Max Baucus
Head Lock
Adaptation
What, You Have a Better Idea for Cost Control?
Round Two
In his speech today in the White House East Room, President Obama clearly indicated that he is going to press for a comprehensive, and not a piecemeal or “skinny,” health care reform bill. He also made it abundantly clear that he will accept, if necessary, a party-line simple majority vote in the House and the Senate in order to get the bill through. Reconciliation here we come. READ MORE >>
The Chief
It's Time to Act
February 26, 2010 President Barack Obama Senator Harry Reid Majority Leader Senator Max Baucus, Chairman, Committee on Finance Senator Tom Harkin Chairman, Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House of Representatives Congressman Charles Rangel Committee on Ways & Means Congressman Henry A. Waxman Committee on Energy and Commerce Congressman George Miller Committee on Education and Labor READ MORE >>
Be There and Be Square
The White House has released some more details about Thursday's Blair House meeting: Who will be there and the shape of the table where they'll all be sitting: The President will be seated in the middle of one side of the hollow square, with the Vice President, Secretary Sebelius, and congressional Leadership seated alongside him. Members will be seated by caucus around the square. READ MORE >>
BREAKING: Tauzin Out at PhRMA
Billy Tauzin announced on Thursday that he is stepping down as leader of PhRMA, the drug industry trade group. And if you're a fan of health care reform, like I am, you're probably not sure whether that's good news or bad news. Believe it or not, it may be neither--at least based on some very preliminary reporting Thursday evening. READ MORE >>
Nice Guys Finish Last
Everyone remembers that George W. Bush’s first tax cut was contentious when Congress considered it back in 2001. So contentious, in fact, that the Bushies didn’t even try passing it under normal Senate procedures. The GOP leadership, worried that it couldn’t collect 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster, relied on reconciliation, the Senate rule that allows budget-related measures to pass with a simple majority. READ MORE >>
If Only Rahm Had Tried Jim DeMint
I've been critical of Rahm Emanuel recently. But this line of attack seems a little unpersuasive: Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform. ... READ MORE >>
