Obama says Senate committee passage of health overhaul bill is ‘critical milestone’

October 13th, 2009 Unions will oppose Baucus bill unless it's changedWASHINGTON — About 30 unions will run a full-page ad in newspapers Wednesday announcing their opposition to the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul bill, a top labor lobbyist said. The ad will state that unions will oppose the measure on the Senate floor unless improvements are made, according to Chuck Loveless, legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

October 13th, 2009 Obama: Snowe 'diligent' in her work on health careWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is praising Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe for being "extraordinarily diligent" in working with Democrats on health care reform.

September 24th, 2009 Tensions on rise in health care debateWASHINGTON — Tempers are flaring as the Senate Finance Committee starts its third day of exhaustive deliberations on a sweeping overhaul of the health care system. Republican Sen.

August 23rd, 2009 Senator: Single health care bill a better approachWASHINGTON — A key Democrat in the health care debate says separating out the various issues and putting them in different bills isn't likely to work. Some lawmakers have suggested that a separate bill with changes that are supported by Republicans and Democrats would be one route toward progress on the health care overhaul.

August 19th, 2009 White House: Obama would go to moon for his goalWASHINGTON — How far is President Barack Obama willing to go for a deal on overhauling the health care system? Try all the way to the moon. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs joked Wednesday that Obama would orbit the moon if he thought it would help get a deal on a bill Congress can vote on after it returns from summer break.

August 5th, 2009 Obama promises health care overhaul this yearWAKARUSA, Ind. — President Barack Obama promised Wednesday that there will be an overhaul of the health care system before the end of the year and said it doesn't have to be a bipartisan effort.

July 20th, 2009 Obama: pass health overhaul by end of yearWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pushed back hard against critics of his health care overhaul plan Monday, vowing to fight "the politics of the moment" and press for passage of legislation by the end of the year. "We can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care," Obama said after meeting with doctors, nurses and other health care workers at Children's National Medical Center.

July 19th, 2009 Budget chief sees progress in health care overhaulWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's budget director is playing down reports that lawmakers are bogged down over the health care overhaul. Peter Orszag says good progress is being made toward Obama's goal of a bill in August.

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 Obama praises progress on health care overhaulWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says his administration will push through an overhaul of the nation's health care system and is urging Congress to finish the work before leaving for an August recess. Obama on Wednesday praised House and Senate versions of a bill to expand health care coverage to millions of Americans.

July 12th, 2009 Sebelius: All options on table for health planWASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the administration wants a health care overhaul this year but is still leaving the details to Congress. Sebelius said on Sunday that a health care overhaul "needs to be owned by the House and the Senate" and won't be dictated by President Barack Obama.

June 28th, 2009 Axelrod expects Senate to tackle health care firstWASHINGTON — A top presidential adviser says it probably will be the fall before the Senate deals with a major climate change bill that just passed the House. White House aide David Axelrod says he thinks health care overhaul will be the first thing on senators' agenda.

June 27th, 2009 Obama: Energy bill is bold stepWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling House passage of an energy bill "a bold and necessary step.' And he says it holds promise for creating new industries and millions of new jobs. Obama says that the bill will reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and decrease the release of pollutants that lead to global warming.

June 16th, 2009 AP sources: Senate health overhaul costs top $1.6TWASHINGTON — The latest cost estimates for health care legislation in Congress are around $1.6 trillion over 10 years, two Senate sources said Tuesday as concerns mounted over the price tag for the sweeping overhaul. Two Senate staffers, one Democratic and one Republican, said Congressional Budget Office estimates put the cost of the Finance Committee version of the bill at around $1.6 trillion.

April 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The hearing on the bipartisan Kerry-Lugar bill, which seeks 1.5 billion dollars of annual assistance to Pakistan for five years, has been postponed indefinitely. The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations had scheduled a full committee hearing on Wednesday, but it had to be postponed for technical reasons.