President's Prime Time on Immigration; Should We Raise Fuel Economy Standards?; Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Enrollment Deadline; Writings From The New Yorker
President's Prime Time on Immigration
In a speech to the nation Monday evening, President Bush is proposing to send thousands of National Guard troops to bolster patrols along the Mexican border, a move designed to win support for immigration reform from get-tough conservatives in his party. White House spokesman Tony Snow said that the effort would use only "a very small percentage of the Guard," which numbers about 400,000 members around the country. White House officials say it would involve fewer than 10,000 Guardsmen. Bush is making the speech, set to run less than 20 minutes from the Oval Office, at 8 p.m. EDT, a rare prime-time slot. He plans to follow up the address with a visit Thursday to the border in Yuma, Arizona, to further press his case. Though some Republicans defended Bush's plan, others on both sides of the aisle expressed concern about overextending a National Guard force that is already tied up in Iraq and must be ready for disaster relief.
Should We Raise Fuel Economy Standards?
Senator Dianne Feinstein has unveiled details of legislation that would raise the average fuel economy standards for all vehicles, including SUVs and sedans, to 35 mpg by model year 2017. Currently, automakers must meet a fleet average for passenger cars of 27.5 miles per gallon. Larry Mantle talks with guests about the costs and benefits of such a change, and about the likelihood that such a mandate could become law.
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Enrollment Deadline
According to the Bush administration, about 37 million people have signed up for Medicare's prescription drug coverage, but another six million seniors who are eligible have not. Critics claim that the administration has overstated the number of beneficiaries with drug coverage. Those who wait until after the Monday enrollment deadline will likely have to pay higher monthly premiums when they do sign up. Larry and his guests discuss the state of the Medicare Part D program, nationally and in California.
Writings From The New Yorker
In his new book Reporting, The New Yorker editor David Remnick profiles some of the most important, complex, and, in some cases, reclusive people of our time, including Ariel Sharon, Katherine Graham, Al Gore, Mike Tyson, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Remnick's writing captures people who are obsessed with altering history while in the midst of a crisis, and illuminates these crises to reveal the private faces behind the public personas. Larry talks with David Remnick about his new book and what reporting means to our culture when newspaper circulation is dropping and print journalism is under attack.