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Arizona Lawmakers Fail To Bring Up Repeal Vote For Civil War- Era Abortion Ban; Boeing Whistleblower Testifies In Senate Committees; Price Caps For Asthma Meds Not Applicable To Kids. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired April 17, 2024 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: In a very, very long time that was killed by Republicans, really because the president, the former president told them to?
REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): No, look, it doesn't frustrate me at all. Again, I just told you my position, and you know, we could have a very conservative package, which is, you know, that supposedly gives more aid, et cetera, but it's not going to work. The only thing that's going to work is the will of the president of the United States.
The only way that we're going to secure this border, unless President Biden changes as mind, and undoes all of those things that he's done for the last three years, the only way we're going to have a secure border is by electing a new president, Donald Trump, as president of the United States. That's the only way it's going to happen.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Congressman Carlos Gimenez, we have to leave the conservation there. We should note some of the executive orders that former president put in place were knocked down by the courts. That's the argument that we're hearing from some Democrats as to why President Biden doesn't reinstate them. Nevertheless, we look forward to having you back on to further discuss this and some of the other things we were going to talk about before we watched all of this unfold on the floor of the Senate.
Thank you so much, Congressman.
GIMENEZ: It's my pleasure.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
We're going to sneak in a quick break as we watch the latest point of order get voted on on the Senate floor. We'll be back in just moments. Stay with CNN.
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[15:35:38]
SANCHEZ: More heated moments on the floor of the U.S. Senate as Senator Kennedy of Louisiana was trying to make a motion to have a vote on a point of order and he accidentally said he wanted to adjourn until May 1st of 2004, then he corrected himself for 2024. Nevertheless, a slowdown in the U.S. Senate over these motions to adjourn and efforts to bring up points of order to ultimately get to the same conclusion. They're not going to convict the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
DEAN: Yes. But as so many of our analysts and contributors have pointed out today, a lot of this is about getting these key moments on the floor as we head into an election year especially maybe trying to put some of these vulnerable Democratic senators in a tight spot with some of these votes.
So we're going to keep an eye on that and watch as they now have moved on to the 2nd Article of Impeachment. There are two so we are through the first one, which has effectively been killed by the Democratic majority there in the U.S. Senate. And we now wait to see how they move toward Article Two. At this point is what we have seen much over the last couple of hours, which are a lot of points of order from the Republican side to essentially slow down this process.
SANCHEZ: Right. Right. Again, we're going to keep an eye on that. We'll bring you the latest as we get it.
Another big story is happening in Arizona today. Supporters for abortion access there are gathering outside the Capitol in Phoenix after lawmakers there failed yet another attempt to advance a repeal of that state's near-total abortion ban.
DEAN: Last week, you'll remember the Supreme Court there revived a Civil War-era law banning abortion in all cases, except to save the life of the mother.
CNN's Natasha Chen is following the story for us.
Natasha, what happened today and also what kind of reaction are you starting to get?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, today, the House tried to bring a repeal consideration to the floor, but that was going to be tough because typically that has to be going through a committee first before it goes to the full House. They were trying to vote to bypass that procedure and a couple of attempts at that failed. So that's why it's not being considered on the floor at all.
There is obviously relief and excitement from the right-to-life folks whom I met this morning. They were filling the gallery. They were here to try and voice their concern about this. They were in favor of this law dating back to the 1860s. Now, behind us, we have a group who are trying to push abortion rights and in fact I am standing next to Dr. DeShawn Taylor. She is at one of the eight remaining clinics in the state that still provides abortion care.
Dr. Taylor, what happened today you said does not surprise you.
DR. DESHAWN TAYLOR, OWNER, DESERT STAR INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY PLANNING: I'm not surprised. We've had a Republican legislature for the past 50 decades that I'm aware of. And there were 50 years opportunity to repeal this 1864 ban, and that didn't happen. So, although I want it to maintain hope that we could get a solution today, I'm not surprised by what happened.
CHEN: Yes. Talk to me a little bit about what has been happening at your clinic since this decision last week. What are you hearing from patients?
TAYLOR: Well, initially it's a chilling effect, like when these things happened in Arizona, first thing people think if they can't get abortions. And so our time last week was a bit slower and we're also trying to get the word out for Arizonians to know they can still at least get abortions to 15 weeks here as all of this activity is playing out. And so this week, patients started to come back and we've been busier.
And people are grateful that they still have the opportunity to get their abortion, but they're also concerned about the future of, you know, whether, you know, someone they care about would need an abortion in the future.
CHEN: If this law dating back to the 1860s is, you know, the law of the land going for -- it currently as the state Supreme Court said last week, it does hold, someone like you providing abortion care may be liable and may be sent to prison for two to five years. If that is the case, what do you do?
TAYLOR: My position is a bit unique as well because I'm not only the provider, but I'm also the person who runs the clinic.
[15:40:04]
And so I look at this from so many different vantage points in terms of, one, I am outraged because I have been providing abortion care for 23 years of my adult life and to not be able to use those skills that I learned and have honed over time to give compassionate abortion services to people who needed it in my state I shouldn't have to be in this position because abortion is healthcare.
CHEN: And just to clarify, the 15 weeks that you mentioned and the reason you're still doing this despite the Supreme Court ruling last week is because that 15-week abortion ban is something Arizona passed a couple of years ago, that is still the case right now as the Supreme Court ruling said their ruling doesn't take effect for a couple of weeks.
Obviously, a lot of back-and-forth trying to figure out in this moment of up and downs and confusion what actually holds in the state of Arizona -- Boris and Jessica.
SANCHEZ: Natasha Chen live for us from Phoenix. Thank you so much for that update.
