisle, if they want to vote for it or not. we have worked very hard to make this balance, and i think that is what it comes down to. >> [inaudible]

>> it will be addressed by the senate this year. there is no doubt in my mind about that. frankly, i would like to see us permanently fix and reform it. there is no doubt that we will in the senate address that. that is a separate, side issue. sgr is not really part of health-care reform. it is what medicare pays providers, especially doctors in this case. that is not going to be an issue. we will find a way to deal with it. >> [inaudible] how concerned are you that you may not have enough democrats support? >> there is no doubt in my mind this is a very balanced bill.

i have talked to democrats. i have talked to republicans about this bill. i can tell you that those conversations, some think i have not gone far enough. there are some on both sides of the aisle that think i have gone too far. this is basically within the framework that president obama outlined in his state of the union address. very similar to what he suggested, and again, i talk to senators -- democrats and republicans -- some think too much. some think too little. i think i have come up with a good, balanced bill that will pass the senate. and i will work with the senate. this is just an early stage. there will be amendments offered. i expect some of them will be pretty good amendments, amendments i will support. we will work with the house committee. it will be on the floor. there are lots of opportunities

here to amend it, and stay within the confines of under $900 billion. try to find a balanced approach here, and again, somewhat more, somewhat less. i think it is a very good beginning. >> [inaudible] >> i'm sorry. i missed the first part. >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] can you tell us how that came about? [inaudible] >> first, the president endorsed it in his message to the country. second, it is a measure of back many of us have supported for some time.

that is basically a tax, frankly, on insurance companies. i think it is appropriate to get the fat out of the insurance companies. i'm proud that this bill focuses on those who have profited the most under our health-care system, and i think they should be part of the solution. actually, not getting too deep in the weeds, in the congressional budget office, they say that, frankly, the net result of all of this will be significant change in the way companies and their insurance companies by benefits for employees. namely, there is a consequence of this -- wages will be increased, offset, but paid in health insurance benefits, and frankly, that will increase

taxable income of employees. therefore, the cbo gives it a positive score. this is also designed to partially -- thank you very much [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> i do not have an exact estimate. but that has been an issue that has been foremost in my mind every week. we do not want coverage to get too low. if coverage gets too low, then we start to no longer have the benefits of virtual universal coverage. too many people will -- who need insurance will go get insurance. those who do not want insurance -- the healthy, young, etc. -- will not, so you get this kind of debt spiral phenomenon if the coverage is too low.

the more coverage is up, the more we have true insurance, and the more that is going to help assure lower premiums for all americans. i do not have the precise number right now, but it is -- i do not want to give you in number. it is in the mid to low 90's. it is a point i will be focused on throughout committee as we pass health care reform. >> you have said you do not want americans to lose health care coverage. why not have a strong employer mandate? it looks like it would be cheaper for a lot of employers to just take the tax credit as opposed to actually providing -- >> in an effort to get a bill that can pass. it is an effort to get balanced again. i decided it made more sense not to have the mandate, but for an employer that does not provide coverage, that employers will

have to pay a penalty for not providing coverage. it is to discourage employers from coopting coverage. it is 400 for all employees, or it is the tax credit per employee that the employer may otherwise drop. it is another example of the difficulty in trying to find the right balance. on the one hand, we want to keep our employer-based system. we want employers to keep providing coverage for employees. on the other hand, we have to make sure that insurance is not too onerous for employees, and the employer is not too easily dropped -- does not too easily drop coverage. it is trying to find the penalty and the right balance so as not to reduce coverage very much. >> [inaudible]

>> i, frankly, think that this is pretty much resolved. that as medicaid expansion -- we are a group of six. we have had several conversations with governors, several conference calls, one yesterday. on the conference call yesterday with maybe a dozen governors, bipartisan, explain what the net result will be to governors under expansion of medicaid, and essentially, when you factor in the rates, how much of assam -- how much uncle sam is going to pay for the expanded population, and when you factor in other factors, such as the drug rebate, when you factor in chip

flexibility the states will have, and when you factor in some other provisions, on a net basis, average basis throughout the country, states will see, according to the most recent calculations, 0.89% increase in the state medicaid obligations over the baseline. >> [inaudible] >> i'm sorry? i can make a few more. let's take 5 minutes more questions. sorry? >> [inaudible] >> well, a key point here clearly is delivery system reform. that is a key point of this bill, and, regrettably, in my judgment, this has been lost in most of the national debate on

health-care reform. that is, we have to begin to change the way we are compensating providers in medicare and medicaid. away from paying on the basis of quantity in volume, more toward paying on the basis of value and outcomes. the more we can move down that road and the more quickly we can move down that road, the more quickly we are going to not only reduce costs -- this is an extremely important point -- also increase quality. i want to underline that last point -- it will improve quality. if you in -- if you look at all the integrated systems in our country, more of them are dropping because most people know this is the right approach with where we should be going in health care today. i do not care if it is kaiser, cleveland, mayo -- there's one in montana, billings clinic -- where they are integrated. that is, the hospital and the

physicians and in some case, the a key provider of integrated payment systems. they are finding that their quality has increased significantly, and costs are lower. we are building incentives in this bill to help groups to devolve into integrated systems, and that will get at the question of medicare reimbursement -- help groups to evolve into integrated systems. i believe firmly that this is the most transformative, game- changing mission here. it will start to lower health- care costs. there are others that will accomplish the same objectives, but the underlying delivery system reform i think is just so critical for our country. >> [inaudible] >> i just think it is continually talking, working

with, scoring, probing, cajoling, just being created about it. this is probably one of the largest pieces of social legislation in american history since the depression. it affects everybody in our country. it affects everybody in many different ways. it is comprehensive. it is complex. it takes time to fully fathom and put the pieces together, to understand, and then make a suggestion to make it better. i also believe as firmly that we have a moral obligation as americans to pass meaningful health-care reform this year. all of us here are not going to be here forever, you know? we have a moral obligation to, when we leave this place, to leave as good a shape or better shape than we found it. each of us in this room, each of us in our country has that moral

obligation. this is our opportunity, this is our moment to help fulfill that moral obligation for our kids and our grandkids to have something better than we now have. i began my statement by saying all the costs of inaction -- they are just horrendous, the costs of inaction. we have got to get going, and i think most everybody has some sense of that, and i think my colleagues on both sides of the aisle -- we are not talking specifically about the republican side of the aisle -- they understand that, too. this has a certain sense of inevitability. i think with that, more and more people are going to think, first of all, it may be the right thing to do to at least make this effort, and probably, this is not too far off the track of what we need to do, so we should work together to make it better. i fully believe, as i have said many times, at the end of the day, there is going to be republican support for this bill. >> [inaudible] >> i know we have got to finish.

