captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: good evening. i'm jeffrey brown. house democrats sent the landmark health care overhaul to president obama today. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the bill extends coverage to 32 million americans, and makes changes for the already insured. we'll talk to susan dentzer about what the health care bill means for you. >> brown: and we'll talk to white house advisor david axelrod about the down-to-the- wire fight, and what comes next. >> woodruff: then, gwen ifill gets an update on haiti as

former presidents bill clinton and george w. bush visit the earthquake-ravaged island. >> brown: margaret warner files the first in a series of reports from yemen. >> we came to yemen to explore why this country has emerged as home base for the most effective new al qaeda offshoot. >> woodruff: and ray suarez looks at the politics of the president's fix for immigration. >> i know he's got a lot going on now and i know he's trying to fight for health reform but immigration reform was on his agenda too. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by:

>> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> brown: democrats celebrated today after the house passed health care reform late last night. the focus now shifts back to the senate for a final round in this long political fight. newshour congressional correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. >> reporter: washington woke today to rainy skies, but the mood was sunny among house democrats who pushed for the

landmark health care overhaul. >> i think people will be more feeling confident of the fact that they have accountability in who is making their medical decisions. it's going to be their doctors. it's going to be a review board. and finally there's going to be protections against people being discriminated against because of pre-existing conditions and chronic illness. >> reporter: but on the other side of the aisle republicans bemoaned the outcome in the house. >> madam speaker, it's raining here in washington today. it's raining because our founders are weeping . our founders are weeping over the incredible vote taken yesterday that was an affront to federalism, an affront to individual liberty, and an affront to freedom. >> reporter: the climactic moment came late sunday after more than a year of debate by 219-212, three more than needed. the house approved the bill that cleared the senate last

december. all 178 house republicans voted against it as did 34 democrats. >> ultimately final passage of the senate bill was secured when president obama reached an agreement with anti-abortion democrats. the president agreed to sign an executive order reaffirming that no federal money provided by the bill would go to fund abortion. shortly before midnight the president hailed the historic victory with vice president biden at his side. >> good evening, everybody. we proved that this government, a government of the people and by the people still works for the people. i want to thank every member of congress who stood up tonight with courage and conviction to make health care reform a reality. i know this wasn't an easy vote for a lot of people. but it was the right vote. >> reporter: at the capitol today, democratic leaders held a ceremony to mark the sending of the health care overhaul to the white house. the bill aims to extend health care coverage to 32 million

uninsured americans, beginning in 2014. almost everyone will have to be insured or else pay a fine. the new law also will set new regulations on insurers and impose new medicare taxes on better-off americans to offset lost revenue. but parts of the measure will change almost immediately if the senate adopts fixes that also passed the house. majority leader harry reid. >> it might slow progress but it cannot stop it. i hope week when we take up the final visions what will soon be long overdue law our republican friends will finally act in the interest of their constituents and not just in the interest of the insurance or their political party. >> reporter: it will close a gap in medicare's drug coverage raising the overall cost to $940 billion over ten years. but senator john mccain and other republicans vowed to try to repeal the health care law

next year. >> all this euphoria going on inside the belt way, champagne toasting and all that, outside the belt way the american people are very angry. them don't like it. they're going to... we're going to try to repeal this. we are going to have a very spirited campaign coming up between now and november. there will be a very heavy price to pay for it. >> reporter: the anger mccain mentioned had boiled over at times this weekend. at one point someone shouted baby killer as anti-abortion democrat bart stupak explained his yes vote. texas republican said he was the one who yelled and an apologized. outside the capitol, hundreds of protesters chanted kill the bill at passing democrats. congressman john lewis was subjected to racial slurs while another demonstrator spat on representative emmanuel cleaver. inside the capitol, a

protester yelled an anti-gay remark at openly gay congressman barney frank of massachusetts. officials from at least 11 states plan to challenge the health care legislation in court saying it infringes on state sovereignty. >> brown: after the long, loud, kplikteded debate over health care, >> brown: after the long, loud, complicated debate over health care, what does it all mean for americans, those currently uninsured and those covered by a private or public plan? we're going to break it down over the next days, beginning tonight with the impact on the private insurance market, where some 200 million americans now have coverage. here for that is susan dentzer, editor-in-chief of the journal, "health affairs" and a regular analyst for us.a- elcome back. >> great to be here, jeff. >> brown: let's start broadly with the new mandate that kwame just talked about. most americans would be required to obtain health insurance. most large employers would have to cover their employees. this means an expanded private market. >> exactly. the thrust of these measures are really to shore up the existing private market. as we said 200 million in private insurance.

