Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Man Tries to Order Priciest Starbucks Drink Ever Total cost: $23.60 »

NEWS ABOUT: Max Baucus

Dems on Collision Course on How to Pay for Heath Care

(Newser) - Democrats in Congress are heading for an intra-party showdown over how to fund health care reform, reports the New York Times. The powerful House Ways and Means Committee is reportedly near agreement on an income tax surcharge of 2% or more on Americans earning above $250,000, which moderate Democrats... More »

Reid's Refusal Leaves $320B Health Care Hole

Dems may look to income tax hike to cover cost of public option

(Newser) - Harry Reid met with Republicans yesterday to diffuse some of his tough talk on health care reform, but as Politico reports, the Senate majority leader has forced a scramble for $320 billion over 10 years to pay for the plan. Reid said he would not support a bill that taxed... More »

Reid Pulls Plug on GOP-Friendly Health Plan

(Newser) - Harry Reid yesterday pulled the plug on painstaking efforts to win bipartisan support for health care reform, telling Max Baucus to drop a proposal, aimed at wooing Republicans, that would tax health benefits and leave out a public insurance option. The Senate majority leader told Baucus, the Finance Committee chairman... More »

Ex-Lawmakers Lobby Hard for Health Industry

Medical interests shelling out $1.4M a day to limit reform

(Newser) - The health care industry is making a record-breaking lobbying push to shape and soften health care reform, the Washington Post reports, laying out $1.4 million a day on an army of some 350 former Capitol Hill staffers and members of Congress. Three of every four health care lobbying firms... More »

Baucus Hustles Health Industry for Savings

'Shakes down' docs, hospitals, pharma to help trim cost of plan

(Newser) - Max Baucus is “shaking people down” to pay for health care reform, one industry insider tells Politico, pressuring hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors to find savings. “They’re playing hardball, and they’re serious about it,” the insider says. The drug maker trade group PhRMA has... More »

Senate Hits Brakes on Health Care

(Newser) - Would-be health care reformers had a bad day yesterday, hitting a series of obstacles that makes hitting President Obama’s August deadline increasingly unlikely, Politico reports. The Senate Finance Committee said it wouldn’t have a package before the July 4 recess, and the Congressional Budget Office slapped a $1.... More »

EPA Declares Asbestos 'Emergency' in Mont. Town

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency has declared a “public health emergency” in a Montana town where 200 people have died from asbestos poisoning, CNN reports. For 10 years the EPA has been involved in a cleanup of Libby, contaminated by castoff from a nearby vermiculite mine and insulation plant. The... More »

In a Shift, Obama Willing to Require Insurance for All

(Newser) - President Obama has begun wading into the murky details of health care reform. In a letter to Democratic leaders, the president said he could accept a law that requires all Americans to buy insurance—provided it has a "hardship waiver" for those who can't afford it, reports the New ... More »

Kennedy Raising Voice Again on Health Care

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy is back, and ready to make the more liberal argument for health care, Politico reports. The ailing senator had been working on the issue behind the scenes as he battled brain cancer, but yesterday his committee began circulating a 12-page “policy overview” on a potential bill. The... More »

Baucus Makes Dems Queasy on Health Care

Some think the Montana Dem is too bipartisan for comfort

(Newser) - The Democrats’ plan to reform health care rests largely in the hands of Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and that’s making some Democrats more than a little queasy, Politico reports. Baucus’ zeal for bipartisanship has frustrated his party more than once. He’s been enthusiastic about health care—“... More »

Senate Panel Clears Sebelius for HHS Post

Vote means Obama is likely to have a full Cabinet soon

(Newser) - It looks like President Obama will finally get his full Cabinet. A Senate panel today approved his pick of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be director of Health and Human Services, the Hill reports. The vote, largely along party lines, all but assures that Sebelius will be approved by the... More »

NRA Wins a Round on Gun Control

Holder backs off on assault-rifle ban despite Mexico pleas

(Newser) - Attorney General Eric Holder has backed off calls to once again ban assault weapons after a strong blowback from the gun lobby, Newsweek reports. Mexico is pressuring the US to reinstate such a ban, since US assault rifles make up 90% of drug-cartel arsenals. But when Holder floated the idea... More »

Angry Congress Threatens Big Taxes on AIG Bonuses

(AP) - Outraged lawmakers threatened today to impose new taxes to recoup at least some of the $165 million in bonuses that insurance giant AIG awarded executives and traders after getting billions in federal bailout money. "What is the highest excise tax we can impose that will stand up in court?"... More »

Nine Senators Hold Key to Health Reform

Baucus leads 'Board of Directors' in tough bipartisan negotiations

(Newser) - If Barack Obama succeeds in overhauling America's health care system by the end of 2009, he'll have to thank a bipartisan group of nine senators charged with developing a bill that can muster 60 votes. The "Board of Directors"—named by Max Baucus, Obama's go-to figure for health... More »

Top Dem Dogs Ready to Retool Obama's Budget

Prez lets lawmakers take the lead—and they have their own ideas

(Newser) - To clear Congress, President Obama’s budget is going to have to survive committee turf wars and parochial interests—and that’s just the Democrats. The New York Times reports that key committee chairmen in the House and Senate have ideas of their own on health care, energy, and taxes.... More »

Daschle Defeat Can't Delay Health Reform

Because of recession, even more people need help now

(Newser) - It’s a pity Tom Daschle couldn’t stick around, notes the Economist, because his experience would be useful in navigating health reform through Senate straits. The recession is depriving more of care, and though President Obama’s short-term moves are good, a big fix is needed. Absent Daschle, “... More »

Next Stab at Health Reform Looks More Promising

Industry claims to be ready to compromise

(Newser) - If health care reform passes this time, a major factor will be that its erstwhile enemies are now rooting for it, the Wall Street Journal reports. An industry roadblock killed the Clinton administration’s attempt in the early 1990s, but this time, insurers are playing ball. “You see a... More »

Senate Dem Unveils Broad Health Reform

Baucus proposal would guarantee insurance for all citizens

(Newser) - Barack Obama made health care reform a key plank of his campaign, but even before he's been inaugurated Congressional Democrats are introducing legislation to transform the system. Leading the charge is Max Baucus, the Montana senator who leads the finance committee. His plan, which he'll introduce today, guarantees health insurance... More »

Unlikely GOP Candidate Runs for Montana Senate Seat

85-year-old wants a British-style parliament

(Newser) - Montana senator Max Baucus looks certain to win reelection this November, writes the New York Times, but his Republican challenger is gaining some attention for his unorthodox proposals. Bob Kelleher, 85, wants to nationalize oil companies, end the Iraq war to fund cancer research—and, most shockingly, eliminate the separation... More »

Global Trade Talks Collapse

Breakdown halts seven years of progress to hammer out deal

(Newser) - World Trade Organization talks to forge a new global trade pact collapsed yesterday after seven years of negotiations. An EU spokesman called the breakdown a "massive blow to the confidence in the global economy." The talks fell apart as China and India demanded the authortity to impose "... More »

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne