Word: bill
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...President Obama and congressional leaders are ultimately forced to go back to the drawing board, their biggest challenge is likely to be the divisions within the Democratic party itself. Centrists are arguing for a bill that would jettison some of the more controversial elements - such as a government-run public option for the uninsured - and reduce the overall price tag. Liberals are saying they will not support a bill without a public option. (See Ted Kennedy's top 10 legislative battles...
...slimmed-down piece of legislation that could possibly be passed under special parliamentary rules by a simple majority of 51 Democrats. Theoretically, that would allow President Obama and the Democrats on Capitol Hill to declare victory, and return to finish the job another day. But in practice, a smaller bill would fall far short of covering the estimated 45 million or so uninsured. While that would save the federal Treasury money in the short run, health-care experts warn it would make it impossible to contend with the larger forces that are driving up health-care costs and burdening...
Which of the uninsured would be left out? The bill most likely would attempt to cover children who have not received coverage under other federal programs, and possibly their parents. It might also expand the Medicaid program to low-income people who do not currently qualify. But it is hard to imagine a scaled-down bill that would cover, for instance, middle-aged single workers, many of whom suffering chronic health problems, which are a major driver of medical costs. If the Senate decides to pass the bill under parliamentary rules that prevent a filibuster, it may also have...
Another problem with trying to write a scaled-back bill is that so many elements of health reform are interconnected, politically and substantively. Take, for instance, the so-called individual mandate - a requirement that people buy coverage if their employers do not provide it (and the proposed employer mandate to require most employers to provide it is one of the things most likely to be jettisoned). Making an individual mandate work requires subsidizing people who could not buy insurance on their own, and that is expensive. Cut the subsidies and the mandate back too far, and insurance companies - deprived...
...grand scale of American contributions to the peace process in Northern Ireland, however, Kennedy would probably be eclipsed by George Mitchell - former U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland and broker of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement - or by Bill Clinton, who took a closer interest in Northern Ireland than had any President before him. Instead, it's Kennedy's subtle yet influential lobbying that has been at the heart of the tributes paid to him in Northern Ireland since his death on Tuesday. (See Kennedy's top 10 legislative battles...