Blog Post

This afternoon, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Chairman Emeritus John Dingell, and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller released a discussion draft for health care reform to reduce costs, offer a greater choice of doctors and plans, and guarantee affordable, quality health care for all Americans:

At her weekly press conference today, Speaker Pelosi was asked about health care reform and the various proposals being discussed. The Speaker reiterated her strong support for a public option, which President Obama supports:

The first thing the Democratic-led Congress did in January 2007 was reimpose pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO, budget rules that Republicans had let lapse. The PAYGO rules had helped President Clinton turn over an historic budget surplus to President Bush--who quickly turned it into a record deficit:

This afternoon, Speaker Pelosi met with the Chorus from Staten Island P.S. 22 just off the east steps of the Capitol. The group, led by their Director Gregg Breinberg, performed for the Speaker after touring the Capitol and meeting with their Congressman, Rep. Michael McMahon. The Speaker told the students, "you had great harmony and made us all full of joy to hear you sing":

Today, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on the termination of individual health policies by insurance companies, including the controversial practices of "post-claims underwriting" and the "rescission" of coverage after policyholders become ill.

Today, the United States Global Change Research Program, a joint scientific venture of 13 federal agencies and the White House, released a report on the domestic impact of climate change. Key findings include:

This afternoon, President Obama delivered a speech to the American Medical Association on the urgent need for comprehensive health care reform. The President outlined the cost of inaction, explaining that Americans are currently spending over $2,000,000,000,000 a year on health care which, if not addressed, will result in even higher premiums, further erosion of benefits and increased number of uninsured Americans.