>> martha: this is going to be a cliff hanger, folks at the cot democrats vow they'll have the votes to push health care reform through today and we'll see and here's a live look at where it is happening, a vote expected in the house a few hours from now, there are new doubts from within the democratic party, about whether they'll have the 216 votes they need. listen to this: from the deputy -- house deputy whip. congress management debbie wasserman schultz on "fox news sunday" moments ago. >> the count is influx, we don't have a hard 216 now. i mean, i couldn't tell you

which 216 members we will have. but, i believe firmly we'll have 216. >> martha: there you go. that is where it is. welcome to a brand new hour of america's newsroom, everybody. thanks for being with us, i'm martha mccallum. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer. special edition as we get ready for what we think will be a vote later today. steny hoyer on "meet the press" saying they'll have the votes but evading the question of whether they have the votes now. >> we have a vote, 216, either way we'll pass the bill. >> either way you have a vote. >> we'll pass the bill. >> leader boehner do they have the votes. >> it is clear listening to steny, they don't have the votes yet. >> bill: that is why we wait, right? drama building into the today. we've been talking about it 14 months and we'll see. >> martha: who better to ask than the we have white house correspondent major garrett who joins us live from the white house, it is hard to believe that we may actually be in the

24-hours period we see it play out, what are you hearing from the white house? >> this is a history-making day for a couple of reasons. history to the third power and history if the house produces the 216 votes and if it doesn't, quite clearly and history, also, that at this hour, so close to this, climactic vote, house democratic leaders cannot say absolutely, for sure they have 216 iron-clad commitments and for that reason, the white house is hesitant to describe its overall mood. the president stands ready, as is his chief of staff, rahm emanuel, deputy chief of staff, to work the phones and answer questions and deal with any issues that may arise and what may be happening in this, martha and bill, is democratic leaders may not have 216 names, all lined up with the check mark next to their names and may have 216 commitments, maybe more, and the actual names, these things do at times remain influx until the vote itself, but, clearly the white house feels ultimately it will win on this and felt

that way for the last 3-4 days but is still as you said, in the intro, a bit of cliff hanger. >> martha: boy, it is ever, major and what is the final argument, and final message, if anything, the president would be wanting to get out to seal the deal. >> you heard it yesterday when he spoke to the house democratic caucus and its leadership and senate majority leader harry reid on the hill. he said if you believe the status quo is better than the bill, you go ahead and vote against it. that is a message to every house democrat who is considering voting no, if you think everything i have done for the past year, every bit of work done at the committees in the house and senate, produces something that will not improve the lives of your constituents, you go ahead, defy me and your leadership and the legislative work and vote no. that was the president's very subtle way or maybe not so subtle way of saying, if you think the work product, this white house, and everyone that you sit around and work with alongside the democratic matter is worth nothing, go ahead and vote no. that was the essence of the

president's argument. >> there is a lot of discussion, over the past several days a message the president was sending out, in one specific instance of the hispanic caucus and suggested you guys need to do this for me as president, because, if we don't win this, it will have ramifications for anything else that you or anybody else might want me to pull off, for you, on my agenda, down the road. >> we've talked a lot, this year, about institutions too big to fail, no american presidency is too big to fail, obviously and every presidency goes on after setbacks and if the president were to lose today, the prospects of that -- i would rate as low but if he were to lose the presidency would go on and what would be the legislative cloud and the ability of his base, all the institutional components of that base, to remain fired up for other legislative battles to come on immigration, financial regulatory reform, energy, all these other issues, there would be a sense of demoralization within the party ranks and finger pointing and blame

shifting about who was responsible for not winning this and pulling it across the finish line, for that and many other reasons, the president and the white house, expect to win, but know, also, almost as importantly they need to win. >> martha: one of the other reasons, you mentioned legislative and agenda reasons and there is the election and there is talk of whether or not they need it as a win to solidify the base, and nancy pelosi, the base of their party to energize them for november. >> reporter: it's not just the nancy pelosi base. it is the substantial base of voters, many of whom understood the president when he was a candidate, said he would fight for health care reform, and won 53% of the vote and beat john mccain, handily in the 2008 election, that was historic for a number of reasons and the president said internally in these meetings, we have the largest democratic majorities we have had in quite some time, i won with more popular votes than any democrat since lyndon johnson and if we can't turn those victories and votes in 2006 and 2008 into something that is consistent with our democratic values and the things

we campaigned for, we're not only lost, as a matter of policy, we're lost politically, because the people who supported us will do one of two things, sit on their hands in the midterms or vote for somebody else. neither outcome, worse for democrats in the midterm election and would significantly weaken the president as he begins to plan his re-election campaign after the polls close, in november, 2010. >> martha: you bet and, no doubt, when we look back on the first term, of the obama presidency, this is going to be a moment, a turning point, either way. in his presidency and that is why we're watching it closely and grateful for your help, major, thank you very much. >> reporter: sure, of course. >> bill: the health care end game, as it plays out in congress what are americans saying about the vote? on-line, we have had close to a quarter million people, vote on our on-line poll. about whether or not they think the legislation will pass, laura ingle is monitoring that and watching the polls across the country, new numbers, what are you finding out. >> reporter: bill, well, indeed our "fox news/opinion dynamics

poll" taken this week shows a lot of americans are not happy with the way things are shaking out with the health care reform bill and half of the 900 people polled say they think house democrats are changing the rules to get their bill passed. >> president barack obama: hello, pennsylvania... hello, missouri. hello, ohio. >> reporter: as president obama crisscrosses the nation, his pitch seems to be falling mostly on deaf ears. this according to the latest "fox news/opinion dynamics poll." as democrats in the house, ready a vote on the bill the president says his plan is the best compromise. >> president barack obama: we ended up with a proposal that incorporates the best ideas from democrats and republicans. >> reporter: but a majority of americans disagree. 55% are now opposed to the current health care legislation. up from 51% in january. 35%, favor the bill. the support splitting along party lines, and with 66% of democrats, favoring the reform.

while 88% of republicans, and 53% of independence, oppose them. despite a promise the legislative will not cost more or raise taxes, americans remain skeptical. >> it is being sold as a free lunch but nothing is free, you know? they pushed a lot of the costs farther out. and, it is fiscally reckless. >> reporter: 2/3 think the bill will cost money and 3/4 believe their taxes will increase. proponents of the bill are insisting reform is necessary to jump start our economy. and create desperately needed jobs. >> 4 million in light of the bill, several hundred thousand almost immediately. >> reporter: americans disagree and 64% say it will not boost the economy. all the back and forth having an impact on the president's popularity. 46% of people now approve of the job mr. obama is doing and down slightly from last month, and we have much more on our poll results, on our web site. foxnews.com. front page. >> bill: check it out there, thank you, laura and there is talk about the latest version of

health care reform, you can read it, all 2773 pages of it, and decide for yourself. log onto foxnews.com and click on the "read the bill" link on our home page and share your thoughts about the legislative milestone by clicking on the comments tab, what you like and don't like and everything else. in between. shall we say. on-line. foxnews.com. >> martha: all right, we have more coming up on this nail-biter in the beltway today. the house majority leader, steny hoyer saying he says they will have the votes. by this afternoon. but will they? if this is clearly -- it is coming down to the wire and the man in charge of counting the votes for the republican side, eric cantor, will be our guest, right after this. [ le announcer ] as long as we're winding up our doing dials,

