Trumka: Time for Hill to Get Health Reform Right
Feb. 9, 12 a.m.
It’s critical that Congress act swiftly on legislation to save and create jobs — but that doesn’t mean Members can turn down the heat on health care reform. We learned last week that health care spending consumed a record 17.3 percent of the U.S. economy last year. Tens of millions of Americans have no insurance, others are denied coverage every day, and insurance companies keep pushing premiums up beyond the ability of average people to pay.
Read the full article
Roberts: Providing Better Health Care for Federal Employees
Feb. 8, 12:50 p.m.
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander” is an old adage that should apply to pharmacy benefit managers, who are responsible for administering many prescription drug plans.
Katz: Congress Needs to Change GAO Hiring Process
Feb. 8, 12 a.m.
The second anniversary of the vacancy for the comptroller general of the United States, who heads the Government Accountability Office, is about to toll. Comptroller General David Walker resigned on March 15, 2008, and Congress has been required by statute, through a bipartisan commission, to transmit a nonbinding list of at least three nominees to the president. Yet, in an era when Monster.com has redefined how organizations fill positions big and small, Congress is handling the GAO selection as if it were Dinosaur.com.
Gresser: A Trade Agenda for 2010
Feb. 5, 1:14 p.m.
Double exports in five years? Yes, the president’s new trade goal, set out in last week’s State of the Union address, is ambitious, realistic and more likely than any other option to provide the foundation for a new decade of growth and job creation. But to reach it, the president’s team must overcome two obstacles.
Mazzucco: If Judge Edward M. Chen Isn’t Qualified, Who Is?
Feb. 5, 12:54 p.m.
When a Republican former prosecutor speaks up for someone who’s being lambasted for having represented the American Civil Liberties Union, you just might sit up and take notice.
McDermott: All Bets Are Not Off on Super Bowl Sunday
Feb. 4, 12:32 p.m.
Celebrating the Super Bowl is one of the most anticipated American traditions, where activities include spending time with family and friends, eating food, and for many fans, placing a wager on the game. Unfortunately, while millions of Americans bet on the game, unless they are doing it from a casino in Las Vegas, they are engaged in an activity that Congress has decided is criminal. In fact, it’s projected that 99 percent of wagers on the Super Bowl will be placed illegally online or through a bookmaker, where consumers have no legal protections and are left vulnerable to exploitation.
McLernon: Foreign? Not so Much ...
Feb. 4, 12:28 p.m.
Regardless of how you feel about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United campaign finance case, we can all agree on one thing, right? Foreigners should not be able to influence our political system. Right. Here’s the problem. What truly defines a company as foreign in today’s global economy?
Honda & Manzano: This Is the Year for Immigration Reform to Pass
Feb. 4, 12 a.m.
The tide seems to be turning in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, despite populist trends that might suggest otherwise.
Tobias: Senate Must Move Swiftly on Court Vacancies
Feb. 2, 12 a.m.
On New Year’s Eve, the federal courts passed an important milestone when United States District Judge Paul Friedman of the District of Columbia assumed senior status after 15 years of dedicated service. Judge Friedman’s semi-retirement meant that the judiciary had 98 openings out of the 858 appeals and district court judgeships, while three more judges have taken senior status and one has been confirmed in 2010.
Jacobson: Moving to Plan B for Labor’s Pains
Feb. 1, 1:27 p.m.
Tuesday’s nomination hearing for National Labor Relations Board nominee Craig Becker officially marks a quiet but important pivot in the administration’s strategy to meet the agenda demands of its biggest donor base, organized labor. Visible, big-ticket items are now out. What’s in? Under-the-radar regulatory efforts.
Czinkota & Skuba: Government May Put the Financial Industry at Risk
Feb. 1, 12 a.m.
In the coming weeks we can expect the halls of Congress to echo with cries of outrage as banks announce their bonuses for 2009 performance. Abroad, Alistair Darling, the United Kingdom’s finance minister, already revealed a 50 percent “supertax” on all U.K. bank bonuses more than 25,000 pounds (about $40,000). France has announced that it will enact a similar tax.
Krasno & Robinson: Fixing the Filibuster
Jan. 29, 12:15 p.m.
Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has promised to join the GOP filibuster of health care reform. To do so, he will not need to give any long-winded speeches, make any parliamentary motions, or even vote. All he will need to do is NOT do something his predecessor did — vote to allow the Senate to vote on the bill itself, a procedure known as cloture.
