House Democrats

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Afghan War May Sock Us With Surtax

House Dems propose 1% war tax

(Newser) - Any change in Afghan strategy that involves spending more money needs to come with a strategy to pay for it, warn House Democrats. Influential committee chairs are calling for a 1% surtax on incomes under $150,000 beginning in 2011 to pay for the war. Their proposed bill would impose...

Dems Switch Focus to Jobs
 Dems Switch Focus to Jobs 
Nov 17, 2009 7:35 AM CST

Dems Switch Focus to Jobs

House aims to have job creation package ready by Xmas

(Newser) - House Democrats hit by accusations they've been focusing on health care at the expense of employment plan to tackle job creation in the coming weeks. There's no consensus on whether the move will come as one big package or a series of smaller measures but Democratic leaders plan to have...

Big Pharma Lobbyists Put Words Into Reps' Mouths
Big Pharma Lobbyists Put Words Into Reps' Mouths
Puppetmasters
Nov 15, 2009 8:37 AM CST

Big Pharma Lobbyists Put Words Into Reps' Mouths

We 'didn't know' where the language came from, reps plead

(Newser) - Yep, that's an echo you hear in the House chamber. The New York Times has obtained emails showing that language drafted by lobbyists working for biotech giant Genentech made it almost unchanged into statements and speeches made on health care—by Democrats and Republicans alike. A Genentech lawyer told staffers,...

Ex-Rep. Jefferson Sentenced to 13 Years
 Ex-Rep. Jefferson 
 Sentenced to 
 13 Years  
cold hard cash
Nov 13, 2009 5:19 PM CST

Ex-Rep. Jefferson Sentenced to 13 Years

Pol busted with $90K in freezer betrays little emotion

(Newser) - A federal judge sentenced former Congressman William Jefferson to 13 years in prison today, less than the 27-plus years prosecutors called for but more than the 10-year term the Louisiana Democrat's lawyer wanted. Jefferson, who was convicted in August of 11 of the 16 counts relating to the public corruption...

Dems Who Dissed Health Bill Feel Their Party's Wrath
Dems Who Dissed Health Bill Feel Their Party's Wrath
BLOWBACK DEPT.
Nov 11, 2009 10:51 AM CST

Dems Who Dissed Health Bill Feel Their Party's Wrath

39 House Democrats voted against it

(Newser) - They can't win. The 39 House Democrats who voted against the health care bill may have thought the move would win them the favor of their often Republican-heavy districts; instead they're fending off attacks from constituents and interest groups from the left, Politico reports. In Florida, about 60 people protested...

Palin Renews 'Death Panels' Argument

(Newser) - Sarah Palin has returned to her Facebook soapbox to reinvigorate the "death panels" meme she helped popularize. "We had been told there were no 'death panels' in the bill," says an essay posted to the former Alaska governor's page. "But look closely at the provision mandating...

Pelosi: 'That Was Easy'


 Pelosi: 'That 
 Was Easy' 
Nov 8, 2009 7:33 AM CST

Pelosi: 'That Was Easy'

It's speaker's moment in the sun as House passes health care bill

(Newser) - "This victory belongs to her," said a 10-term rep as Nancy Pelosi doggedly pushed health reform through the House last night. “As far as I know she never sleeps nor eats.” And though the speaker herself joked, "That was easy" last night, Politico notes that...

Health Vote May Have to Wait: Hoyer

Majority leader bemoans 'delay tactics'

(Newser) - The House may not vote on its health care reform bill tomorrow after all, thanks to Democrats' squabbling over abortion and spending, Steny Hoyer said today. “We’re very close,” the majority leader insisted, but “clearly things happen. Delay tactics can be employed.” Hoyer acknowledged that...

AARP Will Endorse House Dems' Health Bill

Seniors group helped Bush get drug plan through Congress

(Newser) - In a coup for House Democrats, AARP will endorse sweeping health-care overhaul legislation, officials said today. An endorsement from the seniors' lobby was crucial when then-President Bush pushed the Medicare prescription drug benefit through a closely divided Congress in 2003. House Democrats are hoping it will work the same political...

