Medical associations and advocates for the elderly that want doctor payments under Medicare fixed were told they must strengthen their case during a meeting Wednesday in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.

A long-term “doc fix” was expected to be included in a tax extenders bill the House and Senate could take up soon, but it faces trouble in the Senate; it would prevent a 21.3 percent cut to doctors’ Medicare payments set to go into effect on June 1.

Wednesday’s meeting was aimed at creating pressure to convince Republicans and recalcitrant Democrats worried about running up the deficit to vote for the fix, which under a House proposal would put off the payment cut for five years at a cost of $88.5 billion. Read more...

As the nation's economy improved during the first part of the year, Federal Reserve policymakers made modest upward projections for the remainder of the year. 

The Fed predicted more robust growth in the nation's gross domestic product along with a slightly better employment picture, according to the Federal Open Market Committee's April 27-28 minutes, released today. 

GDP projections increased by 3.2 to 3.7 percent, up from the 2.8 to 3.5 percent estimated in January. The unemployment rate also improved slightly, to between 9.1 and 9.5 percent from 9.5 to 9.7 percent. The Fed expects the jobless rate to improve in 2011 to between 8.1 and 8.5 percent, slightly revised from estimates earlier this year, with job growth expanding through 2012. 

Although the job market was improving, the Fed cautioned that job growth would likely remain moderate.

One of two Democratic senators to vote against cloture on the financial regulatory reform bill said Wednesday that she can only support moving forward if senators vote on her amendment.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said that a key amendment deal-breaker for her vote. It was not put up for a vote before Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attempted to invoke cloture Wednesday afternoon, which failed.

Asked if her vote for cloture was contingent on having a vote on the amendment, she said "yes."

Cantwell said that the measure is crucial to the reform effort.

"This one is so critical to making sure there is clarity in the marketplace that I couldn't move forward without a vote on it," she said.

The Washington senator told reporters that the Democratic leadership did not say why they did not call a vote on the amendment.

Cantwell is also co-sponsoring an amendment with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would reinstate the Glass-Steagall rules that separate commercial and investment banking. The rules were repealed in 1999, an event which has become a lightning rod for criticism of Wall Street.

The cloture vote was held open for more than half an hour after it became clear that Democrats did not have the votes to pass the measure, but Cantwell said that was because of the absence of Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who was attending to a family matter, and not vote-wrangling with her.

Sen. Russ Feingold (Wis.) was the only other Democrat to vote against the cloture motion.

Cross-posted to Blog Briefing Room

Silla Brush contributed to this post

Federal Reserve officials are still weighing how fast and when to reduce the size of its balance sheet, which grew during the recession behind the purchase of mortgage-backed securities. 

Most of the Fed's board members preferred that the $1.1 trillion in securities be sold gradually, completing sales about five years after they begin, according to the Fed's minutes from its April 27-28 meeting in Washington, released today. 

A slower pace would allow the Fed to adjust sales to changes in economic and financial conditions, according to the minutes. 

As far as timing, the majority of the Federal Open Market Committee preferred starting asset sales some time after the first increase in short-term interest rates. 

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday said a tax increase on compensation deemed "carried interest" will likely be a part of legislation extending several tax and spending measures. 

"I do," he said, when asked if the tax increase would be included in legislation that ultimately passes the Senate. 

Despite the many setbacks that have befallen legislation extending several tax and spending measures, House Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) on Wednesday said that he still expects his chamber to complete work on the bill by Friday. 

"We hope to pass a bill this week," he told reporters, adding, "We're going to continue working on it and hopefully finish it today." 

Staffers are expected to meet this evening and resolve the bill's main sticking point: The 'doc fix,' a term that refers to delaying a cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors. 

A Republican lawmaker is asking the White House about its role in saving a Chicago-based community bank with ties to Washington. 

House Financial Services ranking member Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) wrote a letter to President Barack Obama on Tuesday asking if the administration pressured several large banks that had already received federal bailout funds to provide enough funding to make ShoreBank eligible to receive federal funds. 

"The Obama administration's involvement raises very serious questions as to why the federal government is rescuing a politically connected hometown bank when hundreds of others are forced to close," Bachus said in a statement. 

A White House official said any questions regarding the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund are referred to the Treasury Department or to their bank regulator and those parties decide the matters. 

"As every story has said, White House officials have not met with ShoreBank regarding support measures for their bank, nor has the White House made asks of financial assistance to other financial institutions for ShoreBank," White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage told The Hill today. 

Senate Democrats delayed a vote to end debate on the financial regulatory reform bill because they didn't have enough support.