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Democratic leaders have eased Sen. Nelson's doubts on the health bill.

Washington (CNN) – U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, the lone Democratic holdout on the Senate health care reform bill, has reached an agreement with Democratic leaders, several Democratic senators said Saturday on Capitol Hill.

Nelson, a social conservative from Nebraska who opposes abortion, does not want taxpayer funds to pay for that medical procedure. His vote is crucial for Democrats, who want to avoid a GOP filibuster.

The senators were said to be caucusing on the terms of the agreement.

Asked whether he was on board with it, Ben Nelson replied, "Yeah."

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, who was one of the key senators involved in the talks with Ben Nelson, confirmed that she's satisfied that the language of the agreement achieves its goal.

"My goal was to try to reach some compromise so we could move forward on health care, where the basic premise was we could separate federal funds from private funds. I think we achieved that."

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, agreed, saying the deal follows the principles of the Hyde amendment, which prevents federal funds from being used for abortions.

"Anyone who is in the exchange who also gets a federal subsidy because they're poor, if they choose a private insurance policy and want any kind of abortion coverage, they have to write that part of the premium from their own personal funds," the Florida senator said.

The health bill proposes a health insurance exchange for those unable to afford health coverage or don't have coverage. No federal funds could be used to cover abortions for people participating in the exchange, the bill says.

In addition, under national plans that would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, there has to be, if a state chooses those, at least one that does not offer abortion coverage.

Sens. Kyl, a Republican, and Boxer, a Democrat, both had very little to say about the preliminary investigation into the conduct of Republican Sen. John Ensign that is going on in the Senate Ethics Committee.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The chair of the Senate Ethics Committee said Sunday that a preliminary investigation has begun into the conduct of Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign.

Ensign admitted earlier this year to an extramarital affair with a married campaign staffer. A recent report by the New York Times suggests that Ensign went to great lengths to aid the staffer’s husband, who also worked as an aide in Ensign’s Senate office, and, in the process, may have encouraged the possible violation of Senate rules regarding lobbying.

“I can’t discuss this with you other than to say that there’s a preliminary investigation going on,” California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer told John King on CNN’s State of the Union. “And we will look at all aspects of this case as we do whenever there’s a case before us and try to get to the bottom of it as quickly as we can in fairness to all.”

Asked about the specific issues the investigation is looking into, Boxer said she was not permitted by Senate rules to do so.

Asked whether Ensign could serve effectively with an ethics investigation pending, fellow Republican Sen. John Kyl of Arizona said he would “wait and see what happens” with the Ensign investigation.

Sen. Jon Kyl said Sunday that the Obama administration should not allow tax marginal rates to go up.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A leading Senate Republican said Sunday that the Obama administration should consider keeping marginal tax rates at current levels in order to help small businesses who may be struggling in the midst of a down economy.

“Don’t allow taxes to go up,” is how Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl responded Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union when asked what the president could do to help with job creation as the national unemployment rates inches closer to ten percent.

“Targeted tax relief for Americans would be the quickest way out of this recession,” Kyl also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, “If you, for example, were to ensure that the top marginal rates do not increase, you’ll have small businesses ... be able to invest in their companies [and] hire more people. They are the job creators in the country and I think that will begin to get us out of the recession.”

Kyl rejected two major Democratic agenda items – health care reform legislation and an energy bill that would create a cap-and-trade system for emissions – as viable methods for helping the economy. Kyl said both initiatives, if enacted, would cause the economy to lose jobs.

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California disagreed.

Boxer, who recently introduced an energy bill in the Senate, said that legislation intended to deal with climate change and promote American energy independence would result in increased private capital coming into the economy.

Fiorina is considering a run for the Senate .

(CNN) - Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is taking the initial steps to challenge California Democrat Barbara Boxer for her Senate seat, a move that could lay the groundwork for one of the most high profile and expensive contests of 2010.

Fiorina, the first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company and a former surrogate for John McCain's presidential bid, filed a tax identification number and registered a campaign committee with the IRS Tuesday called "Carly for California."

"The people of California have serious concerns about job creation, economic growth and the role of government in solving problems that touch each of ourlives," Fiorina said in a statement. "I have received a great deal of encouragement to make a run for the Senate in 2010 from people across the political spectrum because these are all issues that need focused attention in Washington, D.C."

