All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Rep. Joe Sestak, the Pennsylvania Democrat hoping to unseat Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), received the endorsement of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Monday.

Upon announcing in August his bid to unseat Pennsylvania's senior senator, Sestak appeared to face an uphill battle: President Obama and Democratic leaders had already sided with Specter, who switched from the Republican to the Democratic party after it became clear he would not survive a Republican primary challenge.

Specter helped the Democrats secure their 60-seat majority in the Senate, and he has made clear efforts in recent months to prove his loyalty to the party. He declared his support for a pro-union bill he earlier opposed, and he continues to speak out in favor of the public option, or government-run health insurance plan, currently in the Senate health care bill.

Yet at a news conference at Philadelphia today, Frank suggested Specter's allegiance was disingenuous.

"Joe Sestak is a true Democrat who cares about the working families that have been hit hardest by the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration," Frank said. "He'll be a reliable vote for Pennsylvania's next generation instead of having the same loyal Bush Republican we've seen over the past generation. I have to say I don't think it did our profession any good for someone to announce that he switched parties purely so he could survive."

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It's rare for senators to meet on a Sunday . . . rarer still for the president to join them. But they were all on Capitol Hill yesterday, because Democrats — determined to get a vote by the holidays — are still divided over one key issue: government-backed coverage.

"Trying to get consensus," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. "We're not there."

Negotiations have reached such a fever pitch, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports, that the president himself trekked up to Capitol Hill yesterday to give his fellow Democrats what he called a "pep talk" at a meeting of the Democratic caucus.

As far as changing minds, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said on CBS' "The Early Show" today that "I think we're getting there." But she also said that there is no alternative.

"Failure is not an option," she told anchor Maggie Rodriguez. "The American people are tired of having to go in their pocket every year for higher and higher health costs. This is about saving money, this is about saving lives, and it's about saving Medicare. So we've got to get this done and I'm optimistic it's going to happen.

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The White House and congressional Democrats today trumpeted the results of a new analysis (PDF) of the Senate health care bill's impact on premiums, released just hours before the Senate kicked off debate on the legislation.

Without taking into account subsidies, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's reform package would raise premiums on non-group insurance policies by an average of 10 percent to 13 percent by 2016, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. About 57 percent of consumers in the non-group market are expected to receive subsidies, however, and for those people, average premiums would drop by as much as 59 percent. The bill would have a much smaller impact on the cost of small group and large group insurance, which account for 83 percent of the market.

Incoming White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog that the CBO report "contains more good news about what reform will mean for families struggling to keep up with skyrocketing premiums under the broken status quo."

Pfeiffer highlighted the CBO's conclusion that consumers in the nongroup market will see lower premiums, as well as the expected decrease in premiums for those who have employer-based coverage. Also, Pfeiffer wrote, "Americans who currently struggle to find coverage would see lower premiums because more people will be covered."

Pfeiffer emphasized that the CBO concludes that average premiums will rise in some cases because people will have more options and therefore choose to buy better insurance.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has a formidable task ahead of him this month as he tries to get 60 senators to allow for a vote in favor of his comprehensive health care reform package. The White House doesn't intend to let him go at it alone, however.

The Obama administration has been coordinating its health care messaging with Democratic leaders in the Senate according to various reports. Reid will "get backing from war rooms on Capitol Hill and in the White House, where operatives with a coordinated strategy stand ready to amplify the floor debate," Politico reports.

Meanwhile, the White House released today a video featuring Vice President Joe Biden, who asks, "Who do you trust?" when it comes to explaining what health insurance reform means. The video features physicians and nurses advocating for reform.

Reports last week said President Obama assigned a blog post from the Atlantic's Ron Brownstein, which praises the Senate health care bill, as required reading for all White House staff working on health care.

The White House has been working furiously on the issue behind the scenes all year, and the Associated Press reported last week exactly with whom. Administration officials have met with hundreds of lobbyists and others involved in the debate this year, the AP after obtaining 575 visitor records from the White House.

