Healthcare

If Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is "inching toward a consensus" with healthcare industry groups on a framework for comprehensive health reform, one activist group with a liberal bent is none too happy about it.

California-based Consumer Watchdog (formerly called the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights) faxed a letter Friday to Kennedy and the rest of the Senate protesting their "back door negotiations" with healthcare lobbyists.

An enterprise as great and critical as guaranteeing affordable and high quality health care for all Americans requires a public process and public discussion. Back door negotiations with the medical insurance complex are doomed to ignore the will and sentiments of the American people.

Consumer Watchdog takes particular umbrage to the possibility that Kennedy is prepared to include an individual mandate to buy health insurance in the bill.

We are deeply disappointed to read in today Read more...

As it gears up for the anticipated effort on Capitol Hill and in the White House to reform the national healthcare system, the National Coalition on Health Care named longtime civil rights advocate Ralph Neas as its Chief Executive Officer on Wednesday.

In a release, the group characterized Neas, the former president and CEO at the People for the American Way and executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, as a well-respected non-partisan voice on the issue.

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President Obama reiterated his plan to relax Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research Friday.

In response to a question from Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) at the House Democratic retreat in Williamsburg, Va., Obama declared that, as he promised during his campaign for the White House, he would issue an executive order lifting President Bush's policy that limits government funding for research on embryonic stem cells, which scientists say could lead to treatments and cures for countless ailments.

"I guarantee you that we will sign an executive order for stem cells," Obama said, according to a press pool report distributed by the White House.

"God gave us [the] power to make smart decisions , to cure diseases, to alleviate suffering," Obama said, congressional sources in attendance at the closed-door meeting told a member of the White House press corps.

Obama also assured the Democratic lawmakers that he remained committed to enacting legislation fleshing out a new federal stem cell research policy.

On Aug. 9, 2001, Bush established a policy forbidding federal funding of research using embryonic stem cells created after that date.

Opponents of the research object to the fact that human embryos are destroyed in the process of creating the stem cells.

Congress twice passed bipartisan legislation to overturn the restrictions but Bush vetoed the bills.

-- Jeffrey Young

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) will replace Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as head of the working group on health insurance reform in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee during the 111th Congress.

Committee chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) made the announcement today,

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) indicated he was open to a post in a future Barack Obama administration.

"I want to be helpful in any way I can, but it's way too early to make predictions on any role I will play," said Daschle.

The senior Democrat was speaking at a luncheon being held in Denver during the convention for his recent book, titled "Critical: What We Can Do About the American Health-Care Crisis."

Talk has swirled around Daschle during Obama's campaign; he was considered a potential vice presidential candidate. An early endorser of the Illinois senator, Daschle has been a senior advisor to Obama as well as a frequent televison surrogate.

The South Dakota Democrat has worked on resolving the healthcare crisis in and out of office and is a potential Labor, Health and Human Services Secretary for Obama. Daschle has high hopes for the passage of universal healthcare if Obama makes it to the White House.

"It really depends on who gets elected. If Barack Obama gets elected, it is better than a 50-50 chance. If he doesn't get elected, it drops way below 50-50," said Daschle.

-Kevin Bogardus

Media Matters highlights this video of Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) lashing out at conservative radio host Michael Savage for his offensive comments about autism.

"Autism spectrum disorders are real and they affect over a million Americans today," Doyle said on the House floor. "I suggest if Mr. Savage wants to find someone acting like a moron, he should simply look in the mirror."

Last week, Savage said that "in 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."

"What do you mean they scream and they're silent?" Savage said. "They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.'"

In a post Wednesday on The Hill's Congress Blog, Doyle urged radio stations to drop Savage, writing, "I understand that shock jocks get the big bucks for being as obnoxious and controversial as possible

House Republicans rolled out their healthcare agenda Thursday, drawing contrasts with and taking aim at Democrats.

Though the plan is unlikely to be brought up this Congress, Republicans are touting the plan as the alternative they would pursue in the majority.

"Through this reform agenda and the other reforms Republicans have put forth, we

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) is calling on radio stations and potential sponsors to "reconsider their association" with Michael Savage after the radio host called autism a "racket" on his show.

"I understand that shock jocks get the big bucks for being as obnoxious and controversial as possible

Senate leaders skirmished late Monday over an AIDS funding bill, dismissing a stalling tactic by South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint that had briefly paralyzed the chamber.

The impasse, which shut down the chamber for several hours, arose when DeMint tried to push an amendment trimming the program from $50 billion to $35 billion and threatened an agreement made last Friday between the GOP and Democratic leaders to allow votes on 10 GOP amendments.

Although DeMint's amendment was among the 10 that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had agreed to, DeMint attempted a "second-degree amendment" that would have cut off U.S. funds to countries that force women to have abortions.

Reid called DeMint's move "a sucker punch" because it violated Friday's agreement but worked out a second agreement Monday with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that would break the impasse without giving in to DeMint's tactic.

"Unless there's something that I don't understand that comes up, we're going to have all those 10 amendments debated and voted upon," Reid said.

McConnell returned the favor by saying the agreement was "a good way to go forward."

"This consent agreement was rather painfully achieved last week," he said.

Shortly thereafter, DeMint took the floor to say he initially voted for the AIDS program in 2003 and acknowledged it was "a worthy cause."

"But we cannot afford every worthy cause around the world," he said. "This is not generosity. I'm afraid it's thievery."

Reid said he planned to table DeMint's amendment Tuesday morning, which would end up killing it. The squabbling was over the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, a five-year program aimed at providing anti-retroviral medication to those infected with the disease, largely in Third World countries. The program is a top priority of President Bush.

- J. Taylor Rushing and Manu Raju

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) says he was deeply moved by Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) decision to take a break from his cancer treatment to come to Washington to cast his vote on last week's Medicare package.

"It just shows you how passionate [Kennedy] is about his profession and it shows to you what a dedicated person he is and how much he loves his country," Schwarzenegger said Sunday morning on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

"When I heard that he went down there, it gave me goose bumps. It made me feel good, because I've known him for so many years and I know, you know, how passionate he is about all of this."

Schwarzenegger, who is related to Kennedy through marriage to wife Maria Shriver, said he called Kennedy on Saturday to congratulate him on casting the vote.

"He's sick and he's getting his cancer treatments, radiation and chemotherapy, and he's very vulnerable when you get those treatments," Schwarenegger said.

"And even with all those kind of obstacles and risks involved, he goes down to Washington, because they needed a vote, and he went there."