CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2004-10-19

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Dan Rather and welcome to the

[0:02] CBS Evening News online edition. Just

[0:05] ahead, the flu vaccine debacle. Both

[0:08] presidential candidates scramble trying

[0:10] to turn the issue to their advantage.

[0:12] Also, scraping by. A look at why many

[0:16] military families are now forced to

[0:18] accept charity. And Capitol Hill's

[0:21] latest handiwork. We'll give you a look

[0:24] at a huge corporate tax giveaway that

[0:26] you're paying for. It's all starting now

[0:29] on the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:33] In this country, the presidential

[0:34] candidates caught a new political bug as

[0:36] they stumped in swing states. Today,

[0:39] CBS's Jim Aosta reports on President

[0:41] Bush, Senator Kerry, and growing public

[0:44] outrage over the shortage of flu shots.

[0:47] With flu shot frustration spreading

[0:49] across the country, President Bush tried

[0:51] to inject some calm today. I want to

[0:54] assure them that our government is doing

[0:56] everything possible to help older

[0:58] Americans and children get their shots.

[1:01] Later, his Health and Human Services

[1:02] Secretary announced a vaccine maker will

[1:04] provide another 2.6 million doses, but

[1:07] not nearly enough to meet the nation's

[1:08] shortage of almost 50 million flu shots.

[1:11] Critics say the administration was

[1:12] warned of the potential for a crisis 3

[1:14] years ago. But the secretary says the

[1:17] problem began during the Clinton years.

[1:19] No president or administration has

[1:22] invested more in the flu than this one.

[1:26] The fact is that the flu vaccine

[1:28] marketplace has been withering for years

[1:31] through most of the 1990s.

[1:33] >> The issues given John Kerry's campaign a

[1:36] shot in the arm.

[1:37] >> We learned that a town in New Jersey is

[1:40] being forced to use a lottery system to

[1:42] decide who's going to get a flu shot. So

[1:45] now George Bush is telling us you got to

[1:47] get lucky to get healthcare. The

[1:49] needling started after Mr. Bush offered

[1:51] his remedy for the shortfall during the

[1:53] last debate.

[1:54] >> We're working with Canada to hopefully

[1:56] that they'll produce a help us realize

[2:00] the vaccine necessary to make sure our

[2:03] citizens have got flu vaccinations

[2:06] during this upcoming season.

[2:07] >> A George Bush mess.

[2:08] >> The next day, a new carriad was born.

[2:11] >> Now Bush wants Canada to help even

[2:14] though his own policies make it illegal

[2:15] for us to import medicine from Canada.

[2:19] 8 people an hour.

[2:20] >> But deep in those long lines is a debate

[2:23] over whether the president is

[2:24] responsible.

[2:25] >> Not really. I don't think they can be

[2:26] accountable for the fact that a company

[2:29] had contaminated supplies.

[2:30] >> I guess I think the Bush administration

[2:32] of course is responsible for this.

[2:34] Absolutely.

[2:35] >> Both sides say they have a plan for the

[2:37] future, but it's doubtful either

[2:38] candidate can do much to prevent what

[2:40] emergency room doctors fear could be a

[2:42] public health disaster this winter. Jim

[2:45] Aosta, CBS News, New York. Stock prices

[2:48] are of little concern to many underpaid

[2:51] American military families, especially

[2:53] those with fathers or mothers serving in

[2:55] Iraq. For more and more of them,

[2:57] financial worries are much more basic,

[3:00] like the high cost of putting food on

[3:02] the table. CBS's Bill Whitaker has the

[3:04] inside story.

[3:09] At a recent march for military families,

[3:11] it seems everybody in Lacy, Washington,

[3:13] turned out to support the troops at

[3:15] nearby Fort Lewis and McCord Air Force

[3:17] Base morally and financially.

[3:20] >> $20.

[3:22] >> It's not much, but I know every little

[3:23] bit counts.

[3:24] >> They raised $15,000 for military

[3:27] families in need.

[3:29] >> Thank you.

[3:29] >> They're out there in in Iraq, and uh

[3:33] money is tied for those families. At the

[3:36] Myiramar Marine Air Station near San

[3:38] Diego, where the movie Top Gun was

[3:40] filmed, some families are hitting rock

[3:43] bottom.

[3:44] >> It's not payday yet. Got three kids at

[3:46] home and it's time to feed them. Navy

[3:49] doesn't pay enough for what we have to

[3:50] live here in San Diego.

