Congress Mulls Tighter Offshore Drilling Rules

Measure that should have saved money will cost an arm and a leg

(NEWSER) - The Senate health reform bill is all fire and brimstone for the folks over at Firedoglake . The “con job” legislation “isn’t a ‘starter home,’ it’s a sink hole,” Jane Hamsher writes, and “it needs to die so something else can take its place.” Why, you ask? Ten reasons:

• $$$: "Forces you to pay up to 8% of your income to private insurance corporations."
• More $$$: "Penalties of up to 2% of your annual income" if you don't buy insurance.

(NEWSER) - With the Obama administration stepping up its push for health-care reform, Mark Halperin, in Time, lists five reasons why it will, and won't, get done. The pros:

• The industry is "still on board."
• "Barack Obama doesn't fail too often."
• It's a must-win for the entire White House agenda.
• Congressional Democrats are "remarkably united" on the issue.
• There's enough big-name Republicans who want a deal.

Line-by-line lawmaking drives wedge into plans

(NEWSER) - Congressional Democrats figured Obama's aggressive legislative agenda would face challenges from the GOP, but they've been surprised by squabbling within their own party that's broken out even before they've gotten to the new initiatives, the Washington Post reports. Among the people holding up the $410 billion spending bill leftover from last fall are the likes of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat balking at measures tucked in to loosen travel and trade restrictions on Cuba. More»

Energy and Commerce Committee will see much legislation from Obama

(NEWSER) - House Democrats elected Californian Henry Waxman to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee today, the Hill reports. Waxman’s new post will hold considerable influence over how the next administration will effect its legislative agenda; his selection over Michigan’s John Dingell, who has served on the committee for 28 years, is seen as a victory for the further-left elements of the party. More»