Noll: The Perils of a Financial Services Transaction Tax
Jan. 29, 12:11 p.m.
The financial crisis and economic recession have brought about pain and suffering for millions of Americans. The debate about what went wrong, who is to blame, and most importantly, how to fix our system so a similar crisis doesn’t happen again, has only just begun. The public is angry, and Congress is under pressure to take action to make Wall Street pay back Main Street. And while the sentiment is warranted — and certainly action is needed — there is one proposal that has been floated by some lawmakers that will miss the intended target and hit American investors.
Larson: Public Financing Takes Big Money Out of Politics
Jan. 28, 12 a.m.
Has anyone ever complained to you that the biggest problems with our democracy are, first, that there is not nearly enough corporate money and special interest influence affecting what gets done in Washington, and second, that elected officials don’t spend nearly enough time raising money? No, of course not.
Schwarz: Public Financing of Races: If It Can Make It There ...
Jan. 28, 12 a.m.
The Supreme Court just opened the door to torrents of corporate (and union) money designed to influence elections. What to do? Among the answers now being discussed is public financing for candidates, in particular a version of public funding that would provide matching funds for small contributions. Such a system would encourage candidates to seek small contributions from large numbers of donors rather than dialing for special interest dollars.
Welch: Congress Should Pass Bill to Limit Wall Street Bonuses
Jan. 26, 12 a.m.
On Wall Street, 15 months must feel like a lifetime. How else can one make sense of an industry that would reward itself with a bumper crop of bonuses barely a year after pushing the economy to the brink of collapse?
Greenbaum: House Must — and Can — Pass Senate Health Care Reform Bill
Jan. 25, 1:32 p.m.
With Republican Scott Brown’s victory in the Massachusetts special Senate election, there is now only one way for Congress to approve a larger health care package: The House must pass the Senate bill. The stakes could not be higher.
Williams & Smith: The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color
Jan. 25, 12:40 P.M.
The challenges facing many communities of color have been well-chronicled. There are any number of reports focused on these communities that cite the depressing statistics across a number of indicators, such as educational performance, unemployment, housing, poverty, health, incarceration, recidivism and life expectancy. The reports are often seemingly devoid of any real hope for progress and improvement.
Nickles: An Interesting, Challenging Year for the Budget
Jan. 25, 12 a.m.
Usually at this time of year, number crunchers and chart makers in Washington, D.C., have already spent weeks preparing for the annual frenzied ritual of crafting the federal budget. This year’s a little different, as the health care bill’s odyssey has consumed all the time and brain waves of the Hill’s most active budgeteers.
Aguilera & West: Broadband for All Should Be Priority No. 1 in Net Neutrality Debate
Jan. 21, 11:09 a.m.
Worrying about net neutrality when substantial numbers of Americans don’t yet have broadband service is like telling a starving man to eat organic. It’s not necessarily wrong, but it seems beside the point. When it comes to Internet policy, we need to put first things first, which means making sure that every American has the opportunity to enjoy affordable broadband service. Thus, worrying about net regulation issues that may actually undermine the goal of universal access seems not only premature, but also a bit irrelevant.
Wang: A Bull Market for Donkeys and Elephants?
Jan. 21, 12 a.m.
Most Beltway insiders are familiar with the saying, “In Washington, first you do good, and then you do well.” Recently, some Members of Congress have been questioned for not properly following that sequence with their investments. Specifically, several Members of both parties with stock in medical device firms were criticized for voting against a multibillion-dollar tax increase on medical devices to help fund the costs of health care proposals. Essentially, they were accused of not voting to do good, but to do well for themselves.
Greenbaum: Obama Must Hope He Doesn’t Suffer Jim Zorn’s Fate
Jan. 19, 1:14 p.m.
Last year was a disappointing one for the Washington Redskins, and especially for the team’s recently fired head coach, Jim Zorn. The team notched few meaningful victories, giving Washingtonians little to cheer about. In fact, the Redskins’ season was a lot like last year for President Barack Obama and Congress: What began as a year with strong promise ended with little accomplished.
Fisher: Congress, Don’t Cede Budgetary Power to President
Jan. 19, 12 a.m.
Some Members of Congress are starting to take an interest in giving the president an item veto to help control budget deficits. A Senate subcommittee last month asked experts and attorneys whether federal courts are likely to find constitutional a form of item veto called “expedited rescission.” It would authorize the president, upon signing an appropriations bill, to put together a list of projects to be canceled. The procedure requires Congress to take a vote on this package within a fixed period of time, with no opportunity for amendment.