We're still watching the floor of the U.S. Senate. It has been quite an afternoon. I wouldn't say fireworks necessarily, but definitely some tense moments. Potentially more ahead as the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is underway. Stay with us.
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[15:46:00]
DEAN: Boeing is under fire once again after damaging testimony on Capitol Hill today at two Senate committee hearings. Witnesses raised serious questions about how the company builds airplanes and the safety of those planes. One of those witnesses, a Boeing engineer said he believes, quote, "They are putting out defective airplanes."
SANCHEZ: CNN's Pete Muntean is here with us with more details.
Pete, walk us through this testimony.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, allegation after allegation here during these dueling Senate hearings today and the newest from this whistleblower named Sam Salehpour. He is a quality engineer on the 787 line. He saw the big sections of the 787 fuselage being joined together, but he says the gaps in those pieces are too big, which creates stress and wear which could lead to fatigue failure over time.
Now, Boeing insists there is no evidence of that, and the 16 years of 787 has been flying, there are about 1100 flying worldwide, none lost to a crash. But here's a clip where Salehpour said 787 is being put together dangerously.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM SALEHPOUR, BOEING QUALITY ENGINEER: From what I've seen, the airplanes are not being built per spec and per requirement. As the plane gets older, you know, all of these things that, you know, you took -- you know, you said it's not a safety issue, it becomes a safety issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: Federal Aviation Administration says it's taking it seriously and investigating this allegation. Boeing held a press briefing for reporters on Monday, but executives would not comment directly on Salehpour's allegations. Here is the statement, though, from Boeing. It says, quote, "We are fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner. These claims about structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft."
This is just the latest chapter in this yearslong saga of Boeing issues. Two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people abroad that led to a 20-month grounding worldwide. Then this past January there was the door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX-9. But remember this latest accusation has to do with the 787. It has not been without its problems, though. Deliveries were halted in '21 and 2022 because of some quality control problems at the Boeing factory in Charleston, South Carolina. Some of that Boeing says is because the tolerances are so tight. The
gaps allowed between the main fuselage sections are five one- thousandth of an inch. We're talking about the width of these two sheets of paper, maybe as thin as a human hair. Boeing says it set that tolerance maybe a bit too extreme than necessary for a plane to be deemed safe. And sometimes they have to just take a little leeway where they can get them.
DEAN: I appreciate that you use the visual reference because I was -- that was a very specific amount of --
MUNTEAN: Yes. Not many people can envision five one-thousandth of an inch.
DEAN: Yes. All right. Pete Muntean, thank you so much.
MUNTEAN: You bet.
DEAN: We'll be right back.
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[15:53:26]
SANCHEZ: President Joe Biden is spending part of his day in Pittsburgh and he actually just spoke at the United Steel Workers headquarters. He's bringing a message of economic competition to the heart of the American steel industry in his remarks to union workers. He's also calling on his administration to ratchet up pressure on the Chinese steel industry.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, right now my U.S. Trade representative is investigating trade practices by the Chinese government regarding steel and aluminum. If that investigation confirmed these anticompetitive trade practices, then I'm calling on her to consider tripling the tariff rates for both steel and aluminum for some time.
Taken together, these are strategic and targeted actions that are going to protect American workers and ensure fair competition. Meanwhile, my predecessor and the MAGA Republicans want across-the- board tariffs on all imports from all countries that could badly hurt American consumers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The United Steel Workers, a key union representing workers in the steel industry, endorsed Biden's reelection campaign last month. His push comes as he's also seeking to move the needle with voters who continue to hold sour views on his handling of the economy.
Several of the top makers of asthma inhalers recently capped their prices after a Senate investigation into how much they cost, and that means many inhalers will only cost $35 a month starting this summer.
SANCHEZ: Yes, but doctors say that these new price caps don't apply to the asthma inhalers used by young kids, meaning that they cost so much many parents will not be able to afford them.
[15:55:02]
CNN's Meg Tirrell has been following this story.
Meg, walk us through what's happening here.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris and Jessica, this has been incredibly frustrating for parents and for doctors going through this situation and really it's just a matter of which companies made these $35 pledges. They happen not to make the inhalers that are needed by the youngest children with asthma.
The companies that made the pledges are GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, and AstraZeneca. And doctors say this will be very welcome news when these $35 price caps for monthly out-of-pocket costs come into play for patients using those inhalers.
The problem is that little kids with asthma rely on inhalers like this that can be used with what's known as a spacer device. Now there are only three inhalers that fit this profile. Other called Generic fluticasone or Flovent, which used to be made by GSK or still is but it's now sold by another company as an authorized generic. There's one called Asmanex and one called Alvesco.
And GSK took the branded version of that first drug off the market last year, and that's kind of thrown this whole system into whack for families trying to access these medications. A lot of insurance companies don't cover the authorized generic, the second drug, Asmanex, has gone into shortage. The third one can have trouble getting insurance coverage as well.
We spoke with one family, a mom called Julie Leach. Her daughter is 13, her name is Abby. We've got a picture we can show you. She has a rare disease that restricted her lung development and she's relied on drugs like this one to be able to breathe well. She was doing well on Flovent before it was taken off the market. After that, her insurance coverage wouldn't cover other alternatives so doctors had to spend weeks fighting this battle for her.
And she went six weeks, guys, without her medication. These are stories that patients and doctors are dealing with right now. They wished that the $35 caps applied to these medicines, too -- guys.
DEAN: Yes, it is wild and kind of outrageous that they don't.
All right. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much for that reporting.
And stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: We are watching the action on the Senate floor as the impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas gets underway. It has been a kinetic day full of action, several points of order presented.
