All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

With the first critical vote for the Senate health care bill slated for Saturday night, both advocates and opponents of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's bill are putting pressure on the few key Democratic senators who may or may not hold up the measure.

On Saturday at 8 p.m., the Senate will vote on whether or not to even begin debate on the measure. Reid needs at least 60 senators to vote in favor of debate, and Republicans plan on uniformly voting against moving forward. A handful of conservative Democrats have expressed reservations about supporting the bill, for various reasons, and two have not yet disclosed whether they will vote in favor of moving the debate forward on Saturday: Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

However, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), another conservative Democrat whose vote was in play, announced today he would vote in favor of beginning debate. He maintained, though, that he will vote with Republicans to filibuster the bill after debating it, if it is not altered to his liking.

"The Senate should start trying to fix a health care system that costs too much and delivers too little for Nebraskans," Nelson said in a statement. Saturday's vote, he said, "is only to begin debate and an opportunity to make improvements. If you don't like a bill why block your own opportunity to amend it?"

Nelson and his fellow centrist Democrats have been feeling the heat from all sides. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) e-mailed his supporters this morning, Politico reports, urging them to call Nelson's office and ask him to vote against the health care debate tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee sent out an e-mail with the subject "Your Call Can Make the Difference," also urging people to call Nelson and Lincoln and ask them to vote against Saturday's motion.

Read full post…

Updated at 12:55 p.m. ET.

A Senate ethics panel cleared Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) of any legal wrongdoing, after months of questions swirling around his appointment to the Senate seat President Obama left vacant upon taking office.

The panel, however, strong criticized Burris for providing “incorrect, inconsistent, misleading or incomplete information to the public and the Senate. It calls a number of his actions “inappropriate.”

Burris came under fire after Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- who was already accused of trying to sell Mr. Obama's former Senate seat -- appointed Burris to the position. Burris was not initially under investigation for any connection to Blagojevich's alleged scheme, but he later admitted he tried to raise money for the governor while seeking the Senate seat.

In a "public letter of qualified admonition (PDF)," the six-person Senate Ethics Committee found that Burris committed no "actionable violations of the law."

Still, the panel wrote in its letter, "Senators must meet a much higher standard of conduct."

Read full post…

With Sarah Palin in the spotlight as she continues her nationwide media and book tour, the Democratic National Committee is suggesting to its supporters that the former GOP vice presidential candidate could pose a real threat to the Democratic agenda.

In a fundraising e-mail sent out Friday, Organizing for America -- the community organizing component of the DNC founded in the wake of Barack Obama’s inauguration -- said it is aiming to raise $500,000 in the next week "to help push back against Sarah Palin and her allies."

"Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn," says the e-mail, signed by OFA Director Mitch Stewart. "It's dangerous. Remember, this is the person who coined the term 'Death Panels' -- and opened the flood gates for months of false attacks by special interests and partisan extremists."

Palin has managed to draw in large crowds on her book tour, illustrating the fact that she still has ardent political supporters more than a year after losing the 2008 election and months after resigning as governor of Alaska. Mainstream media outlets, as well as both conservative and liberal outlets, have thoroughly covered Palin's moves because of the public's strong interest in her.

It is open for debate, however, whether the DNC truly considers Palin a threat or is simply using Palin's current moment in the spotlight to its own advantage.

"This e-mail is a standard political tactic: use a highly controversial opponent to rally your base," CBS News' Political Director Steve Chaggaris said. "Knowing how strongly liberals dislike Palin, President Obama's political arm sees an opportunity and is trying to take advantage of that anti-Palin passion to benefit its cause."

Read full post…

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that the Senate will take its first procedural vote on his health care bill at 8 p.m. on Saturday, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer John Nolen reports.

Once the ball is rolling on health care, however, Republicans plan to pull out all the stops against it. They could use procedural tactics to draw out the debate, such as requesting the entire 2,000-plus page document be read aloud.

"It's going to be a holy war," Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) told the Los Angeles Times.

Even just beginning the debate could be difficult, however. Reid needs all 60 Democrats to pass the first procedural vote to begin debate. After the procedural vote, the Senate will hold a voice vote to actually start debating. The Senate will adjourn for Thanksgiving, though, and come back on Nov. 30 to begin debate in earnest.

After what could be weeks of debate, Reid will once again need to hold his caucus together to pass another procedural vote -- this time to overcome a Republican filibuster to allow for a vote of the actual bill. This vote should be the most challenging. Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) said today he would join the Republican filibuster if he determines he does not approve of certain aspects of the bill, reports Roll Call.

Read full post…

Democratic Rep. Artur Davis is the the only African American in Congress representing Alabama, and he was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to vote against the House Democratic health care bill earlier this month. And yesterday, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson apparently called him out for it.

"You can't vote against health care and call yourself a black man," Jackson said Wednesday night, the Hill newspaper reports. Jackson made the remarks at an event hosted by the CBC Foundation to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Jackson's presidential bid.

Jackson later told the Hill he "didn't call anybody by name," but he noted that the state of Alabama could benefit from health care reform because of its relatively high poverty levels. In a statement to the Hill, Davis avoided conflict with Jackson.

"One of the reasons that I like and admire Rev. Jesse Jackson is that 21 years ago he inspired the idea that a black politician would not be judged simply as a black leader," he said. "The best way to honor Rev. Jackson's legacy is to decline to engage in an argument with him that begins and ends with race."

Some CBC members defended Jackson's statement, but they also rationalized Davis' vote.

