The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

JIM LEHRER: Good evening. I'm Jim Lehrer. On the NewsHour tonight, a look at today's Ashcroft confirmation vote, and other early days of the Bush Presidency, with a Kwame Holman report, and the views of four editorial page editors. Then, two takes on prescription drugs, the Washington politics, and the effect on pharmacies, plus an interview with the new President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It all follows our summary of the news this Thursday.

NEWS SUMMARY

JIM LEHRER: The Senate confirmed John Ashcroft to be Attorney General today. The vote was 58 to 42. Eight Democrats joined all 50 Republicans in voting for him. Most Democrats objected to Ashcroft over his opposition to abortion and gun control, among other issues. Republicans welcomed today's outcome, but lamented the way Ashcroft was treated.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN: The best thing for America is for John Ashcroft to prove his critics wrong, for him to become an Attorney General who clearly will enforce and administer the laws of the United States fairly and with the sort of equanimity which we expect of a man of his stature and his position. And that I think will be the best legacy of this investigation. I am sure it was painful for John Ashcroft. It was painful for many of us to stand in judgment of our former colleague. But it was our constitutional responsibility.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH: I call it the onward trashing soldiers routine, and it only happens every once in a while. But it is degrading to the Senate. And not everybody on the other side was part of the onward trashing soldiers routine, but there were a significant number, and I was very disappointed in them. Will we get along better afterwards? Yeah, because we're big people, and we're we'll gradually put this behind us. But it was disgusting.

JIM LEHRER: Late today, Ashcroft was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a private ceremony. We'll have more on the Ashcroft vote right after this News Summary. In India today, international rescue teams began to abandon the search for survivors of last week's earthquake. And bulldozers started leveling shattered buildings. The confirmed death toll stood at more than 14,000, with more than 60,000 injured. Relief aid poured in, but people in remote villages complained they were still not receiving vital supplies. A Libyan man acquitted in the Pan Am bombing trial returned home today. He was freed Wednesday by a special court in the Netherlands. A second Libyan was convicted in the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. We have a report from mark Webster of Independent Television News.

MARK WEBSTER: Home to a hero's welcome, Al Amin Kalifa Fhimah, a man who for months has stood accused of mass murder. With a house with a hug from one of his five children, his arrival descended into chaos. Free from the cool deliberation of his court case, he was reunited with family and friends he left behind in Tripoli in April 1999, after he was finally handed over for trial. His acquittal is being widely trumpeted in Tripoli as a vindication of the Libyan regime. But the uncomfortable reality is that Abdel Basset has been convicted of the murder of 270 people at Lockerbie. (Horns honking) Al Amin Fhimah threw victory signs at bewildered passersby from his motorcade, as the authorities here insisted the former Libyan airlines employee had never been an intelligence officer for the Libyan government. Within an hour of arriving, he was greeted by the maverick head of that government, Libyan leader Colonel Qaddafi. Then, as the soldiers tried desperately to push the media back, I asked colonel Qaddafi repeatedly to answer one question. Will you now pay compensation to the victims of Lockerbie? "Abdel Basset is also innocent," he said. "Eventually, the evidence I will give on Monday will prove that he is also innocent." He refused to say what fresh evidence he had or why it hadn't been submitted before. But he had specifically chosen this place for the meeting, because it has been preserved as a reminder of a US air raid in 1986.

JIM LEHRER: Prosecutors in the trial suggested the pan am bombing was retaliation for that American attack on Tripoli. The US economy showed more signs of slowing in two new reports today. An index of manufacturing activity fell in January to the lowest level in nearly ten years. It's compiled by the National Association of Purchasing Management. And the Commerce Department said incomes rose 0.4% in December. And personal spending rose 0.3%, well below the gains of earlier last year. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity. President Bush today sent congress a plan to help the disabled. His new freedom initiative would help them gain access to jobs by paying for special computers and other equipment. And it would triple funding for research to help disabled people live independently. Mr. Bush spoke at the white house.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Wherever a door is closed to anyone because of a disability, we must work to open it. Wherever any job or home or means of transportation is unfairly denied because of a disability, we must work to change it. Wherever any barrier stands between you and the full rights and dignity of citizenship, we must work to remove it in the name of simple decency and simple justice.

JIM LEHRER: The President did not say what his plan would cost, but during the campaign he promised to spend $880 million over five years to help the disabled. In California today, the state assembly approved a plan to ease the electricity crisis. That outcome reversed a vote taken hours earlier. The $10 billion measure would allow the state to buy and sell electricity for two cash-starved utilities. Opponents said it would mean rate increases. The state Senate approved the plan Wednesday. Airline delays hit record levels last year. The Federal Aviation Administration reported today that 450,000 flights were late, up 20% from 1999. Bad weather was the main cause, but airport congestion and the growing number of flights were also factors. And that's it for the News Summary tonight. Now it's on to the first days of the Bush administration, including the views of four editorialpage editors; reports on the politics, and the pharmacy perspective of prescription drugs; plus an interview with Congo President Joseph Kabila.

