senator hatch, who is up for re-election this year, posing questions to hhs secretary kathleen sebelius. >> in his statement on friday addressing the supposed compromise on this mandate, president obama said, quote, from the very beginning of this process i spoke directly to various catholic officials, unquote. now prior to friday, february 10th, did you consult with any individual catholic bishop or the u.s. conference of catholic bishops approximate this so-called compromise? >> i did not speak to the catholic bishops. >> okay. that's all i want to know. to your knowledge, prior to february 10th, did anyone in the administration consult with any individual catholic bishop or the usccb about that so-called compromise, to your knowledge? >> i know that the president has spoken to the bishops on several occasions, yes. >> was it about that so-called compromise? >> i -- >> you don't know, okay. >> i don't know. >> are you aware of any consultation prior to friday, february 10th, by anyone in the administration, the president's re-election campaign or the democratic national committee, wit

did you or anybody at hhs conduct or request any analysis of the constitutional or statutory religious freedom issues? that's a simple question. >> we certainly had our legal department look at a whole host of legal issues -- >> did you ask the justice department? >> i did not, no, sir. >> that's all i want to get. my time is up. >> just part of the exchange earlier with senator orrin hatch, republican of utah, member of the finance committee, ask hhs secretary kathleen sebelius who also today announced the affordable care account provided approximately 54 million americans with at least one new free preventative service this past year through private health insurance plans, also announcing an estimated 32.5 million people with medicare received at least one free preventive benefit in 2011 including the wellness visit since the health care bill was enacted into law last year. read more by logging on to marketwatch.com which posted the story. this is "washington today" on c-span radio. news today about a change at the world bank. some speculating hillary clinton would be interested in t

what we did is i worked on behalf of hhs with the direction of katharine dodd. your -- as to what the starting point was and the outgoing -- outcome of what boat -- those negotiations were. i calculate on behalf of people who have the city plan which is yourself. the premium equivalent rates for those people, those are basically based on sound actuarial principles and reflect the anticipated costs of what we think the future claims will be and incorporate the present administrative fees. we also did a projection of the dental plan which is the plan provided for the active people. in this process as was previously discussed, we started and got to a point where because of proposition c, we got six months rates with no planned changes and that saved $8 million, $8.30 million to be more correct. we had had a series of meetings where we presented a plan benefit change option to the health service's board and a set of benefit change options were proved that added an additional $8.70 million savings. starting from a certain point of a high overall average, we reduced t

after authoritiee called off the matchh..because of the rioting at hh other match.off. 3 3 3 arrested on the icc.what a &pdoing. you wooldn't thhnk that a baseball card, without the plaaer's picture on it.... would be wwrth much. pmch.but this story defies common sense. the skip schumaker card doesn't even show the cardinals player's face -- instead it shows the rally squirrel.and that card... is selling for more than 600 bucks on ebay.to put world series m-v-p, david e ffeeseehas a card worth one dollar.it'' all abouu upply and demand. johnson says: "you know the coaches noticed that he was off the mark by quite a ways and bumpingginto the boards and having trouble ccmmon sense says....you o..."- shouldn't ddink and drive a zamboni.... it happened in minnesota. joel buss &pwas arrested monday night.... accused of driving a zamboni &punder the influence. policc were called after buss was seen driving the zamboni erratically at an arena in apple valley.buss has three prior d-w-i convictions. 3 3 we kkow cats have nine lives... but what about one with two faces. the i

that's likely to put a ulls eye on hhs bbck when he faces off wiih his rivals tonight. tommy annres reporting. the cnn-sponored debate is ttking place in mesa.their last ebate was in january in florida.after rizona and michigan, wyoming and wassinggon statt will hold caucuses, then it's on to super tuesday. i heard you singing al prrsident singing!! ( sweet home, hicago) 3 chicago) that was the pressdent... havvng a jam session with mick jjgger, b-- king, and buddy was held in the east room in ponth.buddy guy goaded the presidenn to ttke the mic and &psinn a verse of the fiiale ong "sweet home chicaao", and he did. if you thihnk drinking diet ssda.. instead of regulaa .. think again. again.a new study finds eople who drink a caa of ddee soda a day had a 43 perceet greater risk of having a stroke or heart attack.researchers ssy theyydon't knowwthe exact cause... but they made the connection by followwng 25 hhndred people over decade. regular soda packs a big sugar punch.. and caa also add to your waistliie.so your best beverage option?plain old healthier eating might com

