Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Wednesday that he will push ahead with a comprehensive health care reform bill with — or without — Republican support and start a committee markup the week of Sept. 21.

Baucus made the announcement Wednesday after privately telling Finance Committee Democrats during a morning meeting that he will introduce a bill in the early or middle part of next week.

The move came ahead of a meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon with the bipartisan Group of Six Senate negotiators, who had been trying to reach an agreement for months. It’s unclear how those talks will be affected by the announcement.

But by making clear that he will move forward, Baucus gave President Barack Obama a significant talking point for his speech Wednesday night before a joint session of Congress. The president will be able to point to progress in the five congressional committees with jurisdiction over health care.

“He is making clear in the meeting that it is time for action and time to move forward to get a bill done by the end of the year,” according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

For the rest of this article:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/26912.html

Face Fwd comments:

Who are the “Gang of 6″ that are negotiating for you on helath care:

Jeff Bingaman Democrat

Kent Conrad  Democrat

Max Baucus, Democrat

Olympia Snowe, Republican

Chuck Grassley Republican

Michael Enzi Republican

If there is any health care legislation passed these would be the 6 to blame.  What seems odd about Baucus is that he has taken more money (over $2MM) in campaign donation from insurance and health related industries.  The only thing I can figure is that he has promised the people paying him they he would push them to the top of the list for fat government contracts once the health care bill is passed.

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer Alan Fram, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Public disapproval of President Barack Obama’s handling of healthcare has jumped to 52 percent, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll released hours before he makes his case for overhaul in a prime-time address to Congress.

With his health revamp moving slowly and unemployment edging ever higher, Obama’s overall approval rating has also suffered a blow. The survey showed that 49 percent now disapprove of how he is handling his job as president, up from 42 percent who disapproved in July.

The grade people give Obama on health care also has worsened since July, when just 43 percent disapproved of his work on the issue.

The poll underscores how the president has struggled to win public support to reshape the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care system and to put the brakes on a deep recession.

Forty-nine percent say they oppose the health overhaul plans being considered by Congress, compared to just 34 percent who favor them.

People are about evenly split over what lawmakers should do now on health care: About four in 10 say they should keep trying to pass a bill this year while about the same number say they should start over again.

For the rest of the article please go here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090909/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_ap_poll_health_care

Face Fwd Comments:

Too bad we don’t live in a democracy where the will of the people is served.  Instead we live in a PR ran government that is constantly pushing their agenda through their controlled network television and newspapers. If we can turn the health care agenda back we have a chance of taking control o our individual liberties.  But never think the liberals have given up on their agenda of telling you how to live your life.

By JONATHAN WEISMAN and JANET ADAMY – Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in a high-stakes speech Wednesday to Congress and the nation, will press for a government-run insurance option in a proposed overhaul of the U.S. health-care system that has divided lawmakers and voters for months.

White House officials say the president will detail what he wants in the health-care overhaul, as well as say he is open to better ideas on a government plan if lawmakers have them.

Democratic plans call for requiring most Americans to carry health insurance. Failure to comply could cost families as much as $3,800 a year, according to a new Senate proposal.

The president is likely to say that a government-run insurance plan, known as the “public option,” will not provide a level of subsidies that give it an unfair advantage over private insurers, according to aides familiar with the speech preparations.

For the rest of the story:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125240777810092069.html#mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories

Face Fwd Comments:

Forget the death panels, forget the rationed health care, forget the governments inability to manage anything……. We the people CANNOT AFFDORD any government sponsored  program that is paid for by the tax payers.  While I would probably oppose any kind of additional government intervention into my life, I am for cutting back spending in most government spending programs (especially congressional salaries and perks) and cutting out some completely.  Do we really need to fund otter research?

The thing that our politicians have forgotten is the fact the Tea Parties were not about Health Care, they were about government spending and the public’s distrust of that spending.  So listen Washington, forget health care, forget bailouts, forget stimulus packages and start cutting out programs rather than trying to start new ones. 

While I don’t often quote religious writings here is something that is appropiate:

 Luke 4:23.

“And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’”

To Obama and the rest of the people in your administration, to the Senate and the House, you know what was done in your home towns, you know what the people have said, now go do it.  Stop spending our money and start saving it.  We don’t need or want you to take care of us.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Obama’s speech to Congress on Wednesday on health care reform will probably be one of the high-noon moments of his presidency.
 
President Obama has faced pushback from members of his party on a public health care option.  Surrounded by liberals demanding a government-run public option and centrist Democrats — along with Republicans — who want to dump the option, Obama just might have his finger on something that can get him through this health care showdown: the “trigger” option.

The idea would give insurance companies a defined period to make changes in order to help cover more people and drive down long-term costs. If those changes failed to occur within the defined period, a trigger would provide for a public option to force change on the insurance companies.

A public option is a government-funded, government-run health care option, similar to Medicare. Under the plan, people would pay premiums 10 to 20 percent less than private insurance.

But the question remains about whether Obama will bow to liberals in making a play for the public option. Though he has voiced his support, he has signaled over the past months that it’s not the only option that could work.

“I continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices would help improve quality and bring down costs,” Obama said Monday.

One of the bipartisan “Gang of Six” on the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has been actively negotiating with the White House.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/08/congress.trigger/index.html

Face Fwd Comments:

Not the trigger I wanted.  Just another way to get what they want…control of the health insurance industry