FOCUS - FIRST IMPRESSIONS

JIM LEHRER: Today's Ashcroft vote, a capper to the first days of the Bush administration, Kwame Holman reports.

KWAME HOLMAN: 42 days after President George W. Bush nominated John Ashcroft as Attorney General, a deeply- divided Senate finally confirmed him this afternoon. Senators sounded weary, yet confident of better days to come.

SEN. TRENT LOTT: I've been disappointed by this nomination process, through the Judiciary Committee and to a degree here, although less so on the floor of the Senate. I did think the rhetoric got too hot. It did get... I thought, into the range of being unfair and inaccurate even. But I don't think we should let that permanently alter the atmosphere that we've tried to set here in the Senate.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER: There are some scars left on the initial days of the Presidency of George Bush, who had campaigned on a campaign of inclusiveness, bringing people together, and this nomination clearly did not do that. But again, the President's... most of the President's other moves, this nomination notwithstanding, have been bipartisan moves and hopefully while this is clearly a setback to that bringing people together, to that bipartisanship, it's not going to be a permanent one.

SPOKESMAN: The clerk will call the roll.

KWAME HOLMAN: The negative reaction to Bush's nomination of a staunch conservative for the Justice Department was the exception among his cabinet choices. Largely, his selections to help him run the government were well-received as worthy of his long-standing pledge to work toward bipartisanship. Most were approved quickly, even unanimously, by the Senate. President Bush started his first week in office with a nod to conservatives that angered abortion rights advocates. He ended US funding for international aid groups that provide abortion services. After that, he highlighted bipartisan initiatives, including an education plan that downplayed spending public dollars on private schools through vouchers, a provision strongly opposed by Democrats. The education effort also helped inaugurate what's quickly become a Bush trademark in just two weeks as President, bringing in leaders from both parties who have interest in a particular issue.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I am so honored that the Senators came over and members of the House leadership that's going to help carry legislation. I believe the best way for the Vice President and I to help the legislative process is to discuss issues in a frank and open way, and that's the beginning of a process here. So thank you all for coming.

KWAME HOLMAN: One of the Senate's most liberal voices, Massachusetts' Edward Kennedy, appeared impressed after the meeting.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY: As one who participated in there for close to an hour, the areas of which he pointed out where we are in agreement, I thought, were very substantial and are out there and can make a very important difference.

KWAME HOLMAN: Reporter: This week, the President hosted a multiracial group of clergy to promote his plan to help faith-based organizations that want to deliver social services. He also announced his plan to help poor seniors pay for their prescription drug bills, a concept favored by majorities in both parties in Congress and capped off the week with today's proposal to help the disabled. In just 12 days, President Bush has met with more than 100 members of Congress, about half of themDemocrats. Emerging from one such encounter last week, Senate leaders from both parties offered favorable assessments of the Bush approach.

SEN. TRENT LOTT: He really has been reaching out. I believe he noted that this is the sixth meeting in two days that he has had with congressional leaders in one group or another. And while he might not want to continue at that pace, it's a very positive sign and I think it's appreciated by members of both Houses and both parties of the Congress.

SEN. TOM DASCHLE: I thought it was a very constructive meeting. Obviously, the more we have opportunities like this to talk about issues of mutual concern, the more productive, I think, the relationship between Congress and the President, between Democrats and Republicans will be.

KWAME HOLMAN: However, one of President Bush's biggest challenges is reaching out to blacks. Last night, the President held a long meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I look forward to a good dialogue on subjects that are on the members' minds and on my mind as well.

KWAME HOLMAN: Mr. Bush got only a tiny percentage of the African American vote and many still are angry about the disproportionate impact of Florida's voting problems on blacks.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS: One of our main concerns was bringing to him the pain that so many people are feeling about the election and we expressed to him the fact that one of his major concerns early on was to heal the country. And we reminded him that part of the problem was that it did not seem there was a strong commitment with regard to addressing the problem which came up in the election in Florida. And we spent quite a bit of time with regard to Mr. Ashcroft. What was said there was that we are vehemently against Mr. Ashcroft's appointment, because we believe that his policies in the past, his actions, not only as a Senator, but as an Attorney General and as a Governor, has --have flown in the face of the concerns of our constituents and so many people that the President claims he wants to help bring about this healing. I think we are clear that the jury is still out.

KWAME HOLMAN: Fresh from the Ashcroft confirmations, the President plans to drop in on a retreat of the entire House Democratic Caucus in Democratic Caucus in Pennsylvania this weekend.

JIM LEHRER: Margaret Warner has more.

MARGARET WARNER: For a further assessment of the Ashcroft confirmation and the beginning of the new Bush presidency, we turn to four editorial page editors. Patrick McGuigan of the "Daily Oklahoman," Susan Albright of the "Minneapolis Star Tribune," Rachelle Cohen of the "Boston Herald," and Frank Burgos of the "Philadelphia Daily News."

