joining us live this morning the secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius. welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you. nice to be here. >> end game time. the president talked about it this week. this is what he said. >> every idea has been put on the table. every argument has been made. everything there is to say about health care has been said and just about everybody has said it. >> he said with it a smile but making a serious point. this is really the end of the line for the debate and here are two facts. most people who have health insurance like what they have, and, a majority of americans oppose this president's version of health care reform. how realistically do you get this done? >> i think, david, what we're hearing from people across america is even people who have insurance are terrified what's going on in the marketplace, opening their statements, seeing these incredible rate increases if they are not protected by a large employer, going on across the country. we got a goldman sachs analyst who said that the market competition is decreasing i

sebelius gave the response from the democratic party. but this -- the whole issue is -- and i'll read this, that nowhere on the trinity web site is sebelius's support for abortion mentioned, pat reilly, president of the group, told lifenews.com. "it runs contrary to the very purpose of the catholic university to apply the pursuit of power for gravely immoral ends," reilly explained, "by deliberately associating itself with vocal advocates of what pope john paul ii called a culture of death. trinity university has taken the low road." deal with this one. >> well, i obviously disagree with that blog and with other bloggers of that, although they certainly have every right to express their opinion. the fact of the matter is both nancy pelosi and kathleen sebelius have chosen careers in politics. and it's part of the work and life of politicians to represent their constituents as they see fit and also to engage with the tough political issues of our time. i think in both cases i know both women. both of them are very good women who care deep

sebelius gave the response for the democratic party. the whole issue is and i'll read this, but nowhere on the trinity web site is sebelius's support for abortion," patrick riley, the president of the group, told, "by deliberately associating itself with vocal advocates of what pope john paul called a culture of death, trinity university has taken the low road." >> i disagree with that, although they have every right to express their opinions. the fact of the matter is nancy pelosi and kathleen sebelius have chosen careers in politics. as part of the work and life of politicians to represent their constituents as they see fit and also to engage with the tough political issues of our time. in both cases, i know both women, both of them are very good women who care deeply about their faith, they are mothers, themselves, they have raised good families, and they have thought deeply about these issues. they have engaged with conversations -- with this about these issues. the role of bishops calling each of us in leadership to fidelity in chu

but first, department of health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius joins us. she was at the signing ceremony today. let's take a look. >> that our generation is able to succeed in passing this reform is a testament to the persistence and the character of the american people. who championed this cause, who mobilized, who organized, who believed that people who love this country can change it. it's also a testament to the historic leadership and uncommon courage of the men and women of the united states congress. who have taken their lumps during this difficult debate. >> yes, we did! >> larry: all right, joining us from washington, secretary kathleen sebelius, secretary of health and human services. he used 20 pens. did you get one? >> i understand i do. i don't have it in hand, but i saw the list that the white house put out, and it had my name on it. i'm thrilled. >> larry: you said the public image of health care reform efforts had been hurt by attempts to confuse and scare americans. who are you blaming for that? >> well, i think, larry, over the course of

. >>> secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius with us too.and then vice president biden drops the f-bomb. next, on "larry king live." good evening. mitt romney is here. he's got a lot to say about the new health care laws and what he intends to do about them now. you can tweet your questions for him, or send them to our facebook page. but first, department of health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius joins us. she was at the signing ceremony today. let's take a look. >> that our generation is able to succeed in passing this reform is a testament to the persistence and the character of the american people. who championed this cause, who mobilized, who organized, who believed that people who love this country can change it. it's also a testament to the historic leadership and uncommon courage of the men and women of the united states congress. who have taken their lumps during this difficult debate. >> yes, we did! >> larry: all right, joining us from washington, secretary kathleen sebelius, secretary of health and human services. h

host: in the meantime, kathleen sebelius is speaking at the health care rally today.hat kind of reception will she be getting from the industry? caller: it will be cool, the insurance industry is stumping against her. she met last week with executives and more or less chewed them out for their higher rates and i expect she will continue to discuss that situation this afternoon. host: where do you see things headed? of caller: we will get some kind of vote in the house this month. the timing is an issue. robert gibbs of wants a vote before the president departs on his asia trip on march 18. steny hoyer is talking more like towards the end of the month, assuming they can get something done before the easter break. right now they are trying to figure out what kind of bill they might be able to vote for. host: in addition to the health care speech today, there will be a fund-raiser for claire mccaskill. how important is the vote to her? caller: she needs the money, many democrats are worried about the situation. public polls seem very much against the president's plan, he

