Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20

CNNW The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer September 7, 2011



>> brooke, thanks very much. happening now, riveting new details, the rough draft about president obama's jobs speech. what we're learning about the plan he unveiled tomorrow night and whether he has new ideas that will sound either bold or timid. also, rick perry's first test on the presidential debate stage. he got a late ride into this race, but he's moving very quickly right now at the start of his presidential campaign. tonight, he has something, of course, to prove. plus, one of america's biggest malls prepares to be the target potentially of a terror attack. it's a valuable lesson in being ready for the worst ten years after 9/11. and get this, it costs next to nothing. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in the "situation room." this is cnn breaking news. >> we'll get to that in a moment. but we're just learning here at cnn that the former united states ambassador to the united nations bill richardson was scheduled to land just a little while ago in havana, cuba on a very important mission to try to win the release of an american alan gross, 62 years old. he's been a u.s. government subcontractor. he was arrested in cuba in december of 2009. accused of subversive activity. been held there ever since. we're getting a statement now from the state department from the state department spokeswoman courtesy of our own elise lapin, our producer, the state department saying we are aware of governor richardson's trip to cuba and have been in contact with him. while governor richardson is traveling as a private citizen, we support his efforts to obtain alan gross' release. we're also told the cuban government invited richardson to come with this specific mission in mind. we're told he's expected to spend the next few days in havana to find a way to release alan gross. the obama administration has been trying very strongly over these past 2 1/2 years or so to improve u.s./cuban relations. but right now the secretary of state hillary clinton has made it clear there will be no improvement at all in u.s./cuban relations until alan gross has been freed. he was sentenced to 15 years in prison in cuba. we're staying on top of this story, we'll get reaction. much more coming up. in the meantime, the headline, bill richardson who has done this on many occasions before, having gone to many countries to try to free americans, he was scheduled to land just a little while ago in cuba with the mission of trying to free alan gross. we'll stay on top of this story for our viewers. meantime, on the eve of president obama's big jobs speech, he has a draft proposal on the table right now. and we're learning some of the key points in it. i can't stress this enough. this is a make or break moment for millions of americans who need work, who need a job, and for a president who wants to keep his own job. let's go right to our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin is working this story for us. the speech will be delivered tomorrow night as you know before a joint session of congress. it's critically important, obviously, for the president, but for millions of americans who are unemployed or underemployed or have simply given up hope for ever finding a job. >> that's right, wolf, according to a democratic source familiar with a draft of the plan, i'm told that it will include a mix now, wolf, of tax breaks for business, infrastructure spending, aid to the states, and help for the chronically unemployed. now, according to this working draft, the big-ticket items in this plan include roughly $120 billion to extend that 2% payroll tax cut to employees, which is now in existence but currently set to expire at the end of the year. there's now in this working draft roughly $50 billion to extend unemployment insurance. and also in the plan, talk of an additional tax incentive to encourage employers to hire the long-term unemployed. i'm told there are tens of billions of dollars there to support highway infrastructure investment. and around $30 billion to renovate dilapidated schools. you and i spoke about that yesterday. and roughly figure -- the total figure roughly now $300 billion, the working figure for this overall jobs package. now, wolf, i'm told there will be a number of programs in here to try and get businesses and states to encourage the hiring of the chronically unemployed. we're talking about seniors, veterans, and low-skilled workers. but as you said, this is a draft plan and a lot could change between now and tomorrow night. >> quick question, jessica. how is the president proposing? do we know how he's proposing to pay for all of this? >> right. he's going to give us broad strokes of how he'll pay for it tomorrow night and lay out a detailed plan either next week or shortly thereafter. one piece of that i'm told will be to propose closing corporate tax loopholes, another piece would be raising taxes on the wealthy down the line and then another piece would be to propose some changes, even cuts to certain entitlement programs, perhaps medicare or medicaid. those -- that last bit, something some democrats expressed to me they're deeply concerned about. he's already put that on the table during those deficit talks during the debt debate we went through earlier this summer, wolf. >> thanks very much. i want our viewers to check out my blog, cnn.com/situationroom. not only for the president or the republicans or politician, stakes for the country right now in this presidential proposal that will be unveiled tomorrow night. what it means for middle class workers throughout the country. cnn's tom foreman over at the data wall for us. >> you hit the nail on the head when you talked about people being underemployed. all of these politicians in the republican debate and the president's speech are going to talk about jobs. the question is what kind of jobs are they talking about? almost 7 million jobs lost in the recession proper. but a job is not a job is not a job. this number was going on before the recession. the biggest growth was over $70,000 a year. look at the jobs that increased there. down in the lower wage, 20,000 a year, that was growing too. middle wage $35,000 and up, that wasn't growing much before the recession and this is about half of the country. look at what happened during the recession because this is where the jobs were lost. we moved to those two years, and the middle falls to the bottom. massive losses here. not so much in the higher wages, not so much in the lower wages, this one fell way down, and since the