Monthly Archives: July 2009

A House Divided

Facing the August recess and constituents who have a wide range of opinions on health care, the House and Senate attempts to pass comprehensive health care reform hit major road blocks yesterday. The much-rumored dissension on the Blue Dogs deal … Continue reading

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Breaking: House Compromises, Finance Scores

Update: After protests by some of the Energy & Commerce Committee’s liberal members forced a cancellation of Wednesday’s mark-up, chair Henry Waxman has rescheduled the mark-up for Thursday.  This was after a lengthy session reviewing the proposed changes to the … Continue reading

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Are Co-ops the New AHPs?

Key Senators negotiating aspects of the Finance Committee health care reform bill spoke to the media yesterday and gave further details on the still-unfinished legislation.  Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) gave further details on the bill’s “co-op” proposal, and although the … Continue reading

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No Public Plan or Mandate in Finance Bill

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) emerged from a bipartisan conference yesterday to confirm that the Senate Finance Committee negotiators will not include two major components of the Democratic health care plan in their bill: the creation of a government-run insurance company … Continue reading

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The Consumer Financial Protection Agency and Associations

In light of the economic downturn and its connection to the housing market, the high rate of foreclosures and other financial practices, the Obama administration proposed in June a new federal agency to regulate the consumer marketplace in a variety … Continue reading

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The Health Care Debate over the Next Seven Weeks

With Senate Majority Leader Reid’s announcement that the Senate would not pass a comprehensive health care reform bill before the August recess, the end of July and August recess will no longer be a frantic time to try and pass … Continue reading

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Who Will Make the Big Decisions?

At her press conference yesterday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters that she had enough votes to pass comprehensive health care reform.  That assertion has been called into question over continued negotiations between House leadership and the … Continue reading

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Federal Agencies Not Meeting in Certain Cities

ASAE and other travel-focused associations have been sharing stories about how the economy and negative media attention has forced some corporations and associations to cancel or move their meetings from certain high-profile destinations and properties to avoid public criticism.  Today’s … Continue reading

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The Kerry Proposal

As the Senate Finance Committee continues meeting among its members to complete its comprehensive health care reform proposal, committee member John Kerry (D-MA) has floated a funding proposal to help solve the bill’s budget problem. The Kerry proposal, according to … Continue reading

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The Most Powerful Man in Health Care Reform

Last week, the health care reform debate was altered by the testimony of one person who is unfamiliar to many people outside of Washington, DC. Doug Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), last week testified before … Continue reading

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