[3:52] >> So, some 500 military families a month

[3:55] come to the food locker on base for free

[3:57] groceries donated by stores, the

[4:00] military, even the Boy Scouts. Without

[4:02] us, a lot of these families wouldn't

[4:04] make it.

[4:05] >> You need it.

[4:06] >> Yeah,

[4:07] >> actually, we do. We do. That's the sad

[4:10] part about it.

[4:11] >> You hear the same thing from families in

[4:13] every branch of the military. Why?

[4:15] Because enlisted men and women can earn

[4:18] as little as $1,14

[4:21] a month.

[4:24] And with the National Guard serving

[4:26] longer tours, their families are going

[4:28] longer without civilian salaries. Even

[4:31] with housing and medical benefits, many

[4:33] military families, especially in

[4:35] expensive cities, are losing the battle

[4:38] to make ends meet.

[4:39] >> We're considered below poverty line.

[4:42] >> So if povertyy's here, we're below it.

[4:45] >> Still, most are good soldiers as proud

[4:48] to serve as their spouses. Shall Marie

[4:50] Ryan's husband is in Iraq. No, we're not

[4:53] going to complain about it. It's it's

[4:55] our life. That's what we married.

[4:58] >> But at the food locker, volunteers see

[5:00] more and more service families

[5:02] struggling in silence.

[5:04] >> We have young men and women laying down

[5:06] their lives day after day after day.

[5:09] They're not making enough. It's not

[5:11] fair. It's not right.

[5:14] >> Many sacrifice in time of war, some more

[5:18] than others. Bill Whitaker, CBS News,

[5:21] San Diego. Well, here's how it started.

[5:23] The World Trade Organization ruled

[5:24] export subsidies the US government was

[5:27] giving American corporations were legal.

[5:29] All right, said Congress. We'll cancel

[5:31] the subsidies and replace them with tax

[5:34] breaks. Suddenly, industry after

[5:36] industry and special interest after

[5:38] special interest wanted in. And as CBS's

[5:41] Bob O reports, pork barrel hell broke

[5:44] loose.

[5:48] office.

[5:49] >> In the race for big tax breaks, count

[5:51] dog and horse track owners among the

[5:53] winners. $27 million to encourage more

[5:56] bedding. Farmers will find $27 million

[5:58] more at the public trensation for

[6:01] livestock lost to bad weather

[6:04] and $11 million for NASCAR track owners

[6:07] who will get speedier writeoffs for

[6:09] their grandstands. Just some of the

[6:11] spoils in the first overhaul of

[6:13] corporate taxes in 20 years. Cataloged

[6:16] by the shoestring watchdog organization,

[6:18] taxpayers for common sense.

[6:20] >> If you have a lobbyist with a pulse in

[6:22] Washington, you got a lot in this bill.

[6:25] >> The bill began as a tiny tweak of tax

[6:27] policy to protect some US exports from

[6:30] foreign tariffs. But this is what

[6:32] Congress produced. Nearly 140 billion in

[6:35] special interest giveaways.

[6:37] >> Grande caramel macchiato. Coffee

[6:39] roasters get a break, as do cruise

[6:41] ships, filmmakers, and manufacturers of

[6:44] bows and arrows used by kids.

[6:49] >> Sponsors argue the bill pays for itself

[6:51] by closing other tax loopholes, but

[6:54] concede it's loaded with pork.

[6:56] >> Well, that's true, but that's how the

[7:00] Senate works. And not only the Senate

[7:03] makers of tackle boxes, including a

[7:05] company in House Speaker Dennis

[7:07] Hastard's district, are getting $11

[7:09] million in tax breaks.

[7:11] >> It was a mustpass bill. They knew it and

[7:14] and all the special interests knew it,

[7:15] and they took advantage of it, and they

[7:17] ripped us off.

[7:18] >> So, there are billions for ship

[7:20] builders, railroads, and aircraft

[7:22] companies. And buried on page 598,

[7:26] a special prize for PGA golfers. Tax

[7:30] millions in deferred compensation.

[7:33] Bob, CBS News, Washington.

[7:35] >> More stories are just a click away, but

[7:37] don't forget to join me on television

[7:39] for the on air edition of the CBS

[7:41] Evening News. For CBSN.com,

[7:44] I'm Dan Rather.