After the Health Vote, Republicans Plot Attack Strategy

The Senate’s first day of debate on sweeping legislation to overhaul the health-care system produced a squeaker of a vote — exactly the 60 that majority leader Harry Reid needed to overcome a threatened Republican filibuster that could have blocked him from even bringing the bill to the floor. But it also gave a clear picture of the Republican messaging strategy as the legislation moves forward into what promises to be weeks of tendentious debate after the Thanksgiving recess.

Share

Health-Care Reform: Democrats Brace for Next Challenge

With the passage of health-care-reform legislation out of the Senate Finance Committee expected on Tuesday, the debate moves into a new and delicate stage. It is one that will test the legislative and political skills of Senate majority leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a scale that no congressional leadership team has had to face in at least four decades.

Share

Public option: ‘Nothing is ever dead on Capitol Hill’

As lawmakers huddled this summer to put together the framework for health care legislation, it quickly became evident that the battle over President Obama’s top priority would be neither quick nor easy. After months of debate and missed deadlines, the public option has emerged as the main sticking point

Share