Posts by Mike Lillis
The Democrats’ jobs pickle
Moderate Democrats have grown wary of big spending bills, fearing that support for such measures could haunt them on the campaign trail this year.
Questions linger about full payments to Goldman Sachs
Rep. Dennis Kucinich doesn’t buy Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s claim last week that federal officials negotiating the taxpayer bailout of American Insurance Group had no choice but to provide full payment to the company’s trading partners, including Goldman Sachs. He’s charging that Geithner — who headed the New York Federal Reserve when it funneled billions of dollars through AIG to other firms — simply put Goldman’s interests above those of taxpayers.
Peterson flips, would now vote against climate bill
Rep. Collin Peterson, chair of the House Agriculture Committee, was one of the more successful negotiators during last summer’s climate change debate, winning big concessions for some of the nation’s largest polluters in the name of…
Campaign promises in jeopardy in 2010
Democratic voters frustrated with the legislative pace of 2009 might want to look away: This year, many experts are predicting, the fragile economy and looming elections will likely make it even tougher for party leaders to make good on their many campaign promises.
Competing health care bills face difficult merger
WASHINGTON — Before President Obama can sign health reform legislation, lawmakers will need to tackle such thorny issues as the public option, abortion coverage and funding mechanisms.
Senate passes historic if diluted health reform bill
Months of compromises left many liberals disappointed, but party leaders hailed the bill’s passage as a landmark leap forward.
Senate rejects abortion restriction amendment
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday rejected an amendment to health-care reform legislation that would have placed strict new limits on women’s access to abortion coverage. The move was cheered by abortion rights advocates, but it may have eroded the support of some moderate Democrats for the underlying bill — leaving questions about whether another abortion provision will emerge later in the Senate debate.
Study: Millions to prematurely lose unemployment benefits
More than 3.2 million laid-off Americans will prematurely exhaust their unemployment insurance in the first quarter of next year unless Congress intervenes, an advocacy group warned Monday.
GOP agenda: Just stall
WASHINGTON — Since being swept from power in 2006, Republicans on Capitol Hill have persistently sought ways to slow the Democrats’ legislative agenda, erecting procedural hurdles and proposing contentious amendments to block even those bills supported by GOP leaders. It’s making it difficult for Democratic leaders as they try to make good on legislative promises, mark a break from the policies of the Bush administration and retain their congressional majorities in elections to come.
Health care primer: A snapshot of the toughest fights ahead
As hard as the Senate debate on health care reform promises to be, many of the thorniest conflicts will likely be re-contested when Democratic leaders in both chambers meet to iron out the differences between their bills.
