>> glor: tonight, a key house committee votes out a health care bill as democrats scramble to rebut critics' charges and reassure confused voters. i'm jeff glor. ouls tonight, the cash for clunkers program keeps rolling, at least for now, as congress races to put more money in the tank. fishermen pulling together off the coast of new england, saving dwindling stocks of fish and their own jobs. could you imagine doing anything

else? >> no, i tried. i worked on land for a little bit and it just doesn't work, doesn't work. >> glor: and flying pets-- a coast-to-coast airline that promises to deliver its four-footed passengers safelily and stylishly. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with jeff glor. >> glor: and good evening. the house energy and commerce committee approved a health care reform bill last night, 31-28. with five democrats and all republican members voting against. the measure calls for a government-financed public option that would compete with private insurers and it requires nearly all americans to get health insurance coverage. president obama today called the committee vote an historic step, but in the latest cbs news/"new york times" poll, just 46% of voters approve of the president's handling of health care, compared to 58% who approve of his job performance overall. and mr. obama's facing an intense and well-financed opposition campaign. kimberly dozier is tracking the

story. ( applause ) >> reporter: the president is spending much of his time and major political capital explaining health reform over and over. >> nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care. if you like your doctor or health care provider, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. >> reporter: yet, multiple polls show the public is confused. many don't get what's in it for them, even those who came to hear the president speak this week. have you been paying attention to the health care debate? >> i've been picking up bit and pieces here and there. but a thousand pages i think is a lot for anyone to go through. >> reporter: that's 1,000 pages for just one of three different versions of the house bill. there's also a senate version out there. the house has left for its break while senators are working nonstop through their last week. senator kent conrad even brought his dog to work. he admits it's hard to silent public on a deal that is yet done. >> you have not seen a

bipartisan yet be presented to the american people, and when it is, then we have to do a massive job of education. >> reporter: but it will be autumn before both houses of congress return to work on the hoped for combined package. in the meantime, health reform opponents are capitalizing on the confusion. g.o.p. opponents have warned senior citizens that they believe medicare will be slashed. >> there will be rationing of health care and many people won't be able to get a hip replacement. >> reporter: in response, house speaker nancy pelosi sent representatives back home with tools to counter-attack, a point-by-point memo to educate voters on the bill's goals, though, again, there are few spishs. no discrimination for preexisting conditions. no dropping your coverage because you become sick. >> we intend to set the record straight in some places by innoculating against their misrepresentations, in all places by educating as to what this legislation does. >> reporter: the president today

praised the house's progress even though it misthe the august deadline for a full bill. the congressional democrats plan to use this delay as a virtue. they're going to tell the public look, we are taking the time to make sure the right thing is in this bill and to make sure you know what's in it. jeff. >> glor: kimberly dozier in washington tonight. kimberly, thank you. the called cash for clunkers trade of in program is still going strong this weekend, thanks to promises of more funding. dealers estimate the number of clunker trade-ins so far at more than 224,000. late thursday, the program looked like it might be drained until the house voted to fund another $2 billion to keep it going. randall pinkston joins us tonight from a dealership in new jersey. randall, good evening to you. >> reporter: hello, jeff. well, those news reports that the cash for clunkers program was out of cash set off some very anxious phone calls to car dealers but after unusually quick assurances from washington car dealers expect to keep seeing customers who don't want to miss out on a great bargain.

>> good luck to you. >> reporter: late this morning, ron holmes drove off in his new van from a new jersey dealership. after driving 250 miles yesterday from his home in maryland, he was afraid he had missed out on trading in his clunker, a 1995 chevy. but it all worked out so how much of a discount are you going to get? >> $7,000 altogether once the-- you know, from the sticker price. >> reporter: and that includes $3500 from the car allowance rebate system, known as cash for clunkers. its success was a major surprise. >> and we sold nine cars since the program started. that's within a week. >> reporter: the billion-dollar program launched nine days ago was supposed to last until november. then, on thursday, a scare-- reports the money had run out in just one week, micking dealers like kamil ashkar very nervous. >> i'm not going to sail car based on the cash for clunkers unless i was guaranteed the money. there's no way the democrat can have $3500 to $4500 loss on the

sale. >> reporter: the government guarantees the program at least through the weekend so arcar is planning to keep the discount. >> no one should worry. go out and buy a car. >> reporter: analysts believe the senate have to follow the house's lead and guarantee the additional capitol hill 2 billion to fund the program. >> the valid deals that are on the table right now, i think the government will fund because otherwise they're leaving the democrat holding the bag. >> reporter: while dealers like the program, they don't like the one 36-page rule book, and the constantly crashing web site that dealers must use to register clunkers and get the government reimbursement. but there are no complaints about the program's ability to bring in more potential buyers. if there was no cash for clunkers program, would you be doing this tradein? >> no, not today. >> reporter: and no complaints from junk yard owners who get the old cars from dealers after the engines have been disabled.

