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Sen. Joe Lieberman has emerged as the main obstacle to Senate Majority Leader Reid's efforts to get a health care bill through the Senate before Christmas, if ever. (Photo Credit: Getty Images/File)

Washington (CNN) - A few weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said colleague Joe Lieberman was the least of his problems in passing a health care bill.

Today, Lieberman has emerged as the main obstacle to Reid's efforts to get a health care bill through the Senate before Christmas, if ever.

An independent from Connecticut who sits with the Democratic caucus, Lieberman ratcheted up his public opposition to the bill Sunday. On the CBS program "Face the Nation," Lieberman said he would join a Republican filibuster if the bill contained either a government-run public health insurance option or a proposed alternative to the controversial provision - expanding Medicare to people as young as 55.

Lieberman also called for eliminating a provision to provide long-term home health care to the disabled while adding more cost containment measures to the $848 billion Democratic bill.

"We don't need to keep adding on to the back of this horse until the horse breaks down and we get nothing done," Lieberman said.

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Washington (CNN) – Rep. Bart Gordon of Tennessee announced Monday that he will not run for re-election next year, the fourth House Democrat in the past four weeks to retire rather than than defend their seat in next year's midterm elections.

The 13-term Democrat has held the seat in Tennessee's 6th congressional district since 1985, winning nearly three-quarters of the vote in his re-election bid last year.

But the district, located in the north-central portion of the state, went for John McCain in last year's presidential election by 25 points. George W. Bush won the district by 20 points in 2004.

"I feel honored that the people of Middle Tennessee have allowed me to serve them for the past 25 years," Gordon, who chairs the House Science and Technology Committee, said in a statement released Monday. "Every decision I have made in Congress has been with their best interests in mind. I hope the people here at home feel that I have served them as well as their good advice and views have served me.

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HHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled her willingness Thursday to consider a health care bill that lacks a government-run public health insurance option.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled her willingness Thursday to consider a health care bill that lacks a government-run public health insurance option.

Pelosi has previously insisted the public option was necessary for House approval of a health care bill. Last month, the House passed its version of the sweeping health care measure that includes the public option.

However, Senate Democrats agreed this week on a tentative deal to drop the public option from their health care bill in order to ensure the measure can pass the chamber.

Under a proposed alternative, the Senate bill would permit private insurers to offer non-profit coverage overseen by the government and expand the Medicare program for senior citizens to allow people as young as 55 to buy in.

Pelosi, D-California, at her weekly news conference said she wants to get the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the Senate alternative before judging it, but she opened the door to a final bill without the public option.

"We in the House believe that the public option is the best way to keep insurance companies honest and also to increase competition," Pelosi said, adding: "If you have a better way, put it on the table."
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TOPICS: Democrats and Republicans in Congress, health care

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Washington (CNN) – A deal negotiated by Senate Democrats to drop the controversial government-run public insurance option for a package of health care alternatives won praise Wednesday from President Barack Obama, but opposition from key interest groups.

In remarks at a White House event, Obama said the agreement created "a new framework that I believe will help pave the way for final passage" of what he called historic health care reform legislation.

"I support this effort, especially since it's aimed at increasing choice and competition and lowering cost," Obama said.

Earlier, White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said the senators "are making great progress and we're pleased that they're working together to find common ground toward options that increase choice and competition."

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Washington (CNN) - The White House on Wednesday praised a deal reached by liberal and moderate Democrats on the public option portion of the Senate health care bill.

"Senators are making great progress and we're pleased that they're working together to find common ground toward options that increase choice and competition," said White House spokesman Reid Cherlin.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that the Democrats had reached a "broad agreement" on the public option portion of the bill, but at least one liberal senator who took part in the negotiations wasn't so sure.

"It goes without saying it's been kind of a long journey," Reid said. "Tonight we've overcome a real problem that we had. I think it's fair to say the debate at this stage has been portrayed as a very divisive one."

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At the request of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a group of ten moderate and liberal Senate Democrats are meeting to try to hash out their differences on health care reform.

Washington (CNN) - Liberal and moderate Senate Democrats said Tuesday they were continuing negotiations on a package of alternatives to a government-run public health insurance option in the chamber's sweeping health care bill.

The negotiating senators said the ideas under discussion would replace the controversial public option in a compromise intended to win the support of the chamber's entire Democratic caucus.

Senate Republicans unanimously oppose the health care bill so far, and it will require support from all 60 members of the Democratic caucus for it to pass.

"I think we know where the fault lines are," said Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, one of the liberals in the talks. "Still, at this point, but they're not necessarily easy ones to overcome. Things have been narrowed, but there are still very significant issues."

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who is leading the negotiations, said the talks would continue throughout Tuesday in the face of remaining "bumps in the road."

"There are many bumps in the road because everyone's giving," Schumer said. "Again, the overall framework, the way I put it is: some in our caucus want more government involvement, some in our caucus want less government involvement. The question is, how do you thread that needle?"

