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GOP Plans Stall Tactics for Health Bill Fight

Opponents hope long debate will force voters to 'understand this thing'

(Newser) - Lacking the votes for a filibuster and increasingly resigned to the fact that Democrats will stand united, GOP senators have a novel strategy to stall the health care reform bill: They’re going to stall it however they can. The Democratic plan “is inconsistent with the American people,”...

Six Senate Swing Votes


 Six Senate 
 Swing Votes 
HEALTH REFORM
Oct 14, 2009 12:55 PM CDT

Six Senate Swing Votes

From Dems who swing right to left-leaning GOPers, debate promises suspense

(Newser) - As health care reform bills merge and change on the Senate floor, the pool of legislators to watch has grown. The Wall Street Journal takes a look:
  • Olympia Snowe, R-Maine: Her vote for the Finance Committee bill was clutch, but "doesn't forecast what my vote will be tomorrow,"
...

Fido, Fetch My Tax Break!
Fido, Fetch
My Tax Break!
Oct 13, 2009 1:52 PM CDT

Fido, Fetch My Tax Break!

Longshot GOP bill wants to make pet expenses deductible to boost economy

(Newser) - A bill with appealing benefits for pet owners and advocates alike is crawling through Congress, though it’ll probably be put down without ceremony. The HAPPY Act proposes pet expenses be tax deductible up to $3,500 a year, as a way to stimulate the economy and, of course, encourage...

Snowe to Vote for Health Bill
 Snowe to Vote for Health Bill 
Oct 13, 2009 12:26 PM CDT

Snowe to Vote for Health Bill

She provides crucial Republican support for Obama's overhaul

(Newser) - Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe says she will vote for a Democratic health care bill, breaking with her party on President Obama's top legislative priority. The Maine senator kept virtually all of Washington guessing how she would vote until she announced it late in the Senate Finance Committee debate today. "...

Yea or Nay, How Health Bill Hinges on Snowe's Vote
Yea or Nay, How Health Bill Hinges on Snowe's Vote
ANALYSIS
Oct 13, 2009 10:07 AM CDT

Yea or Nay, How Health Bill Hinges on Snowe's Vote

Either way, Maine Republican will likely preserve leverage going to the floor

(Newser) - The day is finally here: Olympia Snowe will have to vote one way or another on the Senate Finance Committee’s health reform bill. The Maine Republican has been coy—“It’s all about what I’m comfortable doing at the end of the day”—but that doesn’...

Schwarzenegger Latest in GOP to Back Reform

Calls for health bill this year in opposition to congressional GOP's wish for do-over

(Newser) - Arnold Schwarzenegger today became the highest-ranking elected Republican to back President Obama's push for health care reform. California's governor urged lawmakers "on both sides of the political aisle at the national level to move forward." He spoke after New York City's Mike Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, also endorsed reform....

House Dems Fear Senate, WH Steamroll on Health Care

Moderates don't want to spend risky votes on legless progressive bill

(Newser) - House Democrats on both ends of the spectrum are feeling sorry for themselves as they struggle to shape a final health care reform bill. The bill is widely expected—based in no small part on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proclamations—to include a public option, a tax on wealthy Americans,...

GOP Indulges in Health Amendment Free-for-All

(Newser) - Reasoned debate is all well and good, but the more than 300 amendments offered to the health care reform bill by finance committee Republicans are “dangerously close to a parody,” Dana Milbank writes. Or maybe they’re already there. Take Orrin Hatch’s request for “transition relief...

Swine Flu Highlights Debate Over Paid Sick Leave

Half of US doesn't get sick pay; businesses defend policy

(Newser) - The second coming of swine flu has reignited the debate over paid sick leave. “You have all of our top officials saying, ‘Do the responsible thing. If you're sick, stay home,’” an advocate tells CNNMoney. “And at the same time, we have a country where...

Baucus Leaning Left Again
 Baucus Leaning Left Again 
ANALYSIS
Sep 23, 2009 12:22 PM CDT

Baucus Leaning Left Again

As interminable mark-up on health bill continues, chair moves on from bipartisan dream

(Newser) - With his health care reform bill finally in committee, finance chair Max Baucus appears to have given up on a truly bipartisan bill. On day one yesterday, "he seemed to be moving back to the left again," writes Mike Madden in Salon. He agreed to a host of...