speakers will include kathleen sebelius and panels on medicare, wellness programs, and the midterm elections. later, treasury secretary tim geithner testifies on capitol hill about his department's budget request for next year. that is at 2:00 p.m. eastern. now the president and ceo of the federal reserve bank of chicago, charles evans. this is part of a conference hosted by the national association for business economics. it's about a half hour. >> good morning, everybody. i am bill strauss, a member of nabe's and directors. it's my pleasure to introduce today speaker. he is my colleague and my boss as well as a member. dr. charles evans, the president and ceo of the federal reserve bank of chicago. charlie and i have worked together since he joined the fed in 1991. the federal reserve bank of chicago is one of 12 regional reserve banks across the country. these 12 banks along with the board of governors in washington make up our nations' central banks. his background prepared him well for this job. before becoming president, he was a director of research at the chicago fed, overseeing the

sunday night on "q&a." >> kathleen sebelius testified yesterday for a budget for the health and human services department. increased funding for the food and drug administration and other topics. this is a little less than an hour. >> the subcommittee will come to order. madam secretary, welcome back. i want to start by commending you for the outstanding work you are doing to help enact health- care reform. we can see the finish line. it will be tempting for senators on both sides to want to debate the pros and cons of health reform with you today but i would urge the subcommittee members to keep their focus on the subject of our hearing, which is the budget for the 2011 budget for health and human services. the president's budget hold the line on non security related spending for fiscal 2011. the president promised to use a scalpel could to achieve that hhs would be one of the agencies to get an increase. 2.5% more than in 2010. i was pleased the president included a major boost our efforts to root out fraud in medicare and medicaid, reducing health-care fraud and abuse has been a

>> i have not talked to secretary sebelius about that phrase. we have talked to members of congress representing a number of issues on this the point in other ways to try to best resolve these issues. understand that the president does not and will not change current federal law in dealing with abortions in health care. >> if i understand correctly, the senate language must be changed in some shape to meet the president's own definition. >> we do not believe that the senate language does that. we do not believe that the senate language changes current federal law. >> is it -- i am trying to figure out if the white house is nervous. stupak said this morning he is prepared to bring the whole bill down and there are 11 other house democrats who think as he does. are you prepared to take that chance? >> we are prepared to have conversations with people about getting health care. >> can you talk about the thinking behind the group that you invited to the white house? only one progressive on that list voted against the health bill. of the new democrat

earlier in the day in washington, his health and human services secretary, kathleen sebelius, deliveredher own message to a meeting of insurance executives. >> the trend line for the health insurance system is as unsustainable as the trend line is for american consumers. and yet over the last year, we've seen tens of millions of dollars by the insurance industry spent on ads and lobbyists to help kill health reform. i am hopeful that you will take the assets that you have an the influence and the bully pulpit that you have and use it to start calling for comprehensive reform to pass. >> lehrer: the industry's trade group, america's health insurance plans, released a new ad today. >> what's inside the health care cost pie? some in washington say it's all health insurance. but health insurance is one of the smallest slices. health insurance companies costs are only 4% of all health care spending. doctors, hospitals, medicine, and tests are the biggest slices and the government report says ther rising prices are a primary driver of higher health care costs. if washington wants to make heal

secretary kathleen sebelius upheld an online chat session to take questions. >> we need to provide affordable coverage for all americans. >> the president sent out this email wednesday, encouraging people to call their representatives and pushed the cause. he provided a script on what to say. >> back to the cbo report, once those numbers are crunched, then you have a time period where the bill is set and it will be posted on line so the public can review the measure for 72 hours. if they finish the numbers tonight, we could have a vote saturday night at the earliest. the president is supposed to leave town for indonesia sunday morning. >>> catholic nuns are breaking from their bishops in supporting the health care bill. women religious leaders representing 59,000 nuns sent a letter to lawmakers today urging them to pass health care reform. the catholic bishops say the language in the senate bill does not go far enough in restricting federal funding for abortions. the nuns disagree. >>> president obama is getting a jobs bill to side. the senate voted 68 to 29 today in favor of the bill that wi

industry intends to fully comply, this in a letter to health and human services secretary kathleen sebeliusbelius stated her intention to create new regulations that would remove any doubt about kids with preexisting conditions 47% of respondents favoring appeal. ignored. 50% do not. that would be more. of that 50% more than half want more reform and more government involvement in health care. let's get back to mr. cornyn's memo and turn to the senior editor of "the atlantic" magazine, josh green. josh, thanks for your time tonight. >> good to be with you, keith. >> the republican line will be give us credit for the good stuff in the bill even though each and every one of us voted against it? >> that looks like what the strategy is going to be. the dilemma is broader than that. if you look at the new law, it is based on a central set of principles first introduced by republicans in the early 1990s to compete with hillary care. the problem republicans are facing with cornyn's new memo is they were for a lot of these reforms before they were against it before they are for them again. it is di

