* The White House has announced that President Obama will attend the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen. * Military contractors employed by Blackwater are at the center of a secret program of targeted assassinations in Pakistan, according to The Nation‘s Jeremy Scahill. The operatives are also helping direct a drone bombing campaign, all from a US …
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AARP, AMA endorse health bill
President Obama snatched up endorsements of the health bill by AARP and AMA and will visit the Capitol today to make one last push to lawmakers. (WSJ) Fourteen people are now charged with insider trading in conjunction with the Galleon Group case. (NYT) AIG posts its second straight profit, but there is still no word …
House Dems want a weekend health vote
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing for a vote on the health bill Saturday. (NYT) Fourteen more arrests have been made in the Galleon insider trading case. (Bloomberg) The Senate unanimously passed legislation yesterday to give tax breaks to big companies hit by the recession, but Rep. Charles Rangel, chair of the Ways and Means …
Health bill may not be passed until 2010
Sen. Harry Reid said the health reform debate may carry on into 2010. (WSJ) House Republicans have drafted their own health bill with no public option that doesn’t require people to have insurance or employers to provide it. (NYT) The GOP wins two key gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and Republican Michael Bloomberg …
Panel aims to pass climate bill before December
Sen. Barbara Boxer has charged the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with completing a climate change bill before the international summit in Copenhagen in December. (Reuters) Three key races will play out today in New York, New Jersey and Virginia and Republicans are poised to claim victory. (WSJ) A study released by Sen. Jay …
Republicans to release their own health bill
Rep. John Boehner says House Republicans will release their own health bill this week. (WSJ) White House economic adviser Larry Summers will hold a meeting today to discuss the economy. Among the attendees are Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. (Reuters) CEO of Bank of New York Mellon Robert …
Chamber of Commerce chief lambastes health bill
Chamber of Commerce Chief Thomas Donohue strikes out against Obama’s health care plan. (WSJ) Sen. Tom Coburn, also a licensed family physician, is one of the health bill’s most fervent opponents, leading the Republican opposition in Congress. (NYT) Hearings on the climate change bill written by Sens. Barbara Boxer and John Kerry will begin as …
House Democrats to unveil health bill
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats will announce their own health bill today that includes a public option and taxes the wealthiest Americans to pay for it. (Reuters) Under the new financial overhaul bill in Congress, the Federal Trade Commission would have increased authority over banks. (WSJ) Floundering CIT Group rejects a loan from billionaire …
Public option increases Democrats’ divide
With the inclusion of Sen. Harry Reid‘s public plan, Democrats are now divided on the health bill and Reid may not have the 60 votes he needs to pass it through. (NYT) Two of the health industry’s biggest lobbyists, AHIP president Karen Ignagni and PhRMA CEO Billy Tauzin have different styles on the Hill, but …
Senate Dems hope for consensus on public option
Sen. Harry Reid confirms he will bring a public option to the Senate floor that states can opt out of. (NYT) Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will kick off a three-day series of hearings as a precursor to a climate change bill. (Reuters) AOL names a new board of directors to be …
Democrats give states a choice for national health plan
Senate Democrats are nearing a consensus on the health reform bill that may include a national health plan that states can opt out of, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will likely pass back to the Congressional Budget Office today. (Reuters) The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led by Sen. Barbara Boxer, is beginning …
Feinberg cuts compensation at seven firms
Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg will slash pay for top executive at financial firms receiving bailout funds. (WSJ) Sen. Harry Reid‘s plan to increase Medicare payments to doctors was defeated yesterday in the Senate. (NYT) Hedge fund Galleon Group will liquidate amid founder Raj Rajaratnam‘s insider trading woes. (Bloomberg) Though he denies leaving the job, insiders …