For more on the status of the current health care debate, check out CBSNews.com's latest Health Care Progress Report.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Senate Democrats managed to pull together a 60-vote majority Saturday evening to pass a key vote keeping health care reform legislation on track, despite efforts by Republicans (and a few contentious Democrats) to stall or kill the bill.

There are many issues in the 2,000+ page legislation being debated in the Senate, from insurer abuse, preconditions and spiraling health costs to abortion funding and Medicare taxes. But the most contentious issue popping up continues to be the so-called "public option" — government-backed health care coverage — similar to Medicare but available to anyone who cannot obtain or afford coverage from private insurance companies.

"You have people on one side saying 'I won't vote for a final bill if it's in it,' and you have other people saying, 'I won't vote for a final bill if it's not in it,'" said CBS News political analyst John Dickerson, "and so as Harry Reid and the president try to mollify one group, they end up making the other group angry."

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada secured the 60 votes needed to move forward with the historic debate on President Obama’s overhaul of health care today.

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This post was written by CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes and CBS News producer John Nolen

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled his health care proposal "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" on Wednesday night.

The Congressional Budget Office says the bill would cost $848 billion dollars over 10 years, reduce the deficit by $130 billion and would extend coverage to 94 percent of eligible Americans, reducing the number of uninsured individuals by 31 million leaving about 24 million people uninsured.

Here's a look at some of the key provisions of the bill:

• Effective Date 2014

• Requires most individuals to purchase coverage through their employer, privately or through a public plan. Includes exemptions for economic hardships. Fines for individuals not complying would start at $95 in 2014 phased-in over time up to $750.

• Creates a new public federal health insurance plan, the so-called "public option" which would compete with private insurers. States would have the choice of opting out by passing a state law.

• Establishes Health Insurance Exchanges, a marketplace where individuals, small businesses and others could purchase health care coverage.

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On "Washington Unplugged" Thursday, CBS News' Marc Ambinder said that while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has an uphill battle getting the health care he bill introduced last night passed, not all hope is lost

He noted how important the votes of Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.) , Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), as well Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.), are to the bill's chance of passage. "Their biggest stated concern is that the bill will add to the deficit over ten years," Ambinder explained, adding that the White House and Democratic leaders are encouraged because the Reid plan was estimated to decrease the deficit.

"It removes a major obstacle to moderates supporting it," he said. And the White House may have reason to rejoice.

"The White House strategy amounts to three words," CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller said. "Get it passed."

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Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced today an investigation by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee into the Fort Hood shooting on Nov. 5, where Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly murdered 13 and wounded 43.

“We appreciate that the Army and the Justice Department are conducting a criminal investigation of this shooting," said Lieberman. "But that does not mean that the rest of us, including the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, can just sit back and watch."

Without interfering in the existing investigations by the Obama administration, Lieberman cited Congress' duty as a watchdog in launching the probe on whether the shooting could have been prevented.

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Republicans may be able to use the current health care debate to their advantage in upcoming elections, some polls suggest.

Two Quinnipiac polls released Thursday show Republican Senate candidates in Connecticut and Ohio gaining ground as voters in those states show increasing dissatisfaction with Democrats' health care reform effort.

Former Connecticut Congressman Rob Simmons, the leading contender for the 2010 Republican Senate nomination, is leading Democratic incumbent Chris Dodd 49 percent to 38 percent, according to the poll. Simmons increased his lead over Dodd by six percent since September.

Meanwhile, 48 percent of voters in Connecticut said they disapprove of the way President Obama is handling health care, compared with 45 percent who approve. In September, more people approved by a two-point margin.

In Ohio, former GOP Rep. Rob Portman inches ahead of his two Democratic opponents for the first time. Ohio voters oppose Mr. Obama's health care plan 55 percent to 36 percent after being nearly split on the issue in September.

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