On Tuesday, we got word that the ten-year cost of the new health reform law may be more than the $938 billion that was reported when the bill became law. In a letter released yesterday afternoon, the Congressional Budget Office said $115 billion more in discretionary spending could be spent to fully implement the law. This is not pocket …
Congress
First Reactions to Kagan’s Nomination
Clearly, President Obama’s choice of Solicitor General Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court came as no surprise to many. Reactions flooded my inbox before Obama was even done speaking. Here are some excerpts – in order that I received them – of statements reacting to Kagan’s nomination. Some interesting highlights: Mitch McConnell …
GOP Party Like It’s 1994?
Not so much. Today, I look at five reasons why this cycle is different from 1994… so far.
Obama Asks for “Up or Down Vote”
Today’s speech by President Obama was not the first in which he’s urged passage of comprehensive health care reform, but he’s hoping it will be his last. We’ll see.
Flanked by health care workers and wearing a bipartisan purple tie – a rarity for him – President Obama delivered remarks that carried a theme of finality. …
What Obama Will Say Today on Health Care
The White House has released parts of the health care statement President Obama will make today at 1:45 p.m. The President’s remarks are meant to give Democrats the confidence to follow the only available path left – a reconciliation package in the Senate and House passage of the underlying Senate bill. The statement will be a …
Broken Government: Term Limits
As Karen and Michael noted we all did stories for the Broken Government project with our sister company CNN. Mine was on term limits (thank you deconstructiva for reminding me to post). Love ’em or hate ’em, they aren’t likely to happen any time soon as, thanks to a 1995 Supreme Court ruling, it’ll take a constitutional amendment to enact them.
Illinois Voters Go to the Polls
Illinois today kicks off what will be a long and fascinating primary season. Voters braved snow flurries to head to the polls this morning as balloting began for a number of local and statewide races, including contests for the U.S. Senate and governor’s mansion. The names Obama and Blagojevich may not be on the ticket but there are …
2010 as 2006 (or 2008) again?
If House Dems had their way, it would be. Democratic observers have taken delighted note of the increasing number – three in the last week – of former GOP members running for their old seats. “Not only did President Bush and Congressional Republicans create the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, but now a bunch of …
Alabama’s Griffith Switches Parties
It was probably bound to happen sooner rather than later. Alabama’s fifth district is one of the few in the South held solidly by Democrats since Reconstruction thanks to economic development on the backs of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the military’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Flight Space Center. But in recent years …
What is the Abortion Compromise?
In addition to getting a sweetheart deal for his home state, Ben Nelson also got Harry Reid to offer more than the Casey abortion language in the manager’s amendment. In addition to providing stronger conscience protections for medical institutions and health workers opposed to abortion, and expanding adoption tax credits, the manager’s …
Democrats Hope to Spend Now to Save (Their Seats) Later
A story from me about the logjam of spending Congress will spend the next three weeks chewing through. The spending issue is becoming increasingly sensitive, especially since three Blue Dogs — fiscal conservative Dems who usually come from swing districts — have now announced their retirement. CW states that Dems weren’t likely to lose …
Obama’s Human Resources
As the White House jobs summit gets under way today, here’s a story looking at congressional efforts for a jobs stimulus bill. Given the GOP tarnish on the last stimulus bill, members have pushed back hard at the suggestion that any future efforts might be labeled a stimulus. “I wouldn’t characterize it as a second
stimulus,” House …
In the ArenaRepublican Party
Republican-not
E.J. Dionne has an interesting column today on the Republican party’s Senate strategy of forcing a cloture vote on everything, even on the few provisions they support. A few months ago, I wrote that the G.O.P. had become a party led by nihilists. This is further evidence of that. I have doubts about some of the legislation the Democrats …