as lodge as gay marriage and is the hhs are in the news. about it in the context of tenth amendment. i think santorum will come back pretty hard on that. >> you know, nimika, we have talked about this before, there's a blind spot just because of where we're based on some of these social issues. they know they need it before november. there's a reason why barack obama refuses to come out and say he supports gay marriage. he knows they're out of the mainstream. this proves what prime minister mcmillen said, in politics a week is a lifetime, and it's been a pretty rough week. >> i think it has. i think it's been difficult and a real opportunity for the republicans, what david axelrod said, the white house will tell you and tell you again and again that that is no different than the plan they put in place and the hhs decision, with the way they define it with a great period that is looking for the way to work it out, that they're not backing down at all. if they don't back down at all, that's certainly their prerogative. if they don't compromis

i am concerned hhs recent bulletin on the benefits package refers to states using a benchmark plan. as the basis for the essential health benefits package, but because of the current patchwork of state autism coverage requirements and exemptions, i know i'm not alone. in the serious concerns that the benchmarking plan is insufficient to insure coverage would be available at all qualified health plans as the law dictates it to be. so, one is please explain what steps hhs will tall to insure plans will provide behaviorial health services as required by the law, and how will the process move forward on finalizing the essential health benefits rule, that is my first question. the second question is with reference to provision of the law that i previously introduced call the mother's act, focuses on the devastating disease of post-partum depression and the language in the law required that hhs submit a report to congress specifically addressing the benefits associated with screening for post-partum depression and this report is supposed to be due two years after enactment, which is march

where does he stand on the hhs contraception mandate. good evening, sir? >> good evening. >> greta: you don't get to vote on this because you have retired but what do you think about this latest dispute? >> i'm disappointed that the pllgs would put forth such a rule, a you are putting together and putting together major legislation there will be fumbles along the way. i hope we can get the matter resolved short of action by congress or president should sit down and work this thing out. we can do it. we can do it again. >> greta: at least tonight, the line seems to be drawn in the sand. i'm curious, they stumbled and fumble had. but is the morning-after pill in your mind contraception or is it some catholics might say a form of abortion? >> its contra september active and you are taking a life. therefore i'm not in favor of that and neither is the catholic church. >> greta: so if it's contra september active it's not covered in the executive order that the president signed, is that what you agreed to that dealt with abortion? >> it dealt with not only abort

the first is that the secretary of hhs should create a comprehensive population level strategy for pain prfrevention, management, and research. including an agenda for developing research, improve pain assessment and management programs, improve ongoing efforts to enhance public awareness of pain. and this should include the multiple federal and private agencies. secondly, we recommended that the secretary of hhs with other federal state and private sector entities should develop strategies for reducing the barriers of the care of pain, focusing on particular on populations disproportionately affected by and undertreated for pain. third, we recommended that health care providers, insurance, and others should work collaboratively between pain specialists and primary care clinicians, including referral to pain specialists when appropriate. there are about 4,000 pain specialists in the united states. not nearly enough to cover all those with pain. and therefore we look to enhanced education and training of primary care physicians to work collaboratively and new care models to better direct

hh... goverror ...also wantt... to doublee../ the... flush tax...t pom.../ áá andáá.../ click on... "raw news"" here's... our question of the day..../// áádoáá you support... governor o'malley's.../ legislativeeagenna? go... &p tt... fox-baltimore ddt coo .../ áátelláá uu ...what you &pthink...//. áásoundáá off... thru... faaebook...///. áásendáá us... a tweet../.// ááoráá... p text... your answer p..to.../ 45--203...///. ááenttrrá... fox45a... for yes../ ááfox45báá for...no.../ a creative robber....tries to make a political statement with his disguise. this man,....dressed all in black, wearing a president obama maskkheld up a florida mcdonald's at gunpoint. emmloyyes say he threatened them, robbed the safe and then took off. he didnnt get a happy meal, but he mannged tt take off with a thousand dollars in ccsh. i guessssome people think that obama is roobing them blind.. still, a thousand isn't ll that much. the poor prez. hh ii getting it from everywhere, isn't he? people are robbing things looking like him. tte gunman didn't hurt any f the mcdon

