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House Dems confident of passing health reform

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

House Democrats on Thursday said they’re closing in on the votes needed to pass President Obama’s health care overhaul, as they try to muscle past obstacles such as controversial abortion language and difficult reconciliation rules. A top House Democrat, Rep. Henry A. Waxman, predicted the House can pass the health care overhaul without the support of anti-abortion Democrats, dismissing the notion that stronger language is needed to prevent federal dollars from being used for abortions. The House Budget Committee plans to start the reconciliation process Monday with a vote to pass a bill under the complicated rule structure, which allows …

Slaughter House 3.10.10

Investor's Business Daily — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:46:05 +0000

Health Reform: The chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., has found a new way to ram big government health care down an unwilling America’s throat: pass it without a vote.

If Republicans go along with Democratic leaders’ latest strategy to enact ObamaCare, the GOP will find itself forever blamed for creating a new third party.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Deficient Cleaning Service 3.11.10

Michelle Malkin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:06:48 +0000

“Maybe it will take a woman to clean up the House,” Nancy Pelosi boasted before the 2006 midterm elections. Looks like those XX chromosomes didn’t give her much advantage over the old cleaning crew. The swamp she was supposed to drain is overflowing. And fewer than four years after a sordid sexual predation scandal involving a creepy congressman rocked the Republican Party, a sordid sexual predation scandal involving a creepy congressman is now rocking the Democratic Party.

The same questions that dogged House leaders then are dogging House Speaker Pelosi now: What did she and her staff know, and when did they know it?

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House leaders call pro-life group’s bluff

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:18:42 +0000

A top House Democrat said Thursday that leaders may not have to change the Senate health care bill’s abortion-related provisions to meet the demands of 12 members who have threatened to walk. Rep. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Michigan Democrat, has said he and 11 other Democrats who voted for the House bill will oppose the Senate bill unless strong abortion restrictions are added. Coming up with the 216 votes required for passage of the bill would be difficult without those 12, who Mr. Stupak said believe the bill allows for federal funding of abortions. The issue stalled a vote in …

House GOP bans earmarks for members

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:12:36 +0000

In a move to break with Republicans’ big-spending past, House Republicans voted Thursday to ban their members this year from requesting earmarks, or pork-barrel spending projects. House Republicans, who passed the moratorium by voice vote in a closed-door meeting, said they have now put pressure on the rest of Congress — Republicans in the Senate, and Democrats in both chambers — to follow their lead. “Today, House Republicans took an important step toward showing the American people were serious about reform by adopting an immediate, unilateral ban on all earmarks,” said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. “But …

Both parties in House start war over pork

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:10 +0000

Pork-barrel spending may be on its last legs in the House as Republicans and Democrats join in a bidding war to outdo each other over fighting abusive earmark spending. House Democrats, who control the chamber, said Wednesday they’ll impose a ban on earmarks where the government sends money to for-profit corporations, while House Republicans are slated to vote Thursday on whether to impose a complete one-year moratorium on themselves – and increase pressure on Democrats to follow suit. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, told his colleagues in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that the moratorium vote will test …

House KOs call for speedy Afghanistan withdrawal

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:08 +0000

In an overwhelming show of bipartisan support for President Obama’s troop surge in Afghanistan, the House on Wednesday soundly defeated a resolution setting a timetable for withdrawal. The vote, which marked the first time the House has had a full debate on Afghanistan since Mr. Obama announced his surge last year, unleashed years of pent-up frustration from liberal Democrats and a few conservative Republicans angry over the direction the 9-year-old conflict has taken. But the 356-65 vote against withdrawal was a dominant endorsement to give Mr. Obama the time he’s asked for to stabilize the troubled nation. “Have we forgotten? …

White House laughs off Emanuel’s naked lobbying

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:08 +0000

Tales about the White House’s hot-tempered, foul-mouthed chief of staff are legion, from Rahm Emanuel’s mailing of a dead fish to a pollster to a lawmaker’s accusation that Mr. Emanuel berated him over a vote in the shower at the congressional gym. Mixing mockery and scorn, the Obama administration Tuesday dismissed new accusations about Mr. Emanuel from Rep. Eric Massa, a freshman New York Democrat who has formally resigned his seat amid a growing ethics scandal and charges of sexual misconduct involving his staff. Top White House officials made it clear that President Obama is standing behind his combative chief …

Vanessa Williams: Looking a White Gift House in the Mouth 3.9.10

Ben Shapiro — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:39:13 +0000

On Sunday night, Sandra Bullock won Best Actress at the 82nd Academy Awards for her portrayal of gun-toting Republican Leigh Anne Tuohy in “The Blind Side.” “The Blind Side” is essentially a high-class, made-for-TV movie based on the true story of the Touhy family’s adoption of impoverished and abandoned black teenager Michael Oher, who would go on to play as an offensive lineman in the NFL. The movie is heartwarming, and Bullock is excellent in the part. She clearly deserved her Oscar.

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Newly-passed House measure rewards hiring jobless

Andrew Taylor ASSOCIATED PRESS — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Despite doubts among many lawmakers that it’ll create many jobs, the House on Thursday passed scaled-back legislation giving companies that hire the jobless a temporary payroll tax break. The measure passed 217-201 on a mostly party-line vote. The bill also extends federal highway programs through the end of the year. Some Democrats feel the approximately $35 billion jobs bill is too puny, while others say the tax cut for new hires won’t generate many new jobs. However, the pressure is on to address jobs and deliver a badly needed win for President Obama and a Democratic Party struggling in opinion …