Health Care

White House Keeping Close Watch Over Health Care Debate

Christina Bellantoni | November 21, 2009, 12:15PM

Pres. Barack Obama

A White House source tells TPMDC they are "monitoring" today's Senate debate, but wouldn't tip off whether President Obama is making last minute phone calls to the holdout Democrats.

Volunteers with the DNC's Organizing for America are flooding Senate switchboards, and as we noted earlier, Sarah Palin is asking her fans to make calls and help "KILL THE BILL tonite."

The White House also is pushing back on critics who blast the health care bill as too long.

Communications director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog late last night: "Since some opponents of reform seem too obsessed with the length of the Senate health insurance reform bill to even bother looking at what's in it for American families, we thought we'd make it a little easier for them to find some key of provisions they're working so hard to kill."

He highlights eight elements of the bill the White House likes the most.

Read Obama's statement of administration policy on the Senate bill here.

Late Update: The president can't be watching too closely - Obama is golfing this afternoon.

Health Care

Obama Administration: We (Heart) Senate Health Care Bill

Christina Bellantoni | November 20, 2009, 5:59PM

Pres. Barack Obama and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

The White House has released a statement of administration policy about the Senate health care bill that will receive its first test vote tomorrow.

If the headline above sounds familiar, so does the statement. They released a very similar one before the House health care vote earlier this month.

"They have forged a strong consensus that represents an historic step forward," the administration said of both the House and Senate bills.

Each statement talks about the bill being "the product of unprecedented cooperation and countless hours of hard work by Members of the Senate who share the President's conviction that the Nation cannot wait another year for health insurance reform."

The biggest difference - the statement on the House talked about its strong public option.

The Senate statement lauds that the bill "includes important health care delivery system and insurance reforms and cost-containment initiatives, and it would extend the solvency of Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund."

Statement in full after the jump.

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Health Care

DeParle: Reid's Abortion Provisions Are 'In The Middle,' 'Status Quo'

Christina Bellantoni | November 19, 2009, 1:29PM

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

White House health care "czar" Nancy-Ann DeParle spoke with reporters this afternoon lauding the historic steps Congress has taken toward passing health care and to outline the next steps.

As we just reported, DeParle lauded Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a possible Democratic holdout on the procedural vote.

Reporters also asked about the provisions related to abortion, and both aides dodged the question by saying the issue was working its way through Congress and noting members are talking amongst themselves.

President Obama last week said he doesn't support the Stupak amendment, saying it was a health care, not an abortion bill, and DeParle took that a step further today.

DeParle signaled she prefers the Reid approach, saying the majority leader "carefully" worked on the issue and not mentioning the Stupak amendment.

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Health Care

White House Heaps Praise On Sen. Lincoln's Contributions To Health Care

Christina Bellantoni | November 19, 2009, 12:56PM

Director of the Office of Health Care Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

The White House is going for the attract 'em with honey strategy, heaping praise on some of the holdouts in the battle to get a health care reform bill passed.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln has been "and important and constructive player in this process and has made this a much better bill in this process," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said when asked on a conference call about where the conservative senator is leaning.

"She was a stalwart in working to protect seniors and taxpayers," White House health care czar Nancy-Ann DeParle chimed in.

They each said Lincoln (D-AR) was instrumental in improving the early version of the bill when it was clearing the Senate Finance Committee.

DeParle said Lincoln "was up there fighting" to get the Elder Justice Act included in the bill and said she saved taxpayers $600 million by capping tax deductions for CEO pay.

"That is huge that she got it in the bill," DeParle said.

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Asia trip

WH's Axelrod Says Obama Wasn't Expecting 'Immediate Gratification' From Asia Trip

Christina Bellantoni | November 19, 2009, 9:57AM

President Barack Obama, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak

President Obama left Seoul this morning to head home, concluding an 8-day, 4-country trip through Asia. Air Force One just landed in Alaska for refueling and he's expected back at the White House tonight.

Reporters traveling bombarded White House aides with questions about the lack of tangible results came from the trip, especially from China.

White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Obama "advanced our goals" over the week by having frank discussions with Asian leaders and presenting a new face to the world.

"This is not an immediate gratification business," Axelrod said. "All of these things require solid diplomacy, relationship building, discussions, and that was the purpose of this trip."

