Category of folks who dont provide Health Insurance, werent exempted by law, they are supposed to make sure that they meet their responsibilities so that their employees arent going to the emergency room jacking up everybody elses costs and the employers end up not having any responsibility for that. What we did yesterday was simply to make an adjustment in terms of their compliance because for many of these companies, just the process of complying, they are midsize between 50 and 100 folks, it may take them some time even if they are operating in good faith and we want to make sure that the purpose of the law is not to punish them. Its simply to make sure that they are either providing Health Insurance to their employees or that they are helping to bear the costs of their employees getting Health Insurance. And thats consistent actually with what weve done in the individual mandate. The vast majority of americans want Health Insurance. Many of them couldnt afford it. We provide them tax credits. But even with the tax credits, in some cases they still cant afford it and we have hardship exemptions, phaseins to make sure that nobody is unnecessarily burdened. Thats not the goal. The goal is to make sure that folks are healthy and have Decent Health care. So this was an example of administratively us making sure we are smoothing out this transition, giving people the opportunities to get right with the law, but recognizing that there are going to be circumstances in which people are trying to do the right thing and it may take a little bit of time. Our goal here is not to punish folks. Our goal is to make sure that weve got people who can count on the Financial Security that Health Insurance provides and where weve got companies that want to do the right thing and are trying to work with us, we want to make sure that were working with them as well. Thats going to be our attitude about the law generally. How do we make it work for the American People and for their employers in an optimal sort of way. What was the second part of that Health Care Question . Long term. Long term, in terms of employer based. Well, look, we have a unique system compared to many parts of the world, including france, where partly because of historical accident and some decisions that fdr made during wartime back in world war ii, our health care has been much more tied to employers. Thats not the case in most other developed countries. It has worked for a long time, but what is also true is that it has meant for a lot of u. S. Companies a greater burden, more costs relative to their international competitors. Thats a challenge. Its also meant that folks who were selfemployed, for example, or independent contractors werent always getting the same deal as somebody who had a job. It meant that folks who worked for Small Businesses sometimes had more trouble getting decent premiums and decent rates than folks with large companies. So it just created a great amount of unevenness in the system. I dont think that an employer based system is going to be or should be replaced any time soon, but what the Affordable Care act does do is it gives people some flexibility. It says if im working at a big company like ibm or google and i decide i want to start my own company, that im not going to be inhibited from starting a new company because im worried about keeping Health Insurance for myself and my family. I can go make that move. If im a woman who would really like to work on the farm but we cant afford Health Insurance on our own so i have been working at the county Clerks Office for the last ten years, now maybe ive got the opportunity to no longer work in a different job and instead work on that farm and increase the likelihood of economic success for my family. So its giving people more flexibility and more opportunity to do what makes sense for them and ultimately i think thats going to be good for our economy. But we understood from the start that there were going to be some challenges in terms of transition. When youve had one system where a whole lot of people did not have any Health Insurance whatsoever for a very long period of time, and we finally passed a law to fix that, we knew there were going to be some bumps and transitions in that process, and thats what were working with all the stake holders involved to address. All right. We have several breaking stories at this hour. You see of course french president Francois Hollande holding a press conference at the white house. Hes on a state visit to washington. President obama is on the other side of that stage there, answering reporter questions. Then janet yellen in her first testimony on the hill as the chairwoman. They are just calling a recess right now. They will take a half hour break and then they are going to come back and continue the q a session this afternoon. On that note, lets go to Steve Liesman with some breaking news on that. Steve, come on over and join me right here, if you will, because this is im going to move your mike up a little bit there, buddy. This is her first testimony on capitol hill and shes had some very interesting questions, but it strikes me that shes quite dovish in her testimony. Is that a correct big debate about that. She just said when asked about the levels of market and credit, she does not see credit and leverage in what she called bubble territory. Little bit of reaction in the markets. One of the keys, i dont know if we have the sound lined up. Guys, if you have the sound, let me know. She was asked about the december and january payroll reports, said they were weaker, they surprised her, weaker than she expected, and then she was asked by congresswoman maloney what it would take for the fed to pause in her taper. I want to listen to that. Any thoughts about what happens if the world says youre not the worlds reserve currency anymore . I think what would cause the committee to consider a pause is a notable change in the outlook. The committee, when it decided to begin this