Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20130129 : vimarsana

I lost him. Well, that pair endured nearly 30 minutes in that frigid water before they were rescued. Both were treated at a local hospital. They are doing just fine. Unbelievable. Another miracle on the hudson. We like to hear that. That will do it for us. The situation room with wolf blitzer starts right now. Pop tea, thanks very much. Happening now, president obama talks about Immigration Reform and draws a line in the sand for congress to take quick action. Also, her final days on the job as secretary of state. Hillary gives an exit interview to cnn. A huge steroid scandal explodes, including big names like Alex Rodriguez. Now the league is speaking out. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. A major speech on a hot button issue. President obama speaking out a while ago in las vegas about comprehensive Immigration Reform. His remarks come one day after a Bipartisan Group of senators laid out a framework for a possible bill that would be a path to citizenship to increase border security. But the president also made it clear if congress cant act quickly on that, hell put forward his own bill. Our chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin is standing by. Detail for us what is in the president s proposal . Reporter wolf, detail is the key word. In the past, the president has been accused of standing for policy proposals short on specifics. Not today. President obama laid out a plan for comprehensive Immigration Reform that would change the immigration system in three central ways. First, it would strengthen workplace enforcement, specifically by making it harder to hire Illegal Immigrants in the workplace and make it harder for illegals to get jobs here. Secondly, it would create a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented workers who are already in the u. S. After they pay fines they would get in the back of the line. And it would streamline the Legal Immigration system. Thats says for, say, highly skilled workers who come here for, say, highpaying jobs but then have a hard time, for example, bringing their families over. Now, the white house insists, wolf, that the main difference between the president s proposal and the proposal outlined by the senate yesterday is this. That the president s proposal would treat samesex couples in the identical way that let ter row sex couples are treated but i can also say that the president emphasized today that he will increase border security. That was something i did not hear in my past conversations with administration officials. They have previously said they think the border is as secure as its ever been. Wolf . Jessica, how optimistic is it that the white house will move quickly on the comprehensive immigration plan . Reporter well, the president doesnt want to throw cold water on the progress that they have seen to date and they said the senate had a breakthrough but you can hear that he has his doubts. Heres what the president said. First, there will be rigorous about the details and real give and take in the process. But its important for us to recognize that the foundation for bipartisan action is already in place. And if congress is unable to move forward in a timely fashion, i will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote on it right away. In this building, wolf, they say they are going to keep the pressure on. Wolf . You are also learning, jessica, that the Immigration Reform fight is resulting in some pretty strange bedfellows out there . Reporter thats right. The head of the chamber of commerce that represents business interests here has been working with one of the nations top Labor Union Leaders to try to come to agreement on a piece of Immigration Reform about how many guest workers come in here. Its an element that theyve disagreed on in the past but the head of the chamber of commerce and richard trump ka have been having breakfast to work out a Guest Worker Program. Wolf . Jessica yellin at the white house, thank you. Lets dig deeper with our chief analyst Gloria Borger. What is the president s role right now . Why is he coming out today, the day after the Bipartisan Senate push . Because the Democratic Senators wanted him to, wolf. I think the president hangs back for now. He has a plan out there but his plan is not contingent on enforcement in the way that the Senate Bipartisan plan is. So i think for now you see the president hang out there and say, look, if you people cannot agree to something, my plan is out there and republicans, you wont like it any better than what youve got now. So i think what he he acts as a bad cop to the senate democrats, good cop, be knowing full well that he could pounce at any moment if he thinks its going to fall apart because he knows his democrats are pretty much united on this but its the Republican Party thats split. Its also the Republican Party that really needs to try and win back hispanic be voters. I want to continue this. Im going to show our viewers a picture. They started roll call in the Senate Confirmation of john kerry to be the next secretary of state. He will be confirmed. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and now hes going to be confirmed by this senate and then the president will have a swearing in ceremony for him. So this confirmation process is moving quickly, gloria, for john kerry. Well let our viewers know the final vote once it occurs. Not all republicans, as you know, are on board. John mccain, mark clindsey graham, there are others that are totally opposed. Listen to marsha blackburn. She was on starting point earlier tu a day. I want to make sure that it is not amnesty. But i have to tell you that this is some of the particulars and legislative language that people want to see. What weve learned is if you grant amnesty, what do you get . More amnesty. And we have learned those lessons so lets see what the legislative language is going to be. Lets make certain it is going to be fair. I think they will get the legislation passed in the senate, assuming this coalition, this Bipartisan Coalition holds up. The house may be a lot more difficult. Is it going to pass . Well, its hard to predict. Lets see what happens in the senate and lets see what the final version is. There is this big question of amnesty. Its the reason we havent seen Immigration Reform legislation since 1986. And amnesty is sort of one of those buzz words that really gets people riled up. I mean, weve heard it a lot during the republican primaries, wolf. You were there. Only onethird of republicans actually support a path to citizenship, according to some polls. So, yeah, this is going to be a problem, which is why this bipartisan bill in the senate says that you have to deal with enforcement first. You have to make sure the borders are secure before you can proceed to any kind of path to citizenship which, by the way, wolf, does not happen overnight. I mean, when you say amnesty, people think youre going to get amnesty and it happens overnight. Thats not the case in this version in the senate right now. Its very interesting the role of marco rubio, the republican senator of florida, himself an immigrant from cuba to the United States. Hes out there selling this comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation to some skeptics, including on the Rush Limbaugh show today. Listen to this. I think theres this false argument thats been advanced by the left that conservatism and republicans are antiimmigrant and antiimmigration and we are not. Never have been. We are proLegal Immigration and we recognize that our Legal Immigration system needs to be reformed. We also recognize, because conservatism has always been about commonsense, that we have an existing problem that has to be belt with in the best way possible. How important is rubios role in getting this comprehensive legislation reform passed . I dont think you can overstate it, wolf. Its very, very important. Heres someone with undeniable conservative credentials, a bona fide member of the tea party who is effectively trying to save, i would argue, save the Republican Party from itself on the question of immigration. Is he somebody that can go on the Rush Limbaugh show and say, look, i care about enforcement. We have to secure the borders but we have to find a way out of the immigration mess that we have. So hes got credibility, not only with the Republican Party but also with a lot of democrats on this issue. I believe hes staking his entire political career on it and, as i said, helping the Republican Party in his own way. I mean, this is somebody, wolf, you know who is thinking about the presidency. Certainly is true. Gloria, thanks very much. Were going to have much more on the comprehensive Immigration Reform debate coming up later in the situation room. Right now we have something coming in. The secretary of state Hillary Clinton in her final days on the job sitting down with cnn for what is being described as her exit interview. She talked about her recent Health Problems including the blood clot that had her in the hospital. Listen to what she told our Jill Dougherty. If you had one blood clot, there is two times chance that you will have another one. Uhhuh. Is this something youre going to have to deal with for a long time . Millions of people do. Its very common. Do you take medication . Thats what people do when you have blood clots and then you get evaluated after the blood clot has resolved. As you say, ive experienced this before. But i am lucky because i have been very healthy. I feel great. I have enormous amounts of energy that has to be harnessed and focused. So im very fortunate and im looking forward to this next chapter in my life, whatever it is. The full interview, by the way, with the secretary of state, it will air here in the situation room in the next hour as well as the 6 00 p. M. Eastern. She goes through a wide, wide range of issues, including National Security issues and what about 2016 . Is she really interested in running for president again . The interview will be airing here in the situation room. As we saw earlier, the senate is voting on Hillary Clintons replacement, the confirmation of john kerry. He will be confirmed and he will be the next secretary of state, the senator from massachusetts. Well get you the role cal number as soon as it is finished. The head of the Rifle Association and husband of Gabrielle Giffords will square off on gun control. And stunning housing numbers and what it means for the u. S. Economy. [ male announcer ] what are happy kids made of . Bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. A kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. Catches and throws, and spaghettios. A wand, some wings, soup with good things. Sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. Puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. For a lunch like this, theres