i will. it is interesting. i have said this several times, too. essentially -- and we have debated this -- we met over 100 hours. i forgot what the total is. there are no real policy deal breakers. it is more getting more comfortable with what all of this is, and i think that is what this comes down to, helping, working with it, making this -- helping senators in the country be more comfortable with all of this is. i also think much of this has to be explained to the country with more clarity so people have a better understanding, and as a presumptuous, have a little bit higher comfort level -- quite a higher comfort level. we are going to provide an opportunity for all americans to have health insurance. there are millions of americans

today who have lousy health insurance. pre-existing conditions. denial based on health status. no limit on out-of-pocket costs. companies put limits on coverage, how many dollars they will pay out. we are stopping all of that. just think about for a moment. that is so important. that is why i do think at the end of the day we will get significant bipartisan support, and we are going to pass this. thanks, everybody, very much. thank you. martha: that was what everybody has been waiting for direct the course of the day, to see how senator baucus' plan is shaping up. let's bring in bret. he talked about the number of hours that went into figuring this out. he talked about insurance co. reform. i think the statement that was put out by his office was a little bit longer on specifics than what we just heard in this

news conference that did not seem to have a whole lot of news in it. >> that is right. i think there is a lot of respect for what senator baucus is trying to do behind the scenes with this group of six in trying to get a bipartisan bill, but when he talks about how he is confident that his committee will vote it out of committee with bipartisan support, he cannot be that confident because there are still a lot of things to be worked out. not just in the margins, but in the heart of the bill. democrats are targeting senator olympia snowe from maine. she has said she is not sure exactly where she stands. she wants to be the exact legislation as it is written on paper. it has not been written down as of yet. she wants a formal budget office analysis of it before she weighs in, but other republicans have not signed on. then, you have the democrats who have real problems with this proposal as written. senator jay rockefeller has come

out and said he cannot support this because it does not have the public option, and instead, it relies on co-ops -- cooperatives -- and senator rockefeller says no way. we are not just talking about the margins. we are talking about fundamental differences inside this committee, not to mention once you get to the senate floor. trace: thank you so much. president obama taking fire from a powerful faction in congress -- liberal democrats. the possibility that more u.s. troops could soon be on the way to afghanistan, despite the fact the president a short while ago says there was no immediate decision on more troops in afghanistan. let's get to james rosen. the president seems to be caught between military advisers and some of his democratic

colleagues in congress. >> that is right. in his comments alongside the canadian prime minister in the oval office just in the last hour or so, president obama make crystal clear -- you might even say general mcchrystal clear -- that there is no decision on more troops pending, and more broadly, that he does not feel pressed by the demands being put to him either by the generals in the field or by liberals in congress. >> my determination is to get this right, and that being brought cons -- that means broad consultation not only inside the u.s. government, but also with our partners and our nato allies. i am going to take a very deliberate process in making those decisions. >> canada, of course, has been a stalwart ally in afghanistan and has also made plans to withdraw its troops. for his part, prime minister

harper says he does not see the taliban as an immediate threat to dislodge the government in afghanistan. trace: the white house briefing members of congress on the situation in afghanistan this morning, right? >> yes, this was an interagency group that the white house and to brief lawmakers at the house and senate. we are told that these lawmakers were not limited to the usual defense and foreign affairs committees. sources tell us the administration is presented to members of congress the so- called metrics that the white house and pentagon have developed to define success in the afghan theater. you may recall or viewers will the so-called benchmarks that the bush administration developed to measure success in iraq. trace: james, thank you. martha: here they go again. from baltimore to brooklyn, washington to california. staffers with the liberal group acorn, on tape giving advice on how to break the law.

now, and there appears to be spreading into the halls of congress. that is for sure. alabama senator shelby now calling for a full-scale investigation into acorn's activities. he will join us, tell us what he thinks the catalyst is, and why that is becoming such a big story. plus, breaking news in the case of the murdered yale student just seconds ago. we got news from the medical examiner. they have release information on how annie le died.

to other people,

then don't bother watching this commercial. i've taken precautions all my life to protect my identity. i've been in law enforcement all my life... and my identity was stolen. did you know that identity theft has topped... the federal trade commission's list of consumer complaints... for the last eight years? it's a serious problem for anyone with a social security number. and it continues to get worse. fact is, on your own, there are many things... you can do to deter identity theft. protect your social security number, shred and destroy, be internet savvy, use intricate passwords, safeguard your purse and wallet. seriously, are you really going to do all that? no, really are you going to do all that... for you and your family? at lifelock, the gold standard in identity theft protection, we're here to help. we take proactive steps to deter identity theft... to help stop it before it happens. lifelock identity theft protection can be yours for just ten dollars a month. call now. when you are a victim of identity theft, from that point your whole entire life... is spent trying to protect your identity.

and i say "trying" because it's a full-time job... just trying to protect your identity. if your identity is stolen, nothing can be more... frustrating or more time-consuming... than cleaning up afterwards. at lifelock, all we do is think of ways to help protect your identity. and if you do become a victim of identity theft... while a member of lifelock, because of a failure... in our service we help you fix it and work toward... restoring your good name. it's part of our one million dollar total service guarantee. this peace of mind comes included with your... ten-dollar-a-month lifelock membership. sign up now and we'll send you a lifelock paper shredder... to help you keep your identity even safer. for lifelock peace of mind at just ten dollars a month, and to receive your paper shredder, call now and mention "shredder." call now and mention "shredder." call now or visit lifelock.com. ♪

trace: there is breaking news just crossing the wires. the state medical examiner in connecticut, now saying that annie le, the yale grad student whose body was found stuffed inside the wall of the building where she worked, died of traumatic asphyxiation. let's get live to rick in new haven, connecticut. i'm guessing they are saying she was strangled. >> it sounds like she was choked to death. that is the word from the connecticut medical examiner just moments ago, confirming that the cause of death for annie le was traumatic asphyxia due to net compression. we also know that the police have a person of interest in this case. his name is raymond clark iii. he was brought into police custody last night from his home inside the new haven for dna samples to be taken. they took saliva. they took swaps from under his

fingernails to compare to the more than 150 pieces of physical evidence recovered from that lab building where annie le was murdered and where her body was found. they also spent all night at his home collecting evidence from his apartment. they have a lot of evidence to go through. it could take one to three days to process. he was released, but in all likelihood, police are keeping a very close eye on him. trace: i bet they are. rick, thank you. martha? martha: i think we have a piece of sound here. what we were just about to show you is one example -- and you have seen a lot of this tape over the course of the last few days here at fox -- of what happened when two young filmmakers went into the office of the association of community offices for reform now, which you know better as acorn.

