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Should We Laugh? Cry? Both?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Nov. 23 (News Analysis) - The ritual is becoming familiar. Health care reform passes a major political hurdle. And progressives don?t know whether to laugh or cry. Last time, the occasion was a vote in the House of Representatives. Health care reform passed by the slimmest of margins, but not before conservative Democrats had extracted a major concession on abortion rights. This time, it was a vote in the Senate--not on whether to pass a bill, but whether to begin debating one. This measure, too, passed by the slimmest of margins, but not before conservative Democrats and one notorious independent made clear they were prepared to shut things down later if legislation includes a public insurance option. It?s no fun to watch this unfold. And yet this is the exactly the sort of drama you should expect for the next few weeks, as the Senate deliberations play out. The bill Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced last week is not everything it could be--not by a long shot. And progressives will try their ...

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On the Hill: Legislative Pileup Looms in the Senate

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Carl Hulse - Nov. 21 (News Analysis) - While Republicans dispute that they are pure obstructionists, there is evidence to suggest that they are using their procedural power to slow even legislation and nominations that they know they have no chance of blocking. And in some cases, many Republicans do not truly expect to prevail.

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Republicans Hope For Just One Defection

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

National Public Radio - Nov. 21 (News Analysis) - No Republicans will vote Saturday night to advance the Senate's health care bill to open debate, Republican Whip Sen. John Kyl says. That leaves the fate of the vote in the hands of a few moderate Democrats, all of whom are needed to reach the 60 votes needed to push the bill forward. Host Scott Simon speaks with Kyl on his party's chances of defeating the bill.

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What to watch for in today's debate

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Chris Frates - Nov. 21 (News Analysis) - Nancy Pelosi did it. Can Harry Reid? Two Saturdays ago, Pelosi passed health reform on a squeaker of a House vote. Today, Reid can’t spare a single Democrat as the Senate decides whether to start debate. If not, President Barack Obama’s reform hopes suffer immeasurable harm.

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Senate girds for Saturday vote and long battle on health care

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

McClatchy - By David Lightman - Nov. 20 (News Report) - The Senate Thursday began what promises to be a bitter, lengthy battle over the future of health care in America, and taxes, abortion, affordability and federal deficits emerged as key flashpoints.

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Reid uncertain of tally as healthcare bill heads for rare Saturday vote

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Hill - By Jeffrey Young - Nov. 20 (News Report) - The majority leader also put to rest any notion that the Senate would try to use budget reconciliation rules. Read more...

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Reid announces a Saturday vote on beginning debate on health bill

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Lori Montgomery, Shailagh Murray - Nov. 19 (News Report) - That procedural vote will decide whether to bring that bill to the Senate floor and begin debate, and its approval relies on the votes of three wavering moderate Democrats. Republicans are expected to rally all 40 of their senators to block the

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Senators Press Holder to Declassify Key Facts about Patriot Act

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Salem-News.com - Nov. 19 (News Report) - We believe that the information we referenced in those paragraphs – specifically about the use of section 215 – is essential to understanding the full scope of the PATRIOT Act, which is about to be debated in Congress. As we said in June, if you have concerns about declassifying the specific language contained in our letter, we ask that you work with us to find language that conveys enough information to allow for an informed public debate on the PATRIOT Act’s reauthorization

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Docudrama

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Nov. 18 (Special Report) - Sometime in August, McKinsey & Company created a PowerPoint document called “Health Care Reform and Implications for Key Stakeholders: What this Could Mean for Client X.” Over the course of 44 slides full of charts and graphs, the firm examines the potential impact of reform on insurers, doctors, hospitals, and the drug industry. McKinsey tells Client X that the presentation’s purpose is to “help inform your understanding of the broader healthcare system impact and what this might mean for your key customers and Client X going forward.” After a source supplied me with the document--which is marked “confidential”--I contacted McKinsey. A spokesperson told me that “Client X” is not a particular company. Instead, he explained, the document is a broad overview of how McKinsey expects health care reform to play out. (It also appears to be a presentation that McKinsey consultants could adapt based on a client’s particular situation.)

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Talk of Plan B -- a Power Plant-Only Climate Bill -- Emerges in Senate

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Darren Samuelsohn - Nov. 18 (News Report) - While President Obama and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill continue to focus on legislation covering greenhouse gas emissions across broad sections of the U.S. economy, a small bipartisan faction of Senate moderates is examining the idea of passing a bill that deals only with the heat-trapping emissions from power plants.

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How General Electric Engineered Its Presence on Capitol Hill

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Paul Glader - Nov. 18 (News Report) - Many companies have offices in Washington D.C. for lobbying purposes, have employee-funded political-action committees to donate and influence politicians and belong to industry trade associations that lobby for their interests. General Electric Co., in recent years, has developed another way of engaging its business units with policy makers in Washington and other global capitols. It helps explain how President Barrack Obama has become GE's customer in chief.

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Environmental groups debate new tack in climate-change fight

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By David A. Fahrenthold - Nov. 16 (News Report) - A curious debate has broken out among American environmental groups, as the Senate balkily starts to focus on the threat of climate change. Is this really the time to talk about the threat of climate change?