about 175 million in employer- provided insurance. so, for example, if you work for a company that employs 200 or more people, that company would have to automatically sign you up every year in its insurance plan. if you work for a company that has 50 or more employees, there are some provisions that put real strong pressure on those companies to provide coverage for their workers or else potentially pay penalties. then of course there's the individual mandate which would go into effect in 2014. that applies to everybody except people who can claim that they should be exempt because they can't afford it or because their religious beliefs, christian scientists, you shouldn't have to buy health insurance. you can get out of the mandate. otherwise, you'll have to pay a penalty. that penalty starts low at $95 in 2014 but it phases up over the next few years to about $695 or 2.5% of taxable income. >> brown: if you work for a small company? >> the individual mandate will apply to everybody.

that applies to everybody. >> brown: the companies get a little help. >> if you're getting employer- based coverage or being offered it and you're not taking it up, you're going to want to rethink that because otherwise you would have to pay the individual mandate- related penalty. then if you're working for a small business, small businesses get tax credits. those go into effect immediately to help small businesses provide coverage for their workers. those tax credits will continue over time as well. >> brown: let's move to some of the insurance industry reforms that are going affect a lot of people with insurance. we've highlighted some of the key ones here. insurance companies won't be able to reject individuals based on health conditions or past history. set annual or lifetime coverage limits or deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. walk us through some of that. >> that's right. essentially what these... these are measures designed to put into the so-called individual insurance market, that's where people are buying it on their own, not getting it through an employer, bring those same protections that apply to other parts of the market to that individual market.

so no more pre-existing condition restrictions. on children in particular. that goes into effect almost immediately. most of these insurance provisions go into effect within six months after the bill is enacted. >> brown: say that one. the one on children for pre-existing conditions. >> immediately. no more pre-existing conditions on kids. >> brown: for everybody else? >> that will phase in, also phase in beginning this year. six months after enactment. no more cancellations of policies so-called rescissions. if you're sick you get an insurance policy, your insurance company calls up and says you didn't tell us about x, y and z we're not covering you anymore. that goes away and stops. very important insurance market regulations, one in particular that's designed to put pressure on insurance company profits and on their administrative expenses. this would require insurers to pay out in claims 80% of the premium dollars that they take in for the individual insurance and small group

insurance and 85% for this so- called large group market. it's a way, as i say, of basically put pressure on insurers to pay out more money in claims and not pocket so much. >> brown: for comparison sake, how does that compare to now? >> for example, in the small group market and in the individual market it's not uncommon for insurers to pay out only 60% of the dollars they take in in claims and reserve that additional 40% for all the other things they do. medical underwriting, basically. rating people and figuring out what they should charge them, et cetera. >> brown: higher-income folks will be... will face some new taxes and some new fees. >> yes. exactly. one of the big areas of controversy, of course, was the tax on high-cost health insurance plans. >> brown: the cadillac plans. >> that now would not kick in until 2018 so a few years to get used to it. basically that's a measure to try to force down health insurance prices overall. >> brown: speaking of that,

one of the great unknowns or the great unknown i guess is impact for individuals on their premiums and the coverage that they'll get. of course, the larger question of the impact on overall health care costs. for individuals, what are the question marks out there for their premiums looking ahead? >> one key question is going to be how do the new markets that will unfold shape up? for example, the states will all be charged with setting up health insurance exchanges. that is to say, they'll have to... it's almost like a health insurance food court. each state will have to set one up for individuals to shop for insurance and for small businesses to shop for insurance. now also within that construct, there are going to be rate... different rates set on how much premiums can vary depending on whether you're older or younger so that's going to influence some insurance prices a bit. benefits packages are going to be standardized. by and large most of the benefits packages are going to be fairly generous. we sort of throw all that into

the great blender and say where does that come out in terms of premiums? hard to say. some people will be able to buy much more generous coverage than they've had to date. some people will probably be paying more for coverage that's pretty much like they have now. we'll have to see how all of this plays out over time. >> brown: there's a lot more here. we'll leave it there for tonight. we'll continue tomorrow with the new law's impact on the uninsured, those on medicare and more for now susan thanks a lot. >> thanks, jeff. >> woodruff: now, to our interview with the president's senior adviser, david axelrod on the vote, the battle to get it passed, and what's ahead. i spoke with him a short time ago. david axelrod, thank you for joining us. reaction at the white house today. more jubilation or more relief? >> well, look, there's a great deal of joy here because , after 13 long months we've brought a greater measure of security to the american people , a brighter future to the country.

