In his plan to trim the federal deficit, President Barack Obama Monday proposed $320 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, largely by changing how the federal government pays health providers, slashing payments to drug companies, and dramatically changing the way it splits the costs of Medicaid with the states, according to a fact sheet […]
Washington
Posted inMoney, Politics
Shays to be star witness at Lieberman hearing next week
Hmmm… Who could be the star witness for Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s just-announced hearing on wartime contracting? It’s a safe bet that ex-Rep. Chris Shays, who served as co-chair of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, would jump at the chance to be in the Senate next week, testifying before the senator he […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
DeLauro to tour storm damage, with Pelosi in tow
Is Rep. Rosa DeLauro still trying to undo the political damage from her belated return from Italy, where she was vacationing when Tropical Storm Irene hit Connecticut? Here’s one sign: the 3rd District Democrat is bringing House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to her district Friday for a tour and briefing on the storm damage-along […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Blumenthal helps found Oceans Caucus
Sen. Richard Blumenthal will be among the founding members of a new Senate Oceans Caucus, which is having its first meeting on Tuesday. The bipartisan group of senators will outline their priorities at a press conference after Tuesday’s organizational meeting. But in a media advisory, the new group said that oceans and their coastal ecosystems […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Bysiewicz loses top fundraiser, campaign set to announce successor
Susan Bysiewicz’s campaign is losing its top fundraiser, Josh Handelman, who has helped the former secretary of the state rake in more than $1 million since announcing her U.S. Senate bid in January. Campaign manager Jonathan Ducote said that Handelman “decided to seek other opportunities,” but is leaving the campaign with a strong foundation in […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Shays doesn’t have a fundraising game plan
Apparently ex-Rep. Chris Shays hasn’t thought through all the nitty-gritty details of his U.S. Senate bid, particularly if he ends up facing Republican Linda McMahon in a GOP primary. Here’s what Shays had to say when asked by a Politico reporter about how he could overcome McMahon’s deep pockets if they face off for the […]
Posted inMoney
Larson set to introduce supercommittee jobs proposal today
Rep. John Larson today will introduce his proposal for a “super committee on jobs,” to work in tandem or in parallel with the super committee on debt. Larson’s move comes as lawmakers prepare to return to Washington next week, and as the national debate pivots from debt to job creation. The 1st District Democrat’s proposal […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
A sleepless 2012 for Murphy, and not just over Senate race
Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, probably won’t get a lot of sleep in 2012, but it won’t all be because of his U.S. Senate campaign. His wife Cathy is pregnant, due with their second child in December. As if the fundraising demands, campaign crush and electoral pressure weren’t enough. Still, Murphy said the family’s anticipated […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Lieberman uses different “i” word to describe Ron Paul
Asked about Ron Paul’s call to sap funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Sen. Joseph Lieberman opted for a couple different “I” epithets. “Ron Paul’s statement is taking an ideology to an illogical and really unproductive extreme,” Lieberman said. Lieberman’s comments came in response to a question about Paul’s criticism of FEMA–and Gov. Dannel […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Uninsured, a key target of health reform, don’t expect to be affected by the law
A principal goal of federal health reform is to reduce the ranks of the uninsured. But a new poll shows that about half of those without insurance don’t expect the law to affect them one way or another. It’s another piece of evidence that the Affordable Care Act is still not well understood more than […]
Posted inMoney
Blumenthal on first congressional trip–to Pakistan
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is on his first official congressionally-sponsored trip abroad. He and three other Democratic senators are in Pakistan, where they recently met with top political and military leaders. Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a phone interview from Islamabad that the meetings focused on disrupting terrorist networks […]
Posted inHealth
Appeals court rules health reform mandate is unconstitutional
The 2-to-1 decision marks a major blow to the Obama administration in its legal battle over the health law. But in the ruling, which addresses the challenge filed by 26 states, the court also disagreed with a lower court’s ruling and will allow other provisions of the law to remain “legally operative.” Click here to […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Shays plans to jump into U.S. Senate race
Chris Shays will be jumping into Connecticut’s U.S. Senate contest, a source close to the former congressman confirmed on Wednesday. He plans to make his entry into the race official before the end of the month, this person said. Shays could face a tough contest, trying to make a comeback in Connecticut four years after […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Bitter pills on Rx list for debt cure
What kinds of health care spending cuts and policy tweaks are on the table for the congressional super committee charged with coming up with more than $1 trillion in debt-reduction by Thanksgiving? Politico has a good starter list in this report, which also captures the reflective positions likely to be offered up by each party’s […]
Posted inMoney
Will S&P downgrade of US credit rating affect states?
As financial experts examine the impact of the weekend downgrade of the federal government’s credit rating, ranging from the reaction of foreign markets to the effect on mortgage rates, states also are wondering whether they will be adversely affected as well, John Gramlich says at Stateline.org. And the answer isn’t clear. Moody’s Investors Service warned […]