>> it's double the business. we're get a lot more cars in. it's good for my business. >> reporter: now, if the first billion dollars has been spent in less than a week or two weeks that could mean that the additional $2 billion could be gone long before the program's expected to expire in november. jeff. >> glor: all right, randall pinkston in new jersey tonight. randall thank you. cash for clunkers is a bit of a stimulus, and like the united states the government of france is trying to jump start its economy with a stimulus program but that is where the similarity ends. sheila macvicar looks at a spending plan that appropriates say is quicker, more effective, and indisputably french. >> reporter: high above paris, workers mend the roof of notre dame, refurbishing the elegant decoration and at the same time helping to repair the french economy with government funds invested in the past. >> you know there is no future without the past. there is no project without

memory. >> reporter: like the u.s., france's government has committed billions of dollars to stimulate the crisis-hit economy a total of $112 billion. >> we've learned a lot from the past and we're using this experience now and this is probably the reason why we are about to avoid a deep depression like the one we saw in the 30s. >> reporter: there is cash for clunkers to help car sales, money for new subsidized housing repairs for potholes and leaking pipes across the nation, and $140 million to renovate france's prized cultural heritage. analysts say the key to get economies moving is not just to spend money but to spend it quickly. and in france there were lots of long-planned renovation projects just waiting for cash. the beautiful chateau of fontainebleu 'relance is one of

50 that will get a facelift. usually there are years to wait before the fund is available. the relance, as the french call the stimulus. france plans to spend 75% of the money set aside for economic stimulus before the end of this year. in contrast, the u.s. will not reach that level of spending for another full year, the fall of 2010. >> ( translated ): the u.s. wasted a lot of time when the crisis was most severe, says this french minister. the change of u.s. administration slowed the planning and even now there are constant negotiations between the federal government and the states. even with the spend spending, the crisis won't end soon. unemployment here is now nearly 9% and it will continue to rise, and the gross domestic product continue to fall. but by spending money on heritage, the government is creating jobs, helping the economy and making france more

beautiful. sheila macvicar, cbs news, paris. >> glor: overseas tonight, iran confirmed it arrested three americans who entered its territory yesterday after iran says they were ignoring border guards. kurdish officials in northern iraq say the three are tourists who wondered into iran while hiking. coming up on tonight's cbs evening news, only one state in the country has near-universal health care coverage. so will the massachusetts model work for everyone else? but i try not to let it slow me down. i go down to the pool for a swim... get out and dance... even play a little hide-n-seek. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd... which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i take it every day. it keeps my airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announcer: spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms.

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sglof a bomb scare at new york's la guardia airport disrupted travel plans for thousands all day long. the main terminal was evacuated while police subdued a holmes man they say was carrying a fake bomb in a bag. he was stooptd security.

with debate over health care reform still churning, the one state already trying to provide universal coverage is getting a lot of attention these days. priya david looks at possible prescription for change based on the massachusetts model. >> reporter: for years, 64-year-old judith martin, a diabetic and cancer survivor struggled to pay her health insurance premiums. >> it was almost $900 a month. there was just no way i could do that. >> reporter: a former school teacher, martin resorted to using free clinics before massachusetts passed its landmark health insurance reform in 2006. the plan, known as commonwealth care, mandates that every resident have health insurance. those who couldn't afford it, like martin, are subsidized, which means she now pays $176 a month, $700 less than before. >> it's a very safe feeling. i feel protected. >> reporter: three years into the program, massachusetts has the lowest percentage of uninsured in the country, 2.6%,

compared to the national average of 16%. >> another open your mouth a bit. >> reporter: but the success hasn't been cheap. in its first year, the plan cost $133 million, 17% under budget. last year, costs rose to $628 million, 33% over budget as the economy faltered and thousands of laid off workers signed up for the program. this year and ncommonwealth care is expected to cost more than $800 million. critics are saying this is costing too much money. spending has spiralled out of control. is that true or not? >> it's really not true. >> reporter: economist jonathan gruber helped create the massachusetts plan and has advised president obama on national health reform. >> this was never designed to be a bill that would fundamentally reign in the cost of health care in massachusetts. this was designed to be a bill to say, look, we have the resources in massachusetts to cover all the uninsured by

rededicating spending we were already doing as a state. and we did that. >> reporter: gruber says the next challenge is to contain health care costs, now growing 6% a year nationally. massachusetts spends almost $7,000 per person on health care the most of any state in the country. now, massachusetts is focusing on bringing down those costs. its first step is an attempt to completely change how doctors get paid. those savings would come through a proposed global payment system which would give doctors a lump sum of money for all of a patient's care instead of paying a fee for each test and office visit. an approach meant to promote preventive care. >> right now we spend about $1 billion for hospitalizations that we don't think need to happen-- for emergency room visits for care that could be otherwise provided in a lower cost setting in a physician's office. >> reporter: in mthe investment is beginning to pay off. of the 600,000 people who lacked

health insurance three years ago 430,000 are now covered. and many at risk of losing their care are able to afford it. when martin had surgery for uterine cancer last year, it cost her only a $200 deductible. >> i don't think i'm overstating it when i say how much i appreciate them, and they saved my life. >> reporter: and she's glad she lives in massachusetts. priya david, cbs news, worcester massachusetts. >> glor: in sports, michael phelps being cavic in the butterfly in record time and for phelps, victory was sweet. he wore an older model body suit while cavic wore a newer one. before the race, cavic taunted phelps new activia smoothies. creamy, delicious, and above all, it contains bifidus regularis

