Dec 09 Congress Patches Payment Gap for Medicare Doctors Congress once again headed off a pay cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients by stopping a 25 percent decrease in the amount the federal government pays them to take care of seniors. The cut was scheduled to take effect… Continue reading
Dec 09 House Dems Reject Tax Deal, Senate Holds Off on DREAM Vote President Obama's compromise with Republicans on a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts hit a speed bump today: House Democrats took a non-binding vote, where a majority rejected bringing the compromise up for a vote on the House… Continue reading
Dec 09 Senate to Consider Tax Cuts, DREAM Act in Day Packed With Votes Supporters of the DREAM Act recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol on Wednesday. The bill would allow a path to citizenship for children who entered the country illegally. Photo by Bill Clark/Roll Call. The Senate… Continue reading
Dec 09 Watch Outgoing Sens. Bayh, Bennett: Political Extremes Are Out of Touch As the lame-duck Congress faces impasse on several important legislative issues, Jim Lehrer talks to outgoing Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, about the necessity and perils of compromise -- the often-touted, sometimes-practiced concept in Washington. Continue watching
Dec 08 Full Scale White House Push Underway to Rally Support for Tax Cut Deal Continuing their full-scale push to build support for President Obama's tax and spending compromise, top White House officials went before a roomful of reporters this afternoon for an off-camera session to defend the plan. White House senior adviser David… Continue reading
Dec 08 Watch DREAM Act's Merits, Drawbacks and Future Debated Congress is set to vote on the DREAM Act, which would give undocumented immigrants who enter the U.S. before the age of 16 a path to legal standing via college or military service. Judy Woodruff leads a debate between Angela… Continue watching
Dec 08 Watch Obama Steps Up Pressure on Tax Cuts Deal, Citing Economy's Needs After President Obama's announcement of a compromise with Republicans on tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits, some Democrats are threatening to filibuster the deal. Jim Lehrer discusses the latest round of volleys on Capitol Hill with Political Editor David Chalian. Continue watching
Dec 08 Grappling With Huge Deficit, California Turns to Veteran Governor An easy two-part political quiz: 1) which state voted against the national Republican political tide in every one of its major contested races in the midterm elections? And 2) Which state is facing a near-term budget shortfall of $25… Continue reading
Dec 08 Supreme Court Looks at Arizona Law Punishing Employers for Hiring Illegal Workers By Meghan Welsh On Wednesday the Supreme Court examines a case that centers around a 2007 Arizona law that punishes employers who knowingly hire workers illegally. The Legal Arizona Workers Act requires employers to verify the eligibility of new workers through… Continue reading
Dec 08 WikiLeaks' Supporters Strike Sites WikiLeaks' supporters are striking back at those hampering the controversial site. According to the New York Times: Targets included Mastercard.com, which stopped processing donations for WikiLeaks; Amazon.com, which revoked server space from the group; the online payment service… Continue reading