Kane: Achieving Compromise on the Public Option Through a Hybrid Solution
Jan. 15, 5:06 p.m.
Both the House and Senate bills offer myriad improvements to our nation’s current health care system in access to coverage, cost controls, health care quality and insurance regulation. Yet, the fate of the public insurance option remains an important, and contentious, issue. Although the House bill includes only a scaled-down version — accessible only to the individual, family and small-business markets, which face the steepest premiums — insurance companies opposed it strenuously. They and others were, of course, successful in keeping the public option out of the Senate bill (for example, by the efforts of Sen. Joe Lieberman, who represents Connecticut, the nerve center of the insurance industry).
Judson: Database Management and Airline Security
Jan. 14, 1:20 p.m.
President Barack Obama’s recognition earlier this month that U.S. intelligence “failed to connect the dots” in a way that would have precluded the extremist plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day is worrisomely anachronistic — not merely because we’ve heard similar pronouncements from previous administrations, but because it suggests an outdated understanding of the resources now available for use in the consolidation and processing of information.
Greenbaum: DCCC Should Invest in Alabama GOP Primary
Jan. 14, 12 a.m.
Last month’s announcement by freshman Rep. Parker Griffith (Ala.) that he would leave the Democratic Party to caucus with Republicans robs Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of a vote, but it also gives her and the Democratic leadership a unique opportunity. Pelosi and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) should spend in Griffith’s 2010 GOP primary to serve notice to any current and future Democratic Members who might consider a move to demonstrate that switching parties has consequences.
Eisinger: The Folly of Apology Demanding
Jan. 13, 12:56 p.m.
When we learned that Tiger Woods was not monogamous, we asked him to grovel. Instead he went AWOL, pondering, reflecting and most assuredly not speaking in public. Now it’s Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) time to face the calls for a public apology. After noting that Barack Obama’s skin color and dialect suits him for the presidency, Reid stated that he was sorry, and the POTUS quickly accepted Reid’s apology. But former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder (D) wants Reid to apologize to America.
Okhomina: International Politics of Oil Business Is Constantly Changing
Jan. 12, 11:29 a.m.
In the oil business, corruption probes almost always mirror the drama of local political musical chairs, as seen by the recent corruption in Ghana involving oil and the Kosmos/EO Group.
Walker: Will Politics or Prudence Prevail in Health Vote?
Jan. 12, 12 a.m.
Congress is engaged in a great debate on health care reform. The battle lines have been drawn and the ultimate result of the debate will likely have significant economic and political implications.
Jacobson: For Democrats, ‘Card Check’ May Be SAD, Not MAD
Jan. 6, 4:07 p.m.
Though there was talk of a “nuclear option” in the debate over health insurance legislation, the biggest Beltway battle in years may still lie ahead.
O'Keefe: Calls for Simplicity, Transparency Should Shift From Football to Climate Policy
Jan. 5, 3:30 p.m.
Last summer, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on how to improve the current NCAA method for picking a college football champion. It seems that several Congressmen, at least one state attorney general and even President Barack Obama believe the current system lacks the simplicity and transparency necessary to produce fair and accurate results.
Abraham: Government Must Continue Supporting Anti-Gang Programs
Jan. 5, 10:59 a.m.
In order to combat gangs on our streets, continued gang prevention funding from our federal and state governments is necessary.
Hollands: Getting the Best Bang for the Buck in the Nation's Infrastructure
Dec. 22, 12:48 p.m.
The president's call for $50 billion in stimulus for the economy can be good news for a major long-term infrastructure crisis facing the nation as long as crucial legislation is enacted to ensure that procurement rules prevent the money from leaking out of the system like water escapes our corroding pipes.
Anderson: Rejecting the Realism Vs. Idealism Foreign Policy Debate
Dec. 22, 12:43 p.m.
One thing that has emerged in the aftermath of President Obama's Afghanistan speech and his Nobel Prize acceptance speech is the supreme importance of ethics - whether it is the president's ethical responsibility to protect us, as he said in the Afghanistan speech, or his effort to show that the surge is a legitimate case of a 'just war,' as he did in his Oslo speech.
Jost & White: Congress' Test on the 'Cadillac Tax'
Dec. 22, 12:28 p.m.
