as stephanie dhue reports, everyone agrees anverhaul's needed but no e agrees on how should be done. >> reporter: right now tre are a handful of regators overseeinghe financial system. but none has the per to dismantle finaial institutions like a.i.g., bank of arica and tigroup, if they were about fail. house nancial services committee chrman barney frank says that needs to change. >> wwill be providing a mechanism for putting n-bank financial stitutions out of evybody's misery. >>eporter: the administration wants to give that authorityo the federal reserve. but the's no consensus that's the right way to go. while the fed had thpower to regulateortgages, it didn't do it, until itas too late. and many doubt giving the d more powerow would prevent a future cris. but treasury secretaryimothy geithner says someone needs be in charge. >> if you give that responsibity to a bunch of people, en you can't hold them accountable r performae. >> reporter:here is also disagreeme about creating a conser financial protection agency. republicaneb hensarling says that approach is heavy hded and could

as stephanie dhue reports, t proposals already drawing cheers and jeers. >> repter: if the f.c.c. chairman has his w, internet access providers wilhave to treat wetraffic equally. whether it's to pc, a cell phone, or some otherevice f.c.c. chairman lius genachowsksays new rules of the road a needed to protect consumer choice. >> we willo as much as we need to do, and no more, ensure that the internet remas an unttered platform for competition, creativity,nd entrepreneurial acvity. >> repter: companies like at&t, verizon, and ccast worry ing forced to trt web traffic equally wi keep them from effectively managintheir networks. for exame, they might not be able to give priority tele- medicine or smargrid applications verizon's david young saysew les could stunt growth. >> government does not movas quickly as intnet time and that any attempt to ck in regulationto capture a certain period of time would pvent the internet from ntinuing to evol. >> reporter: companies le amazon, hoo and google, worry without e new rules their applicions could be blocked or slowed down, espially if ty co

stephanie dhue reports. >> reporter: it's busy now at the offices of fairfax family practice. the 16 doctors, 16 residents and two nurse practitioners here see about 250 patients a day. health care reform would surely add more. dr. winston liau says, while it will be a stretch, the practice will adjust. >> we have different scheduling techniques we can use, and we try and extend our hours so we're open nights and on weekends, so that people can be seen when they need to be seen. it would definitely strain our resources, but there are definitely ways to cope with the increased demand. >> reporter: even without adding the uninsured, a predicted shortage of doctors will likely stress the health care system in the coming years. that already has doctors experimenting with new, more efficient business models. some are looking at medical homes, which use a teams of doctors, nurses, other health professionals, and new technologies to treat patients with chronic disease. but for that coordinated care to happen, dr. sam jones says reform needs to change the way doctors are paid. >> they

stephanie dhue repor. >> reporter: madoff kn how to work theecurities and exchange commission. in a phone call from decber 2005, madoff cched the chief risk officer of thfairfield greenwicfund about how to handle t s.e.c. before an interview with agency examins. >> we run thugh this all the me, these guys come in to do books and records examinion and they a a zillion different questions, and we look at em sometimes and we laugh a say what are you guys writing a book. these guys, theyork for five years at t commission, then they become compliance manager at a hedge fund no or they go work at proprietary tradg desk, nobody wants tstay there foreve >> rorter: the s.e.c. fielded six complaints and compled three examand two investigations over 16 yrs. but in all that timeinspectors never verified any of madoff trades through ahird party, instd trusting his word. spector general david kotz says the agency so never investiged whether madoff was running a ponzi scheme. >> he used his knowled, generally in the industry impress the examins, so in many wayhe knew which buttons to pus he k

stephanie dhue rorts. >> rorter: senator baucus called his hlth care reform plan a good beginng. the proposal wouldequire most indivials to buy health insurancor pay a fine. insurers would not be ab to deny or cancel covage for sick people. >> it's common sense bill that can pass the sene. >> reporte the proposal has subsidies for lor income americans to pay for coverag while there is nmandate on employers to provi coverage, compies with more than 50 workers ned up to $400 per emoyee if they don't provide insurance. baucus says it's just e of the compromises in his pla >> on the one ha we want employers... we want empyers to keep providing coverageor employs. on the other hand, it's...e got to make sure that insurae is not too onerous formployees and the ployer does not too sily drop coverage. >> reporter: to help payor the pl, there would be a 35% tax on firms offering high cos health insurance it wouldlso raise $93 billion fromealth-care related busisses, including $40 billion from the medicalevice instry. that iustry is fighting the tax. jeffrey binder, thc.e.o. of biomet, whi