process of tapering in measured steps, believed that the outlook was one where we would see continued improvement in the labor market and inflation moving back up to our 2 target. The key word there, notable. Notable, right. The key takeaway here today is how much yellen was like bernanke, and how much she was involved, i think the market saw firsthand for the first time how these were her words and she was part of fashioning them to begin with, a very seamless transition. I think the residual risk goes away. Finally she passed the dollar test. Okay. Got it. Thank you. I know the testimony continues this afternoon and you will continue to monitor that. Tyler is out this afternoon. Bill griffith is down where i usually am on the floor of the new york stock exchange. Hey, buddy. Back again. We got stocks getting a pickup across the board today. A 1 gain for the dow. The s p and nasdaq almost 1 gains. The dow industrials at the highs of the session right now with a gain of 177. We are knocking on 16,000s door once again and we are back above 1800 for the s p. Maybe you can thank Speaker Boehner in the house for some of this rally as well. In addition to janet yellen. The Republican Leaders are going to allow a vote on the debt limit tonight with no conditions. Its a clean bill. This is something the president and the democrats have been pushing for and now it looks like they are going to get it. The bill would extend the authority of the treasury to borrow for at least another year and assuming it all goes through, it would prevent a lot of washington spending drama that we have seen in the last year not to happen this year. Of course, an election year. That seems to be helping the market as well. Lets get a market flash on todays big movers with dominic chu. A different story than yesterday, where it was very wait and see. Today, stocks up to session highs on the heels of fed chairman Janet Yellens testimony before congress. Traders apparently like what they are hearing. The dow is up big like you said, 175 points. Trading above its 100 day moving average. Thats the more medium term trend line, thats possibly viewed as a more bullish indicator for that index. Leading the advance are boeing, chevron, johnson johnson. The only stock thats marginally down right now is cisco. Thats something to keep an eye on. The s p 500 is up about 17 points. If it closes around here or higher, chart watchers say this could be positive as well. The technicians like this. Its within 2 of its record high. You look at names like regeneron and masco among the biggest gainers. Better than expected quarterly profits, expecting sales of up to 1. 8 billion for its eye drug because of expected approvals for newer users. Sue . In case you didnt know it, we are in for another winter storm. They are using words for the south like historic levels. It may be ice, it may be snow, but what we do know it is, its going to be a mess. Phil lebeau is in chicago. Whats the weather plan for the airlines for this storm . They are already starting to cancel flights. If you take a look at the radar, you can see as this storm moves through the south into the southeast and then is expected to go up the eastern coast, you are hitting all the major hubs starting in dallas, where you have american and southwest going through atlanta with delta, and then go up through d. C. And new york, really all the Major Airlines are going to be impacted. Here are the stat totals in terms of cancellations and delays so far. This comes to us from flight aware. Already, 1300 Flights Canceled today, delays totally more than 4200, and the most impacted airline, no surprise, given the impact we are seeing at atlantas hartsfieldjackson airport, delta is most impacted. Take a look at shares of delta over the last three months. Yes, its lower relatively speaking over the last month or so but its up 13 , when you look at the last three months. So bottom line is this. The airlines know that its going to be terrible weather for people even getting to the airport so they are already canceling flights. Expect this to continue over the next couple days. Phil, you know, it hasnt just been in january we have had bad weather. December was a mess as well. Right around the holiday period. Now the department of transportation is scoring the airlines on their delays, the tarmac time, lost bags. What does it look like . Not a good december. Not a surprise, given the number of storms we saw. Remember, december 8th was terrible here in chicago. Midway got hit hard in terms of delays and cancellations. Overall, the ontime rate, 68 for the month of december. Compare that with the full year average in 2013 of 78 , canceled flights about 2. 8 . 773 flights were chronically delayed. That means they were late more than 50 of the time that they were flown in the month of december. The airlines ontime rate for all of 2013, 78 . Thats about middle of the pack over the last 19 years. In fact, its the eighth best year when it comes to ontime flights. Take a look at the Airline Index. Lot of people are saying with a terrible winter, why is it that the Airline Index is moving higher . Bottom line is that yes, this will cost the airlines, but at the end of the day, investors are saying the airlines still have Pricing Power and jet fuel is still at a moderate level. That means eventually, when the storms end, they expect the earnings to improve for the airlines. Just get it all cleaned up by friday. My mominlaws flying in from l. A. Long as you take care of that, were good. Bill, down to you. Breaking news out of the treasury market. The three year note auction results are in. Rick santellis at the cme with the results. How did it look . It was a barn burner. The grade was aminus. 30 billion threeyear notes hit at 1 00 eastern, the yield happened to have been the high trade of the day in terms of where the w. I. Was trading. 3. 42 on bid to cover, well through the 3. 27 ten auction average, very strong indirects at 42 . That since august of 2011. Solid directs at 16 and change percent. We give this auction. 