Pat McGuigan, beginning with you. The Ashcroft confirmation: Big victory for this new presidency?

PATRICK McGUIGAN: Well, of course. The President had to endure a lot more obstacles, if you will, on this nomination than President Clinton did on his Attorney General nominee. In fact, Janet Reno, even though she was quite liberal and inexperienced, got unanimous confirmation, 98-0. Ashcroft gained a 58-42 confirmation, even though he was quite experienced, prepared for the job but conservative. And that was the principal objection to him. But he's there; he's on the job.

MARGARET WARNER: Susan Albright, how do you see it in terms of both the process and also whether this is a plus for this new administration?

SUSAN ALBRIGHT: Yes, it's a qualified plus, I would say. He certainly won, and that is good. But he also was subjected to a lot of criticism, and I think there are really two messages that came out of that process: One is that even the Democrats are willing to give the new President a little bit of free rein even on a nomination that they disagree with, many of them. But, two, that they can muster votes against someone, and I think it's a signal for when he might be naming nominees for the Supreme Court, for example.

MARGARET WARNER: Rachelle Cohen, what is the process by which he was confirmed and the fact that he did make it finally, though a lot of-- lot of Democrats voted against him. What does that say to you about this new presidency?

RACHELLE COHEN: Well, I agree completely that this wasn't entirely about the Ashcroft nomination. The Ashcroft nomination was also about the Supreme Court and upcoming Supreme Court nominations. And it doesn't necessarily bode well that the Democrats were indeed able to muster that magic number. They proved what they needed to prove, which is that they can marshal a filibuster against any future nominee, Supreme Court nominee, in this anticipated case, if they so chose, especially if it's someone of the conservative leanings of an Ashcroft. So yes, he got through, and he got through in reasonable short order, certainly compared to the Clinton debacle with Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood. But the Democrats also proved their case, that they've got an awful lot of clout and they have their agenda.

MARGARET WARNER: Frank Burgos, on balance, was this a smart choice, do you think, of President Bush to choose John Ashcroft?

FRANK BURGOS: Well, what would have been a very smooth transition, I think, or a very successful one has hit a bump here. They were only able to get eight Democrats over to their side in confirming John Ashcroft. And one of the Democrats, Chris Todd, it was a very muted endorsement. It was basically saying, "I'm not going to do to John Ashcroft what the Republicans have been doing to our nominees for the last eight years." So I would imagine that the Bush administration is celebrating right now, but it must be a very muted celebration.

MARGARET WARNER: Pat McGuigan, what about that point that it is a bump in the road or that it did sort of fly in the face of this reaching out and this bipartisanship and this new tone that the President said he was bringing to Washington and, by many accounts, he's been quite successful at in many ways?

PATRICK McGUIGAN: I think he's made an excellent start, and in fact I'd probably give him a B+ so far. What George Bush is showing is that you can be civil and be conservative. Now, this is not a remarkable proposition to people who have watched him perform in Texas, nor is it a remarkable idea to conservatives in general. But apparently this is regarded as a concept, I think somewhat facetiously there in the nation's capital. George Bush has made a good start. He kept faith with a key constituency by picking a strong, clear, committed principled conservative as his Attorney General -- the man has been confirmed by the Senate, and I believe he'll make an outstanding member of the President's team.

MARGARET WARNER: So Susan Albright, do you see this reaching out as simply a matter of style, or do you also see substance? Do you see a flexibility on the President's part in substance ways, on priorities?

SUSAN ALBRIGHT: So far, I would say we have not seen much in the way of policies. Most of it has been rhetorical. In other words, his inauguration speech was quite good. Our page complimented him on it. But in terms of content, the only thing I would point to that I think shows some movement would be his backing off from vouchers somewhat and instead, moving toward deductions or credits for private education. So I think the jury is out on that. I don't see a whole lot of movement in terms of being bipartisan in a policy sense.

MARGARET WARNER: But Rachelle Cohen, there's been a lot of comment here in Washington that, if you look at the issues he chose to focus on, they're all issues you'd think Democrats would focus on, education, charities, although it faith-based charts, prescription drugs for seniors. I mean how do you read all that?

RACHELLE COHEN: Well, I think that here is a politician, imagine this, a politician who campaigned on a set of issues and who is now actually rolling them out one by one. I really couldn't disagree more with Susan. I think we've seen a remarkable two weeks. The education plan really is out there, and it's quite comprehensive. And when you get someone like our own Senator Ted Kennedy saying, "I may disagree with the Ashcroft nomination, but there is an awful lot to be said, we have a tremendous commonalty of interests on something like the education proposal," I think that speaks well not just to the Bush priorities, but to the Bush priorities as they relate to this reaching out effort. I think you'll see some of the same things come to bear on prescription drugs. This may not end up as the Bush prescription drug plan, but I think he is certainly set the agenda on that issue. And he is playing both to his own constituency and to the pressing need of Democratic politicians who are also looking for some developments on things like education and prescription drugs.