a man was killed after crashing hhs tanner truck full of gasoline.er the drivee lost control, crossed the highway median, and ended up in the westbound lanes. the pdiver dded at the scene. all lanes of the highway were closed while ccews cleaned up. 3 tinseltoww's bigggst night. niggt. octavia spencer wins for her role in "the african american ctresses for ttying to make it in hollywood. 3 3-adblib weather tz-- - ?cc [ male announcer ] for a better-looking tomorrow. vicks nyquil cold & flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. [ deep breath ] ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪ the buzz surrounding last night's aaademy awards conninues today. is... herr.../ with reaction ...to... hollywood's biggest niggt ...// for... today's lowdown. lowdown. (((pkg)))this was the 84-th and white movie took home thh top honnrs. the silent film "the artist" was loudly proclaimed the big winner.it picked up five oscars, including best pictu

mic &pand sing a verse of the finaa song "sweet home chicago", and he did.this comes justtweeks after hhs

catholic hierarchy ...denounces hh white houses' receet comprrmise on birrh cont. control.in a statement, the u-s conference of catholic bishops called the new plan ""nacceptable" and said it "must be corrected."friday, president obama eased the catholic institutions to ay for birth control for their employees.the new plan wouud force insurance companies to pay for the contraceptives.but the catholics confereece andd ssme republicans say the compromise isn't enough and their religious freedom is still compromisedd mcconnell ayy: 0:43:544this the administration simply backs down. they doo't have the authority under thh first amendmenn f the united states in this country or somee &porganization in this country what their religious beliefs are. 10:44:10 but the president showssno signs of repealing his plan... even as memberssof congress consider legislation that would outlaw this kind off birth conttol mandate. supporters of same sex marriage will hold a rally tonight... in annapolis. annnpolis.this... as committee members in the ssate sennte and house considdr movin

have you discussed this with anyone at hhs? >> i have not personally. i did when i became administrator ask to understand our title 42 hiring process. congress had raised it as an issue in fy 2011 i believe we had 17 and hired a total of five more. >> and these are designed to be temporary employees. are they temporary employees on your balance sheet? >> i believe that they are designed to meet certain needs. we have them mainly as heads of our national labs. those national centers are state of the art research and often times are -- we're looking for people with very specialized -- >> but by definition these are designed to be time limited and hhs has now agreed to a cap on title 42 employees. are you looking at providing a similar sort of cap in your agent i? >> we don't have a tremendous number of title 42 employees. i'm happy to provide the justification to you, mr. burgess. >> well, i've been waiting on some of those questions that we've submitted last time. i will resubmit some today and i am looking forward to that. since we have the cfo with you

let me just ask you again, did hhs conduct or request any analysis of the constitutional or statutory religious freedom -- or the statutory religious freedom issues? >> senator, i think -- >> if you know. >> -- what you heard was the president talk about two important principles, the availability of preventive -- >> no, my question is -- >> -- women and religious freedom -- >> my question is a simple question. did you or anybody at hhs conduct or request any analysis of the constitutional or statutory religious freedom issues? that's a simple question. >> well, we certainly had our legal department look at a whole host of legal issues -- >> did you ask the justice department? >> i did not, no, sir. >> okay, that's all i want to get. well, my time is up. next will be senator binghamton. >> thank you, mr. chairman. madame secretary, thank you for being here. let me just say for the record, i appreciate the reasonable position that you've arrived at with regard to contraceptive services. i think it adequately protects religious liberty and it's at the same time protects the right of wome