we've dealt with a problem that's been bedeviling america for 100 years. there's a great feeling of accomplishment. but we also understand the responsibility that comes with that, to implement this program in an effective, efficient way, to be accountable for it. you know, we're already shifting our attention to how we make this work best for the american people. >> woodruff: a lot of people until very recently thought this might not happen. how close did the president come to thinking that it might not happen? >> i have to tell you, it's been an extraordinary experience to watch him through these 13 months because there were a thousand different moments when this could have skidded off the track. there were many people who advised him to scale down his aspirations for this program, to do this in a piecemeal fashion or just turn away from the issue altogether. i remember, judy, walking through his office in the

summer and saying, you know, this has great political cost. he told me to just come back... he had just come from wisconsin where he saw a woman who had ovarian cancer, two small insurance... children and insurance and was still going bankrupt and was afraid she would leave her family in ruin. he patted me on the shoulder and said it was worth the fight. let's keep going. that's the kind of earn couragement he's given us. that's one of the great joys of working for barack obama. >> woodruff: speaking of that, in that period in late january, after scott brown won, the republican... as a republican in massachusetts, the senate race, the president ... there were some delay until we knew what the white house was going to do. there are a number of reports that house speaker nancy pelosi was the one who said to the president, don't scale this back. is that correct? >> first of all, let me say i have just enormously high regard for speaker pelosi. i think she is a hero

for the leadership she's provided here and on so many other issues. i must say in the 13 months we've been working on this issue i've never seen the president flag or consider anything but a comprehensive approach because he knew if we didn't do it comprehensively, then we couldn't ban discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions and there were several other things we wouldn't have been able to achieve unless we dealt with it comprehensively. i've seen those reports too. believe me the president didn't need any encouragement to move forward . it's his will and his determination that helped see us through some very difficult times. >> woodruff: david axelrod, a number of house members whom the president lobbied, and i'm thinking of dennis kucinich among others, said that one of the arguments that the president made to him is what it would mean to his presidency if he lost this vote. how much was that a part of the argument the president was making? this would undermine the

presidency? >> judy, i don't think it was so much about undermining the presidency. i think the president viewed this as a test of whether we as a country had the ability to deal with big challenges. he felt that if we weren't able to succeed yesterday , it would send a terrible signal about our ability to handle other challenges that we face. he's made that point again and again to people. there's no doubt that it also would have emboldened those who have taken position that defeating the president at every turn is somehow a triumph for their party, the republican party. i think that's the wrong attitude. hopefully we can move on now and work together to solve other problems. but in any case we're going to move this country forward. >> woodruff: as you say there is that discussion because even with the win there's conversation that there's still been a cost to this presidency. you have the republicans bitterly separated from the white house over this issue. we've seen the american people

, opposition to the bill rise to a point where it's over 50% in a number of polls. how do you calculate the cost? >> first of all, judy, i wouldn't... the preponderance of polls show the country is about evenly split on this. that makes sense given the volume of propaganda and lobbying and interest group efforts that have been associated with it. now it's a reality. we're going to go ahead and implement it and people will understand. small businesses across this country when the president signs the bill will be eligible for tax credits of 35% for each employee for whom they provide health care. kids with pre-existing conditions this year will now be able to get coverage lifetime caps and annual caps on what insurance companies will pay out will go away. these are an important provisions and advances and benefits that people will see. in terms of the tone in this

town, we're just going to keep on working with whomever wants to work with us. i was disappointed this morning to see senator mccain say the republicans won't work with the president on anything for the rest of the year as punishment because they're unhappy about the passage of the health insurance bill. that's more appropriate to a sand lot than to governance of this country. he's a good man, senator mccain. he's shown independent in the past. i hate to hear that. i hope we can overcome that spirit and work together to solve other problems. >> woodruff: as you know, a lot of criticism is flying around out there about this bill. on the one hand you have the right arguing it's going to... it's a federal government takeover of health care. it's going to raise people's premiums. on the other hand on the... from the other side of the spectrum people are arguing it doesn't do enough. it doesn't take effect soon enough. which of those criticisms concern you the most? do you think it's most important to straighten out in people's minds. >> i must tell you i'm not concerned about criticisms of either stripe. because the truth now will be known. what's going to happen is

that significant improvements are going to be made, almost immediately. the thing is the program will be phased in over four years but there are going to be immediate benefits to many americans, to small businesses, to people with pre-existing conditions and others. that they can feel right away. they'll know how far this bill goes. the other thing is that... are the things that aren't going to happen. the chicken littles who predicted that life as we know it would end when this program passes and that somehow this will have a catastrophic impact on people's health. none of that will happen. people who have health care they like will keep it. hopefully they'll have a little more leverage vis-a-vis their insurance companies. i think these doomsday predictions are going to be proven false very quickly. i think that's why there was such december separation and almost a frantic sense on the part of republicans yesterday in the house who used language that was completely out of sync with what the reality of