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we expect to happen this afternoon. and, after plenty of procedural hurdles one congressman is catching heat for saying there are no rules when it comes to making the health care deal. watch this: >> there ain't no rules around here. we are trying to accomplish something. and therefore, when the deal goes down, all of this talk about rules, we make them up, as we go along... >> martha: that was interesting. virginia republican congressman eric cantor joins me now, the house minority whip. what do you think about congressman hastings comments, we make up the rules as we go along. >> they haven't been following the rules and there will be a price to pay. they'll pay a price at the polls in november for not following the rules and you know what, if this bill passes today it is because nancy pelosi and it's 0s have used every bit of their political power and even some power they shouldn't have, to

strike these deals, to bend the rules, to try and deliver the votes. >> martha: you said on friday, that the democrats did not have the votes. that it would not pass if they didn't have the votes. what is your take on that on sunday, right now? >> well fluid, right now. i mean, we are working hard doing everything we can to help stop this bill. and, so, you know, again, i think that there have been representations made with a lot less confidence on the other side of the aisle this morning as to whether they'll have the votes or not. we're doing everything we can to make sure that we can try and stop the bill. >> martha: what do you mean, exactly when you say we are doing everything we can, what exactly are you doing to change people's minds at this late moment. >> we are trying to work with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who indicated they want to do what the american people want which is to defeat the bill. we're trying to give them the confidence to stand up and join

us in opposition to the bill and make sure that it goes down. and so, then we can get back on track to do more common-sense things to effect positive reform but i'm telling you, america doesn't want the trillion-dollar takeover of our health care system. they don't want to cut medicare benefits for seniors, and they don't want to impose taxes on small businesses. and, they don't want to incur the trillions of dollars of additional debt and put it on the backs of our children, that is as plain and simple as that. >> martha: i spoke with geraldine ferraro and asked why the democratic party had to work so hard for votes within its own party and we know there are no republican votes for this bill. and she said it is so difficult, because, republicans are basically telling them the doomsday scenario and twisting their arms and if you vote for this you will not be reelected in the fall. is that what you are doing. >> it is not just republican, it is the american people, they overwhelmingly rejected the bill and it is interesting, look back at the public polling that took

place over the last year, in the beginning, almost 70% of americans supported what president obama was trying to do. we are now down into the low 30%, of americans, who like this bill. because, the more they found out about this pill, the less they liked it. and, it is stunning to me, to look at speaker pelosi and the president and insist we ought to do this. this is a direct discounting of the will of the american people. they are ignoring what the people want and, again, martha, there will be a price to pay for the democrats in november. >> martha: all right, we have some video and a lot is going on in washington, we have video, pictures from the offices, and i believe this is part of your office, says, vote no, and vote no in two big windows, are those part of your offices? congressman cantor? >> martha, i haven't seen the signs outside this morning but i can tell you, there's a lot of passion hear in this town and it expects what the american people want and that is, to defeat the

bill. and to get back on track, to do some common-sense things, to effect reform the way we republicans have been trying to do, over the last year, but, it has fallen on deaf ears when it comes to speaker pelosi and the president. >> martha: congressman before i let you go, what are the chances that this -- this scenario changes today? that we get a "no" vote or no vote at all. >> listen, we are still looking at the prospects the other side does not have the votes. again, the reason why it has taken this long and hear hastings say there are no rules, and, they've bent the rules and did everything they could in their power and that which they shouldn't have to try and deliver the votes and this is not what we need in this country. >> martha: you don't want to wager anything on whether or not... >> it is, martha, it is fluid right now, and again is up to the people to make sure they are speaking out, and, demanding accountability here. >> martha: congressman con tor,

good to have you with us, sir, thank you very much. >> bill: in a moment here, we'll figure out, say it passes by a vote, is that a mandate, convincing? is the argument sold. >> martha: they'd love to have more than 216 to make a more margin of comfort. >> bill: the president made a last minute appeal on health care reform, on saturday afternoon. standing by for us, chris wallace on what he learned this morning from lawmakers on the sunday show and carl cameron talking with sources on the hill, the story building by the hour, both on deck in minutes. here. [ male announcer ] before he changed the world... tear down this wall. [ male announcer ] ...or led a nation... i nald reagan do solemnly swear. [ male announcer ] ...or governed a state... you and ve a rendezvous with destiny. [ male announcer ] ...he inspired our company... with his optimism, his belief in innovation, and his entrepreneurial spirit. [ man ] for general electric, here is ronald reagan. ♪

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>> this is not a government takeover, it is a creation of open markets with private insurance companies, offering insurance to people who don't have it. >> it is a government takeover.

and, a mandate on every american, to have health insurance arabs mandate on every employer, to provide health insurance. how about the health -- choices czar, that is going to decide what every health insurance policy in america looks like. within five years? >> martha: wow, i think that is enough said, right? i mean, heated back and forth, this morning. on the sunday morning shows and that, witnessed between john boehner, and steny hoyer, and this is not over yet, folks, there is a lot of wrangling going on on capitol hill and we're bring it to you live on this sunday morning from america's newsroom. >> bill: "fox news sunday" was heated, too, chris wallace up on deck, too, in a moment we'll get back to the health care but in the middle of this the administration is troo toying jump start the stalled middle east peace process and the job has gotten more complicated, benjamin netanyahu says he will not restrict construction projects in east jerusalem that angered palestinians, and that trickled back to the white house. he will upgrade potential peace talks to include discussions on

the key issues, at the heart of the conflict. perspective, u.s. ambassador to the u.n., former ambassador, john bolton and a fox news contributor, mr. ambassador, good morning to you. into good morning, glad to be here. >> bill: based on what we have known about middle east peace and whether people talk or not does it matter what the americans think? it comes down to whether the israelis and the palestinians have the will to do this, to go forward and start these tux talks. is that will there on both sides? is this the right time? >> i don't think it is the right time, and, former secretary of state jim baker used to say, we can't want peace more than the parties themselves. the fact is, that the -- at the present time there is nobody on the palestinian side, who can be the kind of strong leader they need to make hard commitments, and follow them through. so, i think the administration's efforts over the past 14 months, to get peace talks going, were doomed to failure from the outset and i don't see that the present circumstances have changed in a way that will make

it more favorable for them. >> obviously, they -- if they were doomed for failure they probably wouldn't go forward and what is the thinking here. >> they be they are ready for more failure and the special envoy, former senator george mitchell is in the renal and israeli prime minister netanyahu comes to the u.s., tonight, and originally, president obama would have been overseas on ris tr -- his trip to indonesia and opens up the possibility of the leaders meeting from both of their perspectives. >> bill: that is an interesting point, does the current israeli leadership view the current american leadership as a friend of israel? >> well, i think -- i don't know the answer to that question but i do know prime minister netanyahu, has tried to build up good behavior credits with president obama, deferring to the white house with negotiations with the