officers took hhs cellphone and deleted the images. that's prohibited now under the new policy.a piece of evidence from a crime, for example a and that piece of evidence is - instrumental to the investigation, police officers dd have a riggh to confiscate property." police havv "- said because of this new policy.. sharp's case should not go forward. but for now it is...there's a hearing monday. sharp and the a- c-l-u claim police violated his fiist amendment rights. health officials.../ at.../ towson university...// &p ááareáá... considerrng.../ vending machines.../ áádispensingáá .../ the.../ contraceptive...// "plan b"....// áájaniceáá...park ...live at the campuswitt more on...how they got...this idea... áájanice?áá health officials say this vending machine wouldn't be ppaced on campus for another year. but seems to be welcomed by students who say it can be emmarassing having to ask an on campus nurse for plan b. health officials at towsoo universsty say they started throwinn the idea around for a plan b vending machine after shippensburg university in pp put one on their cam

. >> i want to ask you about this hhs rule. but i'm curious, why the fact that you swept missouri, minnesota, colorado, how is the fund-raising? >> we've done $3 million in three days. it's been just overwhelming. i just want to thank everybody. obviously it's given us an opportunity to go out and really start working heavily in states we have an opportunity. michigan in particular, we think we have a greater message with our made in america plan. the kind of economic growth that is going to get manufacturing back in this country and grow those jobs in michigan. the other side of michigan, western side of michigan, we got good strong conservative values that is grand rapids and great michigan heartland of america. we think we can run very well. >> greta: governor romney, you think you can beat him there? >> i came from western pennsylvania, grew up working class roots, had the opportunity to see what manufacturing means to this country. what it did to the town that i grew up in. going through the same thing in michigan as they

after authoritiee called off the matchh..because of the rioting at hh other match.ff. 3 3 3 arrested on the icc.what a &pdoing. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] at southwest airlines, we're always looking for new ways to make you happy. and we know what really makes you happy are new places to fly. announcing new nonstop service from bwi airport to atlanta starting february 12th. book all of our destinations only at southwest.com. ♪ book all of our destinations only at southwest.com. you wooldn't thhnk that a baseball card, without the plaaer's picture on it.... would be wwrth much. pmch.but this story defies common sense. the skip schumaker card doesn't even show the cardinals player's face -- instead it shows the rally squirrel.and that card... is selling for more than 600 bucks on ebay.to put world series m-v-p, david e ffeeseehas a card worth one dollar.it'' all abouu upply and demand. johnson says: "you know the coaches noticed that he was off the mark by quite a ways and bumpingginto the boards and having trouble ccmmon sense says....you o..."- shouldn't ddink and drive

nearly three years ago.despite hhs reeent ggod behavior... a prosecutors...t brown should continue reporting o his probation officer n his home state of virginna. a man convvcted of stalking madonna... has escaped from a mental hospital.los angeles police say 54-year old robert hoskins... who once scaled the to hurt her... managed to nd - break free last night.pplice say hoskins is highly psychotic... and is considered to be very dangeroos. would you spend 55-dollars for a cupcake?what about 5- áthousandá dollars? doolars?ittmight soond pennsylvanna ... that's exactly what one bakkry is selling.the sparkling, red velvet cupcake comes omplete with an 8-karat diamond ring. is there any sweeter way to ask... 'will yyu marry me?' "i think it'sssweeter than asking your peccal someone to marry you with a reddveevee cup" cupcake."with so many delicious cupcakes to hoose from... how did they decide on the red velvet?the bakery says it's because thh flavor ii award-winning... and you can't bbat red for valentine's day.. ttey exchanged vows just a alf hour ago... now t

first the hhs decision, tim kaine, before he decided to run for the senate, now opposing the hhs ruling this continues, the groundswell continues, and i think the white house will figure out a way to compromise with catholics in a way that puts this best hind him, but the second part of the story, we've been focusing on president obama having a rough week this week on a bunch of issues that they would probably to be consider side issues that they never expected to come up, but the second big story is mitt romney, not the collapse -- or rick santorum, either way it's the story. >> mitt romney has had a terrible week. if you look at the editorial pages today. mark halperin was talking to me before the show, the conservatives are not panicked, but they are going after mitt romney. "wall street journal" -- conservatives don't trust mr. romney in part because he gives little reason to do so. what he needs is to make a better more positive case of his candidacy beyond his business resume, and it says you better not resort against negative attacks against santorum. "new york post," an editoria

