Archive | May, 2012

Abortion-Rights Advocates Pursued Wrong Strategy Against Restrictions In Health Reform, Opinion Piece Says

American Prospect senior correspondent Michelle Goldberg examines the abortion debate in the context of health reform in an opinion piece, concluding that whatever the outcome, “the pro-choice movement loses…

Groups – Including Catholic Bishops – Press Democrats To Finish Health Reform

CQ Politics: “Proponents of a comprehensive health care overhaul are pressing congressional Democrats to finish the measure … Leaders of several interest groups said at a news conference Wednesday that the House should clear the Senate-passed health care bill for President Obama’s signature” (1/27)…

Obama Appeals For Health Reform Despite Recent Setbacks

The New York Times reports that “after spending 2009 emphasizing that a health care overhaul was his top domestic priority, Mr. Obama gave it much less prominence in his [State of the Union] address. He did not mention it until more than half an hour in – a sign of how imperiled the bill has become…

State Budget News From Kansas, Massachusetts And Idaho

News outlets report on state budget news in Kansas, Massachusetts, Idaho and Minnesota. Kansas Health Institute reports that the recession is crippling Kansas’ safety-net system. “The Kansas unemployment insurance system is virtually broke at a time when Department of Labor officials say they need about $15 million a week to pay benefits to out-of-work Kansans…

Obama On Health Care: What A Difference A Year Makes

Kaiser Health News notes that in his State of the Union address last night, President Obama called on Congress to get health reform “done.” While he acknowledged obstacles, his call for health reform was just as impassioned as his first address to a joint session of Congress 11 months ago…

Women’s Rights Factor Into Election Campaigns For Congress, Pa. Governor

As campaigns get under way for elections this spring and fall, many media outlets are examining the policy positions of incumbents and their challengers, including where they stand on reproductive rights and related issues. The following summarizes recent media coverage of races in Pennsylvania and New York. ~ Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa…

Pelosi Says House Could Pass Senate Bill Under Two-Track Approach

“Laying out a possible path to approving healthcare legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Wednesday that the House should pass the Senate’s version and then use a process known as ‘budget reconciliation’ to make the changes some lawmakers are demanding,” The Los Angeles Times reports…

Lawmakers Prod White House To Release Health Reform Deal Documents

A group of Republicans and Rep. Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who chairs the Energy and Commerce committee, are prodding the White House to release documents detailing agreements cut with industry groups in exchange for their support for health reform, The Christian Science Monitor reports…

McDonnell Says Democratic Agenda, Including Health Care Effort, Is Too Expensive

In his response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said the nation cannot afford the Democratic agenda, including health care, The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal reports. “McDonnell said Democratic policies are resulting in an unsustainable level of debt…

In State Of The Union Speech, Obama Urges Dems Not To Give Up On Health Reform

While President Obama focused mainly on job creation during his State of the Union Address on Wednesday, he insisted that he would not give up on passing health reform legislation, the New York Times reports (Pear/Herszenhorn, New York Times, 1/28). He told Congress, “Do not walk away from reform. Not now…