The Senate's draft health care legislation includes a punitive excise tax on 'Cadillac' health insurance benefits. If the tax (and bill) make it to conference, conferees will face the following test.
Saldin: Tester's Forest Bill Could Redefine Western Politics
Dec. 22, 12:04 p.m.
Although Montana's senior Senator, Max Baucus (D), has garnered more headlines recently for his key role in health care reform, the Treasure State’s junior Senator is touting a bill of his own that could redefine public land policy, one of the West's longest standing and most contentious political disputes.
Alexander & Webb: New Bill Tackles Economy, Energy, Climate Change
Dec. 21, 12 a.m.
As our country works its way through the ongoing economic crisis, there has been strong debate over the most appropriate ways for the Congress to address both our energy needs and the specter of climate change. We have introduced legislation that we believe would address all three of these challenges. The Clean Energy Act of 2009 would dramatically increase our nation’s energy output and measurably decrease carbon dioxide emissions, and do so at an overall 10-year cost of no more than $20 billion.
Marsico: The ‘2012’ Scenario and the Failure of U.S. Succession
Dec. 21, 12 a.m.
“2012,” a recent blockbuster movie, garnered an impressive $225 million in worldwide box office sales its opening weekend. Millions of people in America and around the world are going to see this epic disaster movie. They got what they were looking for, along with a bonus — an unexpected lesson in the importance of having a good system of presidential succession in the event of a catastrophe.
Cleaves: Congress Needs to Commit to Biomass Power
Dec. 18, 12:10 p.m.
The Obama administration promises a new energy policy to create jobs, fight global warming and increase America’s energy independence. Soon, Congress will address these challenges by passing comprehensive energy and climate legislation in hopes to meet these goals. In order to do so, Congress must level the playing field in the renewable energy sector and continue to invest in biomass power.
Roberts: The Right Prescription for Medicaid
Dec. 17, 12:23 p.m.
Unfortunately, if a decision by Congress from four years ago isn’t rectified soon, many Medicaid recipients and other patients might lose access to prescription drug services provided by community pharmacies.
Frist: Raj Shah and America's Development Future
Dec. 17, 12:12 p.m.
American efforts to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people have never been so important. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted last week to refer the nomination of Dr. Rajiv Shah for USAID administrator to the floor for a full vote, which is expected soon. Dr. Shah should be confirmed without delay for three key reasons.
Rockefeller: Children Deserve Special Status in Health Debate
Dec. 17, 12 a.m.
Congress is working day and night to pass a good health care bill — one that works for all Americans. This is not a new story.
Greenbaum: House Democratic Retirements: Trickle Could Lead to Wave
Dec. 17, 12 a.m.
During the fall, as President Barack Obama’s approval ratings started to drop, rumblings began that Democrats were in danger of losing a big part of the majority they won in the House in November 2006 and bolstered just last year.
Aviv & Snyder: Don't Let the Estate Tax Die
Dec. 16, 3:39 p.m.
At a time when Americans everywhere are struggling to make their mortgage payments and put food on the table, why would Congress allow the estate tax — a strong incentive for charitable giving among our wealthiest and often most generous citizens — to sunset?
Cyllah: Forgoing Democracy Is Forgoing Human Rights
Dec. 16, 3:31 p.m.
When most of us think of human rights, we think of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But the declaration in which the American founders proclaimed those rights asserts another fundamental right: the right to government by popular consent. That means the right to vote.
Clarke: Find Diversity in the Immigration Reform Debate
Dec. 15, 12 a.m.
For many Americans, the term “immigration reform” evokes images of Central American and Mexican migrants crossing the rivers of the U.S.-Mexican border by day and running across the landlocked southwestern borders by night. It is true that securing the U.S.-Mexican border is a very important policy objective — and it is clear that Central Americans and Mexican-Americans make up a significant portion of the immigrant population. According to a July 2009 Pew Hispanic Center report, Mexico is by far the leading country of origin for U.S. immigrants, accounting for one-third (32 percent) of all foreign-born residents and two-thirds (66 percent) of Hispanic immigrants.
Anderson: President Obama's Moral Surge
Dec. 14, 4:43 p.m.
President Barack Obama’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize provided a framework for understanding the surge of troops he ordered in Afghanistan that appealed to some broader concepts than America’s national security.
Kelley: A Six Sigma Approach to Health Care Reform
Dec. 14, 4:37 p.m.
