Senate

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Reid Gets 60th Vote: Holdout Lincoln Agrees

She'll allow health care bill to move forward; vote at 8pm

(Newser) - Democrats have hit the 60-vote number needed to move ahead on health care legislation. Just hours before the 8pm roll call, Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln said on the Senate floor that she will vote with her party. The centrist Democrat had been the last remaining Democratic holdout, after Mary Landrieu and...

Landrieu's Officially In, Leaving Only One Holdout
Landrieu's Officially In, Leaving Only One Holdout
60 votes?
Nov 21, 2009 12:05 PM CST

Landrieu's Officially In, Leaving Only One Holdout

She'll allow bill to move forward; Blanche Lincoln hasn't tipped her hand

(Newser) - And then there was one. Mary Landrieu confirmed today she'd vote in favor of allowing the Senate health care bill to move forward. "Much more work needs to be done," said the Louisiana Democrat, but she's seen enough modifications for now. She warned this doesn't mean she'll vote...

All Eyes on Blanche Lincoln in Cliffhanger Senate Vote
All Eyes on Blanche Lincoln in Cliffhanger Senate Vote
showtime: 8pm
Nov 21, 2009 7:24 AM CST

All Eyes on Blanche Lincoln in Cliffhanger Senate Vote

Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson expected to back health reform in first vote

(Newser) - Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln is in the hot seat tonight, as the last Democratic holdout to the 60 votes Harry Reid needs in balloting tonight to bring the health care bill to the Senate floor for debate. Nebraskan Ben Nelson said yesterday he would vote yes, and Louisiana's Mary Landrieu...

Most Red State Dems Can Vote for Health Care
Most Red State Dems Can Vote for Health Care
Nate Silver
Nov 20, 2009 9:27 AM CST

Most Red State Dems Can Vote for Health Care

Only Blanche Lincoln faces 2010 fight, and she'll be a tough sell

(Newser) - The main reason Senate Democrats have a prayer of passing health care reform is that not many of them are up for reelection next year, says Nate Silver. Only a third of the Senate is up for re-election in 2010, and most of the Democrats in that group come from...

Senators See Upcoming Vote on Obama&mdash;Not Health
Senators See Upcoming Vote on Obama—Not Health
NATE SILVER & CO.
Nov 19, 2009 10:18 AM CST

Senators See Upcoming Vote on Obama—Not Health

Eye constituents' votes in 2008, not polls on health care

(Newser) - The upcoming Senate debate on health care reform, like the House vote before it, will be more a referendum on President Obama than a reflection of constituents’ concerns, Andrew Gelman, Nate Silver, and Daniel Lee write. What happened in the House is clear: 31 of 39 Democrats who voted no...

GOP Traffic-Jam Ploy Is Snarling Senate

 GOP Traffic-Jam Ploy 
 Is Snarling Senate 
OPINION
Nov 19, 2009 9:43 AM CST

GOP Traffic-Jam Ploy Is Snarling Senate

Stalling tactics are making Democrats turn on each other

(Newser) - Senate Democrats are starting to turn on each other like angry drivers stuck in rush-hour traffic thanks to Republican obstructionism, writes EJ Dionne. Republican senators are eating every word they once said against filibusterism and are stalling even legislation that they support in a Machiavellian effort to keep the Democrats...

Reid Rolls Out Senate Health Bill for Sat. Showdown

Public option weaker than House's, abortion restriction less severe

(Newser) - Harry Reid rolled out the Senate’s combined health care reform bill last night, earning oohs and ahhs from fellow Democrats, particularly over the price tag, and setting the stage for a cloture vote Saturday. The bill would cost a svelte $849 billion over 10 years while reducing the deficit...

CBO Estimate: Senate Health Bill Costs $849B

Figure clears the way for Reid to get measure rolling

(Newser) - Legislation headed to the Senate floor would extend health care coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $849 billion over a decade, says a senior Democratic aide. The long-awaited figures come from the Congressional Budget Office, clearing the way for Harry Reid to move forward. The bill...

Three Dems Threaten to Block Health Debate

Reid & Co. scramble to appease Lincoln, Nelson and Landrieu

(Newser) - Three Senate Democrats are threatening to prevent the health care reform bill from even making it to the floor of the chamber. Normally it’s a routine procedure to get the 60 votes necessary to open debate on a bill, but Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, and Mary Landrieu are balking...

