The passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) late Tuesday night has quickly become a catalyst for healthcare reform among his mourners, seeking to follow through on what the late senator called "the cause of my life."
Supporters of the healthcare reform bills before Congress, on which Kennedy had placed his imprimatur, summoned the liberal senator's legacy on Wednesday in speaking about health legislation's prospects in the future.
"Senator Kennedy said that 'health care is the fight of his life,'" Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in his statement on Kennedy's death. "Today, we pick up the torch and recommit ourselves to health insurance reform."
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who took over Kennedy's spot as head of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the senator's absence, made note of Kennedy's legacy on healthcare.
The statements build on a perhaps obvious theme in statements by supporters of healthcare reform that will emerge today, drawing on Kennedy's cachet on healthcare to advance Kennedy's most prized legislative priority.
"He fought to the very end for the cause of his life -- ensuring that all Americans have the health care they need," Dodd said in a statement.
One of the top labor unions supporting health reform bills before the House and Senate also called on the Congress to "build on Senator Kennedy's vision of America" and pass healthcare reform.
Lawmakers and political figures in both parties mourned the "Liberal Lion" of the Senate, and sent their best wishes to the Kennedy clan.
President Obama said:
Michelle and I were heartbroken to learn this morning of the death of our dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy.
For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.
I valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the Presidency. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I've profited as President from his encouragement and wisdom.
An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time.
And the Kennedy family has lost their patriarch, a tower of strength and support through good times and bad.
Our hearts and prayers go out to them today -- to his wonderful wife, Vicki, his children Ted Jr., Patrick and Kara, his grandchildren and his extended family.
The Kennedy family said in a statement:
We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and wife Maria Shriver, a niece of Kennedy:
Maria and I are immensely saddened by the passing of Uncle Teddy. He was known to the world as the Lion of the Senate, a champion of social justice, and a political icon.
Most importantly, he was the rock of our family: a loving husband, father, brother and uncle. He was a man of great faith and character.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said:
Because of Ted Kennedy, more young children could afford to become healthy. More young adults could afford to become students. More of our oldest citizens and our poorest citizens could get the care they need to live longer, fuller lives. More minorities, women and immigrants could realize the rights our founding documents promised them. And more Americans could be proud of their country.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) said:
Today, with the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the American people have lost a great patriot, and the Kennedy family has lost a beloved patriarch. Over a lifetime of leadership, Senator Kennedy's statesmanship and political prowess produced a wealth of accomplishment that has improved opportunity for every American.
Senator Kennedy had a grand vision for America, and an unparalleled ability to effect change. Rooted in his deep patriotism, his abiding faith, and his deep concern for the least among us, no one has done more than Senator Kennedy to educate our children, care for our seniors, and ensure equality for all Americans.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of Kennedy's closest Republican friends in the Senate, said:
Many have come before, and many will come after, but Ted Kennedy's name will always be remembered as someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate and the work completed within its chamber. When I first came to the United States Senate I was filled with conservative fire in my belly and an itch to take on any and everyone who stood in my way, including Ted Kennedy. As I began working within the confines of my office I soon found out that while we almost always disagreed on most issues, once in a while we could actually get together and find the common ground, which is essential in passing legislation.
Former President George H.W. Bush said:
While we didn't see eye-to-eye on many political issues through the years, I always respected his steadfast public service - so much so, in fact, that I invited him to my library in 2003 to receive the Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service. Ted Kennedy was a seminal figure in the United States Senate -- a leader who answered the call to duty for some 47 years, and whose death closes a remarkable chapter in that body's history.
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan said:
I was terribly saddened to hear of the death of Ted Kennedy tonight.
Given our political differences, people are sometimes surprised by how close Ronnie and I have been to the Kennedy family. But Ronnie and Ted could always find common ground, and they had great respect for one another. In recent years, Ted and I found our common ground in stem cell research, and I considered him an ally and a dear friend. I will miss him.
My heart goes out to Vicki and the entire Kennedy family.
I would like to extend our sympathies to the Kennedy family as we hear word about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. He believed in our country and fought passionately for his convictions.
Former President George W. Bush isn't to blame for the current budget situation, one freshman Republican lawmaker argued Tuesday.
"It's not George W. Bush's fault," conservative Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) argued during an appearance on a conservative radio news program.
Chaffetz blamed Democrats and insufficiently conservative Republicans in Congress in recent years for having driven up the deficit to record levels this year.
"This 'credit card Congress' has done absolutely nothing under Democratic control to curb spending," he said.
"Look, and I am very critical of the Bush administration, but fundamentally we need to remember that it's Congress that authorizes and spends money, not the president," Chaffetz added. "The reality is that Democrats have been in control -- and believe me, when the Republicans were in control, it was bad then -- but now it's literally four times worse than what it was, with no end in sight."
The first-term congressman's claims take a slightly different tack than the Obama administration, which saw its Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, argue in an interview with the Wall Street Journal posted today that the Bush administration was fundamentally to blame for current deficits.
The previous administration's failure to pay for tax cuts, an expansion in Medicare benefits, and extended military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan largely explain the current budget situation, Geithner asserted.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) slammed on Tuesday President Obama's mid-year budget review for making "assumptions that defy logic as much as his spending defies gravity."
The administration announced today that it increased the projected budget deficit to $9 trillion over the next decade from $7.1 trillion and estimated unemployment would pass 10 percent.
