House Republicans continue to use comments by Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf to slam healthcare reform legislation proposed by Democrats.
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Tex.), whosits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, tweetedonThursday:
Douglas Elmendorf, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, on the Democrats health bill: "...
"...In the legislation that has been reported, we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory
...of health spending by a significant amount"
House Republicans are now focusing on the CBO's claim that the bill being consdiered in their chamber will not reduce healthcare spending. The Obama administration has said that healthcare reform will eventually reduce the amount spent on care from the get-go.
Earlier today, two Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee tweeted that Elmendorf said that the CBO did not have enough time to conduct a full study on the cost of the program.
Burgess, who is a physician, also sits on the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.
While Republicans touted Elmendorf's remarks, Democrats received a piece of good news this afternoon; the American Medical Association endorsed the House healthcare reform package.
In addition to Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means, the House Education and Labor Committee is also marking up the bill today.
Need some health advice? Questions about what your plan will cover? Call (or tweet @) the Senate Doctors Show!
The two MD's in the U.S. Senate have started their own call-in show to address Americans concerns about healthcare reform. Both of the Senators--John Barrasso (R-Wy.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)--are Republicans, however, so don't expect strict neutrality. (One of the questions they took in a recent show: "Do you think the Democrats' plan will make healthcare costs go up?" Softball.)
Barrasso and Coburn have taped two shows so far, touching on topics from cost control to Coburn's own battle with cancer.
Viewers can submit questions via Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or e-mail.
Here's their most recent episode. Visit the show's website for more information.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wished actor Rainn Wilson good luck on his Emmy nomination on Twitter today. Wilson plays Dwight Schrute, a sycophantic and quirky sales executive, on NBC's "The Office."
Two Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee cited testimony given by Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf that his agency could not provide a complete cost estimate of the healthcare refom legislation currently under markup.
Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) tweetedWednesday:
Congressional Budget Office Director just admitted they have no idea how much the Pelosi healthcare bill costs. Haven't had time to study it
CBO just admitted that its 250 professional economists have yet to figure out the full cost of the bill the committee is marking up today.
A letter from the CBO to House Ways and Means chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) sent Tuesday stated that figures in its preliminary analysis "do not represent a formal or complete cost estimate for the coverage
provisions of the draft legislation."
On Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and other House GOP leaders called for a complete CBO analysis of the House bill.
The two other House committees, Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor, are conducting separate markups of the bill.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said that officials in Washington behaved like "Monday-morning quarterbacks" on the financial crisis during a high-profile hearing today.
speaking at Paulson hrng, "In Washington, we are Monday-morning quarterbacks who can ask what we should do on the gridiron next Sunday."
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, of which Issa is ranking member, is examining the controversial merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch during the height of the financial crisis at a hearing today.
Embattled former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is testifying at the hearing. Issa said that Paulson will be received "rather cruelly" at the hearing due to allegations that the former Goldman Sachs CEO is accused of pressuring executives from Bank of America into buying out Merrill Lynch in December 2008.
Paulson is currently answering questions from members of the committee.
Rested and ready to go for day 2 of health care markup. This will be an uphill battle to protect choice and small business jobs.
Wilson is a member of the House Education and Labor Committe, which continued their markup of the bill this morning.
Many Congressional Democrats are trying to achieve passage of healthcare reform legislation quickly. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday vowed to bring the House healthcare bill to a floor vote "with or without Republican support." Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) also said yesterday that the president would most likely have a bill by "early fall."
President Obama praised the House bill on Tuesday, saying "the House proposal will begin the process of fixing what's broken about our healthcare system."
Several measures, though, have raised the ire of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The House bill includes a surtax on people making more than $350,000 to fund its measures. The measure riled several centrist Democrats in the House.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) also said that Senate Democrats were not on board with the surtax and would find a different way to pay for the legislation.
Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio (R) responded to a report that he is considering terminating his Senate primary campaign against Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.)
Two Republican sources said today that even as former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio campaigns for retiring GOP Sen. Mel Martinez's Senate seat, he has been calling around to top Republican donors and activists in the state to discuss the idea of switching from the Senate primary against GOP Gov. Charlie Crist and into the open-seat race for attorney general, where a serious Republican candidate has yet to emerge. Rubio's campaign did not return several inquiries about the development by presstime.
FL SEN: Correction, Rubio's tweet rspnse to story he's jumping to AG race: "Maybe they misunderstood what I meant by "going back to tally"
FL SEN: Before he tweeted, Rubio's camp responded to our request for comment on McPike's story...
FL SEN: Here's what they told us: "Speaker Rubio is an active candidate for U.S. Senate" and...
FL SEN: "He looks forward to continuing his Senate campaign in Miami tomorrow and in Jacksonville on Friday."
Hotline also reported that neither Rubio or his campaign gave any indication whether or not he was considering the Attorney General position.
Rubio had gained a significant following amongst the conservative base, but is facing difficulties running against Crist, who is more established and has wider name recognition.
Polls showed Crist holding commanding leads over the former Florida House Speaker in early polls. Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) who is vacating the seat in 2010, endorsed Crist as did the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Crist also raised $3 million in the second quarter against Rubio's $340,000. Rubio, however, raised over $140,000 from individual contributions online.
UPDATED [4:35pm]: Rubio's camp addressed his interest in Attorney General position and skirted the question. Rubio also clarified his remarks, tweeting:
"going back to Tally" is a spoof of a song, not a political plan! #sayfie#tcot#fltcot
DipNote, the official blog of the State Department, live-tweeted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech today at the Council on Foreign Relations. The address was designed to outline Clinton's foreign policy agenda.
The tweets only mentioned one country specifically, Iran. Between speculation regarding their efforts to build nuclear weapons and the recent election protests, Iran has presented a great challenge to the Obama administration.
Secretary Clinton: We remain ready to engage with Iran, but the time for action is now.
Secretary Clinton: Iran can assume a responsible position in the international community if it fulfills its obligations on human rights.
Clinton left the door open for Iran, but the country is still in turmoil. Uncertainty about the country's political leadership continues the wake of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial reelection over opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
The top diplomat also indicated the U.S. would engage in directtalks with Iran's leaders, although they did not specify at what level:
Secretary Clinton: Neither the president nor I have any illusions that direct dialogue with Iran will guarantee success.
Secretary Clinton: We also understand the importance of trying to engage Iran and offering its leaders a clear choice.
Clinton stressed the values of a diplomatic approach in addressing threats from abroad but she did not rule out using force if necessary:
Secretary Clinton: Smart power counsels that we lead with diplomacy, even in the case of adversaries or nations with whom we disagree.
Secretary Clinton: Our focus on diplomacy and development is not an alternative to our national security arsenal.
The 2008 presidential candidate addressed a myriad of foreign policy topics such as democracy promotion, international development, Middle East peace, and the Muslim world.
Today's speech was seen as a major opportunity for Clinton to regain the spotlight on foreign affairs. She fractured her elbow last month, which caused her to miss two recent overseas trips. President Barack Obama's trip to Russia, Italy, and Ghana also garnered major headlines.
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