stephanie dhue reports >> reporter: madoff knewow to work the surities and exchange commission. in a phone call from decemr 2005, madoff coaed the chief risk officer of the irfield greenwich nd about how to handle the.e.c. before an terview with agency examiner >> we run throh this all the ti, these guys come in to do a books and records examinatn and they ask zillion different questions, and we look at th sometimes and we laugh anday at are you guys writing a book. these guys, they wk for five years at theommission, then they become a mpliance manager at a hedge fund now,r they go work at proprietary tradin desk, nobody wants to ay there forever. >> repter: the s.e.c. fielded six complaints and complet three exams d two investigations over 16 yea. but in all that time, spectors ver verified any of madoff's trades through a trd party, insteatrusting his word. inector general david kotz says the agency al never investigat whether madoff was running a ponzi scheme. >> he used his knowledge generally in the industry to impress the examiner so in many ways knew which buttons to push

as stephanie dhue explains, the agency's deposit insurance fund is scrambling to come up with cash to cope with a string of bank failures. >> reporter: as of tomorrow, the fdic's deposit insurance fund will be officially in the red. the agency' has shelled out %25 billion to pay for 95 bank failures just since january. so today, its board took an unusual step, asking banks to pay $45 billion in fees up front. it's money that would have paid over three years. fdic chairman sheila bair says the industry should support the fund. >> i do think that the american people would prefer to see an end to policies that look to the federal balance sheet as a remedy to every problem. that is especially true of this industry that has the resources to deal with these problems. >> reporter: the banking industry likes the prepayment idea over other options, like a special fee. the american bankers association's john chessen says today's move is a wash on bank balance sheets. >> it's going to have less impact on the banks and less impact on their communities. >> reporter: and banking consultant bert ely

stephanie dhue looks at the problem. >> reporter: president obama made a point today to say he supports free trade. he defended his decision to slap a 35% duty on chinese tire imports, saying trade agreements must be upheld. >> so when, as happened this weekend, we invoke provisions of existing agreements, we do so not to be provocative or to promote self-defeating protectionism. we do so because enforcing trade agreements is part and parcel of maintaining an open and free trading system. >> reporter: the u.s. tire industry didn't support the case brought by the steelworkers union. instead, the tire industry says tariffs will cost jobs and increase costs for consumers. erik autor of the national retail federation says this dispute could open the door to battles over steel, clothing and consumer goods. >> this has basically sent a signal to everyone else who wants to hit chinese imports that this is going to be an open ticket for them. >> reporter: the chinese have already threatened to retaliate with tariffs on u.s. auto parts and poultry. those industries make up less than 2% of u.s. e

stephanie dhue, "nigly business repor" washington. >> paul: good newsor the nation's weak economand consumers. retail pris barely budged in august suggestininflation remains in check. the consumer pricendex ticked up just ur-tenths of a percent la month. but when you take out th volale food and energy groups, re prices rose just one-tent of a percent. scotgurvey looks at y keeping inflatiotame is good for the economy anthe fed. reporter: the fed sets netary policy to meet three gos: maximize employment, abilize prices, and moderate long term interestates. it is often impossible to doll three athe same time, which is why wall street iselieved to find that prices are stae and inflation not on the nr term horizon. economist dean mi of barclays catal says that good news means it's "stea as she goes" for the fed. >> right now the fed's t priority is, is trying to wer the ra of unemployment. tryi to prevent deflationary pressures from developin we thinkhey will be successful on both frts. evtually, the fed will start to become more concern about inflation. but ght now the fed is really focused on f

stephanie dhue, "nightly business rept," washington. >> paul: le today, the f.d.i.c. closed two more fling banks. two units irwin financial mark the 93rd and 94th closus this year. many of the banks that are struggling to survive ese days are local banks that lend sml businesses and consumers. in the past year since the collapse of lehmanrothers, most of the lenders thatailed have been community banks wi asts under $10 billion. as we wrap up our specl seri, "lessons from lehman," diane eaabrook reports rising unemployment is puttg many more lal banks at risk. >> reporter: the receson has battered and bised chicago's chatham neighborhood. the joess rate here exceeds the city's current 10.5% last monthlone, 150 homes were foreclos, and businesses are folding. shore bank has served chago's south side neighrhoods for more than 30 years ands feeling chham's pain. executive ce president jean pogge says, increasingly, e mmunity bank's low and moderate incomcustomers are ther delinquent or defaultin on loan paymts. >> we have found that e primy reason for delinquencies is une

stephanie dhue, "nigly business repor, washington. >> paul: join us tomrow night in pritime as we take part in the "pbspecial report: health care reform". n.b.r. joins other pbsews and public affairs programfor this 90-mute, in-depth look at reforming the nati's 2-1/2 trilli dollar health care system. as part of that our sees "bill of health" h been looking at the challeng employers face in providing care to employee night, jeff yastine reports one program, making grt strides in cutting corporate health care costs. >> reporter: workers athe americaniabetes association go about their daily roines the same as everyonelse. but look closely. you can see these. pedometers. tached to their belts. the hi-tecdevices measure and record how far an emoyee walks each d. digital health monitoring stations like this are at the coref virgin healthmiles one of erepreneur richard branson's companies. it's an example of newhinking. when it comes toowering health insurance cost instead of manang the cost of an employee getting sick, focuon improving eir health, which might keep them out of the hospit in