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Health Care

Health Care Reactions Expected To Dominate Capitol Hill Today

Christina Bellantoni | November 19, 2009, 7:45AM

United States Capitol

It's a big day for health care and the reactions will be flooding the zone today.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid revealed his health care bill last night, with a $849 billion price tag. He's holding a big event at 12:15 at the Capitol Visitors Center (and the White House is reacting via a noon conference call).

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding her weekly press conference at 11 on Capitol Hill, Minority Leader John Boehner will talk about health care at 11:45.

Republican Sens. Judd Gregg and Lamar Alexander are briefing reporters this afternoon.

Volunteers from Organizing for America and pro-reform groups plan to attend Reid's event and show their health care spirit.

Sen. Chuck Schumer was on MSNBC this morning and predicted the bill will get the needed votes to pass.

He added, "When we get this done, poll numbers will go up."

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Stimulus

GOP Jumps On Administration's Self-Inflicted Stimulus Goofs

Christina Bellantoni | November 18, 2009, 4:04PM

Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama

Every time the Republicans said the $787 economic stimulus plan didn't create jobs, the Obama administration was ready with a counterargument proving them wrong. That's one reason the self-inflicted problems of inaccurate reports at Recovery.gov sting.

The administration says it's a non-story, since the errors were about data entry, and the data entry only happened because they have tried to make the spending as transparent and real-time as possible.

Officials pointed us to today's AP Fact Check on so-called phantom districts, and said they are correcting "rough" data that is less than one percent of the total that's been posted at Recovery.gov.

But this afternoon came the latest, when ABC News obtained a report from the Government Accountability Office showing "more than 50,000 jobs or one out of every 10 jobs the White House says were 'saved or created' by their economic stimulus plan came from projects that reported spending no money."

ABC reported that GAO says there are a "range of significant reporting and processing problems that need to be addressed."

It may not be fair, but the Republicans are having a field day.

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White House

White House Disputes Fox Report On New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

Christina Bellantoni | November 18, 2009, 11:53AM

Deputy White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer

The White House is pushing back against a Fox News report spinning the results of a new study on breast cancer screening.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer blogged a response to a Fox report suggesting "Critics See Health Care Rationing Behind New Mammography Recommendations."

Pfeiffer quoted from the report, which suggested "some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are blasting new guidelines from a government task force that recommends against routine mammographies for women under 50, questioning whether they are tantamount to health care 'rationing' in the fight against the No. 2 cancer killer in U.S. women."

His response:

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Joe Biden

VP Joe Biden Bows To Jon Stewart On Daily Show, Riffs on Senate Democrats

Christina Bellantoni | November 18, 2009, 6:36AM

Vice President Joe Biden mock-bows to Daily Show host Jon Stewart when appearing on the show Nov. 17, 2009

Vice President Joe Biden poked fun at his boss and the media on The Daily Show last night, coming onto the set by bowing to host Jon Stewart.

Biden was in good spirits for the interview, his sixth appearance on the show but the first time a sitting vice president has been on.

The vice president joked about Amtrak and explained the discrepancies with the stimulus money (more on that in a later post), but the closing segment was the most interesting, when Stewart asked, "How much of the majority do the Democrats need to pass something?"

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Guantanamo Bay

Senate Defeats Inhofe Amendment On Gitmo Detainee Transfer

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 3:29PM

The Senate this afternoon defeated an amendment aimed at the Obama administration's efforts to transfer detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay to the United States.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) had tried to attach an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that would have blocked money for building or modifying prisons to hold Gitmo detainees.

The Senate killed the Inhofe amendment in a 57-43 vote hailed by the ACLU. All 40 Republicans were joined by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sens. Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, both Democrats from Arkansas.

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Asia trip

WH: Obama's Internet Comments In China Most 'Direct' Human Rights Talk To Date

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 9:23AM

President Barack Obama

White House aides traveling with President Obama on his trip abroad say his brief remarks on human rights and technology at the Shanghai town hall with Chinese students on Monday mark a key turning point in U.S.-China relations.

"I have never heard that kind of a discussion publicly in China before," Jeff Bader, senior director of the National Security Council for Asian Affairs, told reporters traveling with Obama in Beijing. "This was as direct a discussion on human rights as I've seen by any high-level visitor with the Chinese."

Bader said during private discussions with Chinese officials, Obama was "equally candid in describing human rights as a core, a fundamental, bedrock principle of U.S. foreign policy." He said Obama holds up the United Sates as an example while recognizing it remains an "unfinished project."