Baucus Fleshes Out New Health Reform Compromise

To curb costs, plan would offer stripped-down coverage, add fees to health industry

(Newser) - With President Obama’s much-anticipated health care speech to Congress on the horizon, the head of the Senate Finance Committee has rolled out a new proposal for a compromise bill, the New York Times reports. Sen. Max Baucus’ plan would offer scaled-down coverage to some, and, to cover the $880...

Byrd: Rename Health Bill for Kennedy
 Byrd: Rename 
 Health Bill 
 for Kennedy 
tribute roundup
Aug 26, 2009 1:38 PM CDT

Byrd: Rename Health Bill for Kennedy

(Newser) - Senator Robert Byrd wants his colleagues to honor Ted Kennedy by renaming health care legislation in his honor, Politico reports. “As a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling,” said Byrd, 92, himself in poor health. "My heart and...

Health-Care Reform Holds 'Bonanza' for Insurers

(Newser) - Regardless of how health-care reform eventually shakes out, one industry will likely reap a windfall: health insurance companies, reports the Los Angeles Times. All the leading overhaul proposals would require all citizens to have health insurance, which would guarantee tens of millions of new customers. "It's a bonanza,"...

Gov't Health Plan Would Cover Abortion

Both sides get ready to rumble over incendiary funding

(Newser) - Health care legislation before Congress would allow a new government-sponsored insurance plan to cover abortions, a decision that would affect millions of women and recast federal policy on the divisive issue. Advocates on both sides are preparing for a renewed battle, which could jeopardize support for President Obama's health care...

To Dodge Obamacare, Turn Amish (or Mennonite)
To Dodge Obamacare, Turn Amish (or Mennonite)
analysis
Aug 3, 2009 1:56 PM CDT

To Dodge Obamacare, Turn Amish (or Mennonite)

Measure based on tax laws aimed at Amish

(Newser) - Backers of health care reform on Capitol Hill want a plan that mandates insurance for all—but they appear willing to bend the rules for some religious Americans, Maura Reynolds of CQ Politics reports. Current legislation contains a religious exemption based on tax laws meant to give leeway to the...

Recession Sparks Efforts to Legalize Pot

Full-scale regulation and taxation on the table in Calif.

(Newser) - The recession has given marijuana-legalization advocates an unexpected boost, Time reports, as cash-strapped states are tempted by possible revenues from pot taxes. With an existing medical-marijuana market and cuts to education and health services pending due to a huge budget deficit, California advocates are preparing both legislation and ballot initiatives...

Pols, Drivers Dial Up Cell Phone Danger

It's just as bad as drunk driving, and millions do it

(Newser) - Driving while talking on the phone—regardless of whether you're using a hands-free device—impairs your attention and reflexes as much as a blood alcohol content of .08, according to studies. With 81% of drivers admitting to gabbing in traffic, it might seem that stricter laws are inevitable, writes the...

France May Ease Century-Old Ban on Sunday Shopping

(Newser) - France's Senate next week is expected to overturn a century-old law prohibiting most businesses in the country from opening on Sundays, CNN reports. The 1906 measure was intended to ensure a day of rest for the populace, and parties on the left and the right have been vocal in their...

Conservative Group Tried to Sell its Support for $2M

Offered to launch campaign backing FedEx in legislative battle

(Newser) - A major conservative group offered its backing to FedEx on a bill before the Senate—for a price tag of at least $2 million, Politico reports—and then, when FedEx didn't take the bait, switched sides. A letter to FedEx shows the American Conservative Union proffered services like writing op-eds...

Fat Chance Lawmakers Will Read Health Bill: Hoyer

(Newser) - House lawmakers may well be be voting before the end of summer on a momentous health-care reform bill. But that doesn't mean they're actually going to read the bill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer laughed off the suggestion when CNS News posed it. “If every member pledged to not...

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