Jobless Benefits Extended

From npr

The Senate on Tuesday passed a $10 billion measure to maintain unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and provide stopgap funding for highway programs after a holdout Republican dropped stalling tactics that had generated a Washington firestorm.

Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning had been holding up action for days but conceded after pressure intensified with Monday’s cutoff of road funding and extended unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless.

Bunning wanted to force Democrats to find ways to finance the bill so that it wouldn’t add to the deficit, but his move sparked a political tempest that subjected Republicans to withering media coverage and cost the party politically. Bunning’s support among Republicans was dwindling, while Democrats used to being on the defensive over health care and the deficit seemed to relish a battle that could reinforce their argument that Republicans are bent on obstruction of President Barack Obama’s agenda at any cost.

The bill passed by a 78-19 vote and Obama signed it into law late Tuesday.

“During these difficult economic times, supporting American workers, their families and our small businesses must be everyone’s focus,” the president said in a statement. “I’m grateful to the members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle who worked to end this roadblock to relief for America’s working families.”

The bill passed the House last week.

President Obama Health Care Reform Bill Passed

Washington (CNN) — The Senate passed a $871 billion health care reform bill Thursday morning, handing President Obama a Christmas Eve victory on his top domestic priority.

The bill passed in a 60-39 party line vote after months of heated partisan debate. Every member of the Democratic caucus backed the measure; every Republican opposed it.

Should it become law, the measure would constitute the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago. It is expected to extend insurance coverage to 30 million additional Americans.

The bill now must be merged with a $1 trillion plan approved by the House of Representatives in November. Democrats hope to have a bill ready for Obama’s signature before the president’s State of the Union address early next year.

Senate Republicans failed to stop the bill despite utilizing almost every weapon in their legislative arsenal. GOP leaders have repeatedly warned the measure will raise taxes while doing little to slow spiraling health costs.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, was forced to cut multiple deals in recent weeks to ensure the support of every member of his traditionally fractious caucus. Top Democrats needed the backing of all 60 members in three key procedural votes over the past four days to break a GOP filibuster.

Final passage of the measure, in contrast, only requires a bare majority in the 100-member chamber.

Republicans Supporting Healthcare Reform

From NPR

As various health care bills wind their way toward the House and Senate floors, the White House is soliciting support from some unlikely allies: Republicans. Recently such high-profile Republicans as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tommy Thompson, health and human services secretary in the Bush administration, have come out in support of an overhaul. The administration hopes this will help win over moderates in Congress.

The former majority leader of the Senate, Republican Bill Frist, said last week that if he were in Congress, he’d take the heat and vote for an overhaul.

“I’m coming out very strongly in support of what’s going on in the Senate Finance Committee,” he said on CNN. “It’s bipartisan; I hope that it ends up being bipartisan. If not, I think it’s going to be a destructive bill. But it’s bipartisan, people working together, so we’re on the way there.”

Then there’s Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare under President George W. Bush.

“Congress needs to act. The health care issues facing this country are both major and urgent,” he said. “We have a real opportunity now to make some progress — not just on improving coverage, but also on improving health care. My hope is that we’ll take advantage of those opportunities.”

And then there’s Republican Bob Dole, another former Senate majority leader: “I think we need health care reform and we need it now. We don’t need it four or five years from now.”

Dole spoke to NPR’s political editor Ken Rudin a few weeks ago, and his stance has only gotten stronger since — that the Republican minority in Congress needs to be more flexible. He told the Kansas City Star on Thursday, “I don’t want the Republicans putting up a ‘no’ sign and saying, ‘We’re not open for business.’”

And there are more Republicans coming out — some after being nudged by the Obama administration: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (an independent running as the Republican nominee for reelection) and former Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker (another past majority leader), in addition to Schwarzenegger and Thompson. Thompson said he signed on to a joint statement with former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt that says “failure to reach an agreement on health reform this year is not an acceptable option.”