Congressional tax experts say industry taxes are $29 billion higher in health bill

October 5th, 2009 Senate committee vote slipsWASHINGTON — It's going to take a little longer for the last congressional committee writing health care legislation to finish its work. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana had hoped for a final vote by his panel on Tuesday, but a cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office isn't ready yet.

September 22nd, 2009 Senator backs off tax on condoms, contact lensesWASHINGTON — They were calling it the tax on Q-tips. Amid Republican ridicule, a Democratic chairman backed down Tuesday and exempted consumer items of $100 or less — from condoms to contact lenses — from a proposed tax on medical device manufacturers.

September 16th, 2009 Details on costs of Baucus health care billA rundown of the new spending in Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' health care overhaul bill, and a look at how it's paid for. The numbers are 10-year totals covering 2010-2019.

September 16th, 2009 Fight obesity? Add sales tax to soda tabATLANTA — In a bid to ramp up the public health battle against obesity, a group of nutrition and economics experts are pushing for a tax of 1 cent on every of ounce of sodas and other sweetened beverages. Proposals for a hefty soda tax though have repeatedly fallen flat.

September 9th, 2009 Health care issues: Government spendingA look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: Can taxpayers afford new subsidies to provide health insurance for millions in such a weak economy? THE POLITICS: With a comprehensive insurance policy averaging nearly $13,000 a year for a family, covering nearly 50 million uninsured doesn't come cheap. Estimates range from $100 billion to $150 billion a year.

August 18th, 2009 Liberals push for public health insurance planWASHINGTON — Congressional liberals are telling the Obama administration that a health overhaul bill cannot pass unless it includes a new government-run insurance option. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, made up of more than 80 liberal House members, wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing opposition to her weekend comments suggesting a public option was not essential to a health overhaul.

July 16th, 2009 A breakdown of the cost of the House health billA trio of House committees began work Thursday on $1.5 trillion, 10-year legislation from the Democrats that would fundamentally reshape the nation's health care system. It would require everyone to have health insurance and make employers provide it or pay a penalty; subsidize the poor to help them buy care; and create a new public insurance plan modeled after Medicare to compete with private insurance companies.

July 16th, 2009 GOP fails to strip public option from health billWASHINGTON — Republicans have failed to strip a government-run benefits plan from the House bill overhauling health care. The House Ways and Means Committee voted 25-15 on Thursday to keep the government-run option in the bill, rejecting an amendment by Wisconsin Republican Rep.

July 16th, 2009 Obama pushing hard for health care overhaulWASHINGTON — With votes set in the House, President Barack Obama is still pounding away hard for a bill overhauling the health care system before Congress takes a summer recess. In a nationally broadcast interview, Obama acknowledged a controversy over the cost of reinventing the system at a time when the economy remains hobbled, but declared: "There is no free lunch." In one of a series of network interviews, he said it's time to stop "putting money into things that aren't making people healthy." Obama has proposed increasing taxes on well-off people to help underwrite the cost.

July 15th, 2009 Sen. Kennedy's committee passes health care billWASHINGTON — The Senate health committee has passed legislation to revamp health care, becoming the first congressional committee to act on President Barack Obama's goal of overhauling the system this year. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 13-10 along party lines to pass a $600-billion measure that would expand coverage to nearly all Americans by requiring individuals get insurance and employers to contribute to the cost.

July 15th, 2009 House plan boosts taxes on rich to 20-year highWASHINGTON — House Democrats scrambling for ways to pay for overhauling health care would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to levels not seen since the 1980s, breaking one of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges. The tax increase would be limited to the top 1.2 percent of earners — families that make more than $350,000 a year.

July 14th, 2009 House health plan requires insurance coverageWASHINGTON — House Democrats want to require individuals and employers to get health insurance — or pay a penalty. For individuals, the penalty would be 2.5 percent of income — but it could go no higher than the average cost of health insurance.

July 8th, 2009 PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama tax pledge unrealisticWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama promised to fix health care and trim the federal budget deficit, all without raising taxes on anyone but the wealthiest Americans. It's a promise he's already broken and will likely have to break again.

July 7th, 2009 Bill would let IOUs pay for Calif. taxes, feesSACRAMENTO, Calif.

June 3rd, 2009 Senate panel's alcohol, sweet drink tax proposalThe Senate Finance Committee has said it is considering raising federal taxes on alcohol and creating a new tax on sugar-sweetened drinks to help pay for revamping the nation's health care system, an overhaul that could cost $1.5 trillion over the next decade. —Alcohol tax: Federal alcohol taxes currently differ by type of beverage, and are higher for distilled spirits than for beer and wine.