outstanding vice-president, joe biden, and my wonderful secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebeliusfor her excellent work on this issue. i want to thank the many staffers in progress and my own incredible staff in the white house who have worked tirelessly over the last year with americans from all walks of life to form a reform package that can finally serve the people that we were brought here to serve. to every on some american who took the time to sit down and write a letter or typed out an e-mail, hoping that your voice would be heard, it has been heard tonight. 2 the untold numbers to knock on doors and make phone calls, who mobilized and organized whose conviction to change this country comes not from the top down, but from the bottom up, this moment is possible because of you. most importantly, today's vote answers the person of every american who has hoped deeply for something to be done about a health care system that works for insurance companies but not ordinary people. for most americans, this debate has never been about abstractions. it has always been about far more p

two weeks ago at the summit, kathleen sebelius and president obama revealed they do not understand itt it is not that complicated. i think the republicans were left out, becoming frustrating, contributing to my decision to move on. host: this idea of reconciliation now -- guest: now they are doing a procedural vote in the house where members will not even be loaded -- voting on the substance of the bill? that would enrage americans. host: what do you think of this strategy? guest: a mistake, legislation of this magnitude needs to be worked together on. and i think we can do it. i have two bills right now that would cover every single american. these are serious problems, we agree on that. we agree that they need to be fixed. but we are insisting on it being done one way. host: kevin, idaho. good morning. caller: a couple of things that are interesting with this health-care thing. 2000 pages in trying to come off with people should have or not have -- come up with what people should have or not have. let's give everyone in the country the same covers that are leaders in government have

you were great with questions to sebelius.etition. keep at it, you know our politicians force us to overpay for drugs in our country so we can subsidize drug company who is don't make as much overseas, what kind of government is that? i do have to wonder. our segments on the allegations that tea partiers in washington, d.c. use racial and homophobic epithets created quite a stir. did mr. breitbart never see a sign at a tea party

sebelius, she was hoping for kansas. story.t's weird that all the march madness is sort of, i don't know -- >> playing into this? but i do have a lot of questions. i want to know now, because i feel like there's been a lot of rhetoric on both sides, i don't really have an understanding of what this is going to mean for my bottom line. i think people around the country are asking the same very same question. >> you how the harwood piece. >> it brings up a very concerning point. and something i've been worried about for weeks as we've been discussing about this, is does it mean it's the end of the employer-based health care system? does this mean that employers are then going to be able to eventually dump their employees and say you pick it up yourself? because what is it, i think if the house version passes it's only $3,000 that an employer is penalized for not providing health care insurance. and i'm sure a lot of the companies that provide health care insurance are spending way more than $3,000 a person. >> how are you feeling

this administration, particularly health and human services, kathleen sebelius, a former governor of kansas, a former insurance commissioner there. do i think it is a good bill where 32 million americans who did not have coverage now have coverage? yes. >> charles, as you point out in your column this week, liberals complained about the reagan strategy and by extension the bush strategy was to starve the government beast, and you say that the obama strategy is exactly the opposite. >> he does something noble, ensures the uninsured, but i think it did in the worst way and at this elite catastrophic way. it did before it fixed -- a fiscally catastrophic way. it compounds the inefficiencies and the system. all the smoke and mirrors in the accounting -- we will see that it was phony accounting. we will have to find a way to ultimately remedy it with a very, very much higher taxes. >> the value-added tax. >> i think charles is jumping to conclusions that we have not reached yet. here is what has happened -- all of a sudden you have millions of americans who will not be denied health insur

of this administration including our outstanding director of health and human services, kathleen sebelius. and one of the unsung heroes of this effort, an extraordinary woman who led the reform effort from the white house, nancy-ann deparle. [applause] today, i am signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother, who argued with insurance company -- companies even as she battled cancer in her final days. i am signing it for brian smith who is here today. he runs a small business with five employees and trying to do the right thing to pay half the cost of coverage for his workers. this bill will help them for that coverage. i am signing it for 11-year-old marcellus owens who is also here. [applause] marcellus -- marcellus -- marcellus lost his mom to an illness and she did notpc2 have insurance and could not afford the care she needed. in her memory, he has told her story across america so that no other children have to go through what his family went through. [applause] i am signing it for natoma canfield who had to give up insurance after her insurance company jacked up her prem