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In House Record, Many Spoke With One Voice: The Lobbyists’

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Robert Pear - Nov. 15 (News Report) - In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident.

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Endless Obstacles Delay Veteran Benefits

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miller-McCune - By Aaron Glantz - Nov. 12 (Special Report) - The Department of Veterans Affairs routinely delays disability claims by wounded soldiers for months and years, often shunting them into homelessness. But there’s a simple way for the government to get disabled veterans the help they deserve. It can trust them.

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On What Planet Does Barney Frank Spend Most of His Time?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Pruning Shears - By Dan Fejes - Nov. 12 (News Analysis) - The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has cultivated a pugnacious persona, but on financial reform he may be fighting for the wrong side.

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Climate Stakeholders Target Senators

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Roll Call - By Bennett Roth - Nov. 11 (News Report) - After contentious Senate committee action on climate change legislation last week, industry and environmental interests are focusing on a select group of Senators who are trying to forge consensus on the heated issue.

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Women could spell trouble for the GOP

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Glenn Thrush, Meredith Shiner - Nov. 09 (News Analysis) - the growing schism between the Republican Party’s ascendant right wing and its shrinking moderate core has clear gender undertones — and Scozzafava’s departure raises fresh questions about the GOP’s ability to recruit, elect and even tolerate the sort of moderate women who used to be part of its ruling mainstream.

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Tears, tempers fly in Nancy Pelosi's campaign

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Patrick O'Connor, John Bresnahan - Nov. 08 (News) - By Thursday, Ellsworth, who was working closely with Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) realized the church wouldn’t accept anything less than a version of Hyde, so he and his staff started working on a version the bishops could accept, aides said.

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House Democrats Who Voted Against the Health Care Bill - Interactive Graphic

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - Nov. 08 (News Analysis) - Detailed table profiling the 39 Democrats who voted against a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Lawmakers in the House voted 220 to 215 on Saturday night to approve a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Only one Republican voted for the bill, and 39 Democrats opposed it, including 24 members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition. An overwhelming majority of the Democratic lawmakers who opposed the bill — 31 of the 39 — represent districts that were won by Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, in the 2008 presidential election, and a third of them were freshmen. Nearly all of the fourteen freshmen Democrats who voted “no” represent districts that were previously Republican and are considered vulnerable in 2010. Geographically, 22 lawmakers from southern states formed the largest opposition bloc. Below are details on the Democrats that opposed the health care legislation in the House.

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Bishops' backing may get bill to 218

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Patrick O'Connor - Nov. 07 (News Report) - When Rafik Ismail Hamad last traveled from the West Bank to visit relatives in America, he was struck by the pressures one of his nephews was facing. The younger man, an American-born Muslim of Palestinian descent, spoke to his uncle of ethnic taunts by Army colleagues. He was haunted by the wartime disabilities of soldiers he treated as an Army psychiatrist, Hamad recalled, and was overwhelmed by a growing caseload he felt unable to manage.

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Health bill reaches moment of truth

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Hill - By Jared Allen, Molly K. Hooper - Nov. 07 (News Report) - The House healthcare bill has taken more twists and turns and has zig-zagged its way through more Democratic districts than the Mississippi River. And after a month’s worth of legislative wrangling and deal-making, the bill is approaching its final destination: a vote on final passage, expected sometime before the sun rises on Sunday. Pressing toward dawn on Saturday, the Rules committee passed a rule after nearly 12 hours that would set up a vote on the healthcare bill at 6 p.m.

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Enviro groups face some tough decisions on path to climate bill

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Environment and Energy Publishing - Nov. 06 (News Report) - For the past year, major environmental groups have framed the climate change bill as the movement's single most significant piece of legislation in several decades -- if not ever -- dedicating the bulk of their political muscle and heavy financial resources to passage of the effort. But as the bill moves forward, with this summer's historic House vote and yesterday's Senate committee markup, some question whether in their quest to get a bill, environmentalists and their allies are far too willing to compromise on historic priorities such as offshore drilling and nuclear power.

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House leaders prepare for rare Saturday vote on health-care bill

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Lori Montgomery - Nov. 05 (News Report) - House leaders put in motion the machinery to hold a rare Saturday vote on the most far-reaching expansion of the health-care system in more than 40 years. Even so, they were still locking down support Wednesday among a handful of holdouts, with the biggest bloc dissatisfied with the measure's handling of abortion.

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Conservatives Rework Rhetoric After Loss in NY Special

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Independent - By David Weigel - Nov. 05 (News Report) - Jim Kelly walked into the lounge of the Hotel Saranac, his red tie undone and flapping against his shirt. He sighed. He plopped into a chair. “Four thousand votes,” he said. “That couldn’t fill up one side of seats at Shea

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Energized G.O.P. Looking to Avoid an Intraparty Feud

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Adam Nagourney - Nov. 05 (News Report) - Republicans emerged from Tuesday’s elections energized by victories in Virginia and New Jersey, but their leaders immediately began maneuvering to avoid a prolonged battle with conservative activists over what the party stands for and how to regain power.

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