palestinians and efforts to negotiate iran out of the nuclear weapons program. i don't think that policy has succeeded, this flap over housing, when vice president biden was in israel, recently and demonstrates netanyahu doesn't have any good behavior credits at the white house. so, i think we're close to a crisis point in israel-u.s. relations and that is one reason why the two leaders may want to get together. >> bill: we'll remember the phrase, a crisis point and see whether or not it comes to pass, mr. ambassador, thank you for your time today out of washington, john bolton. you, after months of back and forth and wrangling it comes down to today. fox, that is why we are here. on this sunday morning, with just hours to go, until the house votes, we still don't know for sure if they have the votes, they will not commitment this morning on the sunday talk shows, to saying yes, we absolutely have them. chris wallace is just ahead with what he learned in a fiery exchange on "fox news sunday." and carl cameron on what he is hearing on capitol hill, fox team coverage, all over this, folks, we'll be right back. imagine.

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>> this could be the day we anticipate it to be, anyway in washington where this stain is set for what is expected to be a historic vote on health care. it all comes down to this question. will democrats in the house have enough votes to put it over the

top? plus, what is the republican game plan, if the overhaul goes through? from "fox news sunday" and host chris wallace moments ago in washington. >> the count is always influx, we don't have a hard 216 right now, so, i mean, i couldn't tell you which 216 members we will have. but, i believe, firmly we'll have 216. >> is there the possibility if you get 216 you may say to some of the members in tough districts, if you want to vote no, you have political cover, you can vote no. >> there is also the possibility when we get to 216 we will also have members say, if it is passing i want to be on top of this important, significant piece of legislation and we might go beyond 216. >> what we republicans do is move on from there and try and fix the damage we believe is about to be done to the health care system. >> bill: that sets the table, joining me is the anchor of "fox news sunday," chris wallace and appears wasserman-schultz was waffling, but toward the second half of answer, she said i believe firmly we'll have 216

votes. based on your discussion with her, is there wiggle room on this from her perspective, or does she think they've got it? >> i think, i mean, you know, part of it is what she says and part of it is the mood music. i think they absolutely believe they've got it. remember, nancy pelosi said and this is very important, earlier this week, we will not bring it up to a vote, unless we have got the votes. so, i don't see any possibility that they would call this vote, this afternoon, unless they were absolutely confident they've got 216. interestingly enough, one clip you didn't have there was paul ryan, saying, you know, they are not going to go 216, to 215 or something like that, he said that politically, and i haven't thought of this, quite frankly and haven't heard it mentioned, of course he's a republican, he says he thinks the democrats are going to want to have 218, 220, so they cannot campaign against every democrat and say, he was the 216th vote and the last vote that put it over the top. >> wow that is the political

equation that comes into this and what wasserman-schultz suggested if they can prove to the members they've got 216, they may get no votes and switch the yes, and say, basically, i'm on board, too. if it will pass, in the end, basically what she said, if it passes i want to be on top of the important piece of legislation and we may go beyond 216, a pile-on effect, chris. >> yes. of course there is a flip side of it politically and that is, that there are -- this is a new expression i never heard before, they are talking about votes that are like, you see in office buildings, break only in case of emergency. there are some democrats in very tough districts, where it could be the thing that defeats them in november and some, if they need them can use them by breaking the glass and if they don't need them will let them take a pass on this and there's a lot of equation going on here, not wanting to have it just be 216 where everybody was the one final vote. on the other hand, you don't want to make people take you a

tough vote if they don't have to. >> you mentioned paul ryan. we don't have the specific clip that you referred to. but, we do have a part of the interview with the republican out of wisconsin, when he talks about the rude awakening that will occur for all americans once they figure out what is in the bill, here's what he said and i'll ask you about it specifically. paul ryan. >> what i think is going to happen is people will have a rude awakening as to all of the things in this bill and talk about student loans, they are nationalizing the entire student loan industry making the department of education the 7th largest bank in america getting rid of the student loan vendors except one in north dakota. and, there are so many things in this bill, i don't think people are realizing what will happen. >> two things on that. the student loan, folding it from the private sector into the treasury department believes they can bring the federal government $60 billion over the next ten years. and that is part of how they try and balance the books here on the health care bill, that is before the house, today. but that last thing he said, i

don't think, people are realizing what is going to happen. >> look. >> bill: do americans understand this? it is pretty much of a wait-and-see and they'll pass the bill and figure out how it affect us individually in the weeks, and years to come, chris. >> i was going to say, in the years to come, look, what he's really indicating there, is the fact that if this passes today, if they pass health care reform and if next week they pass the reconciliation, fix-it bill in the senate so it goes into effect, that is not the end of the battle and in a sense is the beginning, though we've argued about it for a year. because between now and november you'll have the two parties trying to define it. the democrats and these other -- you saw the president yesterday in his speech talking about all the things that kick in the year, $250 rebate for some seniors, to pay for medicare prescription drugs. the fact there will be free preventive care. the fact that if you have a kid who is graduated from college, at least is 21, he can stay on

your health care plan until he's 26. those are positives and also there are negatives in terms of the benefit cuts, in terms of added taxes, so you will see, a real fight between now and november, to define this bill. whether it is, you know, the glass is half full or half empty and people will like some things about it and some things they will not like, and you heard from paul ryan, repeal and replace, repeal the bill by electing a republican house and senate and replace it with more moderate reforms. >> bill: boehner used the same wore, repeal on nbc and palm ryan used it with you. clearly, they are getting their arguments ready to go. starting tomorrow. i would imagine. chris, what time is your show on in california, by the way? do you know, in l.a.? >> yeah. we're on at 8:00 a.m., west coast time, and, not to say you should ever leave the fox news channel, watch the whole show on

the fox broadcast network, particularly if you are not in eastern or midwestern time zones but watch it now, we will not replay it on the channel, we have live coverage all day. >> bill: thanks for coming in today, on the west coast and the mountain range region, chris wallace and "fox news sunday," coming up shortly. chris, thank you, you will be with us throughout the day. and we'll talk to you then. thank you. here's martha. >> martha: great fox news sunday, don't miss it and now we have our chief political correspondent, carl cameron, watching all of this. the way only carl can watch these things. and tell us about them. carl... you listen to the back and forth here, and people are very careful with the words they are using, right now, what do you see happening, where you are? >> couple things. you talked with chris about what if democrats had enough votes to let them vote their districts and that is the political and legislative parlance, let them vote on behalf of voters back home to save their skins, not necessarily for the policies our leadership wants. that is going to happen.