kathleen sebelius speaks before an industry group, supreme court chief justice john roberts talks atthe university of alabama law school. on tomorrows "washington journal," we will talk to jason altmire about health care, of reporter talks about john roberts, robert johnson will talk about the financial industry regulations, and we will look at the future nato. "washington journal" is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> now what pentagon briefing on parliamentary elections in iraq. he also talks about the relationship between u.s. troops and the iraqi security forces. he speaks with reporters form a rack for 25 minutes -- from a rack for 25 minutes. >> it is my privilege to introduce the general. he assumed his duties in january of this year, and this is his first opportunity to be with us in this format, and we appreciate you taking the time this evening to give us some perspective on what you have been doing. most recently, the most important of elections taking place there. i know you have a few words that you would like to set the context before we start taking questions, so

life sunday at noon on c-span2. " health and human services kathleen sebelius met with representatives from several large insurance agency representatives. this is about 20 minutes. >> good morning. want to thank the executives for being here on short notice to have this conversation. the meeting was really prompted in part by the rate increases which been announced around the country and the input that i have had from people across america who are really frightened by them being priced out of the market and not know what is coming next. they want some information about how all this is happening and what strategies we have for looking at costs and the future. they are terrified their next if they are not affected directly right now, what is galling to happen next. if it is one state or one isolated instance, the individual is seeing double- digit rate increases across the board. that is one of the reasons the president is very eager to have a comprehensive health reform bill that among other things has a different kind of opportunity for people to be pulled together. in the meantime, i

it would serve the president quite well if kathleen sebelius is happy at work, working hard on theseat's true. >> he was conservative, how are you? >> i'm going to pick kentucky to win the entire thing. i had to pick my georgetn hoyas, i'm an alum, to go to the final four. i have them beating kansas to get there. vilna ifour >> totally. >> you're not t i also have kentucky winning the whol take a ok aiks. kansas, kentucky, syracuse, vilano like i said, kentucky taking it i have no science behind it, i'm not consknoas d >> the president likes g east, i like the big 12, there's a lot of that sort of thing in we got kansas, texas, k-state, great team with a great coach this year, i think duke will make it to the final four as well. and i like the president picked the national champions to be th they're going to be celebrating in lawrence, i know that. this isn't going to be just any flu season. and expectant mothers, children, and young adults are especially at risk for the h1n1 flu virus. so let's join together and fight the flu. by getting your flu vaccine, you'll protect yourself and

and kathleen sebelius announced a new crackdown on marketing to teenagers. tobacco companies can no longer handout free samples, sell small size packages, colorful ads, or sports and concerts' and other events that attract small children or teenagers. and they will be prevented putting vending machines anywhere kids are allowed. >> in tonight's medical alert, stressed during pregnancy may influence where it -- whether it kids develop asthma. there was a study done of babies whose mothers lived in more stressful environment in large cities and were more likely to -- were more likely to have differences in their court blood. asthma is more often encountered in minority populations. and scientists at henry ford hospital in detroit did vitamin c to those who had suffered a stroke and they had the nerve growth. either way, 87% of strokes are ischemic, meaning they are caused by a blocked blood vessel in the brain. researchers believe that nuys and lead to substantial improvement in neurological -- niacin lead to substantial improvements in neurological function.

please join me in welcoming secretary sebelius. >> well, thank you very much, karen. karen and i have known each other for a number of years. worked together on a variety of issues, and she was kind enough to send me the address code memo today. gray suit. blue shirt. so i appreciate those nice touches. i'm sorry i could not make it here yesterday, and i'm apologizing for kind of dropping in and out today. i wanted a chance to come by. i'm due to go right from here to the, an event at the white house where president preval from haiti will be in town and a lot of the work done in response to the tragic earthquake whereby hhs employees and part ever the group being honored and focused on in a little bit. so i apologize for coming in and out. you know, it was a year ago this week that the president held his first meeting on how to fix the health care system, the health insurance system, and at that meeting there were leaders there. some of you in the room were there, representing the doctors, hospitals, consumers, business groups, labor groups, key members of congress an

the members of the american medical association meet here in washington next week with kathleen sebelius. >>> president obama is apparently obeying his doctor's orders to watch his cholesterol. he had his first physical of the presidency yesterday. after a speech this morning he opted to walk back to the white house through la tie yet park rather than on a motorcade. the press asked him how he is. >> i want to work off some of that cholesterol. >> president obama underwent the physical at bethesda naval hospital. the doctor noted that the president is in excellent health and that he continues his efforts to quit smoking. . >> the vancouver games are now in the history books. and here's a final look at the final medal count. team usa won the most medals with 37 including nine gold. germany came in second with 30 and canada finished third with 26 but had the most gold medals with 14. norway finished fourth in the medal standings with 23. the games in canada were the second most widely watched winter olympics in history. on sunday, gold medal canada really wanted, the medal it wanted in hoc