this program is in order to attack it. >> woodruff: most immediately you've got to get it through the senate this week. then you have talk by republicans they're going to try to repeal it. then you have in the state these legal challenges. attorneys general saying they're going to try to make sure it doesn't take effect in their states. how concerned are you that it is going to stand up to all these challenges. >> i'm very confident. as to the repeal efforts, i invite anyone who wants to run for public office to go to small businesses and say, you know, that 35% tax cut for health care you just got, we want to take that away from you. who wants to look in the eyes of a child with a pre-existing condition who now will get coverage and say, you know what? we don't think that was the right thing to do. or tell people whose lifetime caps are now coming off their insurance so if they get sick they won't go bankrupt to say we're going to put the insurance companies back in the driver's seat. if people want to campaign on that, they're welcome to do it. we'll join that debate. as for the legal challenges there isn't a major piece of

ledge thags that's been passed in this country that hasn't endured legal challenges. we're very confident about the constitutionality. the piece that's being challenged the mandate is the idea that many republicans in congress when they were talking to us about this bill that was absolutely essential ingredient for the plan. so, you know, there's the politics at play here. but at the end of the day we're going to move forward. this is going to give greater security to the american people and a better future for our country. we're enthused about it. >> woodruff: david axelrod, senior advisor to president obama, thank you very much. >> thanks, judy. good to be with you. >> woodruff: and you. >> brown: tomorrow night >> brown: tomorrow night , we get the view of a leading republican, as the senate takes up the house's fixes to the health care bill. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour, two former presidents spearhead fundraising efforts for haiti; the al qaeda network spreads in yemen; and the immigration debate boils over in washington.

but first, the other news of the day. here's hari sreenivasan in our newsroom. >> sreenivasan: google moved its search engine for china to hong kong today to get around censorship on the mainland. the company said its engineering and sales offices will stay on the chinese mainland, in a bid to continue doing business there. the world's largest internet company has been in a standoff with china's communist government for nearly three months.z- hina said today google's action is totally wrong. wall street got a boost today from the passage of health care reform, as hospital and drug stocks moved higher. the dow jones industrial average gained nearly 44 points to close near 10,786. the nasdaq rose 21 points to close at 2395. secretary of state hillary clinton defended u.s. criticism of israel today. she addressed a major jewish organization, the american israel public affairs committee, in washington. and she warned that building more jewish housing in east jerusalem is an obstacle to building trust with the palestinians. >> new construction in east jerusalem or the west bank undermines that mutual trust

and endangers the proximity talks that are the first step toward the full negotiations that both sides say they want and need. and it exposes daylight between israel and the united states that others in the region hope to exploit. >> sreenivasan: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu addresses the conference tonight. before leaving israel, he said again that settlement building will continue in east jerusalem. in afghanistan, president hamid karzai met with a senior delegation of insurgents in kabul. it was the first confirmed meeting between the government and militants. the hizb-i-islami movement is led by a former prime minister. a spokesman said they presented a 15-point peace plan. also today, nato reported two of its troops were killed in fighting in the south. the u.s. community activist group acorn is disbanding. a spokesman said today the once powerful organization will shut down as of april 1. he blamed plunging revenues. last year conservative activists posed as a pimp and a prostitute and taped acorn

workers advising them on how to evade tax laws. those are some of the day's main stories. i'll be back at the end of the program with a preview of what you'll find tonight on the newshour's web site. but for now, back to judy. >> woodruff: now, the haiti story. shortly after the earthquake, president obama named his two immediate predecessors to lead the u.s. fundraising effort. former presidents bush and clinton visited there today, and met with haitian president rene preval on the grounds of the destroyed presidential palace in port-au-prince. earlier this evening, gwen ifill talked with free-lance reporter kathy klarreich. she's been covering the haiti story for abc news and the "christian science monitor." >> ifill: we heard today of presidents clinton and bush visiting port-au-prince. we want to know what it is they want to do and how they were received. >> for the people that knew they were coming, which i can't say was the majority of the population, i think the visit went really well. they had a press conference in the national palace.

