BROWN: So, does the president have the votes to get it done?

The man who counts them is Congressman and House Majority Whip James Clyburn. He is joining me right now.

Congressman, welcome to you.

You are the one who does know the math. Yesterday, you said that you didn't yet have the votes you needed to pass this. Give us an update. In the last 24 hours, did you make any progress?

(LAUGHTER)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: Oh, yes, we are making progress. Nothing much has changed in terms of the final result. We need to get to 216. And we're still tweaking stuff.

We don't have the final numbers from CBO yet. And some of our members are very concerned about how this is paid for and how much it will cost. We have got preliminary numbers, but we don't have final numbers. And we're not asking these members to commit until such time that we can share with them what those final numbers are.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Just, if I can stop you for a second...

CLYBURN: Sure.

BROWN: .. when are you going to get those final numbers?

CLYBURN: Well, only CBO knows. We hope we will get them tonight. We heard no later than tomorrow.

But they're sort of independent. And we can't tell them what to do or when to do it. We're sort of at their mercy. And, so, we're waiting to get those numbers.

BROWN: So -- so, how -- you know, when you -- you anticipate you will get the numbers. You will let these members have a -- have time to look at them. When that happens, so let's say another 24 hours go by, how certain are you that, at the end of the day, you are going to get to the number you need to?

CLYBURN: I am very comfortable as to where we are. I think that we have reached a significant consensus in our caucus. The will is there to get this done. They're asking us, as the leaders of the party, to find a way to do it.

And I think that, come the weekend, we will be where we need to be in order to get the 216 votes that are required.

BROWN: So, who are you having a tougher time convincing right now? Is it some of those conservative Democrats who want to see tough language on abortion, or is it more the progressives, who think that the bill doesn't go far enough? Or is it the people that you are talking about who want to see the actual cost?

Who is it in those three groups, I guess, who's putting up the most resistance?

CLYBURN: Well, I don't think you can apply any ratio or percentages of disagreements.

I think that everybody has got some concerns. I mean, I want to know how much this thing is going to cost. And I want to make sure that the language is right on abortions. And I am very comfortable that we will be where we need to be before the vote is cast.

So, I think it's a little bit unfair to ask people to just give you a hard and fast commitment, when you don't have a hard and fast number. And so that's where we are. People have that told that: If the number is what you say it is, then I'm all right. But I need to see the number and be sure the CBO has spoken before I give you my commitment. BROWN: And let me just finally ask you, Congressman, I know you're hearing this from a lot of people. A lot of those members are thinking about November. And a lot of them are saying you to: If I do what you want me to do, I may lose my seat.

How do you respond to that?

CLYBURN: Well, there are some members who have those concerns, absolutely. All of us would love to leave office upon retirement. And we don't want that to happen at the hands of the voters.

But we also want this country to get rid of discrimination against people because of preexisting conditions. We want to get rid of recisions because get catastrophic illnesses. We want to make sure that young people can stay on their parents' insurance until they get up to 27, so they can go to professional schools.

They want that done. And the only way for us to do that is to pass this bill. So, I think that, sure, members ought to be concerned about their reelections. But I also believe that they're very concerned about the welfare of the American people, and they will put that in front of the next election.

BROWN: Well, we will see if you are right about that.

Congressman James Clyburn, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us tonight.

CLYBURN: Thank you so much for having me.