tirelessly on your behalf and doing a great job, the secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius is in the house. [applause] one of the finest governor is in the country, ed rendell is in the house. [applause] everybody noticed how good it is looking, by the way? he has been on the training program. [laughter] eating a whites and keeping his cholesterol down. [laughter] [applause] your senior senator who has been doing outstanding work in the senate, harlan specter is in the house. [cheers and applause] one of my great friend, somebody who supported me when no one could pronounce my name, bob casey. [cheers and applause] your congressman, the person who gave me confidence that i could when even though nobody could pronounce my name is in the house. [cheers and applause] i figured if they could elect a shotguchaka, they could elect a barack. allison schwartz is in the house. [cheers and applause] someone new rendered outstanding service to our nation before he was in the congress is in the house. [is and applause] technically not his state, but he is right next door at the new jer

we're going to bring you the latest and talk live to health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius. later in the program we'll have a round table discussion about it because a cbs news poll shows most persons a, don't support this and b, are confused about what it means. we hope to answer a lot of questions this morning. then of course we'll talk about tiger woods' first post scandal interview. we'll bring you highlights and spoke to a reporter that interviewed him. >>> and the incredible story of how two celebrities saw a suicidal teenager's help on twitter, came to the rescue and saved the boy's life. those stories coming up on the early show. andrea? >> thank you. we'll be watching. we are paying close attention to devon lucy's forecast. you're going to need the umbrella. >> we are not seeing heavy rain moving in now. spotty showers through the morning hours. heavier thunderstorms are possible once we get to mid morning, midday and the afternoon. first three days here looking at 67 for a high. one really good thing in the forecast, temperatures very mild this morning. mostly we'

health and human services secretary sebelius is trying to close the gap by issuing new rules. >> presidentnsparency in the debate over health care reform but did he live up to that promise? tonight jeff abell takes a look at the process and the promises. >> i question everything that goes on. >> at the state capitol, where the locals are accustom to the passage of new laws. few have ever seen one like this one. >> but it seems like it has been a lot of stuff that was promised that wasn't followed up on. >> before the house approved the 2400 pages of health care reforms. the president made a lot of promises. >> we will work on this process publicly. it will be on c-span. >> so it hasn't been a secret. >> negotiations were never broadcast on c-span. and remember the promise to give taxpayers five days to review the bill before a vote? >> american people can see what the choices. >> the american people never got five days to review the bill. >> i don't know, to me i am suspicious of any back door deals that may have been made. i think people are starting to connect the dots better than maybe

secretary kathleen sebelius, the head of the human services department, nancy-ann deparle, all of us working together, working with this president because we know how important this is for the american people. now that this bill has been signed into law, we know that children with preexisting conditions are going to have health care. we know that young people can stay on their parents' health care insurance policy up until they're 26. we know that small business owners are going to be able to provide health care for themselves and their employees and that seniors are going to be able to afford prescription drugs. these are things that are going to happen this year. going to happen because the president used the stroke of a pen and signed this into law today. >> now, there are still some big challenges. in mentioning women, no one more so than nancy pelosi muscling this through. let's talk about the challenges because now that it is out of the house, the senate is going to be picking this up today. democrats won a big one last night according to lawrence o'donnell, who broke the story

host: kathleen sebelius was interviewed this morning on the early show on cbs. this after the democrats passed the bill on a 219-212 votes. she said this was largely a result of statements that republican opponents and insurance industry majors have made about it. scott from california, tell us your thoughts regarding statements from republican house members and people from the insurance industry. host: good morning, america. my statements about the insurance industry, my god. they seem like they're the ones that wrote this bill. from the start, from back in 1981 when i started paying attention, when reagan said everyone was going to get a tax break, they took 21 more dollars out of my paycheck. i remember that. i have basically been lied to ever since. the north american free trade agreement, energy deregulation, i still remember listening to the enron tapes. we will do the wait and see, but hmm, i can pretty much already figured out what is going to happen. republican or democrat, both of them just screwed us. host: next up is even out of drexel, md., on our l