MARGARET WARNER: Frank Burgos, what do you make of the way he's put out these proposals and the fact that he, on all three of them, he's hinted, "well, this my idea, but I'm willing to listen to others?" How do you read that?

FRANK BURGOS: Well, he's just facing reality. I mean let's look at the sort of big things that have happened over the last two weeks: Prescription drugs, he's getting a tepid response from Congress. Education package, he's realizing now that there are some key Republicans and Republican supporters who don't like vouchers, don't like the idea of inner city kids going to big suburban schools. And realizing that there are Republicans out in the rural areas who suddenly realized that vouchers aren't going to help them because they don't have private, you know, schools to go to. And on energy, California gave him an opportunity to take a real activist or a really good stance there, and basically what he told California is what Ford told New York, you know, "drop dead, you're on your own." So in terms of substances, I would have to give President Bush for the first two weeks just a C grade. In terms of style, though, it's been a "about." We've had guys who've been waiting to get into the White House for eight years, so it's not surprising that you've got very experienced people coming in managing a very, very smooth transition.

MARGARET WARNER: Pat McGuigan, what do you make of the style question or his leadership qualities? And I know two weeks is auf think soon, but again, there are lots of... lot of comments on the Hill from people saying, "I got there for the meeting and the meeting actually started early." There are a lot of comparisons being made.

PATRICK McGUIGAN: Well, I think several things. One thing to keep in mind is this is a guy who, when he became Governor in Texas, inherited a pretty difficult situation in the legislature, dealt mostly with Democrats and to some extent that's still true. The Democrats have a very strong presence in the legislature. Like many of the other of majority of American governors who are Republican, he's dealt with an eclectic mix of issues, and education has been a top priority for him. So it's no surprise that, just as he promised in the campaign, that's one of his key initial policy thrusts. I give Bush not only good marks for style, but also for substance. And I find some of the dismissive remarks about his education package in particular kind of surprising because this is a very solid set of proposals with broad support, and his commitment on vouchers is to have a mechanism that's real to force accountability into the public system. I think it's laudable. If anything, I think he's put it off a little too long in terms of the trigger date being six years instead of earlier.

MARGARET WARNER: Susan Albright, it sounds as if some of your colleagues disagree with you about how much left there is to all of this.

SUSAN ALBRIGHT: Well, I think it's paying off very well for him that he has chosen establishment... experienced people with to work with him. There's no question that this transition has been much cleaner, much neater than the last ones that Clinton had. And so I think he's done fine in many ways, and I think a lot of it does remain to be seen. Take, for example, the new initiative he has on faith-based and other community people taking over some of the social services. Our paper is not editorially inalterably opposed to this by any means, but it all kind of depends on where he goes with it. In the past, when we've had religious groups giving social services, they've followed clear guidelines under which they're not actually preaching or trying to convert or using religion in the treatment of drug addiction or whatever itself. President Bush seems to have some interest in moving that line and in going to a kind of system in which perhaps the religious message is part of the treatment. So I think a lot of it depends on where the proposals go. I think that's true in education, in the tax cuts and so forth.

MARGARET WARNER: So Rachelle Cohen, back to the new President himself, does he strike you as a person who's going to be able to not just roll out these ideas, but really make them happen, given the division of power in this city now?

RACHELLE COHEN: Well, that's where the issue of style and symbolism comes in. And there is a lot to be said for his efforts to reach out. Tonight, for example, the Senator -- Ted Kennedy and other members of the Kennedy clan are going to be munching popcorn in the White House screening room watching "13 days." This may not be a great effort to bring one of the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate into line on a whole variety of issues on which there may or may not be agreement, but the style points, the symbolism of reaching out to the Kennedys in general, to other liberal members of the Senate, is... I think speaks well of the man and of his efforts to get a program through -- similar effort with members of the Black Caucus on Capitol Hill and with a number of black ministers with whom he's already met. This is what he needs to do. He knows that. He knows the margin in the Senate for his party is whisker thin and dependent on the continued good health of Senator Strom Thurmond, 98 years old. So he is making an effort to reach out, and I think he's doing a darn good job of it so far.

MARGARET WARNER: All right, well, thank you, all four very much.

JIM LEHRER: Still to come on the NewsHour tonight, two reports on prescription drugs: The changing politics and the shortage of pharmacists; plus an interview with the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

FOCUS - RX POLITICS

JIM LEHRER: Prescription drugs politics, Susan Dentzer of our health unit reports. The unit is a partnership with the Henry J. Kaiser family foundation.

SUSAN DENTZER: While running for office last year, President Bush had to tackle the topic of Medicare and the fact that the federal health program for the aged and disabled doesn't pay for most prescription drugs used outside the hospital.

GEORGE W. BUSH: Medicare does more than meet the needs of our elderly; it reflects the values of our society. We will set it on firm financial ground and make prescription drugs available and affordable for every senior who needs them.