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2008 campaign

Plouffe Shocker: Edwards Camp Offered To Endorse If Obama Would Pick Him As VP

Christina Bellantoni | November 16, 2009, 5:56PM

Fmr. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), Fmr. Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe

In the thick of the Democratic presidential primary, a top operative offered up John Edwards' withdrawal from the race and endorsement - on the condition the person he endorsed would offer him a spot on the ticket.

David Plouffe details the deal that "a senior Edwards" adviser" tried to ink before the South Carolina primary, spilling the beans in his book "The Audacity To Win."

Plouffe, then campaign manager for Barack Obama, was worried after the New Hampshire loss and polls tightening in South Carolina.

He said that the rival Edwards camp was in trouble and wanted to make a move with either Obama or Hillary Clinton while Edwards was "at a point of maximum leverage."

In this portion of the book, Plouffe hedges a bit, saying he's not sure Edwards was aware of the effort's specificity.

But he also has direct quotes, suggesting he documented the conversation.

Read the excerpt after the jump.

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Asia trip

In China Obama Touts Freedom Through Twitter, Basketball's Yao Ming And Being The First Black President

Christina Bellantoni | November 16, 2009, 7:55AM

President Barack Obama

President Obama held up Twitter and non-censored technology as a key foundation for a free society while addressing students in China.

Speaking in Shanghai during his 8-day trip through Asia, Obama operated much like he does at his typical U.S. town hall, even going boy-girl, boy-girl as he took questions.

He opened up on winning the Nobel Prize, how he views the conflict in Afghanistan and complimented the students on their English skills.

During the town hall Ambassador Jon Huntsman read the question, submitted through the embassy: "In a country with 350 million Internet users and 60 million bloggers, do you know of the firewall? ... Should we be able to use Twitter freely?"

Obama admitted he had never actually tweeted - despite his campaign and the White House's large presence on Twitter - but said technology helps unite the world.

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Health Care

Michelle Obama Uses Stories That 'Touch Our Hearts' In Health Care Pitch

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 3:59PM

First Lady Michelle Obama

With President Obama abroad, First Lady Michelle Obama is stepping in for a few days with a focus on health care.

At an event with women at the White House this afternoon, the first lady joined health care czar Nancy-Ann DeParle. They showcased the stories of women whose families had suffered due to bad insurance and the Medicare "donut hole."

"These stories touch our hearts and they spark in us a fundamental source of unfairness," she said.

Obama said she can't say what the bill "that ultimately will cross my husband's desk will look like," but said it would be true reform.

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Guantanamo Bay

Sen. Graham Says White House Asked Him To Withhold Comment On Gitmo, For Now

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 1:55PM

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. Lindsey Graham, not known for holding back criticism of the White House, said today that he has "very strong feelings" about Guantanamo Bay detainees but will hold them in until President Obama returns from his trip to Asia.

Graham (R-SC) just issued this statement responding to the administration's announcement to transfer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Gitmo detainees to be tried in New York.

"The decision on the proper venue to try Guantanamo detainees, particularly the 9/11 conspirators, is one of the most important decisions we will ever make in the War on Terror. I have had and continue to have very strong feelings on this subject. Those feelings are well-known as evidenced by our debate on the floor of the Senate last week. "I have been asked by the White House to withhold comment about today's Guantanamo decision until I can meet face-to-face with the President after he returns from Asia. As our Commander in Chief, I will honor his request. I look forward to discussing this issue further."

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Greg Craig

Eric Holder: 'Unfair' To Blame Greg Craig For Gitmo Delay

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 11:43AM

Reporters asked Attorney General Eric Holder about the departure of White House counsel Greg Craig, and Holder said he was "a little surprised" by the news.

Holder also said Craig was getting "unfair proportion of the blame" for the delay of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

"Greg Craig is a great lawyer, he has been a great friend to the Justice Department," Holder said.

Holder also thanked Craig for his role in the "success" of the Obama administration, including the "effort" to close Gitmo.

Barack Obama

Obama Says He's 'Indebted' To Greg Craig As Counsel Leaves White House

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 8:59AM

White House Counsel Greg Craig

President Obama has made official what broke late last night - White House counsel Greg Craig is leaving and being replaced by longtime D.C. lawyer Bob Bauer.

"Greg Craig is a close friend and trusted advisor who tackled many tough challenges as White House Counsel," Obama said in a statement announcing the move, effective Jan. 3.

