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WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., a leader of fiscally conservative House Democrats, said Wednesday a House plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system is losing support and will be stuck in committee without changes. "Last time I checked, it takes seven Democrats to stop a bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee," Ross told reporters after a House vote. "We had seven against it last Friday; we have 10 today." Three House committees are slated to begin considering the $1 trillion-plus bill this week, but the Energy and Commerce looms as the biggest challenge. That's because it...

Divisions emerge among Democrat lawmakers, business groups15. July 2009 03:26 As the health care debate intensifies, divisions among lawmakers, competing lobbies and interest groups are increasingly tense. "The health care battle in Congress is getting hotter, fueled by growing opposition to taxing health insurance benefits, mandating small-business coverage and cutting Medicare payments and by creeping doubts about a public plan for the uninsured. And this is just among Democrats," the Washington Times reports. Notably, last week the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats, objected to the cost of an anticipated House reform proposal and said it would hurt...

HARRISBURG — As powerful politicians clash over Pennsylvania’s lengthening state budget impasse, members of a small band of largely backbench conservative Democrats are exercising a little muscle of their own. The so-called “Blue Dog” Democrats in the House have openly defied a call by Gov. Ed Rendell and leaders of the House Democratic majority to support an increase in the personal income tax. And they did so in a building in which rank-and-file legislators generally fear the punishment that might result from thumbing their noses at their caucus leaders. Many of the 25 or so Blue Dogs are from western...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska | Brushing aside the criticisms of pundits and politicos, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she plans to jump immediately back into the national political fray — stumping for conservative issues and even Democrats — after she prematurely vacates her elected post at month's end. The former Republican vice-presidential nominee and heroine to much of the GOP's base said in an interview she views the electorate as embattled and fatigued by nonstop partisanship, and she is eager to campaign for Republicans, independents and even Democrats who share her values on limited government, strong defense and "energy independence." "I will...

President Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the tough going for his health care overhaul in Congress but rejected the notion the legislation is doomed if lawmakers fail to act by August. "I never believe anything is do or die," Obama said. "We're closer to that significant reform than at any time in recent history," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Italy. "That doesn't make it easy. It's hard. And we are having a whole series of constant negotiations." Conservative Democrats are demanding significant changes before they will support a sweeping health care overhaul, forcing the House to join...

WASHINGTON -- The drive to remake the nation's health care system suffered yet another setback in Congress on Thursday when a pivotal group of House Democrats rebelled against leadership-backed legislation taking shape and sought additional time to make changes. "We need to slow down and do it right," Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., said outside a meeting of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 52 moderate to conservative Democrats. "It needs to do a much better job of cost containment" within the health care system, he added. Other lawmakers said they were concerned about proposed tax increases, the rules on...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the tough going for his health care overhaul in Congress but rejected the notion the legislation is doomed if lawmakers fail to act by August. "I never believe anything is do or die," Obama said. "We're closer to that significant reform than at any time in recent history," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Italy. "That doesn't make it easy. It's hard. And we are having a whole series of constant negotiations." Conservative Democrats are demanding significant changes before they will support a sweeping health care overhaul, forcing the House...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the tough going for his health care overhaul in Congress but rejected the notion the legislation is doomed if lawmakers fail to act by August. "I never believe anything is do or die," Obama said. "We're closer to that significant reform than at any time in recent history," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Italy. "That doesn't make it easy. It's hard. And we are having a whole series of constant negotiations." Conservative Democrats are demanding significant changes before they will support a sweeping health care overhaul, forcing the House...

It looks there is yet another delay in the unveiling of sweeping health care reform. The drive to remake the nation's health care system suffered yet another setback in Congress on Thursday when a pivotal group of House Democrats demanded numerous changes in legislation the leadership was drafting on a fast track. The emerging bill "lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken," 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate to conservative Democrats wrote in a letter to party leaders.

WASHINGTON – Conservative Democrats in the House rebelled against their party leaders Thursday, raising concerns about the cost of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and seeking to put the brakes on legislation. The fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition planned to present a letter to House Democratic leaders asking for more time, members of the group told The Associated Press. Democratic Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas said that if the Democrats' liberal legislative plan came to the floor as proposed, an "overwhelming majority" of his group would oppose it. The Blue Dogs claim 52 members, so that could endanger the...