and, what they call it, really is trying to avoid the overvote. democrats know this will be close and they say they have the vote and the reason they call it a soft vote, they don't know who they'll let off the hook and some if they get over 216 some will be allowed to vote their districts and not with the leadership. and that is a political judgment call made on the midterm calculation for their re-election. and that is one. reasons, why it is hard for democrats -- >> let me jump in, what you are saying is fascinating. we watched debbie wasserman schultz and as bill correctly pointed out, she said we don't -- i can't tell you the names, right, don't know exactly who they are but we know we have 216 and as chris wallace said, break in case of emergency. the, you know, what do you call it. put out a fire kind of thing, now, what is fascinating, the other fascinating thing is the concept of voter district. gee, what a novel concept. you, mr. congressman or

congresswoman, the party leadership is freeing you to vote what the people in your district actually want. what an idea! >> reporter: it's a classic concept that comes into play only during election year midterms with massively important legislative votes that could affect their ability to get reelected, and the way it plays out on the floor, the last few minutes, as the votes are actually being tallied, we'll see on the screen it will show the votes and who is not voted and who voted and which way from each party, as the clock ticks at the bottom of the screen. showing you how much time is theoretically left in the voting period. at that moment, is when nancy pelosi, the house speaker, top democrat, third in succession to the presidency goes to work. folks don't often talk about this but her first job in the leadership when she began to emerge as a player was as a vote counter and she has a big reputation for this and on the floor when the clock is ticking, the speaker of the house goes to another democrat, and maybe there is a soft touch handshake and arm on the shoulder, what she'll do is remind them if they

vote against health care, something democrats and liberals have been fighting for for decades, they run the risk of alienating the liberals in their home districts. now, if you are a conservative blue dog democrat, or a moderate democrat in a state where there is a lot of republican votes, you are worried about alienating the swing vote, more moderate electorate and you are taking for granted that democrats will vote for you. what nancy pelosi will remind them is, if you vote against health care, and vote against me, or her in the case, she will remind them not so gently, that when election day comes there may not be money, there may not be automatic vote -- robocalls to your answering machines, and maybe the ads will not be there and maybe the tredirect mail wi stop and nice kind words from the white house will stop and when republicans criticize them as, a democrat like obama maybe the democratic leadership will not defend them. it is scary stuff when the clock is ticking at the bottom. the pressure is on, and

everybody knows there is only ten more undecided democrats who have yet to vote and that puts the spotlight on them. we will know who has not voted yet. at the -- as it comes down to a close and when that happens, the heat is intense. and that is why they think they have the 216, plus a little bit of pad, why we mainly in political science and love doing this stuff, because it is a fascinating thing to watch as you do every day, from the inside, carl, but, when we watch those ten remaining votes, and we see what happens with them, we're going to be able to tell, whether or not that person's district is a district they, you know, are sort of let go, we'll lot you vote no and we know you're in a tough spot or whether they'll vote yes, based on what -- >> reporter: and one last thing to think about for them, one thing that is preying on their minds, if they have been offered, let's say, perhaps, a special deal, and they know there is sweetness in the legislation, for them, and they know they will be one of the last voters, and we're going to

know they are one of the last voters, every journalist in the country, every good government type will be wondering what the sweet deal is and poring through the legislation like crazy trying to figure out why so-and-so is waiting, because of the special deal, and that process will be bearing out the next few weeks. >> martha: and all of this, will rehash through to november and republicans have made it clear they will publicize and get out there some of those deals as well. so, quite fascinating, carl, and we thank you. for that in sight, very interesting stuff, carl cameron on capitol hill. >> bill: we were here, on christmas eve waiting for the senate to do this. and, now we're back here on a sunday, where the months of wrangling have come down to today, house lawmakers getting ready to vote for or against a historic health care bill, in a moment, two top members of congress, one republican, one democrat, on whether or not they believe the bill is the best thing for the constituents and the -- their districts, and the

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>> in a matter of hours history could be made on capitol hill, we're on top of every twist and turn here in the nation's capitol, senator jon kyl will join us live and also congressman mike pence, we'll talk to them about what the g.o.p. is doing to fight back, we'll also talk with doctors and nurses who actually come down on opposite sides of the debate. and one state attorney general who could be joined by dozens of others as he prepares to sue the federal government if health care reform pass, those stories and everything on health care as it breaks live from washington in 20 minutes. >> all right, president obama giving push back to prominent republicans yesterday, listen to what he said. >> mitch mcconnell, john boehner, karl rove, they are all

warning you of the horrendous impact if you support this legislation. now, it could be that they are suddenly having a change of heart and they are deeply concerned about their democratic friends. [laughter]. >> president barack obama: they are giving you the best possible advice. in order to ensure that nancy pelosi remains speaker and harry reid remains leader and that all of you keep your seats. that is a possibility. [laughter]. >> president barack obama: but it may also be possible that they realize after health reform passes and i sign the legislation into law, it will be a little harder to mischaracterize what this effort has been about. >> martha: all right, there you have it and i'm joined by

minnesota republican congresswoman michelle bach man on the house financial services committee and new jersey democrat congressman rob andrews on the house budget committee. we heard this, good morning to both of you, thanks for being with me on this suddenly. >> good morning. >> martha: we have heard, when you find out what is in the bill, you are actually going to like it. let me go first to congressman andrews. i think a lot of -- i talked and neck coat dote alley with -- anecdotally, with people and people say, what will it mean and tell us from your read of the bill, what is the first thing we'll notice that changes? >> if you have been denied coverage because of preexisting conditions you will be able to get coverage and get it at the same price anybody else would. so if you are diabetic, or asthmatic, and have one of those conditions, you will get help, the way a lot of people have not been helped in the past. and, it is phased in over a period of time but, right away

someone will be able to go to a national pool and get that done. >> martha: is that something people will realize, congresswoman bachman and see the dust settle and say, there is good stuff that will work for me. >> i think, first of all, this is completely a democrat bill. every word that is in the bill, is democrat, only. there is no republican input, all of the deals were done behind closed doors, and they will own this bill, whatever the result is theirs and they own i i think one of the first things the americans will see, is the involvement of the irs in their lives because the democrats have chosen the internal revenue service to be the chief enforcer of this bill. they are planning to hire an additional nearly 17,000 irs employees. every month, to verify that every american has acceptable to government health insurance. and also, every employer will have to verify they have acceptable to government health

insurance, if americans don't have government acceptable health care, they'll have to pay a fine, of $2250. or 2% of their income, the irs can collect their income tax rebates, and conduct audits. we'll see a very heavy hand of government with the irs, in all 300 million americans' lives and every private employer. >> and that will be one of the realities here, too. everybody has to have health insurance whether you want it or not and if you don't have it, the irs will come knocking on your door, right. >> not come knocking on your door. the same way you fill out a schedule if you have a mortgage deduction on your tax returns, you fill out a schedule here. and, yes, people will be required to have health insurance because, frankly, when people don't have health insurance, now, everybody else pays their bill when they go to the hospital. look for a person making $35,000 a year, the family, the premium would be $12 a week and under