martha: "you gotta start thinking," she says. this group is known as acorn. they have received over $53 million in taxpayer money. those filmmakers you sought tried to get housing assistance to try to open a brothel. we will have more on who those two people are in just a moment, but their actions have got a big response on capitol hill. joining me now is a senator who has long raised questions about this group, alabama senator richard shelby, the ranking member on the senate banking committee. welcome. you have been speaking out about this group for some time.

what do you think about these two young people who have gotten this huge response? >> i think it is a terrible situation. i have felt for a long time that's acorn is corrupt. they have widespread corruption -- voter fraud, embezzlement, you name these things. this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. that is why i have asked senator dodd, the chairman of the banking committee, to hold a hearing and conduct an investigation. the committee dealing with a lot of this money that is going to, has gone, and will be going probably to acorn comes through the banking committee, through the housing committee, and we are the committee of jurisdiction. $53 million -- probably more than that -- is a lot of taxpayer money. whether you are a democrat or republican or what. this is basically an arm of the democratic party. you ought to be for rooting out corruption. we ought to be protecting the

taxpayers' money at all costs. martha: i'm curious what you think about the catalyst, and these two 25-year-old young people, who have brought this to the fore and forced it into the glare of society. >> well, that is true, but as i have said, i think this is widespread. this is one part of it, but voter fraud, a lot of other things -- questionable things -- that acorn has been doing, been accused of doing, been convicted of doing -- we need to stop putting taxpayers' money into an organization like this. that is why we need a real investigation by the inspector general and by the banking committee. martha: right, and before i let you go, the fbi, and the department of justice have been asked to look into this. there was a letter from boehner yesterday to the president asking for oversight and to cut ties to this group. what is the chance of that

happening? thaw >> i would like to see the president and the attorney general get behind this, but i'll have to hold my breath until that happens because this is, i believe, a wing of the democratic party. but the president ought to get involved in this. the attorney general ought to get involved in this because this is a lot of taxpayers' money. martha: we will see if they are hearing what you're saying. thank you. very good to have you on. the groups of local political supporters have been dwindling. there is one of only seven in the senate to maintain funding for the group, and we try to get his response to that. >> senator, i want to ask why you voted against cutting off funding for acorn. >> i voted for acorn. martha: that was an interesting exchange. while you have mostly seen the story on fox, it has started to get picked up by the networks as well. just a reminder, fox did not

shoot this undercover video. these two filmmakers were the ones that got the ball rolling. meet hannah, a 20-year-old minister's daughter. james is a rutgers graduate. his last project went after planned parenthood. the two met on facebook, and she proposed going after acorn. they wanted to expose what they saw as a corrupt organization. the top house republican interest legislation to defund acorn, to sever ties between the federal government and this advocacy group. it is stunning what these two young people have provoked. >> absolutely. this is not the first time that they did this. i think the drive was the one who called planned parenthood and basically asked if they could set up a fund to abort black babies, and they said yes. that really did not get a lot of

coverage, also, if you look at the mainstream media, the networks, and i think this is a good example where something that would have been totally swept under the rug, had it not been for conservatives and fox news actually highlighting it. martha: the spokeswoman has been very outspoken from acorn. she says there have been relentless attacks from the right against the largest organization of black, latino, and working poor in the country. >> i think that that is race baiting. you could say that the organization has done good things, and that is probably a true statement. those are all buzzwords just to say that you are attacking us because you are racist, and the reality is she should be ashamed of this. if it really is a good organization that does good things, she should be saying that this is outrageous. martha: she says that they do not condone their acts, but that the larger work of the group is

good. what do you think about the fact that media organizations are just sort of starting to carry this story? just starting to pay attention to it after we have had this huge investigation now starting on capitol hill, and the senate voted down funding 83-7. >> i think it is disappointing that it took citizen journalism to get this story into the mainstream. this has been an organization that republicans and conservatives and many other watchdogs have been complaining about for a very long time. acorn has received something like $54 million in federal funding probably since 1994, and it is a high political organization that pushes a very radical liberal agenda. they have been accused of everything from voter fraud to embezzlement, and what you are seeing now goes beyond accusations. they have full prove the evidence, videotape, of these transgressions -- they have fool-proof evidence.

it is good that the mainstream media is now finally covering after these citizen journalist and fox pushed the story. martha: it seems to me that this organization should come out and say, "thank you so much for bringing these people to our attention." reminds me of bumper stickers on the back of trucks telling you to call the company if the driver is driving irresponsibly. people are saying that it was a setup. that these people would not have been in this position if they had not been presented with this situation, but still, they did respond to it the way they did. i would be thankful if i was running this organization. >> exactly. i think that is the point they are trying to make. the idea that this happened because conservatives are after them -- yes, conservatives are after them, but they did not put the people there and make them do these things. they have to take responsible -- they have to take responsibility for that. just pointing the fingers at other people just is not appropriate.

martha: i have to go, but does this go all the way to the top? as the president severed ties with acorn? >> i think you would be hard- pressed to find a democrat other than roland burris still maintain ties with acorn. martha: good, interesting work on the part of these young people. thank you very much. trace: the president says that under his health care reform plan, no federal money will be used to pay for abortion, but now, that statement is being called into question by his own party. and you know what judge napolitano says? he says the entire health care reform bill is unconstitutional. if you've had a heart attack

caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could lurking waiting to strike. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix, protection that helps save lives. if you have a stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding you should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk, tell your doctor before planning surgery or taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. some medicines that are used to treat heartburn or stomach ulcers,

like prilosec, may affect how plavix works, so tell your doctor if you are taking other medicines. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. if you take plavix with other heart medicines, continuing to do so will help increase protection against a future heart attack or stroke. feeling better doesn't mean you're not at risk. stay with plavix. n diabetics on medicare.

