Reid Moves Forward With Health Care Bill, Despite Serious Obstacles

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Tuesday addressed major obstacles facing the Senate’s health care reform legislation, including a possible move by pro-life Senators to introduce language barring federal funding for abortions, similar to the Stupak amendment that made its way into the Affordable Health Care for Americans Act.

“We’re going to continue to work with the pro-choice folks and the pro-life folks in the Senate and come up with something fair and reasonable,” Reid said during a late-morning press conference.

The majority leader added that the public option will continue to be included in the legislation, despite the objections levied by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who has threatened to filibuster any legislation with the provision.

“We’re going to move forward, I believe strongly, with the public option,” said Reid. “I had a conversation with Joe Lieberman an hour ago, it was a good conversation and I’m confident we’ll work something out.”

Reid, and the Democratic Senators that joined him, appeared at Tuesday’s conference flanked by U.S. servicemen and women. They took the opportunity to highlight the Caregiver and Veterans Affairs Act, a piece of legislation Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Ok.) has put a hold on.

Coburn has stated that although he supports the aim of the bill, which would give families of wounded veterans the resources for home treatment, he is uncomfortable passing the legislation until payment is addressed.

“Where was he when we were spending a trillion dollars on the war in Iraq? That wasn’t paid for,” Reid argued. “I have no ability to comprehend the illogic of [Senator] Coburn.”

Graham Climbs Aboard Climate Change Bandwagon

By Ravi Bhatia - Talk Radio News Service

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has teamed up with Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) to find common ground on creating bipartisan climate change legislation, with hopes of making progress before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month.

“The green economy is coming. We can either follow or lead,” Graham said at a press conference on Wednesday. “Those countries who follow will pay a price. those countries who lead in creating a new green economy for the world will make money.”

Graham and Kerry wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times published on Oct. 11 that highlighted some of the goals of the legislation, which include acknowledging that climate change is real, investing in wind, solar and nuclear energy and breaking U.S dependence on foreign oil.

Republicans boycotted the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee markups of the Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act on Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to urge the committee to submit the legislation to the Environmental Protection Agency for economic analysis. Ranking member Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) was the lone Republican to attend Wednesday’s meeting, although he departed after only 15 minutes.

“I do believe that all of the cars we have on the road and the trucks and the energy we use that produces carbon daily is not a good thing for the planet,” Graham said. “But if environmental policy is not good business policy you’ll never get 60 votes.”

According to Lieberman, the stakes are “too high” to wait on drafting climate change legislation.

“We will be held accountable by history unless we make every effort to find common ground,” he said.

Lieberman: Passing Prevention And Preparedness Act Is Urgent

By Marianna Levyash - Talk Radio News Service

The US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs met Wednesday to markup the Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2009.

The bill heeds the recommendations of Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism that an attack featuring biological weapons of mass destruction is likely to occur by the year 2013.

According to a fact sheet released by the committee, the bill implements a "tiered-system" list of toxins and recommends that facilities handling the most dangerous toxins install the highest security measures.

Committee Chair Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) emphasized the need for swift passage of the legislation.

"It is my intention to reconvene as soon as possible to put the amendments on the bill," he said.

The committee will hold another mark-up session in the coming weeks.

Senators Introduce Legislation To Combat Potential Biological Attack

On Congress's first day back from its month-long recess, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) announced legislation aimed at preparing the nation for the possibility of a near-future terrorist attack. In a news conference on Tuesday, Lieberman, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced the Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2009.

The bill comes in response to warnings issued by former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and former Senators Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.) that a biological terrorist attack is likely to occur somewhere in the world by 2013. The latter two co-chaired a Congressionally-mandated "Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism."

In October of 2008, McConnell told a conference of intelligence officials and contractors that one of the biggest challenges President Barack Obama would face in his first year in office would be the possibility of an attack by a biological agent, which he said might "create casualties greater than 9/11."

Said Lieberman, the "consequences of a [Weapons of Mass Destruction] attack would be severe," adding that his committee's bill "would implement many of the recommendations of the Graham-Talent assessment."

Among them are heightened security measures for labs in the U.S. and abroad that work on the pathogens most likely to be used by terrorists in a biological attack, improved intelligence and bioforensics and enhanced safety for emergency responders and their families.

"We are losing ground in terms of our protection against a weapon of mass destruction being used in the United States," said Graham, who served in the Senate from 1987 to 2005. "The clock is not our friend as we face this imminent threat," he added.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the committee's ranking Republican member, stated that if passed, the bill would allocate individual grants of $50 million during each of the next four years to help fund the cost of legislation. Collins said that a lack of funding for biological attack prevention is what prompted her to support the bill. She added that the legislation would provide the federal government with the legal authority necessary to regulate biolab security in the U.S.

"Lax security is very troubling...inadequate security at these labs threatens all of us," said Collins.

Lieberman said that although he expects some bureaucratic infighting to take place, he hopes that the bill will pass the Senate by the end of this year.

"Threats against the American people are out there and [they are] evolving," said Lieberman. "Yet the fact is that we're not properly prepared."

Lieberman, Lautenberg Introduce New Homeland Security Bill

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

On Wednesday, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) presented the 2010 Homeland Security Bill which would allocate $42.9 billion of federal funds to the Department of Homeland Security. This figure represents a 7% increase from last year’s Homeland Security Bill.

Lierberman said “it’s absolutely necessary to keep Americans safe and secure, not only from terrorist attacks but other man-made disasters and just plain natural disasters as well. There is no inexpensive way to defend the safety and security of the American people.”

The bill also places emphasis on supporting local first response units from around the country.

“We want to highlight this is the support we are giving to our first responders around the country: our firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel...” Lieberman said, adding that “This bill would double funding for instance for the safer grant program that helps local fire departments defray the cost of hiring new firefighters.”

Increased funding would go to the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant Program, which according to Lieberman, "sends money to the nation’s high risk metropolitan areas, [thus totaling] a bump up of $50 million dollars over last year's $187 million."

Lautenberg added that a $25 million increase from the previous bill would be appropriated to securing “high risk chemical facilities.”