a hug and a kiss. Because thats what happy kids are made of. Campbells. Its amazing what soup can do. Delicious. But say i press a few out flat. Add some beef sloppy joe sauce. And cheese fold it all up and boom i just made an unbeatable unsloppy Joe Pillsbury grands biscuits. Let the making begin. Pillsbury grands biscuits. Weve decided to were all having such a great year in the gulf, put aside our rivalry. cause all our states are great. And now is when the gulf gets even better. The beaches and waters couldnt be more beautiful. Take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. Enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. And dont forget our amazing seafood. So come to the gulf, youll have a great time. Especially in alabama. You mean mississippi. Thats florida. Say louisiana or theres no dessert. Brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. I took my son fishing every year. We had a great spot, not easy to find, but worth it. But with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. So my doctor prescribed symbicort. It helps significantly improve my lung function starting within five minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. With symbicort, today im breathing better. And that means. Fish on symbicort is for copd including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It should not be taken more than twice a day. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. With copd, i thought id miss our Family Tradition. Now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. And that makes a difference in my breathing. Today, were ready for whatever swims our way. Ask your doctor about symbicort. I got my first prescription free. Call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. The gun control debate is certain to heat up tomorrow at a closely watched hearing on capitol hill. All eyes will be on two very wellknown figures who are set to square off. Cnns chief Congressional Correspondent dana bash is joining us. You had had a chance to speak with mark kelly, the husband of Gabrielle Giffords. Hes getting ready to testify tomorrow. What did he say to you . Reporter thats right. I spoke with him by phone a short while ago. He said that he and Gabby Giffords are both gun owners and that he actually thought about joining the nra but never got around to it. When it comes to wayne la peaier, the two have never met but he hopes that they can have a constructive conversation about how to tackle gun violence. Two staunch supporters of the Second Amendment, two very different views on guns. They are god given freedoms. They belong to us in the United States of america as our birth right. No government gave them to us and no government can ever take them away. I defended the Second Amendment flying in combat over iraq in kuwait, you know, defending our country. I own a gun. This really isnt about the Second Amendment. Reporter these will be the star witnesses at congresses first hearing since the shooting in newtown. Mark kelly, the husband of Gabby Giffords who was shot in the head, six people died in the attack. The couple are gun owners themselves and used to practice at an nra range. Now they are taking on the powerful gun lobby. Kelly tells cnn they support extensive gun control, including restricting highcapacity weapons, like the one used by giffords shooter. He was taken down after unloading ten rounds in a magazine, then there would certainly be other people that didnt that died that day that would be alive today. Reporter as the nras executive director, Wayne Lapierre is the defender of gun rights. His prepared testimony released by the nra sounds familiar warnings. Laweye biding gun owners will not take responsibility for criminals nor do we believe the government should dictate what we can lawfully own. He will have avid defenders on the committee holding the hearing, like orrin hatch. Well, after years of being pushed around, its tough for them not to be combative. Wayne lapierre is one of the nicest, kindest people youll ever meet but he really does believe in the Second Amendment, as do i. Reporter le go head to head with Dianne Feinstein. He makes his claim that everybody is entitled to these weapons. My view is, everybody is entitled to be safe. Reporter she called the nra veen nal but insists its not personal with lapierre. He wants one thing, i want an entirely different thing. Hes there for gun people, to allow them to have these guns regardless. They are fought virtually every kind of regulation. The time has come to change course. Reporter and when it comes to legislation, feinstein isnt only going to have to convince republicans. One of the interesting dynamics on this committee that is holding this hearing tomorrow is that the democratic chairman, wolf, pat leahy, is a supporter of gun rights. Feinstein is concerned that the witness list is too skewed towards proponents of gun owners. So what youre saying is little dispute going on between Dianne Feinstein and patrick leahy, they are both democrats and on the liberal side of the Democratic Party but when it comes to gun rights, they disagree . Reporter thats right. They do disagree. I tried to interview patrick leahy. He said to watch the hearing tomorrow. Hes known as la liberal but on gun issues not so much and definitely differs with his colleague, Dianne Feinstein on this issue. Were going to invite him here in the situation room and background checks, assaultweapon type guns and s