hello, i'm john fox---you may know that i'm a professional bass fisherman. but you may not know that i have diabetes. and it's never slowed me down thanks to the good folks at liberty medical. i've been a liberty medical patient for years and have relied on them for all my diabetic needs. and, if you call now you'll receive a free meter. it's easy to use with fast results. even the shipping is free and medicare may cover the cost of your other supplies. liberty medical keeps you on track by delivering diabetic supplies right to your door. they even take care of the paperwork, file your claims and send you a free meter. call right now and they'll also send you a free diabetic cookbook. diabetes doesn't have to slow you down. join me and over a million people who trust liberty medical.

a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day. martha: we have just learned at the cause of death in the death of the yale graduate student and the murder case. the connecticut state medical examiner says annie le died of traumatic asphyxiation. in the middle box, the fbi director question right now on capitol hill about how high- value terror detainees will be investigated in and eventually post-gtmo environment. in the bottom, the transportation secretary says the government has compensated dealers for 70% of the cars they

sold during the cash for clunkers program and should be paid -- and says they should be fully paid by the end of the month. trace: the so-called public option would be out. the price tag would drop to $850 billion. that is the new health-care proposal put forth by senator max baucus just moments ago, but now, there are questions about the core fundamentals of the reform movement. is it constitutional for congress to regulate health care? judge andrew napolitano, a fox senior judicial analyst, is here with us now. that is the crux of the question -- is it constitutional for congress to regulate health care, no matter what form they have come out with? >> i put that very question to the number 3 ranking democrat in the house of representatives last week. he said to me, "most of what we do down here is not even mentioned in the constitution, but we do it anyway." unfortunately, that is the attitude of so many members of

congress. it is not constitutional. health care is not mention in the constitution. the congress will claim that when you go to the doctor to have a pain looked at in your belly or take medication for your blood pressure, that that is, is, that it is a commercial transaction as opposed to the practice of medicine. so the congress will say just as the commerce clause was written so that congress would make sure that goods could get from new jersey to new york without n.y. imposing a tariff on those goods, we can regulate health- care. it just does not fly. trace: you are saying that in the grand scheme of things, that if i live in connecticut, that i should be able to buy insurance in california if i want to. >> you can buy anything you want in connecticut from any other state except for health insurance. it is the one thing that the congress refuses to require the states to go over interstate lines. you can only buy health

insurance as a connecticut resident from a connecticut health insurance company. if you wanted to taylor one to the needs of your family and by a little bit from california and elizabeth from montana and a little bit from minnesota, you could not do so, and that is the only product that the states can keep to themselves. trace: i want to clear this up because it is very important. we have heard the presidency many times that no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. now, there is a california congresswoman, and some democrats are now saying, wait a minute, this does exactly that. this allocates federal dollars for abortion. capps and her side say that it does not, it makes sure that it is outlawed. >> it's the a minute she has proposed becomes federal law, it would permit the federal government to spend millions more on abortions than it spends now. right now, the federal

government can only pay for abortions under medicare or medicaid if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or if the birds is likely to cause the death of the mother. under congresswoman capps' proposal, there would be two federal insurance policies -- one with no abortion, one with abortion at any time for any reason. trace: it is very clear, this would allocate federal dollars for abortion is that. judge, thank you. martha: you have seen her face, and you overstory. jaycee dugard, if the girl objective, rape, and held prisoner for 18 years, but now, there are new fears that jaycee was not his only victim. take a very close look at these two phases. nobody has seen these girls for nearly 20 years. they vanished right around the same time. now, the search for these two girls has resumed.

police looking for clues possibly buried beneath the earth but maybe not. plus, we also showed you this unbelievable video on the "live desk" back in july. an suv up in flames. the frantic effort to pull the little boy out. we can't tell you how he is doing today. a story of survival and more. . .

(announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst symptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life.

martha: the mother of a california girl who was adopt bducted more than a decade ago says she is holding out hope. jaycee dugard disappeared 18 years ago and she was discovered last month living at the hall of

convicted kidnapper and rapist tillable garrido. also, another girl who disappeared under similar circumstances years ago. is there any update on how the new search is going and whether or not these mothers hopes are well-founded? >> the search is progressing, but investigators have not found anything earth shattering. they have left no stone unturned as they searched the garrido property and the property next door. they're bringing in a lot of high-tech equipment. they may end up dismantling of phillip garrido's house. martha: police and reporters are not the only people watching this search closely.

>> sharon this did the property yesterday to promote her web site dedicated to finding her daughter. martha: thank you very much. trace: bittersweet homecoming for young boy rescued from a suv and goldstein flames -- engulfed in flames. remember this? smashing the windshield, and then he pulled the woman and her two kids from the burning vehicle. she hit a tree. today, the 5-year-old is out of the hospital. he was severely burned and lost both of his ears. the family says he is recovering and he is in good spirits. they have become friends with two off-duty firefighters who saved them.

they plan to buy a home in wisconsin. martha: republican lawmakers are now questioning the power and influence of president obama's czars. why critics say the white house could be undermining the constitution. the white house press secretary robert gibbs will take the podium any minute. we will bring you news as it co.

it's like you're getting violated. for me, what having my identity stolen has meant... has been not just financial hardship... but having to tell my children no to certain things. it's consequences that i'm serving for somebody else's behavior. take control of your identity. protect yourself with lifelock's proactive protection and our... $1 million total service guarantee. security. peace of mind. protection. that's what lifelock provides. i feel very secure now that... i am becoming a lifelock member.

you can live confidently knowing that with lifelock, we help stop identity theft before it happens. and if our service doesn't work as intended, we'll help fix it at our expense... up to $1 million. call now for special savings and we'll also give you... 30 days to try lifelock absolutely free. call now and mention id. call now or go to lifelock.com. ♪

[captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- trace: moments ago senator max baucus rob up a news conference on his health care plan. the details on what it would cover, how much it will cost, and who will pay for it. the gang of six became a table for one. he was out there all alone. now we are awaiting reaction from president obama. we will bring you the white house briefing when it starts. major garrett is in that briefing room. what is the take so far on senator max baucus's effort? >> senior administration officials say it is a good bill, not the perfect bill. they say, most importantly,

there should be republican support for this bill. there have been notable compromises. there is tighter language of limiting access to illegal immigrants. and tighter language of whether or not any of the federal subsidies will go to abortion procedures. the white house says it will not. but you begin to see is the white house says that if this bill does not attract republican support, it is not our fault, it is the republicans' fault. that may lead them to a strategy where they used the go live alone -- go it alone process. trace: the debate goes on. the question is, how much does this push the debate forward? >> the white house believes the couple of things happened with the president's speech.

they said that reenergize and refocused democrats, and got them more into the idea that health care legislation will pass one way or another. two, they believe that this bill now moves that momentum a bit forward. everyone knows where all the markers are now paid it is just a matter of negotiation. -- everyone knows where all the markers are now. it is just a matter of negotiation. if republicans do not want to participate, it is my strong feeling that the white house will say the negotiations are more or less closed. trace: in recent days, there have then a number of comments concerning race. do you expect race to come up in today's briefing? >> it might. the most memorable comment so far in this entire conversation was from former president jimmy carter last night who said on

nbc news, "the overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity for president obama is because he is an african-american." the that was raised during the oval office meeting. the white house did not take that question. it is my feeling that robert gibbs will get some questions on this. of course, during the campaign, this campaign tried to run as a non-racial candidacy, and then tried to run the presidency that way also. this issue has been building. i think robert gibbs will have to address it one way or another, even though the president did not. trace: the white house corresponded major garrett in the briefing room. martha: this is a fox news alert. new information out of acorn.

they had a spokeswoman for acorn is making a very big announcement. she says that as a result of the indefensible action of a handful of her employees, i am in consultation acorn executive committee, ordering a halt to any new intakes into the acorn service program until completion of the independent review. she says they will name an independent auditor and investigation to conduct a thorough review. she goes on to say that they will name that reviewer in 48 hours. all of this is a result of pressure that has been put on this organization in a number of different ways. the most recent of which is these video tapes that were done by two young filmmakers who went in undercover posing as a prostitute and a pimp and

ask for acorn assistance in finding housing in order to turn tricks there. molly henneberg is following this story. this has been a long time coming. i guess the next question is, will this reviewed be fruitful and t? >> this is a very different tone we have been getting from acorn recently. when the senate voted to cut off funding for acorn, the response was we do not knoneed the money, anyway. now this press release has come out from acorn. it is a different tone. the spokeswoman says acorn has been "deeply disturbed by these videos." and that acorn needs to

"reestablished the public trust ." as you said, they will not take in any new applications for home loans for now. they will do in service training for all staff within 48 hours. they will have an independent auditor review all their systems and all other processes. this is directly related to those videos >> marth. martha: this is a huge change in tone coming from acorn. earlier in this year, acorn set up an independent advisory council because of concerns about other decisions and things that came up during the election. all of that activity was supposed to happen in early 2009. the spokeswoman was brought on

to be the leader of that. nothing appears to have changed in the way acorn is operating its business. acorn's advisory council includes john podesta, who was very instrumental in the transition process for president obama. he is one of the advisers to acorn. also, kathleen kennedy townsend. and the list goes on. it is clear that this group is feeling the heat. >> absolutely. acorn points out that they have made changes in the last year after those voting irregularities charges surfaced. they put in a new senior management team. the have a new independent advisory council. the bad publicity did not and for this group. they're having to revamp again.

they're backing off. they are saying, we have got to change some things. martha: just to remind everybody, during the election process, there were a lot of questions about whether or not they were fraudulently registering voters. they had very long tentacles that go into lots of other organizations in the country. they have been extremely influential in democratic politics over the last many years. it raises the question of whether or not that has been crumbling. >> acorn has been under a lot of pressure it has abou. it has about 300 affiliates around the country. they have been under a lot of pressure.

after these videos came out and the census bureau said we do not need your help anymore, and the members of congress say the irs should stop referring clients there. the senate voted to cut off funding. doors are shut into acorn. it became clear that they had to do something. martha: one of the things that we have been watching very closely is the domino effect that you are talking about. the census bureau decided no, thank you. irs has been asked to cut off all ties. acorn is very instrumental in helping people with their tax returns. they certainly wanted to help with the taxes for this pimp and prostitute. one even suggested to bury the

money in the backyard. >> some members of congress, including lamar smith, the ranking republican on the house judiciary committee, said there may not be only criminal activity, acorn may be a criminal enterprise. he is asking the department of justice and the fbi to investigate acorn using the anti-mafia laws. i do not know if there would have been an investigation opened like that, but acorn certainly took to heart what some members of congress have said about investigations into the organization. trace: the couple involved in this went out after planned parenthood a while back. this thing is now beginning to

resonate around the country. >> i think even one of the broadcast tinker's was not sure what acorn was all about -- even in a broadcast anchor was not sure what acorn is all about. trace: it is popping up all over the place. martha: it is pretty fascinating to read this 25- year-old took this on to aid goes to show that anybody with a loud voice can make some changes. that is will result in congress and capitol hill. we will see exactly what this review means and whether or not it will change this entity for the better. trace: we are still waiting for robert gibbs to step to the podium. there is crossing news on the murder of a yale grad student. we now know how annie le died.

she was strangled. forensic experts will be testing dna from this man, raymond clark, iii. he was taken into custody last night, but he was released this morning. he worked in the lab where annie le's body was found three police are calling him a -- where her body was found. police are calling him a person of interest. we now know that she was strangled. what else has come out? >> police are now looking into the possibility that this had to do with lab mice. they found an e-mail on her computer from clark criticizing her handling of mice. law enforcement are looking into this.