"Because of Greg's leadership, we have confirmed the first Latina justice on the Supreme Court, set the toughest ethics standards for any administration in history, and ensured that we are keeping the nation secure in a manner that is consistent with our laws and our values," Obama said. "I'm indebted to Greg not only for leading the Counsel's office but for his many decades of service to this country as well. He has been a huge asset in the White House, and he will be missed. I will continue to call on him for advice in the years ahead."

The move had been expected - and written about - for more than a month as details leaked out there was inner-White House tension over Guantanamo Bay. Today White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in Asia that had nothing to do with the departure.

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Afghanistan

Gibbs on Afghanistan: 'We're Not Going To Be There Forever'

Christina Bellantoni | November 12, 2009, 7:09PM

Though President Obama hasn't reached a decision on the size of the troop surge he will send to Afghanistan, he "gets closer and closer every day."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One it is "probably likely" Obama will host a ninth meeting of his war council after he returns from abroad next Friday.

He said there have been discussions about "benchmarks" for success in Afghanistan but said there would be no announcement before the conclusion of Obama's Asia trip.

"We have been there for eight years. And we're not going to be there forever," Gibbs said. "It's important to fully examine not just how we're going to get folks in but how we're going to get folks out."

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Asia trip

Obama Embarks On Four-Country Blitz As Asia Trip Begins

Christina Bellantoni | November 12, 2009, 5:32PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama today departed for his eighth foreign trip since taking office. He's making a brief stop in Alaska to speak with troops and arrives in Tokyo at 2 a.m. eastern time.

Obama will have a full day there before going to Singapore Saturday for the annual Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum known as APEC.

Sunday after APEC he'll head to Shanghai, China. After a full day of events there he will travel to Beijing. Obama will hold a press conference in Beijing and stay through Wednesday. Then he travels to Seoul, South Korea. He departs late Thursday to return to Washington.

According to unofficial White House statistician Mark Knoller, Obama has been to more countries in his first year than any predecessor. This latest brings his total to 8 foreign trips and 20 countries.

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Barack Obama

Administration Approvingly Cites Report Critical Of Key Elements Of Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | November 12, 2009, 12:32PM

President Barack Obama

The White House is touting a new report from the typically conservative Business Roundtable, which has some kind things to say about health care reform proposals making their way through Congress.

"A new report released today by the Business Roundtable underscores what experts and businesspeople have told us all along - comprehensive health insurance reform is one of the most important investments we can make in American competitiveness," President Obama said in a statement.

And indeed, the report does have some kind things to say about current legislation. But it isn't wholly positive. "The current proposals are missing some ingredients needed to drive the type of system-wide change that can "bend the future trend" significantly and permanently," the report reads.

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George W. Bush

George W. Bush Chooses UVa. For Oral History Project

Christina Bellantoni | November 12, 2009, 12:26PM

Former President George W. Bush

Former President George W. Bush has chosen the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia to conduct a "comprehensive oral history of his presidency."

The Miller Center and Bush's foundation announced the George W. Bush Oral History Project this morning, saying the university's scholars will do 100 interviews with the Bush Cabinet and outside advisers during the 5-year project.

"This oral history project will offer future generations a comprehensive look at what it was like to lead the country during some extraordinary challenges," Bush said in a statement.

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Afghanistan

Obama Still Undecided About Troops On Eve Of Asia Trip

Christina Bellantoni | November 11, 2009, 6:46PM

President Obama and his war council

President Obama completed his eighth meeting of the war council this afternoon without making a decision about how many more troops to send to Afghanistan.

The Situation Room meeting, held before Obama leaves for a more than week-long trip to Asia, ran from 2:30 to 4:50 p.m.

Administration officials continue to say Obama is considering his options as the Washington Post reports the top ambassador is unhappy with troop levels increasing.

Per the White House:

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Organizing for America

TPMDC Exclusive: Inside DNC's Organizing For America

Christina Bellantoni | November 11, 2009, 8:15AM

Nine months ago when the Democrats who ran Barack's Obama campaign created Organizing for America, no one was sure exactly how it would work or whether it was possible to harness the enthusiasm for the new president and translate it into action.

But nearing the anniversary of Obama's election, OFA has strengthened into a (smaller) mirror of the campaign, with volunteers in every single Congressional district and staff on the ground in every state but Oklahoma.

They also are growing the Obama donor base.

TPMDC has learned that 24.7 percent of the donations made online to OFA are new donors - people who didn't give during the campaign. That's a pretty striking figure give that a record 3 million people donated during 2007 and 2008.