recovery's been underway, very little progress in regaining that ground. the lower-wage earnings have come up. that's where the jobs have been. many of the jobs we've created since then have been these kind of jobs and that's not enough to fuel this economy. the higher wage, by the way, continues to lose jobs right now. this is the focus then, wolf. the question is, how do you get the bulk of jobs moving in here for mid-wage earners. the middle class of this country. for republicans, for the president. that is the challenge. if you don't get this number moving, you can't get the economy cranking too. wolf? >> good explanation. thank you. when president obama lays out his new jobs plan before a joint session of congress tomorrow night, cnn, of course, will carry all of it live. don't miss our special coverage 6:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow. the eight republican presidential candidates are likely to come out swinging at the president's jobs plan. tonight, only 24 hours before he formally unveils it. their debate in california will be an important test for the newest member of that republican presidential pack. we're talking about rick perry. will his burst of early momentum continue after his first performance in a debate? cnn's jim acosta over at the debate site, the reagan presidential library. set the scene for us, jim. what's going on? >> reporter: wolf, it is fitting that this debate is happening about an hour's drive outside of hollywood. after a quick and relatively easy rise to the top of the gop pack, it is now show time for rick perry. >> how are you? >> reporter: texas governor rick perry might find himself in the middle of a wild west shootout at the gop debate with attacks coming from all sides. just this morning, gop strategist carl rove the -- taking aim at perry's -- >> i want to apologize for that technical problem we're having over there. let's just talk about what's going on. you heard the technology obviously was not working. let's set the scene for our viewers. it's a huge, huge challenge tonight for the front-runner rick perry. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. he has galloped to the head of this field in relatively short order. he just got into this race less than a month ago. and if you look at the latest polls, hooegs leading by double digits in almost every poll come out in this race in the last week or so. and that has basically given all of the incentive to the rest of the rivals in this gop field to go after rick perry. that is why in the last couple of days you've seen ron paul, a fellow texan come out with a tv ad, an attack ad going after rick perry highlighting the fact that the texas governor back in 1988 before he was governor was a democrat and loyal supporter of al gore of all people when he was running for president back then. and mitt romney just last week was given a policy speech in the state of texas when he delivered that line about, we've got a mess that no career politician can get us out of. making a failed reference to rick perry there. rick perry's going to be feeling the heat tonight. and the person who might have the most at stake in this debate tonight, wolf, is somebody we're not spending a whole lot of time talking hababout these days and that michele bauchmann. and all of a sudden she has found the bulk of her tea party support race over to rick perry. so really this is going to be all about rick perry tonight. but at the same time it is a question as to whether or not those candidates will have the opportunity to do so. keep in mind, they're going to be almost ten candidates on this stage right now. they're all going to be given pretty much equal treatment. it's going to be difficult for them to focus all of their attacks on rick perry because there's going to be a lot of fur flying in every direction, wolf. >> i assume they'll be attacking mitt romney, as well. we'll watch it together with you, jim acosta on the scene for us in california. and this important note, we'll be watching for any missteps tonight. we'll be listening closely. they'll have another chance monday night. i'll be the moderator at that time. cnn will host the republican presidential debate along with a tea party express, several tea party groups will be in tampa, florida, monday, 8:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. looking forward to that debate. standby, we'll talk more about rick perry and what he has to prove in tonight's republican presidential debate. will his popularity matter? and the list you don't want to be on. it's the only way some evacuees in texas can find out if their home has been burned to the ground by the wildfire. stay with us. you're in the "situation room." almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one. [ male announcer ] each of these photos was taken by someone on the first morning of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises the average retiree will see. ♪ as we're living longer than ever before, prudential's challenge is to help everyone have the retirement income they'll need to enjoy every one of their days. ♪ prudential. bring your challenges. let's get right back to jack cafferty for the cafferty file. >> here we go again. president obama wants to spend another $300 billion we don't have. the president set to roll out his jobs plan tomorrow night in a speech to a joint session of congress. but you need a magnifying glass to find out where the job creation is hidden. early reports suggest the plan will focus on new infrastructure spending. okay. might be some jobs created there. but an extension of unemployment benefits? how does that create jobs? aid to local governments meant to prevent teacher layoffs, that preserves existing jobs, doesn't create any jobs. there may also be an extension of a payroll tax cut as well as tax breaks for businesses. bottom line is, a lot of this is just more government give aways. and once again, it's being advocated for no plan how to pay for it. apparently the cost of the roughly $300 billion will be offset by "tax increases in later years." it would all be part of a long-term deficit reduction plan that would include spending and entitlement cuts as well as tax increases. oh, yeah, that's going to happen soon. translation, more empty rhetoric designed to justify more deficit government spending. no one is making any tough decisions about cutting spending or raising taxes. the government continues to kick the national debt time bomb down the road, piling on more and more government spending for which there is no money. of course, it's unlikely that much of the president's plan will make it through congress. some republicans have already dismissed it saying it's a continuation of the failed 2009 stimulus plan. anyway, here's the question, how should the estimated $300 billion cost of president obama's jobs plan be paid for? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog, or go to our post on the situation room's facebook page. now, if you go into the dealer and you get a new car, they expect you to pay for it. >> they certainly do. they want cash or something. thank you. let's get to the devastating wildfires right now in drought-stricken texas. the fires are so large, you can see them from space. officials say even as firefighters get the upper hand on some of the largest fires, more are still popping up. the largest, which could be contained soon has destroyed more than 450 homes, forced evacuations of at least 5,000 people, many of whom are checking lists to see if their homes survived. 2,000 firefighters are on call battling the flames. and now an elite search team is being called in to search for people who may be trapped. cnn's david mattingly is joining us now. here's near austin, the state capital. what are you seeing there, david? >> reporter: wolf, today firefighters are pounding the hot spots in this massive fire as fast as they possibly can. trying to take advantage of the weather break they got today. very little wind today. remember, it was the hype winds earlier in this week that turned it into such a monster here. today the winds have been relatively calm, they've been dropping water out there on the ground, as well, trying to make sure the fire doesn't spread and that they're able to bring down some of the hot spots still continuing to burn there. and they're racing against the clock because tomorrow the winds are supposed to pick up again here and they're looking at possibly 10 to 20-mile-an-hour wind. so if they don't bring the flames down today and cool down some of the hot spots today, they will continue to have problems the rest of this week. in the meantime, homeowners today out of this county got their first taste of bad news. confirmation lists went up today showing just a partial list of the hundreds of homes that have been hit by this fire. very powerful moments for some homeowners when they saw their numbers, their addresses up on these lists, but also powerful moments for people who saw their friends up there who did not see their own houses, but are now dreading the worst. we talked to one woman who now looked at these lists, did not see her house and walked away in tears. >> this is devastating. so many people are displaced, have nothing. nothing. i forget how many homes, three or four of them are gone. they have nothing, they had no insurance. they're going to ask fema for help. >> reporter: and we've had 5,000 people evacuated in this area, they haven't been allowed back in their homes. that may happen soon. but right now, authorities are pleading with people to stop being so impatient, stop running the road blocks they have set up because there's still a very active fire fight going in those areas that they've been in for the last week. they're hoping people will be able to remain patient and some may, they said they're working on plans to hopefully get some people back into their homes some time very soon. >> is there a significant federal assistance that's going on right now? >> reporter: on the ground, we're seeing mostly state assets being deployed. the federal government is involved, fema is on the ground doing their damage assessment. they will have a relief center set up here soon if not already to assist the people who don't have insurance who might need some assistance in getting back on their feet. but right now, fema is actively involved, the federal government is making funds available, but on the ground, you're seeing mostly volunteer fire departments, regular fire departments, state forestry officials directing a lot of what's going on here. largely, the boots on the ground largely from texas and from surrounding states, they've been getting assistance, as well. wolf? >> david mattingly, thanks very much. we'll stay in close touch with you. one former member of the republican presidential pack is suggesting his former rivals may have something in common with the bachelor and the kardashians. standby for our strategy session. and what's missing from empty crates in libya could be very dangerous for the country and the world. what's it going to take? do we have to spell it out? can't republicans in congress get the message? instead, they protect tax breaks for big oil. tax breaks for billionaires. even tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas. republicans in congress have shown who they stand up for. voting to take care of the wealthy. not the middle class. it's time to bring jobs back to america. seiu cope is responsible for the content of this advertising. we're getting more reaction now to the news we broke here at the top of the hour in the "situation room" that the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., bill richardson was scheduled to land just a while ago in cuba to try to get the release of alan gross, the american management contractor who was arrested in cuba in december 2009 charged with all sorts of charges, convicted, sentenced to 15 years. the u.s. says it wants alan gross out. we're now getting a statement from the gross family. let me read it to our viewers. we are pleased that the cuban government invited governor richardson to havana. we welcome any dialogue that will result in alan's release. we are grateful for his continued efforts. we hope that the governor and cuban authorities are able to find common ground that will allow us to be reunited as a family before the jewish holidays. they come up at the end of september. he was there trying to help the jewish community get better internet access. the cuban government accused him of -- that that was not authorized and they arrested him, sentenced him to 15 years. state department says it hopes that governor richardson can succeed in getting his release. we'll have more on this story here in the situation room when it comes up. in the meantime, we're getting reaction to bill richardson's mission to cuba. he's done this before in syria, iraq, and libya, other countries. let's see if he can come out with alan gross on this occasion. meanwhile, a new danger in libya right now. a stash of powerful surface to air missiles. that stash is now missing. a human rights watch investigative reports of weapons looting across the country and found dozens of empty missile crates a

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