Former Sen. Bob Dole bucks GOP leader's advice, says publicly that US needs health care reformOctober 7th, 2009 Dole bucks GOP advice, says health reform neededKANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole says a top GOP leader asked him not to publicly support health care reform.
Finance Committee adopts amendment to encourage innovative care of ailing seniorsSeptember 22nd, 2009 Measure would encourage innovations for the illWASHINGTON — The Senate Finance Committee has adopted the first amendment to a sweeping health overhaul bill, agreeing to a measure to encourage innovative care for hospitalized Medicare patients. Approval of the amendment by Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota came late Tuesday as Democrats struggled to push forward on the first day of debate on the legislation.
Baucus says he expects Republican support for health care bill on final committee voteSeptember 16th, 2009 Baucus calls health care bill commonsense measureWASHINGTON — A prominent Democratic senator is calling his 10-year, $856 billion health care bill a common sense measure that can win broad support. Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee, unveiled his much-awaited legislation Wednesday after months of bipartisan negotiations that failed to win visible Republican support.
Sen. Harkin says 'silent majority' back health care reform, predicts congressional approvalSeptember 14th, 2009 Harkin: 'Silent majority' back health care reformINDIANOLA, Iowa — Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin predicts Congress will approve a health care reform bill this fall that includes a public option, saying a "silent majority" of Americans favor such an overhaul.
Obama holds health care conference call, talks to House liberals wary of president's next moveSeptember 4th, 2009 Obama talks to House liberals about health careWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama discussed health care in a conference call with House members, including liberals wary of his next move on the issue. Obama, who is at Camp David, spoke to leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Friday.
Kerry says Kennedy would compromise on health care overhaul, but not yetAugust 30th, 2009 Kerry: Kennedy would compromise if necessaryWASHINGTON — A leading Democratic senator says the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy would have been ready to compromise on overhauling health care, but negotiations had not yet reached that point.
After Kennedy funeral, as many as 1,000 rally in NYC for health care reform billAugust 29th, 2009 Up to 1,000 rally in NYC for health care billNEW YORK — About a thousand people rallied in Manhattan on Saturday in support of federal health care reform legislation. The event near Times Square began shortly after the funeral for U.S.
McCain says Sen. Kennedy's absence has had a huge impact on efforts to pass health-care reformAugust 23rd, 2009 McCain: Health debate hurt by Kennedy's absenceWASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John McCain says the absence of ailing Ted Kennedy in pushing health-care reform has made a "huge, huge difference" in whether legislation gets passed.
GOP senator predicts Democrats will use rare voting procedure to try to pass health care billAugust 23rd, 2009 Talk of Senate voting maneuvers on health careWASHINGTON — A Republican senator predicts Democrats will turn to a little-used voting procedure to try get around GOP opposition and pass health care legislation. It takes 60 votes to shut down GOP opposition and move ahead to an up-or-down vote on a bill.
Leading senator says bipartisan health care negotiations still 'on track'August 19th, 2009 Bipartisan health talks to continue by phoneWASHINGTON — A key Democratic committee chairman involved in talks on a compromise health care plan said Wednesday they are on track to reach agreement. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he'd prefer a bipartisan deal but "patience is not unlimited."
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said his group of three Democrats and three Republicans "is on track to reach a bipartisan agreement on comprehensive health care reform" that can pass a divided Senate.
Democratic Rep. John Murtha says Congress may miss deadline of passing health bill this yearAugust 14th, 2009 Lawmaker predicts no health overhaul this yearWASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania lawmaker who is a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says it's looking unlikely that Congress will pass health care overhaul legislation this year. Democratic Rep.
Reid: Democratic senators united on need for health care bill this, aiming for bipartisanshipAugust 4th, 2009 Reid: Democratic senators united on health careWASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says his party's caucus has "absolute unity" on the need to pass health care reform this year. The Nevadan, joined by other lawmakers, spoke to reporters Tuesday afternoon on a White House driveway after Senate Democrats met over lunch with President Barack Obama.
GOP senator involved in bipartisan talks tamps down expectations for health care billJuly 30th, 2009 GOP senator says health care bill not readyWASHINGTON — A key Republican senator involved in bipartisan talks on health care says there's no way a breakthrough will happen before lawmakers' August recess. Wyoming Sen.
Republicans open hearing of House tax-writing committee vowing to fight Dems' health care billJuly 16th, 2009 Republicans vow to fight health care tax increasesWASHINGTON — House Democrats shouldn't expect votes from Republicans in passing a bill that increases taxes on the rich to pay for health care reform. Republicans opened a committee meeting Thursday morning vowing to fight a Democratic plan to impose a surcharge on families making more than $350,000.
Dodd says taxing benefits to pay for health care overhaul is a bad idea and unnecessaryJune 14th, 2009 Senator says tax on health benefits is unnecessaryWASHINGTON — A leading Democratic senator says the idea of taxing health benefits is a bad one and unnecessary. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut says that people are struggling economically at the moment and don't need a new tax on the health care benefits they receive.