present law it is $9,000 a year and that is the difference and i notice my friend from minnesota didn't disagree with what i said about preexisting conditions. >> martha: you want to respond to that, congresswoman bachman. >> well, i was working on another point, which is dealing with the irs, and i'm a former federal tax litigation attorney, and, i have seen the inside of the irs and what it looks like. we have never seen this level of a hassle factor before, in the history of our country. this is every month, the irs will verify in our lives, if we have our -- are holding health insurance that is acceptable to the federal government. and also for the first time our confidential tax information will be shared with the department of health and human services. that never happened before. now, the irs will essentially broaden its function and be a social welfare agency. >> that is just -- a gross overstatement of what is going

on -- >> go ahead, congressman. >> in the same way we file the tax return with a mortgage deduct, that is -- >> but, in all honesty, before i leapt you go, congressman andrews there is a big difference between saying yes, i have a mortgage and, yes, i agree to, you know, the government will insist that i buy something. that is different. >> yes, the health insurance -- she answered my question about the preexisting conditions, i'm happy to hear it. >> martha: congresswoman bachman are you happy preexisting conditions will be covered? can you give me a quick answer. >> well, if -- that is tough to answer, because we want to make sure people have the -- >> yes or no. >> martha: all right, i'm sorry. >> no, it is not yes or no. because it is a big issue and -- >> we'll be right back. (announcer) roundup extended control is no ordinary weed killer. because it does two jobs... at the same time.

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. we're back on a very historic day as we watch all this unfold. the latest we're getting, and we're getting stuff in minute by minute. this is on bart stupak, a democrat, a prolife democrat, the latest from his spokesperson says they're close to reaching an agreement on an executive order that would address stupak's abortion funding concerns. this could be worth 7 votes, really, because his coalition was about 12. there are reports that it went down to 7 or 8. but this may be very instrumental in how big their cushion is on passage of this vote. so we're watching that closely. >> and from fox news sunday. chris wallace was with us 25 minutes ago and had senator john cornyn on his show and the sweetheart deals, many still remain there. and cornyn's point is this, people will find out about this and won't be happy.

here's from fox news sunday, moments ago, john cornyn. >> so far, this process has been jammed through, a lot of negotiations behind closed doors, special sweel heart deals you've talked about extensively. and who knows what kinds of deals speaker pelosi has had to make in order to twist arms to get close to the 216. the most important thing is, she's not there yet, and i hope that members of the house who are tempted to succumb to her arm twisting will realize that those deals can't be upheld once it goes to the senate and they'll be out there all by themselves comes election time. >> so we wait to see what happens tomorrow if it's passed and signed into law and whether america reacts favorably or not. the house whip said they'll be there, they'll get the votes, 216-plus later today. >> and republicans talking about what they will do if indeed it

passes this afternoon, and we'll be watching that extremely closely. thank you for being us with us on this sunday morning. what a day! >> stay tuned on the fox next >> stay tuned on the fox next channel. captioned by closed captioning services, inc. but look below the surface. your mouth is no different. brushing leaves teeth looking clean, but millions of plaque and gingivitis germs are left behind. a quick 30-second rinse with listerine® antiseptic cleans deeper. [ boom! ] its unique penetrating formula destroys germs [ boom! ] brushing leaves behind.

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...help you do something so big. try new chocolate cheerios with a toh of delicious chocolate taste in every bite. . here in washington, automatic eyes are on capitol hill as the clock ticks down to a series of historic votes on health care reform. do the democrats have the votes? do republicans have any chance of killing the bill? well, on pennsylvania avenue, president obama awaits. will he have a bill to give fresh momentum. i'm shannon bream. america news headquarters live from the nation's capital starts right now. ♪ . it is the final countdown for major health care reform. the house democratic leadership is confident it will have the 216 votes, the magic number they need, but there's a way to goes before

mig gets to the president's desk for his signature. here's a quick guide. the house gavels into session at 1:00 eastern time. we'll watch for the first vote on the rule. if the house clears the rule, the members can actually begin debate on the two underlying bills. then the senate bill, and the remembering solation package that could change it so who should we be watching for today? retirees who don't have to worry about election in november, that could sway how they vote. and freshmen lawmakers who think opposing the bill could help them back home and in the fall. and the democratic no votes from the fall. the once that leadership hopes to flip to the left. here's the latest whip count. if all those who voted yes in the fall, democrats would have 216 yes votes enough to get it

past legislation a lot of members have yet to publically commit either way. and the bill they'll vote on is not the same one they voted on in the fall. we've got complete fox team coverage. chief political correspondent karl cameron is on hospital and major garrett. will they have enough to get it done? >> they say they will. but there's several hours before it happens. and vote count, which said those who said they're voting for it and those who are leaning for it and those leaning against it, there are democrats who voted for it who changed their votes and some democrats who voted against it who are voting yes. so there's a tremendous amount of shift. it's in a state of flux was the word used by debbie wasserman schultz who was arguing with paul ryan, one of the budgets wizards on the

g.o.p. side who is looking down the road. so here's a little bit of this morning's show talking about the vote count and what republicans do after the presumed passage. >> the whip counts are always in flux, we don't have a hard 216 right now. i couldn't tell you which 216 members we will have. but i believe strongly we'll have 216. >> what we republicans do is move on from there and try to fix the damage that we believe is about to be done to the health care system. >> they will attempt to do so both legislatively and attorneys general in states across the country are threatening a lawsuit to block it. the vote is very much on the razor's edge. democrats already beginning to contemplate exceeding the 216 magic vote number and letting some of the democrats in particularly conservative swinging districts vote their constituencies or their districts and wouldn't have as much pressure applies and may be given the option to vote

no. it's not just about health care for many, it's about their political futures and how to best represent their constituents, many who have deep misgivings about the reforms. >> karl cameron live for us on the hill. let's check in at the white house. the president is now gonna see and wait if the democrats' razor-thin margin holes. major garrett at the white house. considerable talk about one of the key issues here, abortion and whether the president would sign an executive order to take care of some of the concerns there. what's the latest? >> the white house will not publically comment on what i can tell you are intense and ongoing negotiations over the possible need and the possible usage of a presidential executive order clarifying with the president's pen and executive order that nothing in this legislation would provide direct funding for abortion. what the president will say is

that the white house doesn't believe such an executive order is needed. that's all the white house will say publically. i can tell you from my sources on capitol hill and those around this issue, this conversation is continuing, and there are some in the democratic leadership ranks who believe an executive order from the president might be necessary to push the final vote count over 216. the president will only sign one if in fact that's the case. if the white house can get this vote, get 216 votes without it, that's the preferred course. stay tuned. >> major, can you tell us anything about the last-minute efforts today. we know the president has been working the phones, having meetings. any more of that going on today in the final stretch? >> reporter: nancy pelosi has a war room, and in it had her, her top stop, cry burn and steny hoyer. if any of them call his chief

of staff or the president for any issue before the process on the vote, the rule, the senate bill or the fixed legislation, the president or his top aides will be ready, willing and able to address the issues. my guess and my sense of it is, the big issue is about the executive order, sit necessary, is it not, and does it have to be released, does the white house have to acknowledge it before the votes go up on the board in order to get the 216 magic number. all that is in play. >> thank you. working it for us 24/7, thank you, major. >> reporter: thank you. >> and the fiscal price tag of this thing, our next guest does not believe it will and cost-saver. the only thing that remains the same is that the american taxpayer will be on the hook to pay for it. john kyl joins us live, the senate republican whip. thanks for coming in.

