With only a lone Republican crossing the line and nearly 40 Democrats going turncoat, the House of Representatives still voted, 220-215, tonight to pass a historic health care reform. Locally, Representative Edward J. Markey (D), issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a historic bill to reform the health care system Saturday [...]
Gen-Y’ers with heart defects aren’t checking in with their docs
July 23, 2009 1 Comment
More than 20 percent don’t get treatment for congenital defects.
Don’t dismiss single-payer healthcare yet
July 16, 2009 13 Comments
Given the failure of similar programs in states, single-payer should not be thrown aside for this battle. For advocates of guaranteed truly universal healthcare the debate over Obama’s reform efforts have been rather disappointing. Despite the fact that a clear majority of Americans prefer joining the rest of the developed world and having a comprehensive [...]
2/4: Salary Cap
Feb. 5, 2009 Leave a Comment
- Obama limits bailed out bank executive salaries to 500k.
WASHINGTON  In announcing executive pay limits on Wednesday, President Obama is trying to hold the financial industry accountable to taxpayers while aiming to change an entrenched corporate culture that endorses outsize bonuses and perks that often bear little relationship to corporate performance.
Mr. Obama also needs to deflect a growing populist outrage over sky-high pay among the banks and other companies now on the public dole. His announcement comes just days before the administration is expected to unveil a new strategy  and possibly request more money from Congress  to guarantee or buy outright hundreds of billions of dollars in bad assets held by banks.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama signed a law on Wednesday expanding a health insurance program for children and raising tobacco taxes to pay for it, a big legislative victory a day after his pick to lead a healthcare industry overhaul stepped aside.
Obama signed the law just hours after the House of Representatives voted 290-135 for the $32.8 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, which was approved by the Senate last week.
1/30-2/1: Outrage
Jan. 30, 2009 Leave a Comment
Obama calls $18 billion in Wall Street bonuses “outrageous” and promises action. WASHINGTON “" President Obama branded Wall Street bankers “shameful” on Thursday for giving themselves nearly $20 billion in bonuses as the economy was deteriorating and the government was spending billions to bail out some of the nation’s most prominent financial institutions. “There will [...]