SUSAN DENTZER: Earlier this week, the President began to follow through on that pledge by submitting the outlines of his drug coverage proposal to Congress.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I was informing the chairman today, we're sending up to the Hill our immediate helping hand proposal, which is help for prescription drugs for seniors.

SUSAN DENTZER: But the President has found little interest from either party in passing his plan. It's a temporary measure to channel money to the states so they can help low-income seniors buy prescription drugs. Senators discussed it at a recent confirmation hearing for incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

SEN. KENT CONRAD, (D) North Dakota: (January 18) You know, there's just not much support-- my governor doesn't like it. Other governors don't like it.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE, (R) Maine: I think the concern is that if we have a temporary program, we may never get any more on prescription drug, because of the difficulty and complexity of those issues.

SUSAN DENTZER: Although many seniors have at least some drug coverage thorough private insurance plans, about 15 million of Medicare's 40 million beneficiaries have none at all. President Bush says he ultimately wants to address that as part of a comprehensive Medicare reform. That would not only add a drug benefit, but would also dramatically restructure the program. But that would take time and would be politically difficult. So Bush wants to start with a drug plan for the worst off seniors that he calls an "Immediate Helping Hand."

GEORGE W. BUSH: (September 5, 2000) We will modernize Medicare, but we will not wait to help seniors afford prescription drugs. We'll give them direct aid now by expanding and funding state assistance programs for four years, during the transition to better Medicare coverage. We'll provide $12 billion a year in direct aid to low-income seniors in all 50 states.

SUSAN DENTZER: Under the President's plan, states could use that $12 billion a year for so-called pharmaceutical assistance programs for the low- income aged and disabled. The state programs would pick up the entire cost of prescription drugs for the lowest-income seniors and a portion of the costs for others.

GEORGE W. BUSH: (September 5, 2000) Every senior with an income of less than $11,300-- $15,200 for a couple-- will have the entire cost of their prescription drugs covered. For seniors with incomes less than $14,600 or $19,700 for a couple, there will be a partial subsidy.

SUSAN DENTZER: Other provisions of the President's plan would help up to several hundred thousand seniors who spend more than $6,000 a year out of pocket on drugs. Bush's proposal builds on programs now in place in 14 states and scheduled to begin soon in five more. Together, the programs currently offer help with drug costs to an estimated 800,000 of the aged and disabled. But 31 states don't have such programs and many are leery of setting them up now. Robert Reischauer is President of the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank.

ROBERT REISCHAUER: It's a very complex undertaking and if this program really is going to last only four years, the states would have to expend a lot of energy designing, implementing, and administering a program that would quickly disappear. But of more concern to the states is that the program may not disappear after four years. The Congress and the President may not agree on long-term Medicare reforms and they would, therefore, be having a permanent responsibility for drug assistance to the elderly and disabled. They would get increasingly pressured by middle class and upper-middle-class people without drug assistance, saying, "why are only the poor getting this?"

SUSAN DENTZER: Although most Democrats in Congress oppose the immediate helping hand plan, they're also split over the broader issue of reforming Medicare. Some are wary of efforts to revamp the program and mainly want to focus on adding a drug benefit for all enrollees.

SEN. PAUL WELLSTONE: The President's proposal is a great leap sideways, I think - a great leap sideways. Many people, just because you make $16,000 a year or $20,000 a year or a little bit over that as a couple, doesn't mean with the prescription drug costs as they are, that you can afford it. The whole point of this is to make it part of Medicare, to make it universal and to meet the need.

SUSAN DENTZER: Other Democrats, like Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, support adding a universal benefit through overall Medicare reform. They fear that the helping hand proposal would be a time- consuming distraction.

SEN. JOHN BREAUX: I want to do this as quickly as we possibly can and I'm convinced now that the best way to do it is as a part of Medicare reform.

SUSAN DENTZER: At a meeting yesterday with top GOP health lawmakers, the President took note of the resistance to his plan.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: If in fact what they are saying is that they plan on expediting a Medicare reform that will include prescription drugs for all seniors, then all of a sudden I begin to say, well, gosh, that may make sense that you look at our proposal the way you do. If they are going to drag their feet, if the members of the Congress on both sides of the aisle don't feel the same urgency that I feel and these two chairman feel on Medicare reform, then I feel it's very important for us to have an immediate helping hand. There are a lot of seniors who need help when it comes to prescription drugs.

SUSAN DENTZER: And with at least a few Republicans voicing some tepid support for the program, the debate over prescription drug coverage could begin in earnest soon, as Congress starts work on the next fiscal year's budget.

FOCUS - RX PRESCRIPTIONS

JIM LEHRER: Now, the prescription drug story as seen at the pharmacy. Ted Robbins of KUAT, Tucson, reports.

