Amid conflicting and heated rhetoric, a political pragmatism began to emerge Sunday as senators prepared for a debate on a sweeping Democratic health care bill.
Senate Democrats cleared a major hurdle this weekend by voting to move ahead with debate on health care reform, but it was hardly a unified party standing behind the bill.
Aisha's Fish and Chicken is named for Stanley Walker's 16-year-old daughter; it's a small family business known for its wings, catfish and signature sauce.
It is indeed appropriate that we finished writing the House version of health care reform around Halloween. Negotiating deals among members of Congress is an exercise in wearing masks, scaring up votes, and oftentimes, bluffing.
Narrow passage of a sweeping health care bill by the House of Representatives portends a continuing difficult fight for President Obama and fellow Democrats to get a bill through the Senate and into law.
President Obama on Sunday praised the "historic" House vote to pass a bill overhauling the nation's ailing health care system, and said now it is time for the Senate to "take the baton" and complete its work.
Amid conflicting and heated rhetoric, a political pragmatism began to emerge Sunday as senators prepared for a debate on a sweeping Democratic health care bill.
Senate Democrats cleared a major hurdle this weekend by voting to move ahead with debate on health care reform, but it was hardly a unified party standing behind the bill.
Aisha's Fish and Chicken is named for Stanley Walker's 16-year-old daughter; it's a small family business known for its wings, catfish and signature sauce.
It is indeed appropriate that we finished writing the House version of health care reform around Halloween. Negotiating deals among members of Congress is an exercise in wearing masks, scaring up votes, and oftentimes, bluffing.
Narrow passage of a sweeping health care bill by the House of Representatives portends a continuing difficult fight for President Obama and fellow Democrats to get a bill through the Senate and into law.
President Obama on Sunday praised the "historic" House vote to pass a bill overhauling the nation's ailing health care system, and said now it is time for the Senate to "take the baton" and complete its work.
The push to overhaul health care received a major boost Thursday as the American Medical Association and AARP endorsed legislation drafted by top House Democrats.
The battle over health care reform reached another milestone Thursday as top House Democrats unveiled sweeping legislation that includes a highly controversial public health insurance option.
House Democratic leaders will unveil on Thursday a health care bill that includes a more moderate version of the public option, several Democratic leadership aides tell CNN.
Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Tuesday he would join a Republican filibuster to block the final vote on any health care bill that has a government-run public health insurance option.
The contentious debate over health care took a new twist Monday as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced his decision to craft legislation including a public insurance option allowing states to opt out.
Senate Democratic leaders met Thursday night with White House officials to consider including a government-funded public health insurance option, along with a provision allowing states to opt out of it, in a health care overhaul bill.
Senate Democratic leaders met Thursday night with White House officials to consider including a government-funded public health insurance option, along with a provision allowing states to opt out of it, in a health care overhaul bill.
I started on Capitol Hill in the fall of 1989 as an intern for House Minority Leader Bob Michel. Republicans had just elected a firebrand named Newt Gingrich to be their whip. Democrats had just replaced their speaker, Jim Wright, with Tom Foley. And George H. W. Bush was settling in to his first year as president.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned her Senate counterparts Thursday that she intends to fight hard for a government-run health care plan as part of any comprehensive overhaul bill.
The focus on health care reform now shifts to the Democratic leadership in Congress a day after the Senate Finance Committee voted through its version of the health care bill.
The health care reform debate reached a new milestone Tuesday as a key congressional committee passed an $829 billion plan projected to extend coverage to an additional 29 million Americans.
A compromise health care proposal widely seen as having the best chance to win Democratic and Republican support would cost $829 billion over the next 10 years, nonpartisan budget analysts concluded Wednesday.
President Obama kicked off a crucial week in the health care reform debate Monday by castigating political opponents for spreading distortions about his plan.
Every time a doctor orders an extra test for you, it pushes up your medical costs and -- some experts say -- contributes to the waste in the nation's $2.2 trillion in health care spending.
As lawmakers huddled this summer to put together the framework for health care legislation, it quickly became evident that the battle over President Obama's top priority would be neither quick nor easy.
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday rejected two amendments to include a government-run public health insurance option in the only compromise health care bill so far.
Two members of the Senate Finance Committee plan to put their Democratic colleagues on the spot on Tuesday by offering amendments on whether to give uninsured Americans the opportunity to join a government insurance program.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday House Democrats need further negotiations before bringing a final version of a health care bill to debate before the full chamber.
A day after former Baptist minister and likely presidential rival Mike Huckabee offered a withering critique of Mitt Romney's record, the former Massachusetts governor made his pitch to the same group of religious conservatives.
President Obama took his health care reform message back on the road Thursday, promising a raucous crowd of college students that Congress will pass legislation this year.
The seemingly elusive effort to reach a consensus on health care reform got a new boost Wednesday with the long-awaited launch of a plan believed to have the best hope so far of winning support from centrist Democrats and Republicans.
Increased awareness of the details of a possible compromise health care bill is boosting the comfort level of both Democrats and Republicans, a key Democratic senator said Monday.
Democrats met Friday in hopes of achieving consensus on one of the biggest sticking points in the health care battle, while the House majority leader predicted final legislation will include a public option.
It's political déjà vu. It seems like just yesterday that hard-core conservatives were griping about a Republican president who wasn't dependably conservative.
The struggle over health care reform intensified Thursday as President Obama sought to build on what administration officials hoped was new momentum generated by his prime-time address to Congress.