and then they went across the street and visited a few people who are living in a tent camp there. and then i think they went to a pre-fab factory that is putting together some of these transitional houses for people who are living in the tent camps. >> ifill: when we talk about things like these shelter challenges, president clinton said he would like to make sure that all the aid groups are on the same page. how is that going right now? >> the people who are in charge of the shelter cluster which is part of the united nations are very pleased to say that they've got about two- thirds of the 1.3 million people who are homeless now in secure housing. unfortunately that leaves still about four million people who are, sorry, 400,000 people who are without homes. so that's a very serious concern because the rainy sony fek tively starts april 1. and about three or four days ago we had a very heavy rain. we saw some of the problems

that the rain brought for those people not in secure shelter. >> ifill: can you describe some of those problems. >> sure. the problems are really great because many of these houses are made out of make-shift wood, cardboard , bed sheets, tin , poles. so when the rain comes, the houses fall down. the people inside get wet. there's a lot of flooding that happens. they're on very insecure hillsides where there's a lot of mud that falls. so generally the conditions are just a disaster. we've only seen one strong rain so far. so you can imagine this gets multiplyed over and over again when the rainy season really starts. >> ifill: there is a big international donors conference coming up at the end of the month. haiti is hoping for $11 billion. is there any connection between high-profile visits like today and the chances that haiti will get that kind of international help? >> well, i think that was certainly the objective of the visit today. i have to say as one person said to me in the camps today,

the bush and clinton administrations combines were in power for about 16 years. and the situation didn't change in haiti. so their question is will high- profile people like this and the donors conference ultimately make a difference for them? >> ifill: has the u.s. military footprint changed significantly just in the last month as other people have stepped in , as non-governmental organizations or the haitian government itself has stepped in in some of these relief activities? >> well, i think one of the problems has been no one is really quite sure who is in charge of the relief. you've got the united nations which has a peace-keeping mission here. you have the international community which has done a lot, certainly for the people who are homeless and have been wounded. and then you have the haitian government. i think each one has done their part as they can with the resources they have. but i think there's been an overall lack of coordination between all three components. >> ifill: there arey leakss which are supposed to be on the horizon. is that correct?

>> yes. elections, scheduled presidential elections are scheduled for the end of the year. a new government will, as president preval has said, take place next february 7, 2011. the problem is that it's very difficult under these circumstances to hold elections. the electoral logistical and security component was run by the united nations. the leader of that team died in the earthquake. the voting booth, more than half the voting booths in the department of the west where port-au-prince is located have been destroyed. people have lost their identity cards. parliament which has two chambers will be the vast majority of them their terms will be up within two or three months. so the whole electoral question is a real big problem for people to solve here . >> ifill: we see behind you the tent city still there in port-au-prince. a lot of people have left the city and have gone to the countryside. where are they? are they staying away?

are they coming back? >> you know, that's a very serious problem. yes, they're saying that about a half million people did leave after the earthquake. they went to the countryside. and the problem in the countryside is there are very few resources. the host families who took people in used up all of their resources, helped people go to school. they're depleted also. many of those people are coming back. they're coming back not just because there's no possibility for them to find jobs in the countryside but they also want to get their names on the lists for permanent housing here and to benefit for some of the foreign aid and distribution that's been happening. >> ifill: kathy klarreich in port-au-prince tonight, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> brown: now, to another part of the world, as margaret warner begins her reports from the middle east nation of yemen, a place that has attracted urgent, new attention in the u.s.

>> warner: the call to prayer sounds five times a day in yemen, as it does across the arab world. this ancient nation on the arabian peninsula boasts a glorious architectural heritage. along with grinding poverty and a new and increasingly deadly franchise of the global al qaeda network. the outfit calls itself al qaeda in the arabian peninsula or aqap. the top leadership includes two saudi born former guantanamo detainees. while some have taken cover in the capital city, most members are believed to be sheltered in yemen's rugged tribal provinces. far from central government control. each week tribal and community leaders meet on the outskirts of the capital to strategize about how to counter the al qaeda presence in their nearby province.

they insist they're confronting aqap where they can, not harboring it. >> al qaeda is unwanted. they are shunned and hunted. the ethics, morals and ideals of al qaeda completely contradict the ethics and the morals of the tribal system. >> warner: they fault yemen's central government for shutting their province off to foreign tourists. while still not providing reliable electricity, health services or schools. it's a combination, they say, that aids al qaeda. >> we have a saying here: where the payroll ends al qaeda begins. we have a lot of unpaved roads here. >> warner: they also blame the united states for their plight. >> i would say with confidence that the u.s. reestablished al qaeda as we see some leaders

