Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
—Kate explains the latest CBO score and where health reform stands as of now on the Hill. She hears Speaker Pelosi is “feeling ultra bullish.”
–Whip Clyburn sounds confident as well.
–The final vote will likely take place sometime after 2 pm Sunday.
–The San Francisco Chronicle …
Just when we thought Dennis Kucinich was the last Democrat objecting to the bill because it wasn’t progressive enough, enter Rep. Steve Lynch. The Massachusetts Dem, who voted for the bill in November, says he doesn’t like the Senate version because it doesn’t do enough to put competition into the health insurance market – ie, …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Democrats just released preliminary CBO numbers on the last health care tweaks: $940 billion price tag, deficit reduction by $130 billion in the first decade and $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years. That squares with their goals and — assuming the Rules markup goes smoothly, they have …
I’ve said many times the current anti-Washington mood makes congressional incumbents act like they’ve never been there before. Nowhere is this more apparent than in carefully staged campaign ads. But Blanche Lincoln is taking a slightly different tack in her latest TV spot, hoping her recent ascent to the chair of the Senate Agriculture …
Here’s a story from me out of Kentucky, where I went a few weeks ago to look at the GOP primary for Jim Bunning’s Senate seat. It’s hard to say who’s running a worse campaign, Rand Paul who has no message discipline and lacks charisma or Trey Grayson who doesn’t even post his events on his website (I’m still scratching my head …
Marjorie Margolies, whose career-ending vote Karen recently recounted, describes rock bottom in a Washington Post column addressed to wavering Dems.
I was pressed on all sides: by constituents opposed, my president needing a victory and Republicans promising my demise. I was in the country’s most Republican district represented by a
…
You may not have realized it, given that health care is sucking most of the oxygen out of the room, but the Senate this morning passed the jobs bill 68-29, sending it to the President’s desk to be signed into law. And, no, they didn’t end up pulling an all nighter Monday.
Take a good look around, Democrats, this is likely to be as bad as it’s going to get. As Kate Pickert and I note in a story out today on time.com, the 24-hour cable net cycle has been stuck on ugly process maneuverings in the vacuum of no score from the Congressional Budget Office and no bill. This meme just adds to the back room aura …
Ohio Congressman and former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich today announced his support for health care reform. Kucinich was one of two progressives who voted against the legislation when it passed the House in November on the grounds that it didn’t go far enough towards the single payer system they supported. The other member …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–As Michael mentioned, the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll (pdf) shows a little movement on health reform opinions in Obama’s favor, but it is mostly consistent with recent surveys showing a nation split on the merits of the plan. Pollster Peter Hart suggests the 21-point enthusiasm …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–As Karen and Jay mentioned, all signs point to Speaker Pelosi using the “self-executing rule” to deem the Senate health care bill passed without a full vote on anything but the reconciliation package of fixes. House Dems really don’t want to have an “aye” for the Senate bill’s warts on …
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. Here’s a brief guide to the health care final sprint (at least the schedule that we can predict) in the House over the next week:
Monday
3pm
This afternoon the fun will begin with an anticipated Congressional Budget Office score followed by* a House Budget Committee markup of the …
Those are Nancy Pelosi’s words today on why she wants to get health reform done as quickly as possible.
But even among Hill reporters, there’s some confusion over what procedurally will happen this week. Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, are keeping quiet about their precise parliamentary strategy for three reasons. One, if they …