Robert Byrd Now Longest-Serving Legislator Ever

By the senator's count, his career spanned 20,774 days

(Newser) - West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd has become the longest-serving lawmaker in congressional history, a milestone to be marked today with a Senate resolution. "I look forward to serving you for the next 56 years and 320 days," Byrd said, adding that he was sorry his late wife...

Senate Delays Climate Bill
 Senate Delays Climate Bill 
Nov 18, 2009 1:20 AM CST

Senate Delays Climate Bill

Cap-and-trade won't be debated at least until spring

(Newser) - Senate Democrats have announced that they won't be debating a major climate bill until sometime in the spring. The delay, which reduces America's bargaining power at next month's Copenhagen conference, reflects weakening support for the controversial "cap-and-trade" bill as unemployment remains high, the Wall Street Journal notes. The bill...

Hutchison Won't Resign Senate Seat

Will stay put to fight health care reform, cap and trade

(Newser) - Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is challenging Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his job, is planning to keep her US Senate seat until after the state's March gubernatorial primary. Hutchison, a Republican, plans to tell Republican women in a speech in Galveston today that she is stepping down in 2010...

Why the Senate Health Bill Will Move at a Crawl
Why the Senate Health Bill Will Move at a Crawl
ANALYSIS
Nov 12, 2009 4:55 AM CST

Why the Senate Health Bill Will Move at a Crawl

Dems will be lucky to get it through before xmas

(Newser) - The House version of the health bill galloped from introduction to passage in just 10 days, but the Senate's version won't be through until Christmas at the earliest. Suzy Khimm at the New Republic explains the reasons for the snail's pace.
  • The Senate has to vote on a “motion
...

Dems Should Embrace a Health Care Filibuster
Dems Should Embrace a Health Care Filibuster
Steven Pearlstein
Nov 11, 2009 1:07 PM CST

Dems Should Embrace a Health Care Filibuster

Open, Senate debate is preferable to backroom negotiations

(Newser) - The Senate is broken, writes Steven Pearlstein , its members so mired in dysfunction they don’t even realize how undemocratic current legislative practice is. The mere threat of a filibuster is enough to kill a bill, a fact that "violates the letter and spirit of the US Constitution."...

Dodd Unveils Sweeping Financial Overhaul Bill

It would create new oversight agencies

(Newser) - Chris Dodd introduced a sweeping financial regulation bill that creates no fewer than three new agencies to oversee the banking industry. Dodd’s bill creates an Agency for Financial Stability to identify systemic risks to the economy as a whole. It entrusts all bank supervision to the Financial Institutions Regulatory...

Senate Dems Say Obama Plans Don't Fix Spending

Say legislation isn't aggressive enough on fee-for-service model

(Newser) - Some Democrats in the Senate are worried that reform legislation under consideration doesn't do enough to rein in out-of-control health care spending. President Obama has promised $2 trillion in savings over the next 10 years, but critics say the proposed changes aren't nearly aggressive enough on the current pay-per-visit system...

Senate Health Bill Runs Into Abortion Divide

Both sides have vocal opponents, could halt bill without compromise

(Newser) - With a last-second concession barring federal dollars from funding abortions, Nancy Pelosi largely skirted the full brunt of the issue, but Harry Reid may not be so lucky. The Senate majority leader likely won't get the 60 votes he needs without similar language— which a Planned Parenthood VP calls a...

Bill Clinton to Corral Senate Dems on Health Care

Meets with caucus as fight over abortion funding heats up

(Newser) - Bill Clinton is expected to speak to Senate Democrats about health care legislation during their weekly caucus today. Clinton's appearance comes as fragile Democratic unity is threatened by abortion opponents in the Senate seeking similar restrictions in the bill to those in the House version passed Saturday. Nebraska Sen. Ben...

Abortion Dispute Could Derail Health Care Bill

Some Dems vow to block final passage

(Newser) - The abortion funding ban included in the health-care bill passed by the House Saturday could doom it down the road, as abortion supporters in the Senate threaten revolt, and those who voted for it in the House vow they won't back the final bill if it's still included, the Washington...

Obama Can, Should Lock Congress In Until Health Vote
Obama Can, Should Lock Congress In Until Health Vote
JACK CAFFERTY
Nov 6, 2009 6:24 PM CST

Obama Can, Should Lock Congress In Until Health Vote

Constitution would allow it, so let's get a yea or nay

(Newser) - Grumpy old man Jack Cafferty is getting tired of Congress dragging out health reform, and wants President Obama to get lawmakers motivated. Using his constitutional powers, Obama should deliver this ultimatum: I’m ordering the Congress to remain in session until both houses vote on a final version of health-care...

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