Organizationally, the boots-on-the-ground, Washington outsider vibe has translated into real results as well. Saturday morning, an OFA volunteer in Louisiana flagged for the team that Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) might end up supporting health care.

The administration had been talking to Cao behind the scenes, but it was the volunteer who emailed OFA staffers to report that the Republican's office wasn't saying he was against the bill which opened the floodgates. OFA volunteers made 550 calls to the district office on Saturday in the hours before he became the lone Republican to back the bill.

In an exclusive interview with TPMDC, OFA officials laid out their metrics so far and stressed the results have exceeded expectations.

It was no surprise that Mitch Stewart, OFA's director, and Jeremy Bird, the deputy director, remained on message at all times. They told me nearly a dozen times the OFA mission is to support the president's agenda, and downplayed any disappointment that Obama voters couldn't make the difference in last week's state races in Virginia and New Jersey.

But the wide-ranging interview did lift the curtain on the organization, officially deemed a special project of the Democratic National Committee.

As I detailed earlier this year, OFA and the DNC share a building and merged finances, but keep many things separate. Among those are the list of email supporters, which stood at 13 million at the end of the long campaign. (They won't disclose its size today.)

Campaign geeks may like the transcript of our interview, and come along after the jump to delve into how OFA is doing.

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Health Care

Another Campaign Targeting Lincoln On Arkansas Airwaves

Christina Bellantoni | November 10, 2009, 4:06PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Seems like everyone is hopping on the pressure Sen. Blanche Lincoln train, with the vulnerable senator getting targeted from the left and the right.

Lincoln (D-AR) is the subject of a new ActBlue push dubbed Campaign For Health Care Choice, where 822 people have raised $32,247 so far.

Blue America is organizing the drive and charges Lincoln, a key vote on the health care plan pending in the Senate, "is refusing to commit to a quality public plan to keep the insurance companies honest."

They are using the money to run this ad statewide in Arkansas:

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Health Care

Pro-Choice Groups Plan Campaign To Get Senate To Reject Abortion Amendment In House Bill

Christina Bellantoni | November 10, 2009, 9:58AM

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)

The Stupak amendment blocking abortion funding has become the hot button of the left, replacing (for now) the fight over the public option.

As President Obama suggested he doesn't think the measure belongs in the bill, reproductive rights groups are mobilizing to make sure the amendment doesn't make it any farther in the process.

"This is a middle class abortion ban and I don't think women are going to accept it," said Laurie Rubiner, Planned Parenthood Federation of America's vice president of policy.

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Health Care

Bill Clinton Meeting Today With Senate Democrats

Christina Bellantoni | November 10, 2009, 7:56AM

Fmr. President Bill Clinton

Senate Democrats today are huddling for their first weekly lunch since the House passed its version of the health care plan and they have a special guest with firsthand experience of what can happen when legislation fails.

Former President Clinton will speak to the caucus about health care, a Democratic source confirmed to TPMDC.

The White House has been coy for months when reporters ask if Clinton (or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) are advising President Obama on health care.

Late update: Another source tells us that Clinton is attending the lunch at the request of Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (who worked in Clinton White House) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Afghanistan

White House Strongly Denies Reports Obama Has Decided On Afghanistan Troop Levels

Christina Bellantoni | November 9, 2009, 9:45PM

President Obama and his war council

The White House is forcefully denying reports that President Obama has settled on the number of troops to send to Afghanistan.

Several stories in recent days have suggested he has made a decision and cite specific troop levels.

Officials have dismissed those as inaccurate, but tonight the White House is sending out a rare statement from National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones:

"Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false. He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with his national security team, and he has not made any decisions about resources. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today the president is holding another Situation Room meeting of his war council as he continues to gather information for his decision.

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Israel

WH: Obama, Netanyahu Talked Iran And Middle East Peace

Christina Bellantoni | November 9, 2009, 9:26PM

President Obama

President Obama tonight met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office, and the White House isn't offering many details about what they discussed.

Here's the short readout the White House put out tonight:

"The President and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed a number of issues in the U.S.-Israel bilateral relationship. The President reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues. The President and Prime Minister also discussed Iran and how to move forward on Middle East peace."

Israel

Gibbs: Policy On Settlements Hasn't Changed

Christina Bellantoni | November 9, 2009, 3:04PM

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said reporters should not read anything into the closed, off-camera meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled for this evening.

