Jamie Dupree

Health Care & Student Loans

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:09 -0500

So what does a major health care bill and a package of student loan reforms have in common? Well, they might both be stuffed into the same budget reconciliation bill that Democrats hope to approve this month on health reform.

Health Care Vote Count

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:06 -0500

As Democrats try to finish hammering out their health care bill, the vote counting is already at a fever pitch in the U.S. House, as lawmakers and reporters alike try to figure out where things stand on health care reform legislation.

House Rules on Health

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:03 -0500

There is already a lot of discussion on the rules that Democrats might use in order to bring a health care bill to the floor of the House, and whether it's fair or not. So why don't we start talking about how things might work.

Senate Health Review, Part 3

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

As the Congress inches closer to a possible final vote on health reform legislation, we will take another day to look at the plan that passed the Senate, which must still come before the House for a vote. Yesterday we got an update on how much that bill would cost.

GOP Massa Resolution

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:52:23 -0500

House GOP Leader John Boehner (R-OH) offered this resolution on the House floor today, a move to force a continued investigation of the matters surrounding former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY).

Calm Before the Storm

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:09 -0500

It has been a weird week so far in the halls of the U.S. Capitol on health care reform legislation. It is sort of like covering a hurricane. Everyone knows a big battle is on the way, but the winds haven't started to pick up yet.

Senate Health Review, Part 2

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:07 -0500

As the House gets ready to vote on a Senate passed health care bill in coming days, this blog will continue a review of the fine print of that measure, to freshen everyone's memory on what exactly Democrats did in this bill. Today, it's taxes and spending.

Jobs Bill Slows

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:03 -0500

It has been over six weeks since President Obama used his State of the Union Address to vow action on jobs and the economy. The Congress though is still dickering over the details of job creation plans.

Earmark Battle

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:01 -0500

Both parties in the U.S. House are furiously trying to out do the other when it comes to cleaning up budget earmarks, those pesky home-state-pork-barrel projects that lamwakers love to hate.

The Rep. Massa Story

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The story around ex-Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) continues to bubble, not so much along the lines of what type of tickling he did to male members of his staff, but what Democratic leaders knew about the allegations and when.

Tickling Or Groping

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:09 -0500

When the sun came up on Tuesday, ex-Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) was getting lots of attention as he blamed Democratic leaders for pushing him out of office because of his opposition to health care reform. By sundown, that storyline was hard to find, thanks to Massa himself.

Health Care Fight

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:06 -0500

President Obama is back on the road today to sell health care reform legislation, going to St. Louis to both call for action in the Congress, and to do a little fundraising for fellow Democrats from the Show-Me State.

The PAYGO Dance

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:03 -0500

For the first time since the new Pay-as-you-go law was signed three weeks ago, the Senate upheld a PAYGO objection to extra spending on a bill that was not paid for by offsetting budget savings, as Democrats could not muster 60 votes to overcome that parliamentary point of order.

Senate Health Bill, Part 1

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Since it looks like Democrats will soon try to get the House to approve the health care bill that made it through the Senate on Christmas Eve 2009, then maybe we should take some time to review the details of that measure.

Health Reform Tuesday

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:09 -0500

Let's start off by updating the number of lamwakers in the House, which drops to 431 thanks to the resignation of Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY). That means Democrats need 216 votes for a majority, four less than what they had back in November in the House.