House Democrats

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Public Option a 'Must' for Health Care Reform: Key Dems

White House waffling worries progressives

(Newser) - Leading advocates for health care reform are concerned about the Obama administration’s apparent willingness to drop a government-run insurance program from the package in order to ensure the support of the Senate, the Washington Post reports. Prominent Democratic senators have voiced support for the public option, with John Rockefeller...

Dems Hope George Washington Can Tame Town Halls

(Newser) - Democrats are taking some unconventional steps to keep town halls civil, the Hill reports. Rep. Betsy Markey plans to hand out copies of George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior to attendees, in a nod to their patriotic zeal. The first rule? “Every Action done in Company,...

Pelosi, Hoyer: Health Reform Haters Ignore Facts

After a century, it's time to get this done

(Newser) - The debate over universal health care has lasted almost a century, and once again, an overhaul faces tough odds. This time, not only are opponents trying to “misrepresent” legislation—many others have been crashing meetings and making “civil dialogue” on the issue impossible, write Nancy Pelosi and Steny...

Town Halls Turn to Mayhem for Lawmakers

'Unruly mob' mentality becoming more common at events

(Newser) - Members of Congress are increasingly seeing town-hall meetings turn to bedlam, with people yelling and protesters being pulled out by police, Politico reports. A New York representative who’d hosted more than 100 such meetings has called it quits after a chaotic scene last month that necessitated his departure with...

Health Industry Rains Cash on Blue Dog Dems

(Newser) - The Blue Dogs—the 52 fiscally conservative Democrats who have been fighting to kill health care reform proposals the industry doesn’t like—receive far more money from that industry than their non-coalition-member counterparts, the Washington Post reports. The reform push has been a boon for the lawmakers' ledgers; the...

Blue Dogs Stand Firm as Dems Get Panicky

Marathon sessions fail to reach a deal as tempers fray

(Newser) - The Democratic leadership is scrambling to make progress on health care reform before Congress breaks for its August recess, but last night's marathon negotiations failed to break the stalemate—and may even have increased the number of issues up for debate.  "We're making progress," Nancy Pelosi said...

Waxman Offers Secret Health Deal to Blue Dogs

Dem: 'Don't think failure is a reasonable option'

(Newser) - Rep. Henry Waxman is optimistic he can get a health care bill out of his committee after pitching Blue Dog Democrats a compromise late last night, the Hill reports. After three hours of negotiations, the Dogs asked Waxman to get a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office before they...

Democrats Bicker While Health Care Reform Stalls

(Newser) - House Democrats looked on the verge of inter-party warfare yesterday, as they openly battled over health care, the Washington Post reports. Tempers ran especially hot in the Energy and Commerce Committee, where Chairman Henry Waxman accused Blue Dog Democrats of “empowering Republicans,” and suggested the bill bypass his...

Anti-Abortion Groups Attack Health Reform

(Newser) - Anti-abortion groups are launching a full-scale assault on health reform plans, contending that current proposals include an “abortion mandate” and would spend taxpayer money on the procedure, Politico reports. The first claim is based on a plan to federally mandate a basic set of procedures insurers must offer. Abortion...

Health Care Surtax on the Chopping Block

Dems waffle on high-income tax; timetable cloudy

(Newser) - Democrats are growing queasy about their plan to tax the wealthy to help pay for health care reform, the New York Times reports. Nancy Pelosi yesterday suggested revising the contentious provision so that fewer households would have to pay the surtax. Under the current House draft, individuals earning more than...

Congress Leads Dems on 'Liberal Suicide March'
Congress Leads Dems on 'Liberal Suicide March'
OPINION
Jul 21, 2009 7:10 AM CDT

Congress Leads Dems on 'Liberal Suicide March'

They're as out of touch as Republicans were in Bush years: Brooks

(Newser) - The Republican Party turned away from America during its years in power, writes New York Times columnist David Brooks, by paying more attention to echo-chamber media outlets and yes-men pollsters than voters. Now the Democrats are doing the same—instead of Southern conservatives, now it's left-wingers from the coasts who...

Dems' Tax Plans Raise Fears of Rich Rebellion

(Newser) - Over the last few elections Democrats have captured House seats from the GOP in some of the wealthiest constituencies in the nation, from northern Virginia to suburban Denver. But as the White House and leaders in Congress look to tax hikes to fund the health care overhaul, recently elected congressmen...

House Dems OK Health Plan: Stick It to the Rich

(Newser) - Key House Democrats decided today to raise taxes on the wealthy to help pay for health care legislation, capping an up-and-down week for President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. Democrats on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee agreed to a new surtax that would start with households making $350,000...

Dems on Collision Course on How to Pay for Heath Care

(Newser) - Democrats in Congress are heading for an intra-party showdown over how to fund health care reform, reports the New York Times. The powerful House Ways and Means Committee is reportedly near agreement on an income tax surcharge of 2% or more on Americans earning above $250,000, which moderate Democrats...

Abortion Could Kill Health Reform

(Newser) - Could abortion be the hidden trap that kills health care reform? Federal regs already prohibit the use of Medicaid money for the procedure, but 19 anti-abortion Democrats got in front of the issue last month, Time reports. They sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi warning that they won’t support...

Jacko Proves Stumbling Block for House Dems

Resolution saluting 'global humanitarian' sets off controversy

(Newser) - The King of Pop is causing a headache for some House Democrats after one lawmaker very publicly called for a resolution honoring Michael Jackson as a “global humanitarian," Politico reports. Sheila Jackson-Lee displayed the resolution at yesterday's memorial; Dems now have to weigh supporting it in light...

Blame Founding Fathers for Paralysis on Climate Change

Minority's outsize power prevents real change: Tomasky

(Newser) - Barack Obama's narrow victory last week, when the House passed the climate change bill by just 7 votes, raises the question of why it's so tough to get change enacted even when the president is popular and his party has majorities in both houses of Congress. The problem Democrats face...

House Passes Major Climate Change Bill

Dems OK legislation by 7 votes after days of intense talks

(Newser) - In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed sweeping legislation today calling for the nation's first-ever limits on pollution linked to global warming. The bill also aims to usher in a new era of cleaner, yet more costly energy. The vote was 219-212, capping months of...

Dems Get in Shouting and (Alleged) Shoving Match

'He touched me first,' says Waters

(Newser) - A pair of House Democrats had a less-than-decorous exchange on the floor yesterday, the Hill reports. With the chamber clearing out after a series of votes, Appropriations chair David Obey and Maxine Waters began screaming at each other over an earmark for a school bearing Waters' name. “You’re...

Pelosi Gambles on Climate Bill Vote Despite Dem Grumbling

Speaker may need GOP backing

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a vote this Friday on a controversial climate change bill despite the strong reservations of some Democrats, the Hill reports. Farmbelt lawmakers fear that the sprawling bill's measures to curb emissions will put a disproportionate burden on their states with no reward. The House speaker and...

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