TED ROBBINS: Meet your new pharmacist. It doesn't have much personality, but it doesn't complain about the hours either. Pharmacy robots like this one at the Phoenix Veterans Hospital are the latest alternative to human pharmacists who are in seriously short supply. Take Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain says it alone will need 2,000 new pharmacists every year for the next decade. Over the last decade, Walgreens doubled the number of its stores. In the coming ten years, it plans to double again. That means it will have to at least double or triple its pharmacists to keep offering such perks as 24-hour, drive- through windows. The law requires that every open pharmacy have at least one licensed pharmacist behind the counter.

NICHOLE LITTELL, Pharmacist: Thank you. Have a good day.

TED ROBBINS: Nicole Littell began working at Walgreens after she graduated from college. She's now pharmacy manager at this store, and she's seen the demand for her services explode, along with the Phoenix area population.

NICOLE LITTELL: Prescription for Jane Simmons. It does get difficult. There are a lot of times where pharmacists, you know, will work a few hours at one store and have to go to another store to help out.

TED ROBBINS: The labor shortage is causing salaries to skyrocket.

NICOLE LITTELL: I mean, I never dreamed I'd be making this much money at a young... You know, at this young of an age.

TED ROBBINS: 28 years old, Nicole Littell is making $79,000 a year, plus cash bonuses and company stock. Some new recruits may get even more.

NICOLE LITTELL: I've heard, you know, anywhere from $5,000 up to $25,000 sign-on bonuses. I've heard some pharmacists are being offered, you know, BMW's -- some being offered houses.

TED ROBBINS: The National Association of Chain Drugstores says retail pharmacies in the US currently have about 7,000 penings. The nation's pharmacy schools will graduate a little more than 8,000 new pharmacists this academic year. That would solve the problem, except only 5,000 or 60% of those graduates will work in traditional pharmacies. University of Arizona student Nicole Povich says she can get better hours and make even more money doing research at a drug company, or managing patient benefits at a health maintenance organization.

NICOLE POVICH, Pharmacy Student: Because in a retail setting, you start real high, but you tend to sort of stay in that sort of realm. There's not a lot of advancement unless you change your position.

TED ROBBINS: Fred Paavola is assistant surgeon general and chief pharmacist of the U.S. Public Health Service.

FRED PAAVOLA: There are so many opportunities for pharmacists today: Academia, the pharmaceutical manufacturers industry, the insurance companies, the pharmacy benefit managers. It's almost unlimited where you see pharmacists can go these days.

TED ROBBINS: The demand for pharmacists follows a vicious demographic circle created by the increased use of prescription drugs. Those drugs help people live longer and healthier lives, and the longer people live, the more drugs they take.

J. LYLE BOOTMAN, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy: The longer lasting of the disease requires us to manage it not four or five years until death, but for 20 to 25 years until death.

TED ROBBINS: J. Lyle Bootman is dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Arizona and former President of the American Pharmaceutical Association. This year he says doctors will write the equivalent of 12 prescriptions for every person in the United States.

J. LYLE BOOTMAN: Estimates today are 2.8 to 3 billion prescriptions annually. It's estimated by the year 2004 or 2005 certainly in excess of four billion prescriptions. That's a tremendous percentage increase with only probably an increase of 4% to 5% of the workforce.

TED ROBBINS: Drug companies aggressively market to doctors and to patients. In 1997, the federal government relaxed rules on marketing prescription drugs on TV. You've probably seen commercials like this one from Schering- Plough for the best selling allergy medicine Claritin.

COMMERCIAL SPOKESPERSON: Claritin has a low occurrence of side effects, such as headaches, drowsiness, fatigue and dry mouth, similar to sugar pills. Talk to your doctor about Claritin soon.

TED ROBBINS: Americans are doing just that, asking their doctors for prescriptions and getting them. A lot of people don't think twice, since many insurance plans pay most of the cost.

SPOKESPERSON: May I have you step over to the next window? The pharmacist will go over it with you.

TED ROBBINS: Pharmacists say their role is the same as it's been for decades, accurately filling prescriptions and counseling patients on taking medications.

PHARMACIST: Two puffs per day and one of the ingredients in there can make you a little jittery.

TED ROBBINS: Today, though, many pharmacists spend just as much time, maybe even more, dealing with medical insurance companies.

J. LYLE BOOTMAN: The patient comes in with a simple prescription. For some technical reason or some error, the computer says, "well, this person's not eligible to receive this medication." The patient says, "well, of course I'm eligible. I just went to the doctor, I belong to my insurance plan 'x.' Your computer must be wrong." And so a series of phone calls have to take place. People are estimating this is occupying the pharmacist's time to as high as 60% of the day.

TED ROBBINS: Experts like Bootman worry about the toll paperwork and overwork are taking on pharmacists and potentially on patient safety. A report last year from the National Institute of Medicine estimated that mistakes are made on about 4% of the nation's prescriptions. That's 120 million mistakes a year.

FRED PAAVOLA: Right now, many places are finding that pharmacists are working under stress, and when you're working under stress and you don't have enough people to fill the prescriptions that are out there, it is going to be tough on them. They're going to make mistakes and errors.