health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius wrote to company executives today.she urged them to post on your websites the justification for rate increases. >> health care reform again . >> suarez: back in 1994 the industries harry and louise ads helped sink president clinton's reform efforts. in contrast the obama administration initially tried engaging the industry. at last year's health care summit industry spokeswoman karen ignani talked of having to earn a seat at the table. >> we want to work with you. we want to work with the members of congress on a bipartisan basis here. you have our commitment. we hear the american people about what is not working. we've taken that very seriously. you have our commitment to play, to contribute, and to help pass health care reform this year. >> suarez: so far the insurers say they still support health reform overall, but they say the real problem is out of control inflation in the cost of health care itself. for a closer look at the president's >> suarez: for a closer look at the presidents' new tack, we turn to two long

i posed that question both to president obama and secretary kathleen sebelius in separate interviewsinced me they then fully appreciated its importance to the american people. more recently, though, the administration seemed to get the message. quote, for the first time uninsured individuals, small businesses, they'd have the same kind of choice of private health insurance that members of congress get for themselves. that's what the president said in the days leading up to yesterday's vote. so is it true? yes, if you can find section 13-12 of the senate legislation. here's how it reads. requirement, the only health plans that the federal government may make available to members of congress and congressional staff shall be health plans that are created under this act or offered through an exchange established under this act. that needle in the haystack is one that reform proponents should have highlighted earlier. instead the wrangling and posturing over health care served largely to widen the gulf many americans see between themselves and washington. for six hours a day on two separa

. >> because his secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius, is from kansas. he wanted her to be happy. >> all eyes on the health care. >> that's right. >> i was reading like espn has a contest. 4 million entrants. 12 people, now are still in the running. >> everybody's brackets just busted last night. >> except marysol's. still hanging in there. >> i always root for the underdog, you guys. >>> good morning, everyone. we take a look at the midwest and the flood zones. as barbara mentioned, the red river is expected to crest today. by contrast, in st. paul, the mississippi river is expected to crest by wednesday. you can see these temperatures have rebounded somewhat. so, whatever snow in this area is expected to melt. now, just south of there, we are still dealing with a little bit of snow. as ryan owens showed you. the snow starts to diminish in places like oklahoma. and then, south of there, we're dealing with thunderstorms. in florida, georgia, tennessee and the carolinas. in the pacific northwest, we're dealing with another storm system. temperatures aroun

. >> the president again went into a meeting secretary sebelius was having to discuss, as we read last week, a letter the president had received precisely by one of these companies and how that impacted a 50-year-old woman who was having to make a decision between whether or not to give up the house that had been in her family for several decades or continue to purchase health insurance, even though she had change herd dedubblingtable in order to try to -- changed her deductible in order to try to get a more affordable rate. i think that's exactly what health care reform is all about. >> robert, do you have some questions about greece, the u.s. aid. what about i.m.f. raid to -- aid to greece. >> i'll get a readout of what their discussions have been. i don't know if this is going to come out or not. >> on a related point, the european commission president wants the g-20 to curb derivatives. chancellor her tell said she wants to go -- chancellor america el said she wants to go beyond -- chancellor merkel said she wants to go beyond that and crack down. will the president be willing to g

in the meantime, yesterday, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius met with representatives of several large health insurance companies. they spoke about recent premium increases. we will bring those remarks of her with supporters after the meeting now. >> >i just wanted to report that i just completed a meeting with five ceo's of the lodge's health insurance companies in america. the meeting was really focused on what is happening with the kind of jaw dropping rate increases that people are seeing, particularly in the individual and small group market and what other reasons and what we can do about it going forward. it was a helpful conversation. ceo's were joined by representatives of the leadership of the national association of insurance commissioners who have oversight responsibility now in the marketplace. we spoke about some of the rate trends and cost issues. at the end of the day i still think there's a concern that the medical trends do not match the rate increases. the medical trend costs, which are ahead of inflation costs, are still well below what is being file

we're going to deal with regional disparities, and i know that there was a meeting with secretary sebelius to assure we can continue to try to make sure that we got a system that gives people the best bang for their buck. so this is not -- there are all kinds of things that many of you would like to see that isn't in this legislation. there are some things i would like to see that's not in this legislation. but is this the single most important step that we have taken on health care since medicare? absolutely. is this the most important piece of domestic legislation, in terms of giving a break to hard working middle class families out there since medicare? absolutely. is this a vast improvement over the status quo? absolutely. now, i still know this is a tough vote, though. i know this is a tough vote. i've talked to many of you individually. and, you know, i have to say that if you honestly believe in your heart of hearts, in your conscience, that this is not an improvement over the status quo, if despite all of the information that is out there that says that without serious reform effor