of al qaeda were in guantanamo and wanted revenge. >> warner: why, if you know where they are and they're shunned, you don't just turn them over to the authorities. >> a tribal chief may extend refuge or help someone until he sees clear evidence that this person has committed a crime. >> warner: at his home, former prime minister and presidential advisor says there's something more at work. >> there is a tradition of accepting anyone who comes and says i need you to protect me. but i believe with regard to al qaeda , i can't imagine that a tribe will shelter al qaeda for free. it's not a right. i'm afraid they have money. >> warner: we came to yemen to explore why this country has emerged as home base to the most effective new al qaeda offshoots. we found a contradiction. ordinary

yemenese seem very welcoming to outsiders yet from the medieval crusades to the anti-soviet campaign in afghanistan and beyond, yemenese have .... we asked the former prime minister to explain the contradiction. >> the yemenese are well known traders, well known migrants. being traders, you have to be tolerant. being an immigrant, you have to accept the other. >> warner: but when fellow muslims are under attack, he said, yemenese have always answered the call. >> the concept of continuous jihad is not very entrenched in yemen. however, when the call comes, they do. >> warner: squarely in that tradition was nasser who went to afghanistan in the mid '90s and became a body guard for osama bin laden

. >> he was so calm. he was so self-confident. he was for me the only and best person who could confront the united states. >> warner: out of the action now, he still considers u.s. to be the world's biggest menace to muslims. he says america is exaggerating the strength of aqap. >> al qaeda in yemen is weak. the real al qaeda, the people in yemen do not exceed 200. maybe a few more. the media makes it much bigger. >> warner: yet they were good enough to almost bring down a u.s. airliner on christmas. >> this doesn't mean that they have a huge number of people. they need only an idea. training, preparation, and then implementation. >> warner: one of aqap's ideas is recruiting radicalized young muslims from the west.

sometimes using the world-famous arabic language schools as unwitting cover. the would-be christmas day bomber, nigerian student , showed up for classes here. but dropped out after three weeks to pursue his deadly mission. u.s. and yemeni officials say, however, that most of aqap's foot soldiers are drawn from local families who struggle, whether in the countryside or the city, to live on an average of $2 a day. now they fear the desperation will grow as terrorism takes a toll on yemen's all-important tourist trade. the medieval stone and plaster structures of the old city used to draw world travelers to look and to spend. usually how many sales would you make a day? >> $200, $300. it depends. sometimes more.

and sometimes less. >> warner: and now? >> and now maybe $200 a month. >> warner: the shop keeper took us on a tour to see the wider impact. >> last month and this month it went down. but before it was busy , locals have no money coming from outside the country. >> warner: all of this in a way you're saying is a little deceptive? there's not enough really happening here? >> that's right. too much stuff. few people to buy. >> warner: another risk? too few teachers or jobs for the legions of restless young men in yemen's overcrowded and underfunded schools. >> me myself i cannot memorandum misall the name s. >> warner: this high school english teacher mobbed by students during a break feels he's letting them down.

>> you can get in some classes have more than 80 students. sometimes we are reaching 120. you can't believe that. believe me. >> warner: he fears yemen will let them down too when it comes to getting a college education or a decent job. >> you are teaching teenagers who are between 16 to 19 years old. this is the age that students think themselves that they are very strong and very power and they can do whatever they want. >> warner: whatever they want. in a country that too often doesn't provide good choices for its youth. >> brown: margaret continues her reports from yemen later this week. >> woodruff: finally tonight, the prospects for enacting comprehensive immigration reform, another of president obama's campaign promises. ray suarez has that.

>> suarez: they came from across the nation, from arizona, illinois, new york, and pennsylvania, to implore the president and congress to reform the country's immigration law. >> it needs to be done now. today. not tomorrow. not the next year. it must be taken care of today. >> suarez: tens of thousands of frustrated immigrants and activists turned out. while congress focused on passing a health care reform act. the bulk of the protesters were hispanic. but they were joined by immigrants from the caribbean, africa and asia. with chance of president obama's campaign slogan, yes, we can in spanish and english, they demanded the president's focus now shift to immigration. >> he broke his promise. i know he's got got a lot and he's trying to fight for health reform but immigration reform was on his agenda too. >> suarez: that reform has been bitterly fought out in congress.

the most recent attempt supported by former president george w. bush was defeated in 2007 after opponents said the amnesty programs rewarded illegal immigrants. president obama benefited from a huge turnout of latinos in the 2008 election, drawn by his promise to deliver immigration reform. nearly two out of three voted for him. >> we need a president who isn't going to walk away from something as important as comprehensive reform when it becomes politically unpopular. >> suarez: in the 14 months since taking office, the president's priorities shifted focusing instead on health care and financial restorm. manuel from rochester, new york, said it's time to remind the president of his campaign promises. >> the next election come and nothing is done about it. we're going to take a hard look at, you know, whether we're going to send him back to washington or not. >> suarez: there's been some bipartisan movement on immigration reform in the past few weeks.

democratic senator charles schumer and republican lindsey graham of south carolina crafted a draft reform proposal. but even senator graham feels the administration is not pushed hard enough. >> this idea that this administration has been unwaivering on immigration reform is just political spin. and the people at the rally ought to know that. >> suarez: but the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants the schumer- -graham proposal would allow a path to legalization. illegal immigrants would admit to breaking the law to stay in the u.s., pay fines, and perform community service. they also need to pass background checks and show proficiency in english. plus the plan would require all u.s. workers, both citizens and immigrants, to obtain fraud-proof social security cards with a biometric identifyer. there would be a zero tolerance policy for illegal immigrants who commit crimes and it would create legal ways for more low-skilled immigrants to enter the

country once the economy recovers. democratic congressman of illinois is the congressional hispanic caucus's point man on immigration. and a close ally of the president. he says the obama administration will keep its promise to turn to immigration reform now that the health care fight is largely over. even if the politics are difficult after the bruising health care battle. >> there's always an excuse. there's always a reason. when things were good and the stock market was up, there was a reason. now the stock market is down, unemployment is up, there's another reason. my job, all right? my priority is to keep this moving forward. i can't take a break. i can't take a timeout. i can't take a sabbatical because things are tough. >> suarez: but republican representative duncan hunter whose southern california district borders mexico says he and g.o.p. colleagues are not at all interested in taking up immigration this

year. >> it is not pressing right now. i don't think that it should be pressing. i think we need to make sure that our southern border is secure and we ought to work on the economy right now, work on national security and take this up when america is back on its feet economically again. >> suarez: along with the tens of thousands on the national mall, there were also immigration rallies yesterday in other cities across the country. we get more on the prospects of reform from >> suarez: we get more on the prospects for reform from ali noorani, the executive director of the national immigration forum. and jan ting, a former assistant commissioner at the immigration and naturalization services during president george h.w. bush's administration. he now teaches at temple university's beasley school of law.a- lly noorani, we've just come through a 14- month battle over health care reform. can immigration reform, a huge undertaking, be done by the 2010 midterms? >> absolutely. this is the only issue on the

table at this moment in time. it has a history of bipartisanship leadership from the days of president reg reagan to senators kennedy and mccain to today senators schumer and graham. it is the only issue of bipartisanship, the only issue that has a record of votes both from democrats and republicans. the country is starving for a bipartisan breakthrough like immigration reform that serves our interests, is a fundamental part to fixing our economy. makes our nation security and at the end of the day creates the or continues the essence of the american spirit. >> suarez: professor ting, is there time to get this done in this congress? >> it's not going to happen this year. it's not going to happen next year and it won't happen the year after that. the reality is our immigration system was while not perfect is not broken. we admit legal immigrants with a full path to citizenship. we give all more green cards than all the rest of the

nations of the world combined. this is not a broken system. this is a system that is appropriate for our nation of immigrants. which follows in our immigrant tradition. i know ally and i both have immigrant parents. we have tremendous admiration and respect for immigrants, but the question before the country is whether our admiration and respect for immigrants is so great that we're willing to take all the immigrants or would-be immigrants in the world who want to come to the united states in search of a better life or alternatively whether we want to impose a numeric limitation on how many immigrants we're willing to take. i'm a lawyer. i can argue both sides of that one. but our politicians don't want to make that choice. they keep trying to look for a middle way that lets them look tough and compassionate at the same time. it's not going to happen this year. there's only seven-and-a-half months until the election. it's not going to happen next year. the republicans are, everyone says, going to have even larger numbers. it's not going to happen in

2012 because that's another presidential election year. >> suarez: ali, what do you think about that? >> this isn't about immigrants. this is about america. this is about america not about immigrants. the fact is if you legalize two million people at least $1.5 trillion in economic growth. that to me makes sense. if you put the status quo on steroids that means we're spending $285 billion over the next five years to deport people. that is a waste of tax money. i would much rather have $1.5 trillion in economic growth for our countries over ten years than spending $28 billion over five years. this is about where we are going as a country. it's about what is good for small business owners, for organized labor, for workers, for african-american leadership, for african-american workers. it's not about immigrants. this is about what is good for us. we have to fix this system and we have to fix it now. congress can not make excuses about time lines just like the congressman said, there's