TED ROBBINS: Millions of people are also self-medicating with herbs and over-the-counter drugs. That presents additional danger to a patient and a busy pharmacist, unless the customer speaks up.

NICOLE LITTELL: So it's a two-way street, though. The pharmacist has to be sure to ask the patient, but the patient has to let us know, also, when they're taking something over the counter or added an herb to their medication regimen.

FRED PAAVOLA: If a pharmacist is not willing to take the time with you to explain those things, then I would go to another pharmacy and find a pharmacist that is willing to sit down and talk to you.

TED ROBBINS: The pharmacy industry is doing a number of things to alleviate the shortage. The pharmacist still has responsibility for prescription accuracy, but technicians like this woman now assist them by serving customers and making calls to doctors and insurance companies.

SPOKESPERSON: We can give them a call.

SPOKESMAN: Can you do that?

SPOKESPERSON: Yes.

TED ROBBINS: And then there's the robot pharmacist. This one automatically fills single-dose prescriptions for hospital patients. It cost $1 million, but Phoenix VA Hospital chief pharmacist Michael Gump says it's worth it. The pharmacy stays open around the clock, and the robot prevents mistakes.

MICHAEL GUMP, Chief Pharmacist, Phoenix VA Hospital: Everything that leaves our inpatient pharmacy is bar-coded. So from the time a physician puts the order into the computer, till it's filled, till it's dispensed to the patient, it's all bar-code driven. And the final end of that is that the nurse on the floor has a bar-code device, to be sure the patient is getting the right medication and the right dose at the right time.

TED ROBBINS: The hospital is hoping to install a robot in its out patient pharmacy next year. A number of mail-order pharmacies are using them, as well. Several new pharmacy schools are scheduled to open in the next few years, and many existing schools are expanding their enrollment. The University of Arizona, for instance, where this student is doing research, will expand from its current 60 graduates to 70 graduates next year. National polls consistently rate the pharmacy profession near the top in honesty and in ethics. To stay that way, the pharmacy industry has to creatively confront a demanding mix of aging customers, expanded benefits and more products. In the meantime, customers may just have to be patient while the industry's solutions take effect.

NEWSMAKER

JIM LEHRER: Finally tonight, a new African leader, and to Ray Suarez.

JOSEPH KABILA: (speaking through interpreter) I, Joseph Kabila, President of the republic democratic Congo.

RAY SUAREZ: Joseph Kabila succeeded his father as President of Africa's third largest country last Friday, just days after Laurent Kabila was shot to death by a bodyguard. The younger Kabila inherited a nation on the verge of economic and political collapse, cut almost in half by civil war. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is at the center of a multi-nation conflict called by some Africa's World War. The eastern part of the country is controlled by rebels and troops from Uganda and Rwanda; in the West; Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia have been supporting the Kabila regime. President Joseph Kabila is 29 years old and a major general. He was in command of the army when he was chosen quickly by his father's cabinet to take over the presidency. As a youth, he spent much of his life in exile in Tanzania and Uganda where he received extensive military training. Since his swearing-in last week, both the Congolese government and its rebel opposition have expressed interest in reviving a 1999 peace accord, signed by the elder Kabila. It has since been widely ignored by all sides in the conflict. UN officials have approved, but not dispatched peacekeepers to the Congo to implement what are called the Lusaka Accords. Joseph Kabila is now on his first diplomatic trip to enlist support for his new government. Yesterday, he met with French President Jacques Chirac, and today he began a two-day visit to the United States. This morning, President Kabila attended a prayer breakfast with President Bush here in Washington, and later met with Secretary of state Powell and other administration officials. Also in Washington for the prayer breakfast was Kabila's neighbor and rival, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. Kagame met yesterday with Secretary Powell and there had been speculation Kagame and Kabila would meet today.

RAY SUAREZ: Tomorrow, President Kabila is scheduled to meet privately with members of the UN Security Council in New York. I spoke with him earlier this afternoon. Mr. President, welcome and thanks for joining us.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA, Democratic Republic of Congo: Thank you.

RAY SUAREZ: If we were to step outside of this hotel and talk to ordinary Americans, what could you tell them about why it's important for this country to be interested in the future of the Congo, in its security, in its prosperity and its continued existence as one state?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: First of all, I'd say America is a nation, a strong nation, because it has stayed a united nation, since the last 200 years. I don't see why the Congo today must be a nation that everybody, or anybody, for that matter, should start thinking of dividing it.

RAY SUAREZ: So it's in America's interest to have a healthy Congo?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: It's in America's interest to have a healthy Congo. It's in the interest of Africa to have a Congo that's stable and strong.

RAY SUAREZ: Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, is also in Washington this week. He was an ally of your late father. Now he is an opponent of your government. Might you speak with him while you're both in Washington or both in the United States?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: I don't see anything wrong with speaking to President Kagame. I don't really see anything wrong in speaking to President Kagame. But of course, the problem is not speaking with President Kagame; the problem is the occupation of the Congo, which has to be ended. We might speak, but the reality is that the occupation is still in progress for the last three years now.