he might have become so enraged that he choked her. trace: the lab mice for experimentation and so forth, you are saying that he was upset because of the way she was handling the mice? >> it is one of many motives law enforcement officials are looking at. they do have these e-mails where he was very upset. his job was to feed the animals and clean their cages. he obviously had an issue with the way she was handling the mice. the question is, did this escalate into her death? trace: strangulation is now the cause of death. and you have these bloody clothes. i do not get it. >> it may be that you put up a

struggle. this is the kind of encounter that leaves an abundance of forensic evidence. if blood came from either of them, that will be easily identified by dna. in the struggle, she might have his skin under her fingernails. there will be dna from saliva, sweat, and even from semen if that is involved. and even touching each other. the fact that they touch each other's clothing will deposit dna from the skin. the dna work will be very important in this case. most strangulation of this nature are sexual in nature. maybe not always, but that is where i would think the police are going right now. martha: it does not fall under

the forensic issue, but just listening to our reporter on the scene, this is a bizarre development, that this could have possibly been caused by him being upset about the way she is handling the lab mice. >> i think they probably bertran the same area. there were apparently a lot of mice. -- i think they probably were working in the same area. it may be that they did not like each other and they had an argument. would not think that a sufficient reason for strangling a person to death. martha: i want to go back to the reporter on the scene. with regard to that, is there any indication for how solid they feel he is a lead in this case? >> on the record, they say they are looking at everything. police have their man.

they're waiting for the dna test to come back, which unfortunately could take up to 72 hours or even longer. when they get that information, law enforcement will make an arrest. martha: thank you. trace: gop lawmakers talking about the questions they have with all the obama administration's czars. >> thank you. as you can see, we have a team effort to get a handle on this issue of the czars. the american people realize this is one of those issues that has grown. they also realize that not all czars are created equal. what we have is a way to address the situation. i have a piece of legislation

that we are introducing today. it has over 100 original co- sponsors. the bill will call for an immediate transparency. it will request that the white house report to us on the czars and their positions. it calls for congress to hold hearings on this process that has been carried forward. here is a great example. this is the application that anyone that is going through senate confirmation has to fill out for the senate armed services committee. it is intrusive. it is likely to get it details a lot of information about who you are, where you have been, what your conflicts of interest might be. it is what is required of someone who is going to go through the vetting process to

handle the public trust. we think that all czars should be required to display that transparency. my resolution, which is a sense of congress resolution, calls for immediate action, for a report, and for tureens. you will hear more about congressman kingston's resolution, which is the long- term accountability component of that process. we have another bill which would be the sun's setting for all the czar positions. >> thank you. all of us have had serious concerns about this increasing trend of more czars been appointed, people that do not have the accountability and

transparency that president obama promised to provide. what we are trying to do is to shine the light on the fact that you have this large number of people who are heading up agencies or assuming titles and positions that have some of the powers of a cabinet secretary. the difference is that none of these people went through the formal weddinvetting process, ws a clear violation of the constitution. i have filed the sack act. it's still provides the process, if somebody actually went through the process and was confirmed by the senate, then they would be able to printinred their position before those people that circumvented the transparency process, they would be sunsetted. american people are very concerned as they see this

alarming trend and an increase the number of people appointed by this president in positions of extreme power without the accountability that comes with a senate confirmation process. this legislation has nearly 20 co-sponsors. the other legislation continues to gain steam as we try to hold these people accountable who have powerful positions in government who should be accountable to the people. >> thank you. thank you. as a member of the oversight and government reform committee, i have asked the chairman to require all czars within the obama administration to testify. there have been accounts of 30 or 40. the administration has not

released the numbers. the concern that we have is that the constitutional process has been circumvented by allowing the appointment of high administration officials who make policy to be appointed without a senate confirmation. that is counter to the constitution. either these czars have serious policy making expertise and however, which would be counter to the constitution, or they're simply figureheads, at which point they're collecting a salary for doing the work. -- doing no work. we need a constitutional process. if you look at the example of carol browner. she is acting as a super cabinet secretary. she is in charge of both the energy department and the epa.

if you see an example like that within the administration where a czar is added as a super cabinet secretary, it makes it clear that they must be confirmed by the senate. it's not simply about senate confirmation. it is about being accountable to the people to evangeline'. van jones is a curve example. -- jones is a perfect example. it is sad and disappointing. it raises questions about all the other czars in the administration. we want to make it open and transparent. thank you. >> thank you. many of us just returned from our congressional districts where we held a town hall meetings. a lot of people focus on the issue of the health insurance

plan. in many of my town halls, the issue of these czars came up. these are unprecedented times in our country. the american people see massive government intrusion in almost every area of their lives. now the government wants to take over their health insurance. they see these czar positions handed out like candy. they wonder what kind of transparency comes with these czars? these people show up and we know very little about them. we know they are getting pretty nice salaries. we do not have any information about them and they are not accountable to anybody. i applaud my colleagues. these efforts are not a cry from members of congress. be clear about what this is. this is a cry from the american people. if they are fed up with what is

going on. they see this as another area where more big government, less accountability, and they're concerned about this. i applaud my colleagues for their efforts. >> i've represents georgia's 10th congressional district to the constitution says all legislative authority lies with the congress of the united states. we have czars that are establishing policy. they are not advising the president. they are establishing policy lothery we have justices and czars that established law outside of the congress of the united states -- they stings are unconstitutional -- these things are unconstitutional. we're presenting bills that will hopefully open up this process and shine the light of day and get some transparency. the congressman is exactly right. during my town hall meetings, i heard over and over again about the american public's fear of these czars.

they are taking away freedom. they're doing things that are unconstitutional. we need to stop this process. we need to level openness. we need to call the president to task. we need to call these czars to task to make sure at least we have some vetting. republican and democratic presidents alike have established czars. i believe it needs to stop. i think the american people deserve this. trace: republican congress members talking about president obama's czars. many presidents have had them. the question these congressional members have is that they have never seen as many czars in one administration. we really do not know the exact numbers because the exact

numbers have not been divulged. shannon bream is in washington. any moment now, we will hear from the group we just heard from. the question remains, how many czars are there? >> that is a good question. other republicans that have reached out to the white house said they have asked the same question. congressmen have this sent a letter to the council for the president at the white house. it could go into the 50s or maybe even the '60s of these so- called czars. no one is really sure how you classify a czar. we are well aware that the white house is not very excited about calling them czars. the letter said, we need their work history, and details about them because nobody really knows.

trace: and you also heard van jones name mentioned. their complaint was that people are just not going through senate confirmation. you could pretty much name anybody to anything. >> exactly. they say he is a prime example of someone they have a great concern about. they say a lot of these people are taking top policy positions. they are worried about some of these people have positions that are counter to our own democracy. they say van jones at one point was a self-described communist. to assemble google search. he will definitely be the poster child for this movement. they say they need to know a lot more about these folks. trace: shannon bream, thank you.