The fifth-term Republican implied that the estimate could be even worse, accusing the White House of using faulty assumptions to draft its estimate.
"Adding insult to gimmickry, President Obama's budget continues to assume that Congressional Democrats will allow 'stimulus' pet projects to expire, that a government take-over of health care will be budget neutral and that the economy will return to a roaring 3.2 percent growth next year," Issa said in a release.
He also hit at the administration's economic policies, saying that the Obama administration "vastly underestimated every aspect of our financial crisis: from unemployment to deficits, from mythical 'jobs saved or created' to projected economic growth."
The enmity toward Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shared by both some Republicans and some Democrats probably show he's a good choice to continue to lead the Fed, Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) said Tuesday.
"He has probably as many problems with my colleagues on the Democratic side as he has Dick Armey's problems on the Republican side," Kaufman said this morning during an appearance on CNBC. (Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey [R-Texas] was among the guest panelists.)
"But that may be a sign he is independent, he's doing a good job, and I am definitely going to vote for him, I think he's a wonderful selection," Kaufman added.
The freshman Democrat said he expected Bernanke to win confirmation to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, but cautioned "you never know with the Senate."
Kaufman praised Bernanke's work at the height of the financial crisis, saying the Fed chairman did "some incredibly smart things" to stave off a collapse in the financial system.
The healthcare reform bills before Congress would in essence violate physicians' Hippocratic Oaths take to ethically practice medicine, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) suggested Monday night.
"What I think is in front of us is violating the first oath of medicine, which is the first thing is to do no harm," Coburn said during a interview on Fox News. "And that's not to deny a recognition that we have significant problems in terms of competitiveness and cost in our country."
Doctors traditionally take a modern version of the oath, derived from the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates's original oath for doctors, after graduation from medical school.
Coburn is a physician who practiced obstetrics and gynecology before coming to the Senate, and even did work pro bono delivering babies until the Senate Ethics Committee ordered him to stop.
The conservative Oklahoman said that he didn't know why Republicans had not made their own stab at healthcare reform while in control of the House and Senate, noting that he didn't arrive in Washington until 2005.
"I can't account for the five years before that," Coburn said. "But the fact is, is they didn't take advantage of any of the opportunities they had to make big changes, and they could have done this and they should have, but they didn't."
Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama's decision to re-appoint Federal Reserve chairman Benjamin Bernanke shows that "all that criticism of the Bush administration last time around wasn't all correct."
It was reported on Monday night that Obama would recommend Bernanke for a second four-year term. The Senate must vote to confirm Bernanke for him to remain at his post.
But the Energy and Commerce Committee Republican said on CNBC's Squawk Box that Bernanke has been "too interventionist" and recommended that Congress reduce Fed's role in the economy.
Shadegg said that the Federal Reserve is simultaneously controlling monetary policy and directly bolstering the economy by advocating for such measures the economic stimulus. He preferred that the Fed stick to its traditional role regulating the money supply.
The Fed increased its presence in economic policy under Bernanke during last year's credit crisis. The rapid tightening of credit was part of the reason the economy nearly plunged into a Depression-like state.
"[Bernanke is] seen as safe and as changing the topic quite frankly from what's dominated the news lately which is healthcare, which is not going well for the president," Shadegg added.
Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.), who sits on the Joint Economic Committee, praised Obama's decision to re-appoint Bernanke as a display of bipartisanship.
"If he sees talent, he goes after it, even if they were former Bush administration appointees," he said in the same interview.
Snyder agreed that the Fed should reduce its role in the economy.
The economy could spiral into hyperinflation not seen since the early 1980s if the Federal Reserve does not tighten its monetary policy soon, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) warned Tuesday.
Grassley, speaking about the renomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term as head of the Fed, asserted that Bernanke's ability to reign in inflation would be the metric by which the Fed's success would be measured.
"We won't know for a year if he's done a good job so far, because he shoveled money out of an airplane to save banks and the financial system," Grassley said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. "But shoveling money out of an airplane to solve problems can be inflationary -- in this case, hyperinflationary -- if he doesn't stop mopping up some of the money that's out there."
Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said that inflation as a result from government spending on bailouts could result in inflation rivaling rates in 1980, when it hit a peak of 13.5 percent.
"The Fed has the ability to put money out, it's got the ability to take money back in, and if they don't do that, we will have hyperinflation worse than we had in 1980 and '81," Grassley said. "And I hope he demonstrates that ability."
Grassley argued that while it would be a year until lawmakers will know whether Bernanke has been successful at bringing inflation under control, it would probably be best to keep the chairman on board for a second term as head of the Federal Reserve.
"I would suggest that right now, when everybody's nervous about the economy, that you don't change horses in the middle of the stream, and consequently, it would probably be detrimental to not have him reappointed," he said.
Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to appoint a prosecutor to investigate allegations of detainee abuse by the CIA serves as a reminder of why "many Americans" doubt President Obama's ability to keep the country safe, former Vice President Dick Cheney said late Monday night.
Cheney, a longstanding critic of the Obama administration's policies -- especially on domestic security -- since leaving office, blasted the current administration's recent work on intelligence issues.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will not enjoy an easy Senate path to being confirmed as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) pledged late Monday night.
Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said that while he will "probably" personally support Bernanke, "serious questions" remain about Bernanke and the Fed.
"While I have had serious differences with the Federal Reserve over the past few years, I think reappointing Chairman Bernanke is probably the right choice,"
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