Tracking The Overhaul Health Overhaul Moves One Step Forward, One Back July 31, 2009 • The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved its version of a health care measure Friday, clearing the way for a full House vote in September. Compromise, however, is proving elusive for a small negotiating group of three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee.
Planet Money Turf Wars And Details Bog Down A Banking Overhaul July 31, 2009 • Lawmakers are months behind the original goal of making sweeping changes to the nation's financial regulations. Leaders agree that changes are needed, but they just don't see eye to eye on what those changes might be.
House Works To Limit Executive Pay July 31, 2009 • The House of Representatives took the first step toward an overhaul of financial regulation by passing a bill that aims to curb executive pay deemed excessive. The bill would give shareholders a voice in executive pay and allow federal regulators to restrict pay practices that might encourage risky behavior.
House OKs More Cash-For-Clunkers Funds July 31, 2009 • The House voted Friday to rush $2 billion more dollars into the government's cash-for-clunkers program. It emerged Thursday that the $1 billion set aside to encourage purchases of fuel-efficient vehicles may be in danger of running out only days after the program began.
Week In Politics Reviewed July 31, 2009 • Los Angeles-area political thinkers — radio talk show host and writer Dennis Prager and Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post — discuss the week in politics. Topics include the health care overhaul and new GDP numbers showing a possible rebound in the economy.
Tracking The Overhaul Sen. Rockefeller On Health Co-Ops Plan July 31, 2009 • In the debate over health care, some Democrats are touting the idea of health cooperative as an alternative to a government-sponsored health insurance plan. But not all Democrats support that idea. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia is publicly skeptical of the co-op idea and offers his insight.
House Panel Close To Health Care Bill Agreement July 31, 2009 • A key House committee appears close to a vote on a plan that would cover almost all uninsured Americans and limit annual increases on insurance premiums.
National A Modern-Day 'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?' July 31, 2009 • President Obama, Vice President Biden, Professor Henry Gates and Sgt. James Crowley met in the Rose Garden yesterday for a beer and a reconciliatory chat about racial divisions. But was it successful?
House Approves Fresh 'Cash For Clunkers' Money July 31, 2009 • The government program, which offers owners of old cars and trucks up to $4,500 if they trade in their old vehicle for a new, more fuel-efficient one, has burned through its initial funding.
House Passes $636 Billion Budget For Pentagon July 31, 2009 • The House approved on Thursday its biggest annual spending bill — more than $600 billion for the Pentagon. A fifth of that is for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawmakers instead clashed over nearly $3 billion in military spending the White House never requested, and the defense secretary says he doesn't need.
Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court Nomination 6 GOP Senators To Vote In Favor Of Sotomayor July 31, 2009 • The U.S. Senate vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor may tell us more about the Republican party than it does about the nominee. Just six Republicans have so far announced their support for Sotomayor. The latest is Tennessee's Lamar Alexander.
Auto Industry In Turmoil 'Cash For Clunkers' Lacks Cash For Clunkers July 31, 2009 • The White House says it's reviewing options for keeping the "cash for clunkers" program going. Auto dealers already may have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $950 million program. The White House says any valid deals already made will be honored.
Tracking The Overhaul Congress Armed For Health Care Battle During Recess July 31, 2009 • Congress won't be in session, but that doesn't mean politics stops for the summer. In fact, August is when political battles can heat up. And both sides will be bringing the fight home to their constituents.
Tracking The Overhaul Taxing 'Cadillac' Health Plans Has Widespread Effects July 30, 2009 • One funding option before Congress is to tax expensive health insurance plans. But it's not as simple as taxing the rich to help the poor. Many other Americans benefit from such plans, from union workers to big city residents to those employed by small businesses.
Texas Police Chief 'Ecstatic' Over Funds For Officer July 30, 2009 • The Justice Department this week distributed $1 billion among police departments across the country. That amount paid for about 4,700 officers, including one in Sansom Park, Texas. Sansom Park Police Chief Tony White says his department, which got a little more than $134,000, is ecstatic that it is receiving the funds.