Under the new committee, Fiorina will begin to aggressively raise money as well as speak with policy experts and campaign advisors, spokeswoman Beth Miller told CNN.

Boxer's campaign coffers are already loaded: the three-term senator's latest filing with the Federal Elections Commission shows she raised well over $2 million during the first half of the year and has close to $5.5 million cash on hand.

Though Fiorina does not have a set timetable to formally announce a Senate bid, Miller said the former Hewlett-Packard CEO's window to make a decision is only a couple of months given a GOP primary is set for next June.

A former economic adviser and visible presence on cable news, Fiorina was largely sidelined from public appearances from the McCain campaign after telling an interviewer she didn't think either member of the GOP presidential ticket was qualified to run a major company.

Democrats wasted little time in attacking Fiorina's latest move.

“This is a person who was fired from Hewlett Packard for running the company into the ground, fired from the McCain Presidential Campaign for incompetence, and now thinks the people of California are going to hire her," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Eric Schultz.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fiorina is considering a run for the Senate .

(CNN) - Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is taking the initial steps to challenge California Democrat Barbara Boxer for her Senate seat, a move that could lay the groundwork for one of the most high profile and expensive contests of 2010.

Fiorina, the first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company and a former surrogate for John McCain's presidential bid, filed a tax identification number and registered a campaign committee with the IRS Tuesday called "Carly for California."

"The people of California have serious concerns about job creation, economic growth and the role of government in solving problems that touch each of ourlives," Fiorina said in a statement. "I have received a great deal of encouragement to make a run for the Senate in 2010 from people across the political spectrum because these are all issues that need focused attention in Washington, D.C."

Under the new committee, Fiorina will begin to aggressively raise money as well as speak with policy experts and campaign advisors, spokeswoman Beth Miller told CNN.

Boxer's campaign coffers are already loaded: the three-term senator's latest filing with the Federal Elections Commission shows she raised well over $2 million during the first half of the year and has close to $5.5 million cash on hand.

Though Fiorina does not have a set timetable to formally announce a Senate bid, Miller said the former Hewlett-Packard CEO's window to make a decision is only a couple of months given a GOP primary is set for next June.

A former economic adviser and visible presence on cable news, Fiorina was largely sidelined from public appearances from the McCain campaign after telling an interviewer she didn't think either member of the GOP presidential ticket was qualified to run a major company.

Democrats wasted little time in attacking Fiorina's latest move.

“This is a person who was fired from Hewlett Packard for running the company into the ground, fired from the McCain Presidential Campaign for incompetence, and now thinks the people of California are going to hire her," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Eric Schultz.

Read the rest of this entry »

(CNN) - California Sen. Barbara Boxer told CNN Sunday she and her Senate colleagues are "worried" about the possibility of transferring current Guantanamo Bay detainees into the United States, adding she is awaiting a more comprehensive plan on the matter from President Obama.

"We only have one max security prison in California and it's, right now, overbooked, that's the case," Boxer told CNN's John King on State of The Union. "In all, we are worried and we want to to see what the plan is."

Boxer's comments come days after Senate Democrats voted to withhold funding to close the Guantanamo Bay facility until the president lays out a more detailed plan on where the current 240 detainees will go.

Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, also appearing on State of The Union, cautioned the president against relocating the most "incorrigible" detainees in the United States.

"Nobody wants them. We got all kinds of places in the world we can house these people," Shelby said. "If we have to move them from Cuba, from Gitmo, we have other territory that can bring them in, but don't bring them to the United States of America.

In a high profile speech Thursday, Obama pledged no detainees would be brought to the United States "if it would endanger our national security."

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, a Democrat, and Olympia Snowe of Maine, a Republican, sent the following letter to President Obama Monday.

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The announced retirement of United States Supreme Court Justice David Souter—an outstanding jurist—has left you with the crucial task of nominating someone for a lifetime appointment to our nation’s highest bench.

The most important thing is to nominate an exceptionally well-qualified, intelligent person to replace Justice Souter – and we are convinced that person should be a woman.