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who asked for the talks involving five liberal and five moderate Senate Democrats to work out differences on key health care issues, wanted an agreement by Tuesday. Participants said they were working to meet that deadline, but offered no promises.
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President Obama came to Capitol Hill Sunday to meet with Senate Democrats.

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama met Sunday with Senate Democrats to try to rally support for a sweeping health care bill undergoing a heated debate in the chamber.

The gathering with the Democratic caucus lasted about 50 minutes, with Obama encouraging passage of the health care bill without talking specifically about all the outstanding issues, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said afterward.

One of those major issues - abortion - will come up Monday when the chamber votes on an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion by adding language included in the House version of the bill.

Obama's visit came amid a rare Sunday session for the Senate as it considers the Democratic proposal that so far is unanimously opposed by Republicans.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said Obama "thanked members of the Senate for their hard work so far and encouraged them to continue forward on this historic opportunity" to pass health care reform legislation.

"The question now is whether or not we're going to get it done," Obama told the senators, according to Burton.

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Washington (CNN) - House Democrats said Thursday they're planning to use money intended to bail out banks, Wall Street and other financial institutions to pay for their jobs bill, a package they aim to vote on by the end of the
year.

"I think the TARP funds are appropriately used to create jobs to reduce the deficit," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at her weekly news conference, referring to the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

It's unclear if the proposal would tap unused TARP funds or money repaid to the Treasury by banks who got bailout money. Democratic sources say leaders are discussing those details with the Obama administration.

Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have been looking at a series of proposals to address the record unemployment numbers in recent weeks and are now focusing on an initial package that Congress could vote on before leaving for the holiday break.

But the speaker stressed that "this is not the be-all" and said Congress will work on a broader economic proposal early next year.
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Washington (CNN) - With Republican opposition unanimous so far, the Senate debate starting Monday on a comprehensive health care bill will focus on bridging differences among the majority Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada managed to hold together his 60-seat Democratic caucus to overcome a Republican filibuster and launch debate on the $849 billion Democratic proposal that would expand health coverage to 31 million more Americans. Reid also will need 60 votes to eventually close the debate, expected to last several weeks, and his ability to secure that support remains uncertain.

"The Democratic base expects, as we say, change you can believe in," former Vermont governor and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean told "FOX News Sunday." "Harry Reid has got a real problem on his hands, and he's got to get these folks to pass a decent bill."
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Speaker Pelosi said Tuesday that 'there is serious unrest' in the House Democratic Caucus over funding the Afghanistan war.

Washington (CNN) - Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept the door open Tuesday to a proposal by several senior House Democrats to impose a graduated surtax on American taxpayers to finance the war in Afghanistan.

While Pelosi wasn't pressed about the details of the new war tax, she pointed to strong reservations among Congressional Democrats about the costs of the war during a conference call Tuesday with several economic writers and bloggers.

"But let me say that there is serious unrest in our Caucus about can we afford this war?" Pelosi said.
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Speaker Pelosi said Tuesday that 'there is serious unrest' in the House Democratic Caucus over funding the Afghanistan war.

Washington (CNN) - Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept the door open Tuesday to a proposal by several senior House Democrats to impose a graduated surtax on American taxpayers to finance the war in Afghanistan.

While Pelosi wasn't pressed about the details of the new war tax, she pointed to strong reservations among Congressional Democrats about the costs of the war during a conference call Tuesday with several economic writers and bloggers.

"But let me say that there is serious unrest in our Caucus about can we afford this war?" Pelosi said.
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Washington (CNN) - Amid conflicting and heated rhetoric, a political pragmatism began to emerge Sunday as senators prepared for a debate on a sweeping Democratic health care bill.

Senate Democrats barely won a vote Saturday night to open debate on the 2,074-page bill. The debate on amending the proposal is expected to last for weeks and won't begin until after Thanksgiving.

Some legislators got a head start Sunday, reciting well-honed arguments for and against the bill and offering perspectives on the political realities facing Congress.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, acknowledged he was open to changing the bill's controversial government-run public health insurance option favored by the left.

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The new Web site for the House Democratic Caucus.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The House Democratic Caucus re-launched their Web site late last week, aiming for a more Facebook-esque feel. While the site is still in beta, CNN got the first look at Dems.gov and some of its new features.

In the past, one could look up individual representatives' Web sites, which are not always well-designed, or view the House Clerk's Web site, which is clunky with bill numbers and legislative jargon.

The Democrats are focused on making the site more user-friendly, with the center of the page designed to emulate the Facebook news feed. Caucus updates appear in a linear fashion and below are the representatives’ headshots along with excerpts from their latest press releases, linking to their personal sites.

Another feature includes a Google Map, making it easy for users to find Democratic representatives and access their home pages, their YouTube page and their Facebook Page.

On the other side of the aisle, the Republican site GOP.gov claims its unique features include a dynamic blog, a prominent RSS feed and a larger number of social media outlets including Flickr and even an iTunes account.

The Democratic Caucus is looking for feedback on the new site. Following in the WhiteHouse.gov footsteps, Dems.gov was built using an open source content management system, which allows the worldwide community of programmers to view code and makes it easy to improve the site based on user feedback.

