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Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about the Affordable Health Care for America Act including the truly outrageous claim that individuals who enroll in the public health insurance option will be forced to have a data-receiving microchip implanted in their bodies.

Seriously?

There is no such provision in any version of legislation -- in draft or final form -- considered by either the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Myth: People who enroll in the public health insurance option will be forced under the law to have a microchip implant.

Fact: The Affordable Health Care for America Act does not have any provision requiring any person to have a microchip -- or anything else -- implanted on their bodies for any reason.

Today, after a thorough examination, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released findings showing that greenhouse gases threaten our public health and the environment:

Endangerment Finding: The Administrator finds that the current and projected concentrations of the six key well-mixed greenhouse gases--carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)--in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.

Cause or Contribute Finding: The Administrator finds that the combined emissions of these well-mixed greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines contribute to the greenhouse gas pollution which threatens public health and welfare.

“The EPA has thoroughly reviewed the scientific literature on climate change, which spans decades of research across a breadth of disciplines and across the globe. The science is clear: global warming is real, its impacts are being felt around the world, and carbon emissions present a danger to public health and the economy worldwide."

This morning, the Department of Labor released unemployment numbers for November showing that 11,000 jobs were lost last month - the fewest jobs lost in a year and far fewer than economists had anticipated. In addition, the job losses for September and October were revised downward, showing that the rate of job losses has started to decline -- from an average of 673,000 per month in the final three months of the Bush Administration to 87,000 during the past three months:

“Today's jobs report is evidence that our recovery efforts are moving our economy in the right direction. After losing an average of 673,000 jobs per month in the final three months of the Bush Administration, the report for November showed a job loss of 11,000 jobs - the lowest level since the recession began in December 2007."

This afternoon, the House passed the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act (HR 4154) by a vote of 225 to 200. The bill is a sharp departure from Republican policies and efforts to completely repeal the estate tax -- providing tax cuts to help only the wealthiest 2 in 1,000. This legislation keeps the current estate tax exemption for inheritances of less than $3.5 million per individual and $7 million for married couples. Without the bill, the estate tax would be eliminated entirely in 2010; and in 2011, the maximum estate tax rate would then increase to 55% (from 45% this year), applying to all estates above $1 million per individual.