Senate

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2nd Senate Vote Nudges Health Care Bill Forward

Just one procedural vote to go before the Christmas Eve finale

(Newser) - Democratic leaders nudged their health care compromise a step closer to pre-Christmas passage this morning, easily clearing their second critical hurdle. The Senate voted 60-39 to shut off debate on Majority Leader Harry Reid's version of the bill, with no Republicans in favor.

Liberal 'Kill Bill' Case Is Naive, Deceptive
Liberal 'Kill Bill' Case Is Naive, Deceptive
Ezra Klein
Dec 22, 2009 10:15 AM CST

Liberal 'Kill Bill' Case Is Naive, Deceptive

Hey, Jane Hamsher: A better bill is not coming along, and this ain't bad

(Newser) - Ezra Klein isn’t “sure there's much in the way of productive dialogue to be had” with liberal firebrand Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake concerning her call yesterday to kill the Senate health care reform bill, but he’ll try anyway. Hamsher’s list is “misleading,” her “...

Pork Applied Liberally to Grease Health Care Votes

Critics slam Senate bill's special deals for holdouts

(Newser) - A close look at the health bill before the Senate reveals that there was no shortage of pork-barrel spending thrown in to get the Democrats the 60 votes they needed. The "cash-for-cloture" deals include one dubbed the "Louisiana Purchase"—$100 million in Medicare cash for the state....

Rudy Giuliani Won't Run for Senate

Ex-NYC mayor effectively ends political career

(Newser) - Ending months of speculation, Rudy Giuliani will announce tomorrow that he will not run for US Senate. The former New York City mayor plans to remain a presence on the national GOP scene, seizing "an opportunity to engage in targeted races across the country," says a source. He...

10 Ways Senate Health Reform Hurts You
10 Ways Senate Health Reform Hurts You
KILL THE BILL
Dec 21, 2009 6:03 PM CST

10 Ways Senate Health Reform Hurts You

Measure that should have saved money will cost an arm and a leg

(Newser) - The Senate health reform bill is all fire and brimstone for the folks over at Firedoglake . The “con job” legislation “isn’t a ‘starter home,’ it’s a sink hole,” Jane Hamsher writes, and “it needs to die so something else can take its...

Sniveling Lefties Should Just Take the Health Care Victory

Screwy Senate has a flawed, but good bill

(Newser) - The health care bill is as good as it’s going to get, and progressives whining about it—or worse, trying to kill it—are being ridiculous. “In a normal democracy,” EJ Dionne writes, the majority support would quickly pass a public option or Medicare expansion. But the...

Why Dems Scheduled Xmas Eve Health Care Vote
 Why Dems Scheduled 
 Xmas Eve Health Care Vote 
11th hour, much?
Dec 21, 2009 11:16 AM CST

Why Dems Scheduled Xmas Eve Health Care Vote

Momentum, urgency, fear of embarrassment, etc.

(Newser) - Lamar Alexander has called the Democrats' push to quickly pass health care reform "a political kamikaze mission toward a historic mistake," but Senate Dems have reasons other than self-immolation for scheduling a 7pm vote on Christmas Eve. Politico looks at five:
  • To maintain momentum: If the latest compromise
...

The Filibuster Must Be Stopped
 The Filibuster Must Be Stopped 
Paul Krugman
Dec 21, 2009 8:17 AM CST

The Filibuster Must Be Stopped

The country was never intended to have supermajority rule

(Newser) - Health care reform shouldn’t have been a close vote. The Democrats campaigned on health care and won big, which “in any other advanced democracy” would have given them the power to enact reforms, writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times. But because Democrats needed 60 votes to...

Health Care Bill Clears Crucial Senate Test

Dems hail first key step in 'historic victory'

(Newser) - A filibuster strategy by Senate Republicans against the health care reform bill was shot down early this morning in a move that clearly signals the measure's likely passage before Christmas. The Senate voted 60-40 for cloture to short-circuit a GOP tactic aimed at killing a package of changes to the...

VP Urges Dems to Unite Behind Senate Health Bill
VP Urges Dems to Unite Behind Senate Health Bill
joe biden
Dec 20, 2009 2:04 PM CST

VP Urges Dems to Unite Behind Senate Health Bill

'In Washington big changes never emerge in perfect form,' ex-senator writes

(Newser) - As president of the Senate, Joe Biden has the run of the place, but the vice president takes to the op-ed page of the New York Times to urge fellow Democrats to stop sniping and support the health care bill. "I’ve been around a long time," the...