Gibbs said during his daily briefing the 7 p.m. meeting in the Oval Office will focus on
"a full range of issues," including the Middle East peace process.

Reporters asked if the Obama administration was backing down from its push earlier this year that all settlements on the West Bank should be halted. Gibbs insisted the policy was the same.

Obama initially had been scheduled to speak Tuesday to a major meeting of Jewish leaders, which Netanyahu plans to address. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is going in Obama's place.

The president's schedule changed significantly following the tragic shootings at Ft. Hood. Obama will spend most of tomorrow attending the memorial service at the base.

It was already going to be a packed week since Obama departs for a more than week-long trip to Asia. He is now scheduled to leave Thursday.

Two interesting exchanges after the jump.

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Health Care

Do or Die: The Six Senators Who Will Decide the Fate of Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | November 9, 2009, 1:46PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faces a number of obstacles to passing health care reform but his main task is to keep his caucus united for not one, but two, supermajority votes, just to get the reform bill an up or down on the Senate floor. Failure to get 60 votes to push past either of those two procedural chokepoints could derail the reform bill. Here are the six key holdouts Reid must wrangle to reach the magic threshold.

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Health Care

Obama Says He's Grateful For Lawmakers Who Took 'Courageous' Health Care Vote

Christina Bellantoni | November 8, 2009, 1:18PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama today said "millions of Americans whose lives will change" when health care reform finally becomes law are grateful to the House for passing a sweeping overhaul bill late last night.

"Given the heated and often misleading rhetoric," Obama said during a brief statement in the Rose Garden, he wanted to recognize the "courageous vote" and add his own gratitude to the House "for taking us this far."

Obama, who spent the night at the Camp David presidential retreat, said he'd called a Montana woman this morning to thank her for telling him about her health care struggle, telling her that the bill pass in part because of her willingness to share her story.

He lauded "extraordinary activism" of those fighting for health care, as his campaign arm Organizing for America put together thank-you welcoming parties for supportive lawmakers as they arrived at their home airports today.

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Health Care

House Passes Health Care Bill 220-215

Christina Bellantoni | November 7, 2009, 11:19PM

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

The House of Representatives has passed a bill calling for comprehensive reforms to the American health care system and universal insurance coverage, marking a major milestone in the battle for health care reform.

It's the first time in the nation's history a chamber of Congress has gotten this far as the House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act by a vote of 220-215.

The vote came after President Obama made a last-minute appeal to his party during the House Democratic Caucus, asking them to "answer the call" of history.

Democrat after Democrat cited history on the House floor during the rare Saturday session, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) saying generations of Americans have wanted health care reform.

"Today the call will be answered," Pelosi said, citing the late Sen. Teddy Kennedy who called health care reform the "great unfinished business of our society."

Earlier in the day, lawmakers were getting Pelosi's signature on their copies of the bill.

All but one of the Republicans opposed the bill after a day of debate, joining 39 Democrats who voted 'No.' Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) was the only Republican to vote for it.

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Capitol Hill Tea Party

Gibbs Laments Images, Statements From Tea Party Crowd As 'Stunning'

Christina Bellantoni | November 6, 2009, 3:09PM

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

David Corn from Mother Jones read an incendiary quote from yesterday's Capitol Hill Tea Party to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs this afternoon during the press briefing.

Gibbs used the question as an opportunity to lament the state of discourse in the U.S.

Here's the Gibbs exchange:

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Health Care

Obama Administration: We (Heart) House Health Care Bill

Christina Bellantoni | November 6, 2009, 1:14PM

Capital Building and President Barack Obama

The White House just released a lengthy statement supporting the House health care plan.

Statements of administration policy, as they are officially known, sometimes help guide wavering lawmakers on how to vote.

The statement, in full after the jump, says the House bill "meets the President's criteria for health insurance reform."

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Health Care

Hispanic Caucus Warns Obama On Immigration Language In Health Care Bill

Christina Bellantoni | November 6, 2009, 10:50AM

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)

Roll Call is reporting (sub. req.) this morning that Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) is unhappy with potential language about illegal immigrants not being covered under the health care plan.

The newspaper reports Velázquez warned President Obama yesterday that 20 members of her caucus will vote against the final bill if that language is included.

In their current forms, the Senate version of the bill blocks illegals from getting coverage, the House bill does not.

"He listened to us and he knows where we stand," Velazquez said, according to Roll Call. "We made it very clear that we support the language that is in the House. We expect that the current language will not change."