A new poll suggests that Republicans are more enthusiastic than Democrats about voting in next year's midterm elections.

Washington (CNN) - When it comes to Congress, a 'throw the bums out' attitude appears to be alive and well.

According to a new Pew Research Center poll, 52 percent of registered voters would like to see their own member of the House of Representatives re-elected next year, while just over one in three say that most members of Congress should be returned to office. Both numbers come close to the all-time lows seen just prior to the 1994 election, when the Republicans won control of Congress, and the 2006 contest, when the Democrats returned to power in both chambers.

The survey indicates that only 42 percent of independent voters want to see their own representative re-elected in 2010, and just one in four independents think most members of Congress should be returned to office.

The poll suggests that Republicans are more enthusiastic than Democrats. Fifty-eight percent of people who say they plan to vote for Republican in next year's elections say they are very enthusiastic about voting. That's 16 points higher than the 42 percent of people of plan to vote for a Democrat who describe themselves as enthusiastic.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released last week also indicated that Republicans are more energized right now than Democrats.

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A new poll suggests that Republicans are more enthusiastic than Democrats about voting in next year's midterm elections.

Washington (CNN) - When it comes to Congress, a 'throw the bums out' attitude appears to be alive and well.

According to a new Pew Research Center poll, 52 percent of registered voters would like to see their own member of the House of Representatives re-elected next year, while just over one in three say that most members of Congress should be returned to office. Both numbers come close to the all-time lows seen just prior to the 1994 election, when the Republicans won control of Congress, and the 2006 contest, when the Democrats returned to power in both chambers.

The survey indicates that only 42 percent of independent voters want to see their own representative re-elected in 2010, and just one in four independents think most members of Congress should be returned to office.

The poll suggests that Republicans are more enthusiastic than Democrats. Fifty-eight percent of people who say they plan to vote for Republican in next year's elections say they are very enthusiastic about voting. That's 16 points higher than the 42 percent of people of plan to vote for a Democrat who describe themselves as enthusiastic.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released last week also indicated that Republicans are more energized right now than Democrats.
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Sen. Durbin, background, said Tuesday that Senate Democrats expect to miss the deadline for the health care bill set by President Obama.

Washington (CNN) – Despite President Obama's pressure on Senate Democrats to finish health care legislation so he can sign a final bill by the end of year, a Senate Democratic leader said Tuesday they expect to miss that deadline.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, said he hopes, at best, to complete the Senate's version of the bill by that time.

"I would say our goal is to get it out of the Senate this year," said Durbin.

Durbin, of Illinois, blamed the shifting timeline on a slower than expected cost analysis of the legislation by the Congressional Budget Office and an uncertain schedule for floor debate, which Durbin said they hope to begin before Thanksgiving.

Durbin's comments contrasted with those of White House spokesman Robert Gibbs who adamantly told reporters Monday that "the president wants to sign a health care bill before the end of the year."

Asked if there is a disconnect with the White House, Durbin, who is close to the president, responded, "The president called me yesterday, and I know what he wants - to bring a health care reform bill to him as quickly as possible."

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – A coalition of unions, liberal interest groups and other organizations is providing air cover for 20 House Democrats who voted this past weekend in favor of the Democratic leadership's health care reform bill.

The umbrella group Health Care for America Now and one of its larger members, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are spending $650,000 to run the ads for one week in each of the Democrats' congressional districts "thanking them for theirvote," said Jacki Schechner, spokeswoman for HCAN.

All but two of the Democrats were elected in 2006, 2008 or 2009 and several of them only won by slim margins. The two Democrats elected prior to 2006 included in this ad campaign are Rep. Tim Bishop of New York (2002) and Rep. Leonard Boswell of Iowa (1996). The National Republican Congressional Committee has already announced plans to target Democratic members over their vote in favor of the health care bill.

Schechner also said that another one of HCAN's members, Americans United for Change, will thank 10 more members in TV ads, bringing the total amount spent on this campaign to $1 million.

See the ad and the list of 20 Democrats.

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ice President Joe Biden heads to Michigan Monday to lend a helping hand to two freshman House Democrats.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden heads to Michigan Monday to lend a helping hand to two freshman House Democrats who could face tough re-election bids next year. Will their votes on health care reform makes those bids even more difficult?

Biden headlines a fundraising event in Detroit for Michigan Democratic Party. Co-hosting the event are Congressmen Mark Schauer and Gary Peters. Both representatives voted in favor the health care reform bill that passed 220-215 in the House Saturday night.

The National Republican Campaign Committee is targeting the health care votes by Schauer and Peters.

"While Vice President Biden throws a lavish fundraiser to reward Mark Schauer and Gary Peters for their votes on the trillion dollar government takeover of healthcare, more than fifteen percent of Michiganders are out on the street looking for work," says NRCC spokesman Tom Erickson in a Monday morning statement. "If we're going to put Michigan back to work, voters will need to elect new leadership and fire Schauer and Peters, who have continually backed the reckless policies of Nancy Pelosi that create more government at the expense of the jobs that Michigan needs."

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