Christian Scientists Want Health Bill to Include Prayer
Christian Scientists Want Health Bill to Include Prayer
IF IT'S NOT TOO LATE DEPT.
Dec 20, 2009 5:10 AM CST

Christian Scientists Want Health Bill to Include Prayer

Provision's been stripped from both House, Senate versions

(Newser) - With the Senate nearing a vote on health reform, one constituency is still pushing for its cause to be reinserted in the package—Christian Scientists, who want the legislation to recognize that many Americans rely on religious and spiritual healing, and to ban discrimination against those practices and their practitioners....

Senate Kills Botox Tax, Adds Tanning Tax

It could soon cost more to get that bronzed look indoors

(Newser) - The Senate bill on health care reform has good news and bad for those who use artificial means to look better in the mirror. The legislation scraps a proposed 5% tax on cosmetic surgery but adds a 10% tax on indoor tanning beds that deliver UV rays. "The only...

Ben Nelson Says He's In, Giving Reid His 60 Votes

 Ben Nelson 
 Says He's In, 
 Giving Reid  
 His 60 Votes 

senate health care scramble
Dec 19, 2009 9:03 AM CST

Ben Nelson Says He's In, Giving Reid His 60 Votes

Reid unveils final version of bill, including concessions on abortion

(Newser) - The last Democratic holdout on health care reform came into the tent this morning, as Ben Nelson said he will vote for the bill. "We're there," Sen. Kent Conrad told the Washington Post as he headed into a meeting to announce the deal, and Nelson, asked if he...

Kennedy's Widow: Don't Let Ted Down on Health Care

Please finish 'the work of his life,' writes Victoria Kennedy

(Newser) - In an impassioned plea to Democratic senators threatening to vote against the health care reform bill, Victoria Reggie Kennedy begs them not to squander this opportunity because the bill isn't all they would like it to be. "Ted often said that we can't let the perfect be the enemy...

Senate Passes Pentagon Spending, Jobless Bill

Now they can go back to bickering over health care

(Newser) - The Senate, meeting in the midst of a snow storm, this morning passed a critical budget bill that combines money for the Pentagon with additional help for the jobless. The 88-10 vote means the bill, passed by the House earlier this week, will go to President Obama, and the Senate...

Ben Nelson Deal May Give Reid 60 Votes

Bargaining session said to have yielded agreement on abortion

(Newser) - Senate Dems appear within reach of the 60 votes needed to pass their health care bill after a final burst of deadline bargaining with holdout Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Emerging from marathon talks with Harry Reid and White House officials late last night, Nelson said "real progress" had...

Franken Won't Let Lieberman Speak

 Franken 
 Won't Let 
 Lieberman 
 Speak 
'i object'
Dec 17, 2009 5:44 PM CST

Franken Won't Let Lieberman Speak

He rejects request for extra time on the Senate floor

(Newser) - Sit down and zip it, Joe. That's essentially what Al Franken told Joe Lieberman to do today, albeit couched in polite Senate speak. When Lieberman used up his allotted time speaking on health care, he asked for unanimous consent for a bit more time. That's usually a formality. It just...

Nelson Rejects Abortion Deal
 Nelson Rejects Abortion Deal 
Dec 17, 2009 4:54 PM CST

Nelson Rejects Abortion Deal

Democratic holdout says language 'isn't sufficient'

(Newser) - Ben Nelson says compromise language offered to prevent federal money from covering abortions "isn't sufficient" in the current Senate bill. The Nebraska Democrat is one of the holdouts Harry Reid must win over to get 60 votes, but Nelson told a radio station today that he's still not on...

Schumer Lands in Hot Water Over 'Bitch' Comment

Flight attendant made him hang up on Harry Reid

(Newser) - Chuck Schumer set off an unfortunate cascade of events Sunday when he bridled at a flight attendant’s request that he turn off his cell phone so a plane could take off and then muttered that she was a “bitch.” As the story circulated around the Beltway, it...

Nate Silver Battles Bill Killers
 Nate Silver Battles Bill Killers 
Dem-on-Dem Action
Dec 17, 2009 11:16 AM CST

Nate Silver Battles Bill Killers

Left-wing blogdom 'fracturing' over health care reform

(Newser) - Nate Silver launched into possibly the dorkiest blog feud ever last night, getting into a lengthy, heated policy debate with liberal bloggers who want to kill the Senate’s health care bill. Silver argues that Democrats will never have a better chance to pass reform, and that it would “...

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