We've checked in with her office and with the White House and will update readers when we know where this stands.

Barack Obama

Obama Meeting With Newly Elected Rep. Owens, Caucus Pushed To Saturday

Christina Bellantoni | November 5, 2009, 10:23PM

Capital Building and President Barack Obama

Bill Owens will have been a member of Congress less than five hours when he is treated to a private sit-down with President Obama.

The White House said Obama is scheduled to meet with Owens in the Oval Office Friday at 4:25 p.m. after the president returns from a visit to Walter Reed.

Owens (D-NY) was elected Tuesday night after defeating Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Speaker Nancy Pelosi will host the swearing-in ceremony around noon Friday.

He was a bright spot in a lousy night for the party in the elections in the Northeast, and the first Democrat to hold the seat since the Civil War.

TPMDC reported earlier that Obama is meeting with House Democrats during a caucus meeting before they vote on health care. That was scheduled for Friday but the White House just announced the meeting will be Saturday instead.

Late update: Vice President Biden on Friday will speak via phone to "members of the House of Representatives about the need to pass health insurance reform." In announcing Biden's schedule, the White House didn't specify if he was speaking to Democrats and Republicans or just one party. TPMDC will update when we find out.

Barack Obama

As Leaders Try To Pass Health Care Reform By Year's End, The Nearest Obstacles Are In Their Own Party

Brian Beutler | November 5, 2009, 2:23PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

With less than two months to go until Congress breaks for the holidays, the White House and Senate leaders are huddling to figure out how to pass a bill before the end of the year. As part of their push, both camps are meeting with conservative Democrats--most notably Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)--whose unanimous support is absolutely required simply to bring the bill to the floor. But leading Democrats are unlikely to make any progress until these swing-vote senators see the bill Majority Leader Harry Reid put together, along with a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. They say that's necessary before they make any decisions on even the earliest procedural votes, and there's no clear indication as to when the CBO will weigh in.

Last night, Reid met with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and others to discuss, among other things, how far they've come in convincing caucus conservatives to support the bill's public option. "That's one of many subjects, that wasn't the main subject," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Along the same lines, Reid spokesman Jim Manley suggests that this is part and parcel of an effort to move legislation sooner rather than later. They met, he said, to "discuss ways to try and get a bill done by the end of the year."

But with conservative Democrats cold to the public option, and withholding their commitments to allow the bill to be debated on the floor, the White House and Democratic leaders have a lot of work ahead of them and they'll likely have to work in tandem. On that score, this week, Lincoln--perhaps the most electorally vulnerable of all moderate Democrats--met with both Reid and President Obama to discuss the Senate bill.

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Health Care

White House Talking Points: GOP Health Care Plan Puts Families At Risk

Brian Beutler | November 4, 2009, 4:13PM

House Minority Leader John Boehner

The White House could probably laugh off the House Republicans' health care bill. But when the Democrats' bill comes to the floor conservatives will no doubt complain that their, better proposal is getting short shrift, so the Obama administration is getting out in front of that.

"House Republican Health Care "Plan": Putting Families at Risk," is the title of White House talking points, hitting a number of key aspects of the GOP plan.

"Unlike the House Leadership bill, the Republicans' bill takes us backwards rather than forwards."

"No Elimination of Discrimination Based on Pre-existing Conditions."

"The Republicans' bill leaves affordable health insurance out of reach for millions of Americans."

You get the idea. Read the entire sheet below the fold. It'll give you a sense of the plans failings, and the line Dems will be taking against it in the days (and possibly weeks) ahead.

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2009 elections

Obama Called Losers Last Night, Will Call Winners Today

Christina Bellantoni | November 4, 2009, 10:38AM

New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie (R), President Barack Obama, Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell (R)

President Obama has not yet called Republican governors-elect Chris Christie in New Jersey or Bob McDonnell in Virginia.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in his gaggle today that Obama did not watch the returns last night, a trend which is not unusual since he didn't watch returns for his own races as they came in.

"He wanted them to enjoy their night with their families and supporters," Gibbs said.

Gibbs said he sent Obama some email updates throughout the night and spoke with him on the phone. (As for what the races mean, all politics is local, Gibbs said this morning.)

The president was "disappointed" that his "friend" Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) was defeated, Gibbs said.

The president did talk to Corzine and state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-VA) last night.

Gibbs said Obama will call the victors today.

McDonnell is holding a press conference this afternoon.