also kath even sebelius from health and human services. former senator and medical dr. bill frist. the ceo of cigna is going to tell us about the impact on insurance. we'll jump on regulatory reform with bob corker as lawmakers mark up the dodd bill today. and our guest host, banking committee member senator evan bayh. finally, st. louis fed president jim bullard, a rare interview about the economy, and the power of the fed. a big session of skwk and we'll see what markets do today on this historic morning, ross. we'll see you in about 11 minutes' time. >> we look forward to it. thanks, carl. have a good day in d.c. >> okay. >>> well, tiger woods is returning to golf circuit next month at the masters. but after the recent scandal surrounding the biggest golfer in the world he's admittedly a little nervous about getting out in front of the crowds. before we go to break have a listen to what he had to say in an interview he did with espn yesterday. >> i don't know. i don't know. i am a little nervous about that toish honest with you. >> how much do you care? >> it would be nice to he

i've got news for the president and news for secretary sebelius. no high risk pool in america works the way the president described one, no high risk pool in america works the way secretary sebelius described it. in point of fact, they don't work by putting the sick people in and expecting the premiums paid by the sick people to take care of their care, they are put in the high risk pool so that healthy people can be assessed a fee to help care for the extra care and services needed by the sick. and in point of fact they work quite well. we could and should expand them dramatically and the costs are spread amongst the healthy. now, why do people agree to that? well, it's very obvious. it's because you and i don't know that tomorrow we won't be the one with breast cancer or the one with heart disease and need to be in the high risk pool ourselves. so, we're supposedly having an educated debate with the secretary of health and human services and the president, who sponsored the town hall or the summit, don't even understand how a high risk pool works

secretary sebelius and hhs are going to be deep -- >> involved in the -- they're the ones that are going to run health care as far as this is concerned? >> well, that's -- >> now that it's been passed? >> that's certainly going to be the fulcrum of activity? yeah. >> thank you, sir. >> good to be with you. >> that was david axelrod. couple pieces of news out of there. they're cautiously confident when it comes to the senate reconciliation bill. vice president biden might preside over things. the other thing is clearly financial reform is next. joining me now, the "washington post's" grand pubah of politics, dan balz. dan, where are we today with the obama presidency, where we weren't yesterday? >> well, it's always better to win than not win. and they have fought this battle for a very long time. they have taken a lot of hits on it. both the president personally and the democratic party. they feel like they have crossed a barrier here. they have a long fight ahead of them. they know that. the republicans are not going to stop battling against this health care fight. we're going to see it

others in attendance at the white house conclude ted kennedy's widow, vicki kennedy and kathleen sebeliushealth and human services secretary and manyi/t other senators and congressmen as well. this is one ceremony that the president will also be over at the interior department later today after noon, eastern to talk about health care legislation, there will be a larger crowd there. we'll have that live for you, as well, on c-span 2 per that should be just after noon, eastern. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> this is the east room of the white house, waiting for president barack obama to commander s the audience here. there are a number of commerce secretaries and others here. three of the people you will see with the president as he signs the bill are folks that broke the president about their medical situation. one is connie anderson. brian smith, a small-business man. all those folks will be gathered around a table that you see in the middle of the screen as the president signs the bill. [no audio] 7d÷ [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> yo

please join me in welcoming secretary sebelius. >> well, thank you very much, karen.aren and i have known each other for a number of years. worked together on a variety of issues, and she was kind enough to send me the address code memo today. gray suit. blue shirt. so i appreciate those nice touches. i'm sorry i could not make it here yesterday, and i'm apologizing for kind of dropping in and out today. i wanted a chance to come by. i'm due to go right from here to the, an event at the white house where president preval from haiti will be in town and a lot of the work done in response to the tragic earthquake whereby hhs employees and part ever the group being honored and focused on in a little bit. so i apologize for coming in and out. you know, it was a year ago this week that the president held his first meeting on how to fix the health care system, the health insurance system, and at that meeting there were leaders there. some of you in the room were there, representing the doctors, hospitals, consumers, business groups, labor groups, key members of congress and

the president again the president went to a meeting secretary sebelius was having to discuss that theresident had received precisely by one of these companies and how that impacted a 50-year-old woman who was having to make the decision between whether or not to give up the house and her family for decades or purchase self insurance even though she had changed her deductible to try to get a more affordable rates. i think that is exactly what health care reform is all about. >> robert, do you have questions in the form of u.s. aid. what about imf? >> i will get a readout from what their discussions have been. i don't know if this is going to come up or not. >> on a related point the european commission president once did she 220 curse what derivatives did chancellor angela merkel today said she wants to go beyond the g20 agreements and the president's endorsement tougher regulations, tools to crack down on stuff like that. what the president be willing to go beyond the agreements he's already had in place? >> i'm not sure the president has had an opportunity to look at what chancellor