Read full post…

A number of retired military generals who now work for private defense firms are still advising the military -- with no obligation to disclose their ties to the defense contractors to the government, according to a report from USA Today published Wednesday. That needs to change, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told the newspaper in an interview published today.

USA Today's investigation found that 80 percent of the retired generals and admirals who now serve as "senior mentors" for the military have financial ties to defense contractors. Not only are they not obligated to report those ties, the senior mentors are also exempt from ethics rules that apply to part-time federal employees because they are hired as independent contractors.

McCain told the newspaper that those paid by defense contractors should be barred from mentoring at war games that present a conflict of interest. Furthermore, he said, they should have to disclose their financial ties.

"I'm sure most of them would have no problem with that," he said. "The important thing is that they avoid the appearance of conflict."

McCain is the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Two Democratic senators on the committee, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Jim Webb of Virginia, also said there should be new disclosure rules. Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.), chair of the defense subcommittee for the House Appropriations Committee, said he has asked the Defense Department to immediately provide his panel with justification and criteria for the work of the "senior mentor" program.

The ties between the public and private sectors go beyond the military. The Huffington Post points to a 2004 study that found 291 former high-ranking government officials serving as lobbyists, board members or executives at contracting firms that benefit from federal contracts worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Read full post…

Democrats are attempting to improve Americans' access to medical care through their massive health insurance overhaul, but they may make it a little harder for those seeking out Botox or breast implants.

The health care bill unveiled by Senate Majority Harry Reid on Wednesday night includes a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery. The tax is expected to raise an estimated $5.8 billion over 10 years to help pay for the $849 billion plan, the Agence France-Presse reports.

The tax would only hit elective procedures -- it exempts any procedures "necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or disfiguring disease." It would go into effect, according to the bill, on Jan. 1, 2010.

The "botax," as some have called it, was originally considered in the Senate Finance Committee but was dropped at the time.

Some evidence could suggest the measure may not raise as much revenue as expected. In 2004, the state of New Jersey passed a 6 percent tax on plastic surgery that was expected to raise $24 million a year. However, it only brought in about $7.5 million in 2005, the National Journal reported, and around $11 million in 2007.

The market for cosmetic procedures does not seem to have suffered from the bad economy: the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2008, up 3 percent from 2007. Surgical procedures, like breast augmentation declined, but minimally-invasive procedures like Botox increased. The professional group says the U.S. spent $10.3 billion spent on cosmetic procedures last year.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care
Senate Embarks on Health Care Battle
Dems Feel the Heat over Abortion

Sen. John McCain defended his 2008 presidential campaign staff today against the attacks lobbed at them from Sarah Palin's new book, "Going Rogue."

In an interview with Reuters, McCain praised his campaign manager Steve Schmidt and campaign adviser Nicolle Wallace. Palin, McCain's 2008 running mate, criticized both in her book.

"There's been a lot of dust flying around in the last few days, and I just wanted to mention that I have the highest regard for Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace and the rest of the team," McCain said. "I think it's just time to move on."

Wallace said Palin's claims about her are not true and said the book is "based on fabrications."

Other members of McCain's campaign staff have disputed the stories from Palin's book. Additionally, factual errors and discrepancies in Palin's claims have come to light since excerpts of the book were released. Earlier this week, McCain said Palin was wrong about a $50,000 bill she claimed to have received for the vice presidential vetting process.

Despite the controversy, McCain told Reuters, "I'm still really proud of her and the campaign she ran, and I think it's pretty obvious that she has a substantial base and interest out there." The interest in her book, he said, showed "the strength of the base" of the Republican Party.

Read full post…

Recently released breast cancer screening recommendations represent a "step backward" for women's health care and the "slippery slope" health care could take under Democrats' proposed policies, a group of Republican congresswomen said today.

Meanwhile, in response to the concern surrounding the new recommendations, the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress insisted the recommendations will not be used to set policy and criticized Republicans for their "political gamesmanship" on the issue.

"This is how rationing begins. This is the little toe in the edge of the water," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "This is when you start getting a bureaucrat between you and your physician. This is what we have warned about."

(The above photograph shows, from left to right, Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) and Blackburn.)

At issue are the new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which concluded that it is not worth it for women to perform breast self-exams or to get routine mammograms before reaching the age of 50. The task force is an independent group of 16 experts put together by the Department of Health and Human Services.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement earlier today that said the task force is only putting forward new information and does not set policy or determine what services the government covers. She also said she would be very surprised if any private insurance companies changed their mammography policies because of the recommendations.

Still, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) said today that she feared health insurance companies would change their policies. Furthermore, she said, she feared that such studies would be used to set policy in the national health insurance exchange that would be set up and run by HHS if Democrats are able to pass their health care bill.

Read full post…

A new set of breast cancer screening recommendations has caused some anxiety for women, leaving them wondering whether or not to schedule regular mammograms or whether the new recommendations will impact their insurance policies.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement on Wednesday to address the confusion, saying that the recommendations will not impact government policy and should not impact private insurers' policies, two concerns voiced by Republicans today. She added that mammograms remain an important live-saving tool.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued new guidelines that recommend against both routine mammograms for women younger than 50 and breast self-exams. The independent panel concluded these screening procedures have been causing too many false alarms and unneeded biopsies without substantially improving women's odds of surviving the disease.

"The U.S. Preventive Task Force is an outside independent panel of doctors and scientists who make recommendations," Sebelius said in her statement. "They do not set federal policy, and they don't determine what services are covered by the federal government."

Read full post…