715, an aminus. Tomorrow well have tens followed by 30s. Sue . Thank you so very much. Appreciate it. Talk to you again in a little bit. Lets go to the hill and john harwood is at the white house. We have been hearing the president in that News Conference very farranging in terms of topic. Reporter yes, the president spent a lot of time talking about syria so there was enormous frustration at the stalemate there, the implosion and collapse of syria, but he reiterated that he has to be judicious about the use of military force. Didnt hold out much hope on that front. In terms of domestic u. S. Politics and the things, the hot buttons we have been watching, no question on the debt limit. Remember, its a short press conference, just two american reporters have been called on and i think we are about to wrap up. On health care, he did get a question about yesterdays delay of the employer mandate for those between 50 and 100 workers. He said this is an accommodation we made. We dont want to punish firms just like we dont want to punish individuals. We have had transitions for individuals as well. He was not asked about the cbo report and its effect on labor supply and jobs which is something that was a huge controversy last week. John, thank you very much. John harwood. Bill, i think you have a market flash for us . We are just watching the levitation. The dow up almost 200 points, up that amount just a moment ago as all three major averages continue this rally. This would be the fourth consecutive up day for the dow. First time we have seen that this year. They like what they hear from janet yellen. They certainly like the fact that the house is going to vote on a clean debt limit bill tonight before all that snow hits washington tomorrow. So the rally continues on wall street right now. Sue . The transports are confirming that as well. Looks pretty solid. Thank you, bill. Well be back to you in just a second. The aol makers conference taking place in Southern California this afternoon. An invite only gathering to celebrate female executives making a difference in the workplace. Re codes cara swisher is there. They have a partnership with nbc universal. Good to see you again. You look a lot warmer than i am. Well, it is a little foggy but its beautiful. Yesterday was stunning. Its beautiful. You are seeing a great lineup, including Sheryl Sandberg, martha stewart, gabby giffords. Lets begin with the man of the moment, aols ceo tim armstrong. He caused an uproar when he cited high costs birth as one reason to slash employee 401 k benefits so whats the buzz out there . What are you hearing about what he said and have you talked to him yet . Reporter hes not here yet. I dont know if hes coming. I think he is actually coming. He was supposed to be onstage. Not clear if hes going to be. He doesnt want to be distraction to the focus, which is women in the workplace. You know, i think people werent very pleased with what he said. I thought it was really kind of such a badly said, and a mess but he did take it back. He did correct the situation which was good, and he did apologize which a lot of people dont do that very quickly. So i think that i think he brought into focus what a lot of ceos are probably thinking and probably shouldnt say out loud, about these choices between benefits and health care. I think what he did by calling attention to two pregnancies at the company violates their privacy and one of the mothers spoke out so its kind of a big mess. I think women are shaking their heads a little here. Yeah. Reporter i am, im a mother. I am, too. Believe me, i was shaking my head as well. Talk about Sheryl Sandberg because shes really on the forefront of changing the image of women in the workplace, changing the inequalities for women in the workplace and im going to be fascinated by what she says to you when you talk to her. Reporter well, actually im she was just interviewed and i think shes talking about the continued discussion, it has to continue beyond lean in, beyond the attention she gets, and that significant changes still havent taken place. Gwen did a tremendous interview and she was they talked about a range of things but again, its the continuing issues of trying to solve these inequalities, not just here in this country with high level women but also across the whole spectrum of gender not gender, sorry, the diversity spectrum all across the world. I think that was sort of an interesting part of the discussion, it has to be a worldwide movement, not just here in the united states. Great. Thank you so much. Good to see you again. Lets go to bill. It bears repeating, the rally continues on wall street. The dow up 193 points. If youre just joining us, this would be the fourth consecutive up day for the dow. First time this year, dominic chu. Within a stones throw of 200 points so check out sony. The stock is moving higher on a reported japanese nikkei newspaper that the company is in talks to supply a possible camera component to apples iphone so you can see the stock is on the rise. Gradually throughout the course of the day but still a story worth noting if it comes to fruition. Back to you. Thank you. It is lunchtime on wall street. Sara eisen is talking cheese and buns. A lot of Companies Making changes to their food, kraft, subway, many more. I will have the fulmenu next. [ male announcer ] legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses. If you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution thats right for you. With easy stepbystep guidance, were here to help you turn your dream into a reality. Start your Business Today with legalzoom. Yeah. Try new alka seltzer fruit chews. They work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. These are good. Told ya im feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. Enjoy the relief the market is broadly higher, the Dow Jones Industrial average up better than 190 points. Almost 1. 25 to th