Hospital, physician lobbyists fought Medicare buy-in plan
Published December 16, 2009 | 
Four days before the Senate jettisoned the idea of expanding Medicare to younger Americans, a dozen Senate Democrats, including some of the chamber's most liberal members, dispatched a stern letter warning that the proposal would make it harder for el...
Posted in UncategorizedFederal Diary: Abortion-payment story draws reader response
Published December 16, 2009 |
The Federal Diary gets lots of mail, some of it fit to print.
Posted in UncategorizedPresident Obama writes a new health reform prescription
Published December 16, 2009 |
Guess who Obama sided with?
Posted in UncategorizedUp to 56,000 more contractors likely for Afghanistan, congressional agency says
Published December 16, 2009 |
The surge of 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan could be accompanied by a surge of up to 56,000 contractors, vastly expanding the presence of personnel from the U.S. private sector in a war zone, according to a study by the Congressional Research Ser...
Posted in UncategorizedU.S. gave up billions in tax money in deal for Citigroup’s bailout repayment
Published December 16, 2009 |
The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis.
Posted in UncategorizedObama urges Senate to pass health-care bill; Lieberman signals support
Published December 16, 2009 |
President Obama urged Senate Democrats on Tuesday to overcome lingering disputes and push a health-care overhaul through the chamber before Christmas, as vigorous negotiations continued behind the scenes to lock down the last votes needed for final pa...
Posted in UncategorizedRichard Armitage on Colin Powell, Condi Rice and Hillary Clinton
Published December 16, 2009 |
The GOP's 11th Commandment -- "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican," popularly associated with Ronald Reagan's 1966 California gubernatorial campaign -- was never much honored in practice before its formal interment in New York's 23rd Co...
Posted in UncategorizedObama administration to buy Illinois prison for Guantanamo detainees
Published December 16, 2009 |
CHICAGO -- President Obama, determined to change U.S. detention policy and shut the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, pointed Tuesday to a small town in Illinois as a big part of the answer.
Posted in UncategorizedDrugmakers fight plan to allow drug reimportation
Published December 15, 2009 |
Drugmakers intensified their lobbying push Monday against a popular proposal to allow Americans to buy cheaper drugs from other countries, one of several heated disputes that have bogged down negotiations over a heath-care reform bill.
Posted in UncategorizedIn White House meeting, Obama calls on banks to increase lending
Published December 15, 2009 |
President Obama exhorted the nation's biggest banks on Monday to make "extraordinary" efforts to increase lending, even as some of those firms are racing to distance themselves from government control.
Posted in Uncategorized