Grayson Weeps on House Floor


 Grayson 
 Weeps on 
 House Floor 
water works
Oct 29, 2009 6:55 AM CDT

Grayson Weeps on House Floor

Bemoans casualties of lack of health insurance

(Newser) - Alan Grayson continued with his penchant for the dramatic yesterday, shedding copious tears on the House floor as he read letters from families of people who died because they didn't have health insurance. “For god's sake, I look forward to a time when we have finally done our jobs,...

Dems: Let's Just Call 'Public Option' Medicare

House Reps suggest rebranding government-run plan

(Newser) - Some House Democrats think the public option would sound better if they renamed it “Medicare,” or maybe “Medicare Part E,” as in “Medicare for Everyone.” They think that rebranding could bridge the gap between liberals and centrists who oppose the plan. “People don’...

Democratic Rep. Wexler Will Resign Fla. Seat

48-year-old seeks private-sector paycheck with kids in college

(Newser) - Robert Wexler, a seven-term Democrat from Florida, is set to resign his house seat for a public-policy position. Though some Washington insiders speculate that Wexler, 48, will head the US Agency for International Development, others tell Politico that, with kids in college, Wexler needs an income bigger than a government...

Why the Dems Will Hold Congress in 2010
 Why the Dems Will 
 Hold Congress in 2010 
ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2009 7:12 AM CDT

Why the Dems Will Hold Congress in 2010

Incumbency, early preparation make 1994 redux unlikely

(Newser) - The last time a young Democrat became president, an angry debate over health care preceded a disastrous midterm election, costing the party control of both the House and the Senate. Yet it's too soon to make the easy comparison between 1994 and 2010, writes Wall Street Journal analyst Jerry Seib....

Dem Won't Apologize for 'Die Quickly' Gag
 Dem Won't Apologize 
 for 'Die Quickly' Gag 
political hijinks
Sep 30, 2009 11:20 AM CDT

Dem Won't Apologize for 'Die Quickly' Gag

Comments about 'Republican health care plan' light up YouTube

(Newser) - Florida Rep. Alan Grayson is refusing to apologize for his snarky statement on the House floor that Republicans want Americans to “die quickly.” Last night, Grayson took the floor and declared that he had, after much probing, determined that Republicans had a two part plan: Don’t get...

NY Dems Asked White House to Intervene on Paterson

House members held multiple closed-door meetings with Emanuel

(Newser) - President Obama urged New York Gov. David Paterson not to run in next year's election only after members of Congress, nervous about the party's prospects with Paterson at the top of the ticket, lobbied Rahm Emanuel for help. The 2010 election features not only a race for governor but also...

House Will Vote Tomorrow on Reprimand of Joe Wilson

Most Dems, some fellow Republicans expected to vote yes on 'You lie' yeller

(Newser) - The House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on a “resolution of disapproval” against Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who shouted “You lie!” at President Obama during his speech last week on health reform. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, also a South Carolinian, will introduce the measure,...

Apologize for 'You Lie,' or Else: Dems to Wilson

Lawmakers want apology on House floor

(Newser) - Apologizing to Rahm Emanuel apparently wasn't enough. Now House Democrats plan to vote next week on whether to discipline Joe Wilson for his "You lie!" outburst, the Washington Post reports. Aides say Democratic leaders want Wilson to apologize on the House floor for violating rules of decorum,...

House Dems' Health Plan Half the Cost of Bush Tax Cuts

Cuts to cost $2.1 trillion over a decade; Dems' plan to cost $1 trillion

(Newser) - The House Democrats’ health care plan would cost just half of what President Bush’s tax cuts cost the country, a report by left-leaning researchers says. While the analysts project Bush’s cuts will cost $2.1 trillion in lost revenue over the 10 years since they were enacted, the...

House Dems Back to Work in Same Quagmire

Public health insurance option still splitting party after hectic summer break

(Newser) - House Democrats returned to work yesterday in the same position they were in before they spent their summer break getting an earful from the public, the Washington Post reports. House lawmakers are still expected to move first on the health care bill. But while broad support remains for some kind...

Pelosi Willing to Deal to Win Back House Dems

They plan more flexible approach, postponed public option

(Newser) - House Democrats got whipped on health care over the August recess, and party leaders now have to win back some of their own shaky members, reports Politico. The push starts at a caucus meeting in the Capitol basement next week as Nancy Pelosi and other top leaders will try to...

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