So did President Obama's remarks last night signal a serious willingness to work with Republicans on health care -- or not? A determination to incorporate the GOP's "legitimate concerns" -- or not? It sure wasn't clear from the tone or the substance of his prime-time address, a conflicted cocktail of sour grapes and honeyed outreach to his critics.
After a month of heated debate on health care reform, it's time to play some hardball. As we settle back in to Washington, I am glad to see President Obama step up to bat and reissue and re-energize his call for reform.
President Obama on Wednesday made a passionate call for Congress to fix the nation's ailing health care system in the same spirit that created Social Security and Medicare in difficult times.
U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany urged Congress to pass a health-care plan by "working together in a bipartisan way" in remarks delivered after President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
A proposed health-care compromise by the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee lacks a government-run insurance option favored by Democrats and would tax the most expensive health insurance plans, a source close to the discussions told CNN Monday.
A proposed health care compromise by the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee lacks a government-run insurance option and would tax the most expensive health insurance plans, a source close to the discussions told CNN Monday.
The White House is quietly talking about drafting formal health care legislation after allowing Congress to work on its own for months, CNN has learned.
As President Obama tries to hit the restart button on the health care debate next week, it's make or break time for the public option idea. That's the government-run plan that would compete with private insurers.
Vice President Joe Biden promised Thursday that President Obama will delve into specifics when he tackles health-care reform in a highly anticipated speech to a joint session of Congress next week.
President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.
President Obama will address the contentious issue of health-care reform in a speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9, multiple Democratic sources said Wednesday.
Beyond the noise of raucous crowds and angry protesters who have turned town hall meetings into shouting matches is genuine concern from ordinary citizens who are afraid that President Obama's health care proposals would only make things harder for them, experts say.
With health care negotiations stalled until Congress comes back from August recess, a top Democratic strategist says President Obama and his party need to seize control of the debate.
Facing a recent erosion of public support for health-care overhaul, President Obama lashed out at his opponents Saturday for spreading "outrageous myths" on the Internet, television, and at town hall forums.
As President Obama struggles to regain control of the health care debate, he's finding himself caught in a game of tug of war with members of his own party.
A woman asked Rep. Allen Boyd at a town hall meeting the other day if health care reform proposals would force people to let the government access their bank accounts.
If Washington wants health care reform with bipartisan support, experts say consider what former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accomplished as governor in Democratic Massachusetts.
President Obama took his health care message to talk radio Thursday, telling listeners of Philadelphia-based host Michael Smerconish that he wants to overhaul the nation's ailing health care system out of necessity rather than politics.
Democratic members of Congress, party strategists, and even President Obama have tried their best to portray Republicans as obstructionists to health care reform, and want us to believe that if the effort fails, it's all because of the GOP.
In the chess game over health care reform, the White House's last move was to say Democrats might use a procedural move to get a bill through without working with Republicans.
The Obama administration is looking hard at pushing through a health care reform bill without Republican backing, top Democrats close to the White House have told CNN.
The Obama administration is looking hard at pushing through a health-care reform bill without Republican backing, top Democrats close to the White House have told CNN.
President Obama on Friday took his push for a health care overhaul to traditionally conservative Montana, saying a bill to extend coverage to the uninsured while helping those already with coverage will pass this year.
A key Senate negotiator said Sunday that President Obama should drop his push for a government-funded public health insurance option because the Senate will never pass it.
In an unexpectedly personal moment during a town hall meeting Saturday, President Obama invoked the death of his grandmother as he took to task critics of overhauling health care.
President Obama complained Tuesday about opposition scare tactics against a proposed health care overhaul, but said failing to fix problems in the current system would be the scariest outcome of all.
President Obama took his health care offensive on the road Thursday, accusing top Republicans of playing politics with his top domestic legislative priority.
President Obama responded Tuesday to Republican opposition to health care reform, saying that political motives are behind efforts to block progress on the issue.
More work is needed on proposed health care reform legislation to ensure that whatever bill eventually gets passed by Congress is budget neutral, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday.
President Obama will huddle with five top congressional Democrats on Monday afternoon to discuss how to pay for the health care reform bills that are stalled in Congress, largely over the issue of which taxes should be raised to cover the $1 trillion price tag, congressional aides told CNN.
President Obama said Monday that he has secured the commitment of several key industry groups to do their part to rein in the growth of health care costs.
Sen. Ted Kennedy, who has been recuperating from brain cancer surgery, was back in Washington on Thursday as President Obama set out to tackle a major domestic policy item on his increasingly loaded plate: health care reform.
President Obama on Thursday called for a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. health care system, warning that soaring medical costs present "one of the greatest threats not just to the well-being of our families ... but to the very foundation of our economy."
The Obama administration is hosting a summit Thursday designed to cure a frustrated patient battling a persistent ailment: The United States and its rising health care costs.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' experience working with both Democrats and Republicans in her home state could be an asset to President Obama as he embarks on an effort at bipartisanship in reforming health care.
President Obama announced his choices for two key health care positions on Monday, tapping Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for health and human services secretary and former Clinton administration official Nancy-Ann DeParle as White House health care czar.
Congressional Democrats flexed their new political muscle Wednesday as the House of Representatives passed legislation expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program by more than $32 billion over five years.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton announced a $110 billion health care reform plan Monday that would require all Americans to have health insurance.
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