. >> i am going to ask you about the hhs rule. but first, i'm curious, fund-raising, in light of the fact that you swept missouri, minnesota, colorado, how's the fund-raising? >> we have done $3 million in three days. it's been just overwhelming. just thank everybody. it's a great boost to us and obviously given us an opportunity to go out now and really start to play heavily in some states that -- that we think we have an opportunity -- michigan, in particular, we think we have a great message with our maid made in america plan. you know, the kind of economic growth that is going to get manufacturing back in this country and grow those jobs in michigan. you know, the other side, the western side of michigan, we have the good, strong conservative values that is, you know, grand rapids and that great western michigan heartland of america. we think we can run very, very well. >> do you really think you can beat governor romney? that's his stomping grounds. >> yeah. i came from a steel town in western pennsylvania, grew up, you know,

there are five measures presently pending on capitol hill to repeal this hhs rule.ius noted that there is a year long extension that catholic affiliated institutions would have to come into compliance with the rule. she suggested the church and obama administration can quote work out a strategy to achieve that goal. the president's top health official also made clear the rule is going to go into effect starting august 2013 without any further revisions. lawmakers split along party lines. >> i think it adequately protects religious liberty and at the same time protects the right of women to obtain contraceptive services when they choose to. >> i think you got it very wrong. the first try and you have a lot more work to do. >> the u.s. conference of catholic bishops has begun enlisting evangelical visions and other groups in public relations campaign against the hhs rule. catholics oppose the use of birth control as a matter of doctrine and don't want female contraception to be offered as health plan regardless hough is paying for it republic drew attention to his hou

the year devotee of the task of defining those to the hhs. estimate these things have challenged don't have to bump up against the constitution, they can bump up against other federal law. >> they could finally other federal walls come and in our lawsuits we allege that they do but they do have the force of law so they have to comply with the constitution so they are as if they were passed through legislation. what i'm thinking of as you were saying about these issues going beyond what i was listening to memoirs of some of the people that the time when it was under assault, when the church was under assault and the archbishop was dealing with that and he refused to let it become simply an issue of the catholic church said this is a crisis for man it's not a crisis for the church. how do we deal when we are framing this for a practical legal matter how do we go forward framing this as a crisis of man and not just of the church but also eminently practical because this is very serious. we are here because this is mary real practical implication

i remember this hhs issue brings it up again. this is a president who talked about us clinging to our guns and our religion. count me a clinger. this is a president with a deep antipathy to what we're trying to do, and who has a series of policies that have been destructive all across the country and certainly in kansas as well. he has opposed every single limited government measure that the house has put forward this year. some so much that we're even too timid to present them. and so we need an enormous change in the white house. >> now when you say too timid to present them, you mean that the leadership, the republican leadership is afraid to present them because of the fear of being attacked by the media? >> i'll say -- too timid. all of the above in the sense collectively. look at the payroll tax battle that we had. the house put out -- it wouldn't have been my first draft, but it was a reasonable presentation that would have extended some of these crazy things for more than just a couple months. a year and in one case two y

consideration to talking about this issue that we have been talking about about catholics being upset about the hhs decision. some men have said they have a problem with this. was there consideration to using that forum to kind of changing that decision, and why it fits into this moral decision. i confess that he has not been ready to open the remarks. the considerations that were taken. one of the things the critics are jumping on about that collie is that they claim when you talk about contraception, you're -- that is not true. but i wanted to give you a chance on the record here. this is being used to say this opens the door to abortion. >> i would cite the experts in both the policy and medical experts and say yes, i would point you to the facts. i understand that things get used for and misrepresented but that's not the case here, and this is about providing american women, women across the country with access to good health care and to the preventive services that the institute of medicine, a nonpolitical organization believes are necessary or required. >> the president has cited the major pi