Health care in the U.S. needs more than reform; it needs to be re-engineered. The U.S. health care system wastes $700 billion annually on the kinds of systemic inefficiencies that would make a quality management guru cringe. According to our analysis of hospital data, government data, fraud claims and existing research, about one-third of the country’s total health care spending may be for unnecessary treatments, medical errors, redundant tests, administrative inefficiencies and fraud.
Goitein & Schwarz: Congress Must Stop Abuses of Secrets Privilege
Dec. 14, 12 a.m.
For decades, the government has used the “state secrets privilege” to block the use of evidence in litigation where revealing the evidence could harm national security. Under former President George W. Bush, the privilege was transformed into a weapon to shut down lawsuits challenging illegal or embarrassing government activity. President Barack Obama promised major changes.
Gryphon: Court Late to Rescue Americans From Overcriminalization
Dec. 11, 2:44 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments in two cases, United States v. Black and United States v. Weyhrauch, which offer the court a chance to limit a dangerous legal development.
Merritt: Lowering Prescription Drug Costs, Enhancing Access and Improving Quality
Dec. 11, 2:31 p.m.
At a time when the focus should be on reducing the cost of health care, the independent drug store lobby continues to peddle an agenda that would destroy proven cost-containment tools that unions, large employers and Medicare rely upon, and drive premiums higher for working families, seniors and the disabled.
Crooms: Bringing Human Rights Home to Help People Who Need Help the Most
Dec. 11, 3:11 p.m.
International Human Rights Day, which just passed, commemorates what is and celebrates what ought to be. In 2009, the “is” of human rights means they are routinely violated and their universality is often undermined. At the same time, the “ought” of human rights, as captured in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, means the promise of a world in which we all have rights because we are human and those we have entrusted to govern fully respect, protect and fulfill those rights.
Greenbaum: Fallout From Past 8 Years Affects Judicial Nominees
Dec. 10, 12 a.m.
As we near the end of President Barack Obama’s first year in office, now is a good time to take stock of his judicial nominations. Of late, this has been an issue of consternation for Democrats who are concerned both that the president has been too slow in making nominations and that Senate Republicans are obstructing confirmations.
Tobias: GOP Slows Noncontroversial Judicial Votes
Dec. 10, 12 a.m.
When Barack Obama took the oath as president in early 2009, the United States courts of appeals had vacancies in 14 of its 179 judgeships. The White House knew that promptly filling these openings was crucial and instituted special practices to facilitate appointments, pledging to halt the “confirmation wars” that have troubled selections in the past.
James: Pharmacy Benefit Administrators Drive Up Health Costs
Dec. 9, 12:59 p.m.
The most trusted professionals in America are pharmacists, according to national polls over the past 20 years. So why has Congress not asked them for input on health care reform?
Kim & Kessler: Make the Middle Class a Leading Indicator
Dec. 9, 12:29 p.m.
Congress should prepare a jobs package to allow the private sector to create permanent jobs, cushion the middle class from further harm, and establish American economic leadership in growth sectors.
Klink: Promoting Drug Importation Is Risky Politics
Dec. 8, 5:04 p.m.
While advocates claim drug importation from foreign countries would lower costs for patients, the reality is that cost savings would be negligible while the risk of importing contaminated or counterfeit drugs would skyrocket.
Esper: Congress Creates New Defender of Economic Growth
Dec. 8, 12 a.m.
Just last week, the Senate confirmed Victoria Espinel as the first-ever U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator. This position was created by the bipartisan PRO-IP Act, which became law last year, and assigned the heavy task of improving enforcement and promoting intellectual property rights in the United States and abroad.
Connolly & Schock: There’s Bipartisan Support for Boost in Foreign Aid Budget
Dec. 7, 12 a.m.
Among the many myths that exist about the federal budget, perhaps none is greater than the widespread belief that more than 10 percent of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid. The reality, of course, is far different. Even with the modest increases in recent years supported by both Democratic and Republican administrations and Congresses, the international affairs budget totals less than 1.5 percent of the federal budget.
Cardin: U.S. Needs to Keep Pace Developing Energy Technology
Feb. 8, 12 a.m.
Today, too many Americans are out of work. Today, we will send $1 billion overseas to satisfy our appetite for foreign oil, while the Chinese will continue their massive investment in clean energy technology. Today, our nation faces an economic crisis, an energy crisis and a global climate crisis. Read Full Article
Roll Call Video Channels