always an excuse. time, politics, the economy, et cetera. we can't afford to wait any longer. just in our own interest as a nation. >> suarez: professor, you talked about the question before the country. and talked about the system for letting people in down the road. but isn't a cornerstone part of the question before the country now what to do about the 10.8 million or 11 million people who are already here. >> absolutely. and that issue is no different than it was in 2006 and 2007 when congress voted it down. it's no different than it was in 1986 when congress enacted the first amnesty which then triggered another wave. you know, ali makes the good argument for open borders. if immigration is good why not unlimited immigration? let's get all the benefits right away. there's a coherent argument that can be made on that side. it's politically untenable. the down side of numeric limitations as ali points out you have to end up enforcing the law against people who have not committed any crime.

who are simply an excess of the number we're willing to admit. again we admit every year more legal immigrants with a clear path to full citizenship than all the rest of the nations of the world combined. is is that enough? i think the majority of the american people think it is. i think it's impractical to think it will go through. i see the argument for open borders , but i don't think it's a political sell. i don't think there's really a mid ground here. >> suarez: what's your response? >> i think the status quo of closed borders but a broken... an economy that suffers because of a broken immigration system is not good for us as a nation. i think the political motivation for both parties is very clear. it's a win-win for democrats and republicans alike. it is a solution that the majority of americans are asking for. in fact they're demanding it. the fact is without immigration reform small business owners are going to be undermined by crooked business owners who are just gaming the system.

native-born workers will be exploited because undocumented workers are being exploited. we can argue this in circles about the politics of it. who is what? but at the end of the day, we can't afford to go on any longer without fixing the system. it is is like a tax on us as a country. >> suarez: today spokesman gibbs reiterated the president's support. the president told senators graham and schumer he was in their corner when they unveiled their proposal recently. do you believe him, that he really is behind this and getting it done right away after the heavy lift of health care? >> i was in this meeting, privileged enough to be in the meeting with the president about a week-and-a-half ago. he told us he is committed to moving this issue forward. he said this weekend at this rally that he's committed to forge doing everything in his power to forge a bipartisan consensus. this is up to democrats and republicans on the hill to get to work and draft legislation and get it moving through the

committee. if the republicans want to stand in the way of the aspirations of the fastest- growing electorate in the country, that is a banner i don't think they can afford as a party. democrats on the other hand, they need to lead. if they don't lead, the political consequence will be great. democrats need to lead. republicans need to belly up to the bar and get to work. >> suarez: professor ali suggests there are political perils and problems for both partys in the capitol. >> it's a complicated issue. it's a hard choice. i admit it's a hard choice. but the alternative, the comprehensive immigration is simply a stalking horse for open borders. all the arguments that ali has made are actually support open borders. let everyone in the world who is coming here in search of a better life for themselves and their family do so. we'll reap all the benefits. i don't think the american people are going to buy that. i don't think they're going to buy that dressed up as a kind

of complicated, comprehensive immigration reform package either. the reality is we have some problems in our immigration system. we can take them on. we can deal with the tension. we can deal with our southern border that leaks like a sieve right now with thousands of people coming in every night. we have no idea who they are. we have to deal with those problems. we're not ready, i don't think the american people are ready for unlimited immigration into the united states for open borders. that's too hard a lift for the united states. >> suarez: very quickly before we go, professor ali, the tamper-proof i.d.-card, a national i.d.-card. is that in the offing do you think? professor? >> well, i think, you know, in 1986, they thought they had the perfect fix. we're going to solve the problem with employer sanctions. it was a total bust. we a new wave of illegal immigration. >> suarez: quickly, ali. >> i think that will be part of the solution that the congress wants to put forward.

we have to make sure that border security and we have a functioning immigration system. >> suarez: gentlemen, thank you both. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> brown: again, the major developments of the day. democrats celebrated after the house passed health care reform late last night. the president was set to sign the bill, while the senate considers immediate changes. and google announced its search engine for china will move off the mainland, to hong kong. the company is trying to get around official censorship. the newshour is always online. hari sreenivasan, in our newsroom, previews what's there. hari? >> sreenivasan: many viewers have written to us asking what health care reform will mean for them, so we've compiled a chart with more details on the bill and a reader's guide to the best reporting and essays we could find. plus we asked three historians-- newshour regulars richard norton smith and ellen fitzpatrick and robert dallek of stanford university-- to assess the significance of the debate and the vote. and on the rundown, four employees of a large mining company in shanghai pled guilty to bribery.

we talk to global post reporter jean yung for background on the case, and how it is playing out in china's blogosphere. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. jeff? >> brown: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. thank you, and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by:

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