Women make up more than half of our population, but right now hold only one seat out of nine on the United States Supreme Court. This is out of balance. In order for the Court to be relevant, it needs to be diverse and better reflect America.

Mr. President, we look forward with great anticipation to your choice for the Supreme Court vacancy.

Ken Salazar announced his decision Friday to retain a Bush-era regulation limiting the protection of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Alaska officials Sarah Palin and Mark Begich are speaking out Friday about Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's decision to retain a Bush-era regulation limiting the protection of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.

"This is a clear victory for Alaska," Gov. Palin said in a statement released Friday. "We all want to preserve and protect the polar bear using the best possible tools, but there is absolutely no need to change the 4(d) rule to accomplish this purpose. I want to thank Secretary Salazar for his careful review of the science and the administrative record that led to this decision."

Begich agreed with the Alaska governor, lauding the Interior Secretary's decision to keep the existing rule.

"I commend Secretary Salazar for protecting the polar bear while also recognizing it is not appropriate to use a federal law like the ESA to try to regulate greenhouse gas emissions," Begich said Friday. "I support Secretary Salazar's belief that we need a comprehensive energy and climate strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the ESA should not be used as a back-door regulatory tool to achieve this goal."

But Democratic California Sen. Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, slammed the department's decision to monitor the situation saying it's not enough to protect the polar bear.

The remarks follow Salazar's announcement that he will retain the special rule promulgated under the Bush administration in December, but left the door open to implement future measures that would protect the polar bear and its habitat.

Senator Boxer spoke on the second day of the Democratic National Convention.

(CNN)—California Senator Barbara Boxer said Friday John McCain is “badly mistaken” if he thinks picking Sarah Palin as his running mate will win over Hillary Clinton’s supporters.

“The vice president is a heartbeat away from becoming president,” Boxer said in a statement. “So to choose someone with not one hour's worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice.”

“The only similarity between [Palin] and Hillary Clinton is that they are both women,” The California senator adds. “On the issues, they could not be further apart.”

Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska, made a direct appeal to Clinton’s supporters Friday during the vice presidential announcement, echoing the New York senator’s withdrawal speech.

“It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary Clinton left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceilings in American,” Palin told the crowd in Dayton, Ohio. “But, it turns out that the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can still shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.”

Watch: Palin makes appeal to country and Clinton supporters

In June, Clinton made an appeal to her own supporters urging them to back Obama and continue to keep the faith.

“Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, its got about 18 million cracks in it,” Clinton said.

Boxer pointed to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as Senator Olympia Snowe as more fitting choices if McCain was interested in putting a woman on his ticket, “compared to this dangerous choice.”

Update: McCain campaign aid Jill Hazelbaker released the following statement:

"It is pretty audacious for the Obama campaign to say that Governor Palin is not qualified to be Vice President. She has a record of accomplishment that Senator Obama simply cannot match. Governor Palin has spent her time in office shaking up government in Alaska and actually achieving results - whether it’s taking on corruption, passing ethics reform or stopping wasteful spending and the ‘bridge to nowhere.’ Senator Obama has spent his time in office running for President."

Boxer said Wednesday impeachment should be on the table.

NEW YORK (CNN) - You might call it the "i" word, the one that just won't go away: impeachment.

On Wednesday, the I-word came up for California Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer in an interview with talk radio’s Ed Schultz. When Schultz brought up the subject of impeachment, Boxer said “Look, I have always said it should be on the table” and called the Bush administration “as close as we've ever come to a dictatorship.”

Is impeachment really on the table? Democratic leaders say no and no.

Last November, then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters that even with Democrats winning control of Congress, “impeachment is off the table.” And her office reiterated that to CNN this week.

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said, "It's not anything that Senator Reid could support, nor is it under consideration."

So if congressional leaders say impeachment proceedings will not happen under their watch, why bring it up?

CNN Political Editor Mark Preston says the rhetoric over impeachment is “red meat” meant to appease the Democratic base, which is frustrated with the war in Iraq. But talk is just talk, and political observers say that actually trying to impeach the president would be a bad move strategically. As Preston explains it, impeaching the president would actually hurt Democrats in their pursuit of the White House in 2008. “They would look partisan,” says Preston. “They would look petty.”

- CNN Producer Shirley Zilberstein