>> thank you, shannon. >> to get it through the house, they pass what you all passed, the senate bill and then tweak it and sends it back. you're looking at 51 votes for passage versus 60, which would have been the other way to do that. how do you feel about that procedural step? >> first, i don't assume they have the votes. both the whip and the chief deputy whip said they don't have the votes yet. when the bill comes to the senate, the house members should not expect the senate to fix the problems that they've identified because there are several things in the house bill that are subject to points of order. and there are 41 republican senators who have said in a letter, we will uphold the points of order. and since it takes 60 votes to waive a point of order, the provisions half to be taken out of the bill. then the bill will have to go back to the house of representatives and some of the things they thought were gonna be fixed obviously won't have been fixed. >> let's talk about the issues of amendments, as well. what can the g.o.p. do with

amendments in the senate if this measure does come to you? . >> under the reconciliation procedure which the democrats chose, first of all, it's a very narrow procedure and that's why there are points of order that will lie against the bill. secondly, there are unlimited number of amendments that car be offered. the democrats don't like that. so they said, well, after republicans offer a certain number of amendments, we're just gonna try and cut that off. you can't, reconciliation said you can have as many amendments as you want, but they may try to do that. we're not gonna try to drag it out forever with amendments, but i think it's important to try to amendment some portions of the bill and at least use the amendment process to demonstrate to the american people some of the things that are still wrong with this bill. >> and some of the things that concern you most are the fiscal issues. tell teleus about that. >> you're right, the it's only in balance according to the

cbo if you have to take the assumption that the democratic leaders have put into the bill. for example, they say, just assume that we're going to cut $550 billion from medicare, much of that from waste, fraud, and abuse. the cbo that scores the bill or tells us the price tag has to take that sums as true, but everybody knows it's not true. if you could save a half trillion dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse, wouldn't the president have done it before now? of course. so the reality is, the bill is way out of balance and will add to the deficit and it will raise taxes, raise insurance premiums, do nothing to control the costs and for my mind, the worst thing of all is that because of the proceedings that will be in effect in the future, will result in the rationing of health care in america, and that's wrong. >> health care is topic one. and i wanna talk to you about issues involving attorney general eric holder. he comes before the senate

judiciary committee and you've laid out concerns you have. some work he did not disclose including work on behalf of terror suspects, including a case that went all the way to the supreme court even though he said it was an oversight. it seems tough you would forget a case that went that far. >> exactly so. when he was up for confirmation, he was required to disclose all of the cases in which he participated, and probably the biggest case in his career, he plumb forgot to tell us about it. and it was one of these terrorist cases in which he filed an ameek cuss brief. and took the position that by trying the terrorists in regular courts rather than before military commissions, there were some risks involved in terms of not getting the intelligence that we would otherwise get and so on. as attorney general, he said, oh, no, no problem at all, we'll try ksm, khalid sheikh mohammed, we'll try him in regular civil courts and there won't be any problems at all. and yet before he became

attorney general, in a brief he filed with the supreme court, he acknowledged those kinds of concerns. did he deliberately fail to disclose that to the committee. we're going to be talking to him about that. it stretches the imagination to say he plumb forgot about it. >> senator kyl, thank you very much! the hot issue is immigration. and they're converging on washington for a rally today calling for comprehensive immigration reform. they helped sweep barack obama into office and now see they're disillusioned watching their issue take a back seat to the economy and health care reform. they want a path to become u.s. citizens. do democrats have the votes to make health care reform the law of the land? chris wallace talked with two of the top key players and gave us a preview of what they had to say, coming up next.

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♪ well, there's a little bit of he said she says going on among house democrats and republicans today when it comes to weather they have the votes now. democrats for health care this afternoon, the chairman of the house democratic caucus, john larson said his party has the votes, but that's not exactly what congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz told chris wallace. it was a great show this morning, but she didn't sound 100% ready to commit to the 216 yet. >> no, i think she is. i think they absolutely think they have the votes. and you have to remember, nancy pelosi said early last week, we're not gonna have the vote until we have the votes, and they wouldn't be headed down this track unless they were absolutely certain they had the 216 votes to pass it. no. i think it's gonna pass tonight. i absolutely do. i think it will be a tremendous shock and a huge embarrassment to the

president and pelosi if it doesn't pass. >> and bart stupak, prolife and he saidthat he had 8 know votes with him in the room. and they try to hammer out the issue of abortion and now talk that the president may issue an executive order to close that concern for many people. but it's not a done deal yet. and, you know, the two folks you had on couldn't say whether it would end the abortion issue n the key is whether it will end it for stupak and the other pro-life democrats. and the answer is, if you wanna be persuaded, this will help persuade you. and it's no executive order, not a law. the president could take it out. this president could rescind it at some point. it isn't like what's in the law. so i think bart stupak will say an executive order isn't enough. but clearly, and you heard this from major garrett's reporting, if they think this will pick up two or three of

the dozen stupak people who are upset with the senate bill and the lack of restrictions they think on public expenditures, taxpayer money going for abortions, then they'll do it, if they need the votes and this will be enough to do it. >> and another key concern for them are the fiscal issues. you had representative paul ryan on with his chart today to talk about it on fox news sunday and he and his democratic counterpart clearly disagreed on how this is gonna play out fiscally. >> the congressional budget office numbers and this is the nonpartisan agency, and these are the umpires, the score keepers, if you will, you take the senate bill, the reconciliation fix-it bill, $138 billion in deficit cuts, but paul ryan and an awful lot of democrats, not just republicans, but a lot of democrats believe it will never happen. it's contingent on future

congresses actually passing medicare cuts which they have not done in the past, passing tax increases, which they haven't always done in the past, so he actually had a chart that showed that rather than shrink the deficit, by $138 billion, it would increase it by over $600 billion. and the one thing the number does is it may not have significance in terms of the reality of financial spending, it gives political cover to the democrats. they'll be able to go back and say, here's what the nonpartisan agency said, lit cut the deficit. of course, we'll never know, it's a decade from now and a lot of benefits don't kick in for six years. >> chris wallace, thank you for your time as always. >> you bet. >> and the unions smart this, and why they held out for so long and what changed their minds, up next. ♪