more on our top story, the ongoing health care debate. last however, we watched senator max baucus unveil his proposal for health care reform, clearly stating his plan will allow americans to keep their insurance if they are happy with it. in washington, we are starting to see a shift in some of the health care language. ohio congressman john boehner joins us now. i want to get your thoughts very quickly on senator max baucus. the white house says it is a building block, a step in the right direction. what are your thoughts? >> it looks like the same kind of plan we have seen from the house. it is kind of a different language. it is still a big government plan. it still calls for higher taxes and more spending. i do not think it is going to get enough support to get very far in the united states senate. trace: one of the big questions

that we get here -- this is very confusing. the reason it is confusing as because they phrasing is constantly changing. the numbers are constantly changing. i want to play you some sound from president obama. he has long said that if he likely will have, you can keep it. now the phrasing has changed. >> if you are one of the 46 million people who do not have health insurance, he will finally have quality affordable options. there are more than 30 million american citizens who cannot get coverage. trace: that was the wrong sound bite. want to get on that one. first of all, he said 46 million. now. he says 30 million the first sound bite was from august through the second was september. >> when you take out the illegal immigrants, it is estimated there are about 10 million illegal immigrants who do not have health insurance in america.

maybe they wanted to have a round number, so they dropped it to 30. trace: the president has long said that if you have insurance that you like, you can keep it. now he says it would not require you to change. that is a signal that a shift -- that is a significant shift. >> it is a significant shift. there's nothing on the bill that would require you to change health insurance, let's look at what the bill does. it puts a big tax on employers. input requirements on employers in terms of what their plan looks like. it has to be approved by. the. it is clear to many of us that many employers will drop their health coverage. -- it has to be approved by the government. when they drop their health coverage, the employee has no where else to go other than one of these government health and

exchangeexchanges. martha: i want to talk to you about this acorn issue. the spokeswoman for the organization says we are going to stop taking in any new referrals for housing. we are going to reevaluate the way we're doing things. it is a very different tone. now we have the white house press secretary robert gibbs bill has just been asked about this. he says the concept on these tapes is unacceptable and administration takes accountability very seriously. is acorn crumbling? >> i think federal funds for acorn is crumbling. i want to congratulate the press secretary for saying it the way in thit is.

this is an organization -- they get voter registration funds. 70 acorn employees in 12 states have been convicted of voter fraud in the last few years. this is a corrupt organization that does not deserve a dime of taxpayer funds. martha: do you think we will see investigations by the doj and the fbi? >> i hope so. i sent a letter along with 129 colleagues yesterday to the president, asking him to make sure that no funding goes to acorn. we introduced a bill today that would do the legislative language, but it says the same thing. enough is enough with this operation. martha: have you received any response? >> not yet. martha: thank you very much. trace: a high-school football

coach on trial in the death of one of these players. the teenager collapsed after what prosecutors call a brutal practice session. now the defense has the floor. their witnesses are changing the tone in the courtroom. >> he was like a brother to me. if i believe he did anything wrong, i would be the first to say it. trace: several say that the players heatstroke death was an accident. we're just getting testimony from max's stepmom.

if you're taking 8 extra-strength tylenol... a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day.

and we didn't find out until i was going to get... my driver's permit at fifteen, seven months. i think the stories that affect me the most... are the ones i hear from children. they go off to start off in life, and by no fault of their own, they're already in a hole. you're supposed to, uh, protect your children. it's hard to protect them from an identity theft when... you don't know who's out there doing it. so how do you protect them from an unknown source? i just couldn't believe it and i was really... frustrated and just... flabbergasted, i guess. security. peace of mind. protection. that's what lifelock provides. to this day we don't know the damage... that's been done to his credit. now we gotta go get my credit fixed... and get it back to where it's just nothing. i was told that i could write a letter... to the credit reporting bureau, or to write it to all three, 'cause some get it reported, some don't.

the one thing i would tell you is take action. learn what you can do for yourself for free, or look at a service, in detail, like lifelock, who can be there for you, put that frontline of defense, and have a $1 million guarantee. parents need to realize that this can happen to you. it's my identity, and i don't like people... messing with my stuff. protect yourself, your family, and all you've worked hard for. take control of your identity. protect yourself with lifelock's... proactive protection and our $1 million... total service guarantee. security. peace of mind. protection. that's what lifelock provides. you can take control of your identity. call now for special savings and we'll also give you... 30 days to try lifelock absolutely free. call now and mention id. call now or go to lifelock.com. ♪

trace: in the top box, acorn announcing major steps to address issues raised by those undercover videos. there are now four of those undercover videos. the white house just released a statement that said what is on those tapes is completely unacceptable. in the middle box, breaking news in new haven, conn. the cause of death in the yale grad student annie le -- was apparently strangled. in bottom box, that is senator max baucus, chairman of the senate banking committee. he came out with his new health- care plan today. he is part of a gang of six. the gang of six today was just one man. nobody else has signed on,

although the white house says it is an important building block. fed chairman ben bernanke says the recession is likely over. we thought we would give you some context and perspective on just how much pain is still out there. the unemployment rate is still 9.7%. that means 50 million americans are still out of work. 5 million of them have been jobless for more than six months. -- 15 million americans are still out of work. to get back to where we were before the recession began, we would have to create 9.4 million new jobs. a study out of rutgers university says more than half of those unemployed have had to borrow money from friends or relatives, and 25% of the unemployed have missed at least one mortgage payment. as of july, more than half of those workers unemployed ran out

of unemployment insurance through the recession may be ending, but they're still misery. martha: we have breaking news in the max gilpin story. he is a 15-year-old football player who died after what some players called the most grueling practice they have ever had. his coach is the first coach to be ever charged with murder. today we're hearing from the defense. explosive testimony from max gilpin's stepmother. she got on the stand and told the jury that her stepson was sick of that morning and that she did not want him to go to school. >> he said he did not feel good. he had a headache. martha: max gilpin's mother has been the driving force in this lawsuit against the coach.

let's bring in our panel. brandon, i know you have followed this very closely. what do you make of this development from the stepmother today? >> there are a lot of things that go into a standard, rooty high-school football practice. there are times when you are tested to your ultimate limits. unfortunately, when you look at the outcome of the case, it is saddening to know that here's a kid, likely a guy who was unwilling to give in. you feel pressure to perform. the outcome is very saddening for the family. other high school coaches can learn from this that you need to be pro-active in hydrating your athletes.