to join us for our discussion contesting the hhs mandate. again, for more information of catholic information center or to donate to programs like these, visit our web site, cicbc.org. thank you all and please join me and thinking our panelists. [applause] >>> now, the marks from the house speaker john boehner at his weekly news briefing to the he talks about the birth control provision that requires employers come including religious ones, to pay for contraceptives for health insurance plans. speaker boehner also discusses the congressional stock trading bill and the payroll tax cut extension. this is 15 minutes. >> good morning everyone. as middle class families in small businesses continue to struggle in this economy republicans continue to focus on the number one issue in the country, and that's jobs. the house has passed nearly 40 bipartisan bills sitting over the united states senate. with lower gas prices, reduced regulations on job creators and encourage more small business job creation. many of these bills are increased by the presi

we're talking about this hhs decision. be interesting to see where the polls come in. i don't think it's going to be split down the middle with the catholics. a big supporter of the president, the second this came out, this was pretty black and white for you. >> yes, but most people i know who are catholics would not agree with me. so i have to say it's interesting what chuck says. >> you go to an interesting catholic church then, because almost every catholic i've spoken to is offended by this. >> i don't like it. i have to say. >> and we were just talking in the break, again, forget the ideology, politically -- the politics of it, this seems like a really curious decision, does it not? >> it'd be fascinating to do focus groups in michigan, pennsylvania, ohio, with reagan democrats, catholics and say explain it to them and ask what they think. >> i think the politics of it is tough. but i don't think it was a political decision. i think you've got to deal with -- >> i don't think it was either because it doesn't make sens

that's the mission. >> as i understand it, the law says, the mandate from hhs says, igor, i'll go to on this. they must buy, these catholic institutions the hospitals, the schools, the charities, must buy the health insurance, one size fits all by the government which offers the contraception, which offers the morning after pill which offers sterilization and they do not want to buy that and that is the issue. i ask you, that is the issue, why couldn't hhs at least give the church the same waiver they gave mcdonald's, why couldn't they get a mcdonald's waiver? >> they have a year to comply with this, and the administration said they will work with the institutions and the key here is that we are treating catholic hospitals and colleges like employers. we tell them that as employers they cannot discriminate when people and in the coverage they provide, they cannot discriminate what they offer. that is typical employer obligations. an employee has rights and those rights have to be respected. >> this is not a right. this is not a right. >> that is what this is about. >> by the way, lar

none by hhs was elected by people.hey elected congress to pass the healthcare bill and it outsourced to somebody else. that is my complaint. people that are doing this are not elected officials? >> is incredibly important point. going back in time, many of the democrats who voted for the obamacare bill that led to the regulation being issued, they voted it with the understanding this would not infringe upon religious organizations and religious organizations would be exempted but learning now that the promise that obama and nancy pelosi provided to them that religious organizations would not be trampled on, it's been violated. >> greta: i never liked the idea that non-elected officials make such sweeping decisions. there are seven states that have filed in your case, part your case. where are the other 19 or so that were part of the health care mandate. are they going to be joining with you, do you think? >> right. you may recall when we filed the original obamacare lawsuit, it begin with 13 states and then grew to 26

coming out of hhs, the sort of post legislature stuff. >> the interim final rule issued by hhs. >> so they are not the law itself. there are findings that follow. >> the idea that contraception should be a preventive service at all is not a statute. they are delegating the task of finding those. >> which means that these things have challenged, don't have to lump up against the constitution but can bump up against other federal laws. >> they could violate federal laws and our laws allege that they do. so i mean they are vulnerable to constitutional attack just as if they were passed through legislation. >> but i guess so what i'm thinking of is what jim capretta what you are saying about these issues sort of going beyond. i was listening to memoirs of some of the people at the time when the church was under assault and archbishop carroll more tl was dealing with that and he refused to let it become simply an issue of the catholic church that this is a crisis for man. it's not a crisis for the church. how do we deal when we are framing this as a practical legal matter, how do we go for