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their stock in trade. what's the farthest you're going to go out? >> that's it. i can't go any further because.... >> glor: by any measure management of the fishing industry in new england over the past two decades has been a mess. >> all the paperwork, all the regulations. it's almost impossible not to break some kind of, you know, rule at one point or another because there's always something new coming down the pike. >> glor: greg walinsky has been fishing off cape and the islands for 30 years and he's never seen stocks of cod so depleted. he's never had to go so far out to sea in his small boat to catch them. >> we're fishing 120 miles offshore. a lot of people think we're nuts. >> reporter: since 1994, the number of boats in new england looking for ground fish-- cod, haddock, pollock and flounder-- has plunged from 5,000 to 574. over the same period revenue has dropped from $116 million to $52 million and the supply of cod has been nearly destroyed.

>> the georges bank cod that is so famed and sits above the state house in massachusetts is only at about 10% of what scientists consider a sustainable biomass. >> glor: that's a staggering number. >> that's a sad number, yeah. that's what decades overfishing does. >> it's about survival at this point. >> glor: eric brazer is part of a new solution that fishermen and krvzist think will save the fish and the industry. operating from chatham, he runs the only two new england fishermen's cooperatives, or sectors as they're known. >> new england has a poor track record of managing their fisheries and their fishermen. >> reporter: under the existing system, a federal license limits the amount of fish a fisherman can land and how many days he can go to sea, a number which has shrunk to only 20 days a year for many. that means fishermen have to put in longer, harder days, and sailed in bad weather. the sectors allow the fishermen to pool their individual quote as and divide them up as they see fit. smaller fishermen can stay in business because they don't have

to spend tens of thousands of dollars on extra licenses that would permit more days at sea. how big a deal are the cooperatives? >> without the hook sector right now, i would probably be out of business. so it's a big deal. >> glor: the cape cod cooperatives have proved so successful they're now expanding from two on cape cod to a total of 19 next may for fishermen working from maine to long island. >> they decide how to catch it, where to catch it, when to catch it. >> glor: and for greg walinsky, being able it make those decisions makes all the difference. could you imagine doing anything else? >> no, i've tried. i went back on land fair little bit and it just doesn't work. it doesn't work. >> glor: conservationists believe if the sector's strategy works, stocks of cod could be replenished in 15 years. still ahead on tonight's cbs evening news, fido takes flight on a new airline just for pets. this fiber? i'd had my fill. then i found miralax. and miralax relieves constipation

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>> glor: airlines are having trouble fig seats these days but try reserving a kennel for your pet on one new airline and you'll wind up on a waiting list. sandra hughes has more. >> reporter: it may be a dog-eat-dog economy out there, but with 163 million family pets

in the u.s., you might wonder why no one thought of it sooner-- pet airways, a coast-to-coast travel service for dogs and cats. >> we're booked for the next, i think, two or three months. >> reporter: doodle is on one of the first flights from los angeles to baltimore. the lab dormix lost a leg to cancer. when his owner relocated to new york, he stayed behind to heal with family friend lynn moonie. so you think he'll do all right flying? >> no, i think he's going to be a nervous wreck. get your baby! >> reporter: with only his favorite toy packed, doodle is traveling light. he doesn't seem to have a fear of flying. >> bye, poodle! >> reporter: but lynn is less confident. >> i'm crying now. >> reporter: oooh! it's nervous pet owner concerns about temperature and air quality that led money to purchase a pet airways ticket priced between $150 and $300 each way, the animals fly in a specially designed main cabin of

a small jet. government statistics say about 2 million animals fly every year. in two 8, 30 animals died, 10 were injured, and three were lost. >> come on, guys! >> reporter: on pet airways, a pet attendant is on each flight. >> i'm actually monitoring the air as we fly to make sure the temperature is correct, that there's plenty of airflow. >> reporter: there's no inflight movie or meal, but these passengers have been upgraded from cargo. and these days, cargo can be just as costly for the family pet. major airlines increase revenue by charging between $100 and $500. after a 3,000-mile journey, doodle is back in the arms of his owner. >> your pet is your baby, so, spare no expense. >> reporter: pet airways is hoping that idea, like doodle, takes off. sandra hughes, cbs news, hawthorn, california. >> glor: that is the cbs evening news tonight.

later on cbs, "48 hours mystery." russ mitchell will be here tomorrow night. i'm jeff glor, cbs news, in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org