Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: Hope for Returning Veterans

Friday 10 July 2009 Bill Scheurer, Truthout: "Extensive information in the popular and scientific press shows that veterans are 'falling through the cracks' of our medical system. In a strange new twist of 'don't ask, don't tell' military culture, many veterans do not tell physicians about their military service and health care practitioners do not ask." http://www।truthout।org/071009A?n

White House, Hospitals Reach Deal on Health Care

"The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress। http://www.truthout.org/070809S?n

Rove Deposed in US Attorney Probe

John Bresnahan and Josh Gerstein, The Politico: "Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove was deposed Tuesday by attorneys for the House Judiciary Committee, according to Rep। John Conyers (D-Mich।), the panel's chairman। Rove's deposition began at 10 a।m। and ended around 6:30 p।m, with several breaks, Conyers said। Conyers would not comment on what Rove told congressional investigators, what the next step in the long-running Judiciary Committee investigation would be or whether Rove would face additional questioning।" http://www.truthout.org/070809A?n

WOMEN of AFGHANISTAN

The truth is that American military escalation will not liberate the women of Afghanistan। Instead, the hardships of war take a disproportionate toll on women and their families. There are 1,000 displaced families in a Kabul refugee camp, and they're suffering for lack of food and blankets. http://rethinkafghanistan.com/?utm_source=rgemail

National Day of Prayer

Dear Worshippers:

Please join in a Nation Day of Prayer for the USA on Sunday, July 5th. Pray that God would forgive the sins of our nation; pray that God would be restored to His rightful position as leader of our country; pray that we, as a nation, could repent and return to Him; pray He would be our God, and that we, once again, could be His people. Pray that God would restore our homeland, and that all in our land would know that Jesus is Lord.

Blessings,

Norton Lawellin

http://www.ndptf.org/

Iraq Vote Could Oust US Troops Early

Maya Schenwar, Truthout: "As US combat troops retreated from Iraqi urban centers on Tuesday, signs of an incomplete withdrawal abounded। Some soldiers remained in cities, their labels changed from 'combat troops' to 'trainers' or 'advisers,' while others relocated to bases close outside city borders। However, the US-Iraq security pact approved last December requires that every single US troop withdraw from the country by December 31, 2011, and an upcoming referendum vote in Iraq may demand an even quicker deadline।" http://www.truthout.org/070209J?n

Senate Already Passed A Budget That Can Pay For A Public Option

Posted: 01 Jul 2009 11:03 PM PDT

The Congressional Budget Office has put an estimated price tag on the health care reform bill from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). The plan includes a public option, and will cost just over $600 billion over ten years:

Democrats on a key Senate Committee outlined a revised and far less costly health care plan Wednesday night that includes a government-run insurance option and an annual fee on employers who do not offer coverage to their workers.

The plan carries a 10-year price tag of slightly over $600 billion, and would lead toward an estimated 97 percent of all Americans having coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Chris Dodd said in a letter to other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The AP obtained a copy.

By contrast, an earlier, incomplete proposal carried a price tag of roughly $1 trillion and would have left millions uninsured, CBO analysts said in mid-June.

The most noteworthy part of this is that a 10-year price tag of slightly over $600 billion is slightly less than the $634 billion President Obama set aside for health care spending in the budget:

President Barack Obama's first budget will seek $634 billion over 10 years as a down payment on health care reform, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

The Senate has already passed the budget with the health care spending intact:

The Senate easily passed a $3.55 trillion federal budget late Thursday night to kick off a two-week recess, giving President Obama most of what he wanted in his first spending plan in office.

Senators voted 55-43 for a plan that was championed by the White House and congressional Democrats as key to reviving the nation's economy and panned by Republicans as too expensive to adopt.(...)

The Senate budget closely parallels the proposal put forth by Obama, trimming it only by $12 billion in non-defense discretionary spending

Add it all up, and the Senate has already passed a budget that can pay for the public option. While a few details need to be clarified, the overall structure is now in place.

At this point, the only way that a public plan does not pass into law is if right-wing Democratic ideologues like Joe Lieberman overwhelm The Progressive Bloc(k). You can make sure that doesn't happen by using the Citizen Whip Count tool at FireDogLake.