NOTE: On Sunday, CBO changed its long-term estimates of cost savings, which it said were based on a misunderstanding of this bill. Please see this update.)
Given the drama and suspense of the past few weeks, it’s understandable that the first round of commentary about the new Senate health bill would focus on the deals that Majority …
Multiple sources are now reporting that Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, the last Democratic holdout, is now saying he will support the latest version of the health care bill. That makes 60 votes, enough to overcome a fillibuster.
So what’s actually in this bill? And what did it take to get the last votes? I’m still going through it, and will …
Word is that Majority Leader Harry Reid will unveil changes to the Senate’s health reform bill on Saturday morning. The timing is part of Reid’s effort to get a final vote on the legislation by Christmas Eve. Of course, even the most carefully plotted timeline means nothing without the 60 votes Reid needs to break an expected GOP …
Senators Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders and Al Franken just introduced an amendment to the Senate health reform legislation that will make the unions happy. They proposed eliminating the bill’s tax on so-called “Cadillac health plans” and replacing it with a new tax on immensely rich Americans. The new tax would be 5.4% and would …
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 …
The Senate health reform bill is in a procedural holding pattern right now. Even though the body will be in session over the weekend, Majority Leader Harry Reid has put off votes on the bill while he waits for the Congressional Budget Office to evaluate a new Democratic proposal that could strip the public option out of the bill. In my …
Congressman Peter King had an awkward moment at the White House Monday night. Climbing the stairs in the East Wing to attend the President’s Holiday reception for Congress, the New York Republican bumped into White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers. The two exchanged pleasantries, never mentioning that King, the top Republican on …
Tomorrow, Massachusetts voters will go to the polls for primaries to fill Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat. Bet on whomever can survive on the lowest turnout. No, seriously, having lived in Massachusetts for six bitter winters, I can attest: ain’t nobody gonna be lining up outside in the cold for any of these virtually unheard of …
If the weekend is any guide, the Senate health reform bill is not likely to undergo much tweaking. Between Friday and Sunday, despite hours of debate on the Senate floor, the only amendments that passed were those from Democrats simply reiterating things the bill already calls for. One sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse was a “sense …
President Barack Obama journeyed to Capitol Hill for a rare Sunday visit as the Senate pushed through the weekend on health care reform. The president spent more than 40 minutes rallying the Senate Democratic caucus, underlining to them the importance of passing a bill not only to the economy, but to the 2010 elections and “the …
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus found himself the center of a scrum of reporters Saturday as the Senate worked through the weekend on health care reform, though not for the usual reasons. The topics did not include the public option, abortion, health care affordability or his hearings on global warming legislation but, …
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 …
Head bowed, U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan mumbled (or maybe his microphone is just too far away, but for those of us in the room he’s incredibly hard to hear) his way through a morning of tough questions at a House Homeland Security Committee oversight hearing about how a social climbing couple managed to breach White House …