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♪ state attorneys general are ready to file a lawsuit if health care reform legislation passes. helpry mcmaster and big mccull uhm mccullum said he they will sue the feds. the afl-cio decided to put the full endorsement over the health care bill. this despite ongoing concerns about high cost insurance plans,

and joining us is gerald shahey at the afl-cio. thank you for coming in today. >> good morning! >> tell us why the holdouts at this point, what your concerns are. >> we've been really working for health reform for many years because we provide benefits, and the costs of health care are destroying the benefits or wage levels. we've been working hard for this and were disappointed when the idea of taxes people's benefits came us because we think it would do nothing but penalize people and wouldn't do anything to control costs. so we worked hard against that and will be able to take out about 80% of the health impact according to the cbo numbers. it's not perfect but it's in a position where we want to be, working for health reform. >> and there's discussion about how the high-dollar plans would be taxed, the so-called cadillac

plans beneficial to individuals and families. they'll get hit to some extent so why yes despite that? >> we were successful in getting it put off until 2018. and then it would be at a level of $27,000 for a family in certain categories, $30,000. and the whole premise of this legislation is that we'll be able to get at costs and do some cost containment. we think it will take a while, but we think that's a reasonable period of time to tackle the question, so we thought it was not exactly what we want but it was better than where we started. >> you mentioned the delayed start. 2014. and they hope to get it changed. but it would change the cbo score we're looking at and that democrats are using to sell this bill. do you see any problem with that? >> well, actually the -- i think the cbo scoring, as arcane as it

is, it's good news when you look at it historically, because for the past four or five big bills going back to the early '80s, the cbo has underestimating the savings by half so we think there are many things beyond that will save money. and that's what he was basing his comment on that we hope we'll be able to say we don't need this tax now. >> thanks for your time today. >> good to be here. >> so now we know more about why the afl-cio is backing the current legislation, but how do you the american public feel. we'll look at the latest polls straight ahead. the red river flooded a year ago and history may repeat itself. that's up next. at? dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula... now proven to build a moisture reserve... so skin can replenish itself.

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♪ it is judgment day for health care reform. do the democrats have the votes to pass the landmark legislation? caroline shively is standing by. >> it depends on who you ask. the chairman of the democratic caucus in the house john larson said the democrats have clinched the 216 votes needed to pass the plan. county whip wasserman schultz said they don't have the 216 votes yet. our latest whip count showers 216 for and 215 against or leaning against. we'll see after the house gavel

noose session at 1:00 eastern. the red river is still rising between minnesota and north dakota. authorities say they've made enough preparations that they can handle it. the river is expected to crest today at about 20 feet above flood stage, but that's predicting to be below the sandbags and other flood measures. and there's little chance of rain in the forecast until tuesday. we'll head live to the area in just a minute. a british airways strike is wreaking havoc on the travel plans of thousands of passengers this weekend. it comes as union members promise more strikes in the coming weeks as britain prepares for a hotly contested general election. they've been trying to rebook passengers on other flights, including on rival airlines authorities will search once again for natalee holloway now that this photo has surfaced. they believe it may show her remains. she disappeared in 2005 on a graduation trip in aruba. she was last seen leaving a bar

with joran van der sloot. he said he thought her body was recently dropped in the ocean and said he hid her remains in a swamp. those are the top stories right now. shannon, back to you. >> caroline shively, thank you very much! the house health care vote will get under way shortly. new fox news opinion polls show that 55% oppose the legislation. joining us is cofounder of real clear politics to break down the numbers. hi, tom. >> hi, shannon. >> let's talk about the man who his entire presidency to this point is riding on health care which he is heavily invested in. we have from your site, real clear politics, disapproval of the presidential politics, dispoov 47.8, there's only a gap of half a percent. tom, in your opinion how much of

this is tied to health care? >> i think a lot of it is tied to health care and tied to the economy. and if you look at the internals in these polls, one of the disagreements, one the problems that the people have with the president is that they feel like he spent too much time on health care over the past 15 months and not enough on the economy and creating jobs, that's driven his approval ratings down the way it has over the course of the first year. >> as tight of the ratings are, he still polls more positively than his policies do. so let's talk about health care now. we've got again from real clear politics, for or against the health care as it stands now, against or opposing, 49.1%, only those in favor 40.4%, only a 9 to 10 point spread there. why does he continue to poll better than his health care does

and why aren't congressional leaders more considered about these polls? >> that's a good question. he has continued to poll better than his policies on a number of levels, including health care throughout his first year. that continues, because i think people still generally like the president. regarding congressional leaders, their argument is, and they've said, look, the specific of this bill have been misrepresented, people don't understand it, they've been misled, and once the bill passes, they'll be able to sell the good parts of this thing and avoid public wrath at the polls in november. there's no way of telling whether that's true or not. each poll is a snapshot in time. and the more that the president has talked about this, the more the democrats have tried to push it through congress. if you look, it goes back to in december, when all the deals came out, the cornhusker kickback all of that, job approval ratings dropped

dramatically. and the other polls are historic lows, 17-18%. and depending on what comes out in the final deal is what deals were made, become part of the legislation, become public, i think that will have a great bearing on how this turns out in november. >> thank you so much. fox news opinion dynamic poll factor into your numbers as well. we'll talk more throughout the hour. thank you, tom. it was one year ago today that the red river first reached the flood stage during the 2009 flood. this shows what it looked like then and today will crust about 19 feet above flood stage. peter diicey is there. >> this is the longest and wettest on record. this is the red river, supposed to be way, way back there.

and it's already flooded up to the sandbags, not far from where i'm standing. the level is about 19 feet above flood stage, so much extra water, almost two stories more water than there's supposed to be, and it still has not crested yet. they're expecting a crest sometime later today. this is a temporary levee that they built to try to protect homes on the other side against a level of up to 40 feet. this is how high the water came last year, and you can see it's fill a little ways away from that. but like i said, the river still has not crested yet, and they're not on the of the woods because they're expecting this water to remain above major flood stage for about a week because the water is so cold and the ground is so saturated. the way that the mayor of fargo explained to us is that the water rises up 2-3 times faster than it goes down so it's definitely not over for the folks in the red river valley. >> we send our best wishes and prays to them, peter, thank you.

we wanna see your weather pictures. send them to us at u-report at: . a state of emergency was declared because scientists fear the eruption could trigger a large potentially much more dangerous eruption. scientists are worried about flood from that melting glacier. tenselves have been killed and hundreds of others injured in a bombing in afghanistan. it happened in the helmand province. and we have this exclusive report. >> reporter: they say it's 20 miles from nowhere, but it may be the fastest growing military

installation in the world. in the six months since our fox news team was last here, this base had its population almost double in size. as one of our hosts put it, it's growing faster than opium popies, but opium is one of the reasons why this place is expanding so rapidly. if the long war here in the shadows is going to be one, it will have to be one here in southern afghanistan first. this forbidding terrain along the helmand river basin is both the hardland of the taliban movement and the source of opium which fuels their insurgency. and they have the dea and other coalition partners to take down the taliban narco networks. some call it marine-istan and

consider it to be a badge of honor. from the camp, i'm oliver north for fox news. up next, fightinged for health care reform from the left. we brought you a lot of folks on the right. we're fair and balanced. hear from people working behind the scenes to line up support to get the votes they need for the bill. and a nasty incident at is a tea party protest has some members of congress saying, you've crossed the line. the latest on that up next. can i eat heart healthy without giving up taste?