martha: to this testimony, dan, if i'm on the jury and i hear the stepmom say that he was 6 that morning, that will impact my feeling of . >> the charge is reckless homicide. the press usual have to show that the -- the laughter show that the coaches reckless behavior caused the death. -- they will have to show that the coach's reckless behavior caused the death. even to the extent that the coach may or may not have behaved recklessly. martha: i heard from one of max gilpin's. -- good friends.

we will stay right on top of this very important case for high school sports. thank you very much. back to you. trace: the health care proposal includes a 35% tax on health costs insurance plans. it also cost state tax-free limit on flexible spending accounts -- is not a tax to the middle class? we will decide, next game time... ...i'm just as ready as he is. game time costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart.

n diabetics on medicare. hello, i'm john fox---you may know that i'm a professional bass fisherman. but you may not know that i have diabetes. and it's never slowed me down thanks to the good folks at liberty medical. i've been a liberty medical patient for years and have relied on them for all my diabetic needs. and, if you call now you'll receive a free meter. it's easy to use with fast results. even the shipping is free and medicare may cover the cost of your other supplies. liberty medical keeps you on track by delivering diabetic supplies right to your door.

they even take care of the paperwork, file your claims and send you a free meter. call right now and they'll also send you a free diabetic cookbook. diabetes doesn't have to slow you down. join me and over a million people who trust liberty medical.

trace: we just heard from montana senator max baucus. there's a very interesting twist that apparently allows the president to keep his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. this seems like an odd use. >> there's a very strange animal in the plan. instead of taxing expensive

health-care plans, they tax the insurance companies that provide them. the main reason is to raise taxes to pay for the overall plan. it would impose a 35% tax on high-value health care plans, sometimes known as cadillac health care plans. it is a tax on the companies that provide the insurance. why do it that way? one expert says it is a transparent effort to get the money from somewhere other than the voters. t>> 60% of the revenue comes from this tax over 10 years on more expensive health insurance plans. the political game is to say we're not taxing those of you who are receiving this health- care insurance coverage. it is just a tax on your insurance company. it will not affect you hardly at all. of course, we know that will just make it more expensive. it will pass down the price. >> everyone i have talked to

believe that cost will simply be passed on to consumers. it will have the similar impact. trace: who gets the so-called cadillac health care plans? >> anything that will cost a family more than $21,000 per year. it is usually executives in large companies and union members of all kinds to have been negotiated gold-plated health care plans instead of wage increases for years because they do not pay taxes on health care as they would on wages. that is why some unions are already complaining about the baucus plan. trace: didn't john mccain propose a tax on plans over a certain value? >> he did. he proposed a tax on the people who received them and he got a lot of criticism from barack obama. that is why the senate committee had to do this weird to dadance,

because president obama promised not to raise taxes on anybody making less than $250,000 per year. trace: more than one way to skin a cat. jim, thank you. martha: have you heard of such a thing? i think it was just an expression of speech. shepard: there's going to be naked cat on our program tonight. martha: do you expect to see one in clothes? shepard: it is just naked. martha: what is coming up in 12 minutes?

shepard: wyoming republican senator john rbarrasso will be on. i will ask him about the republican support. if they cannot get republican support, why not put in the that the president campaigned on? he now said it was the preferred method. he said we need a public auctoption. we will talk about that. martha: that is what happens when you're in the middle. shepard: and one other thing we're going to do -- you know the jaycee dugard case, the girl who was kidnapped at age 11, the man who allegedly kidnapped her and fathered two of her

children, there are no questions about whether two other disappearances' are related to this man. the mother of a girl who disappeared in 1988. martha: her daughter looks so much like j.c. dugard. she shepard: will come on. she will be on the program to talk about what it is that they hope this will accomplish. it is very sad. martha: thank you. we look forward to it. trace: you remember the images of a small plane and helicopter smashing into each other above the hudson river? nine people were killed in this collision. just into the newsroom, new details on what was happening in the cockpit of the plane just before the crash. that is next.

trace: breaking news from the national transportation safety board. the chairman now says the pilot of the plane involved in the collision read back the wrong frequency to eliot air-traffic controller, but he was not corrected. harris faulkner is following this. >> the big question, why did that airplane hit the helicopter? the air traffic controller did not to tell that claim that there was something in the airspace. now we know that the air traffic controller had handed off communications to the airport. he told the pilots the frequency for that and when the pilot read back the frequency to double checked, he had the the numbers wrong.

the ntsb chairman says that air traffic controller never corrected the pilot. by the time newark figured out that they needed to be talking to this guy, it was too late. this crash on august 8 was what people thought would be another miracle on the hudson. an intense search went on for it anymore survivors. it just was not to be this time. big questions about why that was. today, a little peek into may be why that plane did not know something else was in the sky. back to you. trace: that was the critical

thing, the handoff from new york to new jersey. now we know it was problematic. thank you. martha: we know how she died and now we're waiting to find out who killed her and why. next, shepard smith with the breaking details on this murder, the death of annie le and the search for who did this.

this is humiliating. stand still so we can get an accurate reading. okay...um...eighteen pounds and a smidge. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool. you know this scale is off by a good 7, 8 pounds. maybe five. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

it's taken my time. it's like you're getting violated. it affects your whole well being. not just your name being used for something... or your social being used for something, it takes away from your life. take control of your identity. protect yourself with lifelock's proactive protection and our... $1 million total service guarantee. i feel very secure now that... i am becoming a lifelock member. you can live confidently knowing that with lifelock, we help stop identity theft before it happens. and if our service doesn't work as intended, we'll help fix it at our expense... up to $1 million. you can take control of your identity. call now for special savings and we'll also give you... 30 days to try lifelock absolutely free. call now and mention id. call now or go to lifelock.com. ♪

martha: there is a new proof that we may not be alone in the universe. astronomers confirming for the first time that they have found a planet that is like earth outside of our solar system. it is about 500 light years away. this is an artist's rendition. they plan it has an orbit that is so close to the parents are the during the day, it is around four thousand degrees. still, it raises the chances that one day we might find a planet that is just right. trace: that is a little hot. martha: thank you for watching. i am martha maccallum. trace: i am trace gallagher. "studio