outstanding vice president, joe biden, my wonderful secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius for work on this issue. i want to thank my many staffers in congress and my of incredible stat in the white house. you have worked tirelessly over the past year for americans of all walks of life, a reform package finely were the to the people we were sent here to serve. today's vote answers the dreams of some many who have fought for this reform. every unsung american who took the time to sit down and write a letter or type at an email, hoping your voice would be heard, it has been hard tonight -- heard tonight. to the untold numbers and knocked on doors and make telephone calls, with a firm conviction that change in this country comes not from the top down but from the bottom up, let me reaffirm that conviction. this moment was possible because of you. most importantly, today's vote answer the prayers of every american who has hoped deeply for something to be done about a health-care system that works for insurance companies but ordinary people. for most americans, this debate has n

peggy hamburgerñr and secretary sebelius came out to nih.a leadership council to focus on ways to streamline the process of evaluating new possible therapeutics and agreed to support a new set of scientific projects for regulatory size to get a handle on exactly how we should be reviewing protocols for rare diseases or unusual applications. that is a very exciting opportunity. i should draw to a close and let you ask questions. let me point out one more theme of my five things. it is really to empower and invigorate the research community. that is their most important resource. you may have great ideas and great size projects, but if nobody does it them, they just sit there. we have to come up with better ways for innovation and there are a lot of ideas -- we have to come up with new and better ways for innovation and there are a lot of ideas out there. we need to be sure that we are supporting early stage investigators because there has been a graying of our research çóñrcommunity and we need to bee that individuals who are just joining us

applause] somebody who was been working tirelessly on your behalf and doing a great job, kathleen sebelius. she is in the house. [applause] one of the finest governors in the country, ed rendell is in the house. [applause] everybody noticed how good ed is looking? he has been on the training program. eating egg whites. keeping his cholesterol down. [laughter] your senior senator who has been doing outstanding work in the senate, arlen specter is in the house. [cheers] one of my great friends, someone who supported me when nobody could pronounced my name. bob casey. [applause] your congressman, the person who gave me confidence i could win even though no one could pronounced my name. they are in the house. [applause] -- no one could pronounce my name. a couple of other outstanding members of congress. from pennsylvania, alison schwartz is in the house. [applause] somebody who has rendered outstanding service to our country before it is also in the house. [applause] one of the sharpest members of congress, technically not his stayed but he is from new jersey. he is practically -- we have som

joining us this morning from the white house is health and human services kathleen soo beale yu sebelius. good morning. assuming that this does get passed, this second round in the secretary and becomes the law of the land, the president has what some say is a bigger challenge, which is selling had bill to an american public which according to most polls largely does not support it and according to the latest cbs poll doesn't even understand it. 54% of the people that we polled say it's confusing. you how does the president considering the facts the republicans are out there constantly highlighting the problem, how does he convince the public? >> i think what's been going on for the better part of a year is a lot of attempts to confuse and scare americans. i am absolutely convinced as is the president and the majority in congress that once people understand that we have new insurance rules once and for all, that insurance companies don't get to peick and choose, that kids with pre-existing conditions and small business owners who have been locked out of the market have a chance in a new

the united states government, again, specifically, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius, treasury secretary timothy geithner and linda solis in their official capacity as secretaries. they do not want the im impositions. the government doesn't have the right to mandate all citizens to have health care or pay a tax as a penalty. rene landers is a professor of health and add minute straltive law. rene, i don't know if you've been around for large scale legislation like this -- is this to be expected? is it routine? is it the kind of thing that the state is doing to protect certain of their rights? and how does it get resolved? >> well, i think that you can see when any kind of massive federal statute is enacted there will be legal challenges to it. you know, we've seen this before in other contexts. so i don't think it's at all unusual. i think probably the -- the number of states that, you know, sort of immediately challenge the statute, even before many of the provisions have gone into effect is perhaps a little bit unusual. but, again, there's been a tremendous leadout

of this administration, including our outstanding secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius garra. and one of the unsung heroes of this effort, an extraordinary woman who led the reform effort from the white house, nancy. where's nancy? today, i am signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother. -- who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days. i am signing up for ryan smith who is here today. he runs a small business with five employees and is trying to do the right thing, paying half the cost of coverage for his workers. this bill will help them afford that coverage. i am signing it for a 11-year- old marcellus, who is also here, . marcellus -- [applause] marcellus lost his mom to handle this, and she did not have insurance and could not afford the care she needed. he is told her story across america is in no other children has to go through what his family experienced. i am signing up for natoma. she had to give up her health coverage after rates were jacked up by more than 40%. she was terrified that an illness would mean that