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♪ tea party supporters gathered here in washington to viejos their opposition to health care reform in its current state. at times, the scene got ugly, and lawmakers reported being bombarded with racial and anti-gay slurs. caroline shively has the latest. >> to be clear, this appears to

be just a handledful of people out of thousands who gathered on the lawn of the capitol for the tea party protest. but you're right, it certainly was ugly. some african-american members of congress said a few protesters hollered racial slurs at them and they had to be ushered in by caylee hill police. some say they were called the n-word. he tells fox, i haven't heard anything like this in 40-45 years. you can see congressman cleaver get into it with one protester and said he was spit on while walking in to cast a vote. he was released because cleaver didn't press charges. i talked to one of the rally organizers and said this: i absolutely think it's isolated. >> con congressman barn any

frank said they yelled chants at him. today, rnc chair michael steele said it's not representative of the tea party or those who spoke at the rally. >> it's not a reflection of the republican party when you have idiots saying stupid things. it's reprehensible. we do not support that. >> congressman cleaver said the police force quickly got them into the capitol and defused the situation. my next two guests are doing everything they can to help democrats pass health care reform. ron is from a prohealth care consumers group and joins us from capitol hill. and rose gonzalez from the american nurses association and joins me live in the studio. welcome to you. >> good to be with you. >> rose, i'll start with you.

why do you think this is beneficial to those in the medical industry like yourself? >> we have suffered long and hard watching our patients come in day in and day out. we hear the lines at the public health clinics are getting longer and longer, and we believe this is our opportunity to address those individuals who do not have health insurance, those falling through the cracks to make a dent in this and move us toward prevention and wellness. this is what we aspire to do with this health care bill. >> you mention lines. and people who are critical of this bill worry about more lines and more rationing of care as we lose doctors and nurses from the system. a new study shows that 27% of doctors say if this passes, they will not consider people as a career to go forward with it. >> we know that we have a lot of

primary care providers out there who are able to work. it's more than just physicians providing care. we have our nurses, advance practice nurses, nurse practitioners, certified midwives providing services in the most rural of areas providing quality of care. and we know this bill not only supports those initiatives and expands those initiatives and bringing back health care to the communities where they want it delivered, and we know we'll have enough individuals to provide those services. >> let me turn now to ron. why do you think this is good for america's families? >> it's good for american families for a variety of reasons. those who have been afflicted by insurance company practices that deny coverage due to a preexisting condition or charge discriminatory premiums or that withhold coverage when somebody gets sick, that's going to come to an end. people who are finding health coverage unaffordable, they're

going to get tax credit subsidy, which is going to make it affordable. somebody who loses a job or might want to switch jobs, they're going to be protected and will continue to get coverage. and for seniors who are struggling to pay for prescription medicines who fall into this gap in coverage, called the doughnut hole, this is going to get fixed. it will help families in the pocketbook and will give them heal

>> and the numbers they've spit out, they say there are people who could possibly pay a higher priced premium, and that's part of their calculation. >> what the congressional budget office says is that the overwhelming majority of people will be paying lower premiums. there's a tiny percentage that

may experience a slight increase in premiums, but over four out of five people will experience lower premiums, and that's going to be very much welcomed. >> and rose, i think we're being wrapped up, we're out of time. thank you for your time. and we know you're working hard today. a big vote for both of you, and hours away, we'll see what happens. >> thank you, shannon. >> thank you, both. the stupak 12 went after the w0rding on abortions. are the priests in favor of that wording. we'll speak to the priest next. ♪ they're discovering the first self-injectable ra medicine you take just once a month. it's simponi™, and taken with methotrexate, it helps relieve the pain, stiffness, and swelling of ra with one dose a month. visit 4simponi.com to see if you qualify for a full year of cost support. simponi™ can lower your ability to fight infections,

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♪ is this the sing most important step that we have taken on health care since

medicare? absolutely. is this the most important piece of domestic legislation in terms of giving a break to hardworking middle class families out there since medicare? absolutely. is this a vast improvement over the status quo? absolutely. >> three big votes this afternoon will decide if the sweeping health care overhaul that president obama is looking for passes. the first is on a rule to establish debate guidelines. the next will consider a package of changes and then an up-and-down bill. and house democrats need 216 each time. for all the latest on the health care news, go to speakers lobby. as it happens, it will be updated there. . making sense of the census

means understanding the politics behind it. what you write on your census form has a ripple effect all the way here to washington. >> reporter: once the census bureau finishes counting everyone, that's when it gets interesting, in determining how many secretary of state each state gets in the house of representatives. 12 seats shifted with florida, georgia, texas, and arizona gaining, and new york and pennsylvania losing two seats and others picking up or losing one seat. and estimates from last summer show texas poised again to be the big winner. >> when you look at the size of texas and the likelihood that texas will gain three or four seats in congress, you get an idea that we're approaching another pivotal moment in american political history. >> reporter: after states learn how many states they'll have, the individual state legislatures begin redrawing the

boundaries of the congressional districts and call the party control usually means those districts get redrawn, sometimes block by block, in a way that improves that party's chances of winning those districts. >> it will produce shifts of political power within states. >> reporter: which is why some have begun descending on state capitols, work to retain control. and the census bureau will give the states timely detailed data on prison populations because many prisons sit in rural areas but house large numbers of urban inmates, it will likely cause disputes in states across the nation. >> they can make a decision whether they count them in the rural areas or exclude them. we won't have any part of that. >> reporter: cities in general should get their due is not lost on the obama white house. >> if we don't fill out the forms, if we don't respond, if we are not counted, then in this the nation's eyes, we don't

count. >> reporter: one locale that will not suffer from the depopulation one might expect, louisiana. the pelican state has added nearly 41,000 residents, bringing the population virtually even to pre-hurricane katrina levels. jays rosen, fox news. thousands of imgrants and supporters are converging here for a rally. a live look outside of our studios on capitol hill. they want compress hen sieve immigration reform. we're starting to see people arrive to the national mall before the actual rally starts. they say they helped sweep barack obama into office and now some are disillusioned watching their issue take a back seat to the economy and health care reform. they want a path for illegal immigrants to become u.s. citizens. the president made a plea to democrats on the hill. will he need to pick up the phone today to get the final

votes he wants to get the health care legislation he wants passed. we'll check in with major garrett live from the white house. [ le announcer ] as long as we're winding up our doing dials,

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this is a fox news alert. congress is hours away from an historic vote on health care reform and fox news has you covered. our team of reporters is out in force across the nation's capital. carl cameron, major garrett, and jim engle is looking into what is inside the bill, and laura ingle has the latest fox poll. i'm shannon bream with more live from the nation's capitol. do the democrats have the votes? that's the question. carl cameron is standing by. karl, this vote is tight. how does speaker pelosi get the last few votes? >> on the floor, as the clock is