Democrats have big majorities in both houses of Congress, but cracks are emerging — both legislatively and politically — that threaten to pit liberals and centrists against each other. Where President Bush was able to enforce tight discipline on the Republican Conference while his political advisers exercised an iron grip on the national party, President Obama and his advisers have been less able to do so. That, political watchers say, is not unusual, especially for a Democratic president. “The Democrats have always been herding cats,” said Rhodes Cook, an independent political analyst. “They’ve always been considered to be the more...

If you love America, gird yourself for an all-out phone and fax fight on Health Care Reform. You know from recent history that Pres. Barack Obama wants health care reform pushed through fast, before Americans have a chance to make their voices heard. Now is the time to act. Make your voice heard–get on the phone, and send out letters to your Congressmen via fax. We need to contact a lot of leaders in Washington, not just those who represent our district. We need to contact leaders who represent different parts of America, because the health and integrity of America...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose signature manifesto swept Republicans to power in the mid-1990s, called Wednesday for conservatives to recruit Democrats who oppose tax increases and big government and form a coalition to do battle with President Obama's "fantasy wing of the American left." .................. "If you look at California on the recent vote against raising taxes or spending, when you get 64 percent of the state voting with you, it tells you that in the most Democratic districts of the state, there was a solid majority against raising taxes and spending," Mr. Gingrich told editors and reporters at...

A Politico article notes a combination of issues that disproportionately affect rural America may be causing regional fault lines among Democrats in Congress. The car dealerships being closed are mainly in small towns where there will be a noticeable ripple effect among other local businesses. Greenhouse gas regulations could push already hard pressed farmers out of business. Rural electrical coops are disproportionate users of coal fire generating plants. What the article didn't mention is that rising oil prices also bite deeper in households that have 60 to 80 mile round trip commutes for shopping and the second jobs that so...

Link only - Democrats hint compromise to win Senate health care deal

When I first read this on Politico, I thought it was a joke. A day after announcing the acceleration of federal spending under his economic stimulus plan, President Barack Obama Tuesday called for binding legislation that would force a return to pay-as-you-go budgeting rules. The so-called paygo approach would mean the federal government could not launch new tax cut or entitlement programs without finding a way to pay for them with budget cuts or revenue increases. The president also used his appearance in the White House East Room to tout the administration’s success in allowing 10 federally bailed-out banks to...

Blue Dog Coalition criticizes house health care leaders for developing legislation in secret12. May 2009 20:58 Members of the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition on Monday sent a letter to the chairs of three House committees who have been tasked with drafting health care legislation, saying they are "increasingly troubled" by the exclusivity of the process, the New York Times reports. The letter -- sent to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), House Education and Labor Committee Chair George Miller (D-Calif.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) -- said the Blue Dogs...

Forty-five House Democrats in the party’s moderate-to-conservative wing have protested the secretive process by which party leaders in their chamber are developing legislation to remake the health care system. The lawmakers, members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, said they were “increasingly troubled” by their exclusion from the bill-writing process. They expressed their concerns in a letter delivered Monday to three House committee chairmen writing the bill, which House leaders hope to pass this summer. Representative Mike Ross, an Arkansas Democrat who is chairman of the coalition’s health task force, said: “We don’t need a select group of members...

The fiscally conservative House Blue Dog Coalition on Tuesday announced its health care blueprint, a plan that likely will have fellow Democrats grousing for its lack of a government-run component. The Blue Dogs released their “principles for health care reform” just one day after sending a scathing letter to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). In the letter, the moderate Democratic bloc charged that it was being kept on the sidelines while the Energy and Commerce panel negotiates health care legislation. “The principles address the Blue Dogs’ belief that fundamental reform of the nation’s health care system is...

Democratic centrists are pressing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to set aside a flagging climate change bill to focus on what they think is a more achievable goal: overhauling the nation’s healthcare system. But those close to Pelosi (D-Calif.) say she is charging forward on cap-and-trade legislation, despite the potential defections of Democrats who represent states with industries that would be adversely affected by the bill. Pelosi views the bill’s troubles as predictable and solvable aspects of the legislative process. Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), a leader of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, sees healthcare as a more productive use of time....