RAY SUAREZ: The armies that are occupying eastern Congo have as their goal, the ending of your government's rule from Kinshasa. You might say that one of the reasons they still are there is because your father, and you, are still in power. Why would they go home now? What is it that has changed since last year that would make them go home?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: Precisely. I don't believe that, a, the government of Rwanda, Uganda, or whatever, has got the right to decide who has to be in power in Kinshasa, because the Congo is not in a position, never is it interested in deciding who should be in power in Uganda, Rwanda, or Burundi for that matter. We are a foreign sovereign state. We'd like to stay so.

RAY SUAREZ: Why didn't the agreement signed in Zambia result in peace?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: Precisely, that's why I say we are stuck with the Lusaka Peace Accord because there are lots of ambiguities, contradictions within the accord. So... but of course, on the other hand, I believe it's lack of good will on the part of the aggressors whose intentions are to stay in the Congo, continue with the rape of the resources, continue occupying the Congo for their selfish ends. And that's why we are stuck with the Lusaka peace accord. That's why after today.

RAY SUAREZ: When you say stuck, are there parts of it that you would like to renegotiate? Are there parts of it that are forcing your country to do things that you don't want to?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: Forcing -- forcing to do things that we don't want to is not really the word I would use. But I believe it's something that has to be renegotiated. It was signed in July 1999, after today, almost two years. I would suggest that there are clauses that have to be reviewed.

RAY SUAREZ: Can your government start making moves now, even though there are parts of the country that are under occupation, to improve the lives of the Congolese? Are you so distracted by the war, that it's very hard to worry about things like water, transportation, the telephone system?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: Well, of course, Congo, as you know, has had a very rough ride for the last 32 or so years. There are lots of development that we need to do, as far as transportation is concerned, hospitals, water, power, et cetera. But of course, all those sectors need resources.

RAY SUAREZ: Would you want to remain President for several years, or do you see your time in the office as part of a transition to a more permanent government?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: The most important thing that I can do for my country is to see an end to this war. Talking about my political future is not really... I don't believe that it's the time to discuss that. But the most important thing that I'd like to see happen in the Congo is, under my presidency, is to see an end to the war -- a transition to a democratic government. The future for me... time will tell.

RAY SUAREZ: But -- so would you like to begin to move the country to elections?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: I mean, we have to move forward. But when you talk of elections, I mean, we are talking of elections in what circumstances? We've got a country under occupation. How do we go ahead with elections?

RAY SUAREZ: Well, would the opposition be able to participate in these elections, for instance?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: Of course, the opposition can participate in the elections. But when I'm talking of the occupation of half of the country, will the opposition participate in the elections where Rwanda and Uganda control the country? That's the big puzzle. Not really a puzzle, but I've been stating wherever I've gone -- In Paris I said the same thing-- for us, the priority is to see the foreign armies of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi move out of - out of the Congo. Then Congolese dialogue will start tomorrow, the day after that, it's in preparation, then the nation will move forward to a transition with elections, democratic elections, that will be observed by the whole international community.

RAY SUAREZ: If, on the other side of that occupation line, they say, "well, that's fine, President Kabila, but we would only participate if the other foreign armies, the Namibians, the Zimbabweans and the Angolans also leave." Is a comprehensive peace going to have to be part of the deal, not just the Burundians and the Rwandans...

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: That's why we are talking of the inter-Congolese dialogue. That's the forum where we will find the best for whatever is going to happen in the next two or three months... six months.

RAY SUAREZ: You've mentioned that your country has had a rough ride. Certainly there have been... there are many difficult challenges ahead. Are you optimistic?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: I have all the reasons to be optimistic. I believe the future is bright for the Congo, if all the Congolese people will take this opportunity, sit down, talk to each other. But, of course, the occupation must end in order for the Congolese people to do that -- in perfect harmony with each other, not being forced by any foreign power, be it Uganda or Rwanda.

RAY SUAREZ: Are you nervous? Are you overwhelmed by the duty that's just been given to you? You are still a young man. You were not involved in the political life and now, here you are, President of the country. Is it still a shock?

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: It's not a shock. It's a challenge that I believe -- I'm up to that challenge. It's a challenge.

RAY SUAREZ: Mr. President, thank you for talking to us today.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA: Thank you.

RECAP

JIM LEHRER: Again, the major stories of this Thursday; the Senate confirmed John Ashcroft to be Attorney General. The vote was 58 to 42. Eight Democrats joined all fifty Republicans to back the nomination. And international rescue teams ended the search for survivors in the Indian earthquake. The confirmed death toll now stands at more than 14,000. Before we go, an editor's note: Last night, in his report on municipal energy, Spencer Michels said a consumer using a private company would pay 56% more than one using municipal power. Wrong-- he would pay 124% more. He and we regret the error. We'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening with Shields and Gigot, among others. I'm Jim Lehrer. Thank you and good night.