OutloudOpinion » Bill

Dodd to offer own version of bank regulation bill

Jim Kuhnhenn ASSOCIATED PRESS — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Unable to muster bipartisan agreement on key banking provisions, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, said Thursday he will offer his own version of a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations without Republican support. “Clearly, we need to move along,” he said. A month of talks between the Connecticut Democrat and Sen. Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican, had found common ground, but details on key provisions, including consumer protections and other sticking points, remained unsettled. “As time moves on, you just limit the possibilities of getting something done, particularly a bill of this magnitude and this complexity,” Mr. …

Public unmoved by Obama’s health bill PR

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:08:41 +0000

For all of President Obama’s impassioned speeches trying to sell his health care reform plan to Americans, opposition to the $2 trillion proposal has remained nearly unchanged for months, stretching back to last summer, when town halls across the nation flared with voter discontent. Mr. Obama has been lobbying Americans on his reform bill for just more than a year, beginning on March 5, 2009, at the opening session of the Forum on Health Reform, according to CBS Radio’s Mark Knoller, who keeps scrupulous records on the president’s daily events. Since then, Mr. Obama has delivered 52 speeches, statements and …

Dodd offers his own finance regulation bill

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:08:10 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unable to muster bipartisan agreement on key banking provisions, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Thursday he will offer his own version of a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations without Republican support. A month of talks between Dodd and Republican Sen. Bob Corker found some common ground but failed to yield agreement on consumer protections and other sticking points. “Together we have made significant progress and resolved many of the items, but a few outstanding issues remain,” Dodd said in a statement. Dodd said he still aimed to get a consensus bill, but said time was …

Lincoln opposes fast-track health bill

THE WASHINGTON TIMES — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:04:28 +0000

A moderate Democrat insisted Tuesday she remained opposed to pushing a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote, despite saying she wanted to see what was in the legislation. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas Democrat, who is facing a more liberal Democratic primary challenger as well as GOP opposition, said those comments didn’t represent a change of heart on her stance against the controversial majority-vote procedure known as “reconciliation.” “I don’t support reconciliation. All I said was I want to see what’s in it,” M rs. Lincoln told reporters outside the Senate floor. She walked quickly into …

Stupak: Health bill abortion fray resolvable

THE WASHINGTON TIMES — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:32:19 +0000

TAWAS CITY, Mich. — Prospects are good for resolving a dispute over abortion that has led some House Democrats to threaten to withhold support of President Obama’s health care overhaul, a key Michigan Democrat said Monday. Rep. Bart Stupak said he expects to resume talks with House leaders this week in a quest for wording that would impose no new limits on abortion rights but also would not allow use of federal money for the procedure. “I’m more optimistic than I was a week ago,” Mr. Stupak told the Associated Press between meetings with constituents in his northern Michigan district, …

Obama on the road to pitch health bill

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:00:10 +0000

Seeking to close the deal on a health care overhaul, President Obama is getting out of Washington, leaving the city he loves to bash and giving himself a platform to portray himself as an outsider going up against big insurance companies and their Capitol Hill lobbyists. Just about every time Mr. Obama has faced a deadline or crunch on his marquee priority, he has exchanged a White House podium for a campaign-style forum outside the Beltway in a bid to break through the political wrangling, attack Republican detractors and reconnect with voters. On Monday, Mr. Obama – backed by a …

Dems’ splintering threatens health bill

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:00:06 +0000

The escalating battle among Democrats over abortion has grabbed headlines, but a few other intraparty disputes are endangering President Obama’s proposed health care overhaul. From stemming rising health care costs and addressing regional disparities on Medicare rates to a general skepticism of the Senate, rank-and-file House Democrats are struggling to support Mr. Obama’s plan as they close in on midterm elections. Voters have become increasingly hostile to the effort. “Any time the Senate is involved, I become nervous,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, Missouri Democrat. Polls show that certain provisions in the Democrats’ plan are popular but that the American …

Sebelius: Bid for GOP support slowed health bill

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:42:22 +0000

UPDATED: Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, said Sunday that health care reform would have been “dead on arrival” if the White House had sent a finished proposal to Congress last year. The secretary also blamed delays in passing the measure on President Obama having to spend “far too much time talking about what’s not in the bill” and trying to counter “wild accusations” by Republicans. Under a new push to get the measure through Congress, Mr. Obama set a March 18 deadline for the House to pass the Senate version of the legislation before he leaves on …

Rep. Deal to stay to vote against health bill

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:53:10 +0000

Rep. Nathan Deal said Thursday he’ll delay his resignation from the House at least through this month so he can vote against President Obama’s health care bill. Mr. Deal, Georgia Republican, announced Monday he was resigning to focus on his gubernatorial bid, but said he’ll now put that on hold until March 31 — underscoring the stakes in the health care debate. Without Mr. Deal, the House would have four vacancies in its 435 seats, meaning if every member voted, it would take just 216 votes to pass health care. By staying, Mr. Deal ups that threshold to 217. “Just …

Health care bill rekindles abortion battle

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:09 +0000

The abortion battle that riddled the health care overhaul debate is finding new life amid a once-overlooked provision to fund community health care centers. Pro-life advocates say the Democrats’ health care bill would send millions of dollars to community health care centers without restrictions to keep the money from being used to fund abortions, potentially expanding access to the procedure. House members are being lobbied to oppose the bill because of the funding and because of concern that federal money would cover abortion-inclusive insurance plans. It adds a new wrinkle to the already complicated process Democrats are undertaking to get …