KPCC: Politics News

'Botax' In Senate Health Bill Upsets Plastic Surgeons

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:38:00 -0800

Levies on liposuction, breast augmentation and other cosmetic procedures would generate billions of dollars to help cover the uninsured.

Senate Health Bill Faces Saturday Showdown

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:42:00 -0800

Democrats will need to vote in lockstep to overcome GOP opposition in a key procedural vote to move the $849 billion measure to full debate. But it's not yet clear whether Majority Leader Harry Reid can round up enough support.

Behind the scenes at House ethics committees

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Last month, the committee that serves as the "ethics cop" for the House of Representatives launched new investigations.

It's checking into several members of Congress - including Long Beach's Laura Richardson and L.A.'s Maxine Waters. The Richardson case involves a house that was in foreclosure. The Waters case involves federal bailout money and an L.A. bank.

KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde closes her series on ethics in Congress with a look at the secretive committee that will decide whether Richardson and Waters broke any rules.

Senate Tries To Strike Balance On Abortion Language

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

The fight over health care has moved to the Senate, and that means the fight over abortion is there as well. Earlier this month, the House passed legislation that would ban federal funding of abortion, but most Democrats say it went too far. Can the Senate's version find a compromise?

Hard Lessons From Two Mass Killings In Texas

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:49:00 -0800

The Senate is conducting hearings into the recent shootings at Fort Hood - a tragedy that took place just miles from the site of a deadly 1991 attack. That episode, in which a gunman killed 23 people at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, reshaped how police, medical and psychological personnel respond to such tragedies.

House Votes To Cancel Medicare Pay Cuts For Doctors

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:56:00 -0800

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was able to get the bill passed while the Senate couldn't by appending it to a more popular bill. Republicans complained that the cost of the measure was not offset and also charged that it was repayment to the AMA for endorsing the Democrats' health care bill.

Pelosi: Abortion Issue Won't Sink Health Care Bill

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0800

The House speaker tells NPR she can get moderate Democrats to back a less-restrictive final bill.

Consumers' Guide To The Health Bills

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:52:00 -0800

The health care overhaul debate in Congress now centers on two bills: the House measure and the Senate Democrats' version unveiled Wednesday. They differ in important ways. Here are commonly asked questions and answers about the bills.

Obama says US, allies discussing Iran sanctions

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:20:10 -0800

Showing impatience with Iranian foot-dragging, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the U.S. and its allies are discussing possible new penalties against Iran for defying international attempts to halt its contested nuclear program.

Senate Health Bill Strives To Balance Many Interests

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:41:00 -0800

Majority Leader Harry Reid added new taxes and modified major provisions from earlier Senate committee bills. The bill is expected to go to the Senate floor.

GOP Uses Mammogram Study To Attack Health Bill

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

Republicans are suggesting that the new guidelines for breast cancer screening reinforce their nightmare scenario about health care rationing under President Obama's proposed overhaul. The political brouhaha comes as the Senate is about to take up its health care overhaul bill.

GOP Governors Meeting Decidely Upbeat

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

The Republican Governors Association is holding its annual meeting this week in Austin, Texas. Thanks to recent election victories in Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans are feeling good again. They plan to use those wins to help the party rebound in 2010.

New Karzai Term, But Same Old Problems

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:32:00 -0800

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated in Kabul on Thursday for a new term amid tight security and ceremonial flourishes. But his second term is already beset by severe doubts that he will be any more effective at tackling the country's rampant corruption.

Consequences for ethical lapses on Capitol Hill

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Last month, a congressional committee voted to open ethics investigations into nearly a dozen members of the House of Representatives. Among those under scrutiny for possible ethics violations are L.A.'s Maxine Waters and Long Beach's Laura Richardson.

"Unethical" is not the same as "illegal" - and the penalty isn't anything close to jail. But if you're guilty, the sentence is something no one in Congress wants to face.

KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde has the third part in her series on congressional ethics.

1 clean truck program, 2 ports, and now 2 strategies

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

A year after the Clean Trucks program began at the harbor complex, the two ports in San Pedro Harbor are headed in divergent directions. The port of Los Angeles continues to fight challenges to pollution controls in court. In Long Beach, harbor commissioners are trying to end the same lawsuit.

Mammogram Wars: Experts Feel The Backlash

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

A firestorm erupted this week after an expert panel released recommendations that yearly mammograms aren't necessary for all women younger than 50. The criticism isn't surprising, given the emotional valence of breast cancer. But not everyone thinks the panel is wrong.

Obama Ready To Keep Pressure On Pyongyang

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

President Obama wraps up his trip to Asia with a stop in South Korea, where leader Lee Myung-bak joked that Obama had saved the best for last. The two men discussed a range of issues, including free trade and the ever-present nuclear threat from North Korea.

Judge: Corps' Negligence Caused Katrina Flooding

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:39:29 -0800

Flood victims argued the widening of a navigation channel maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers and subsequent loss of protective wetlands turned the channel into a speedway for the hurricane's storm surge. A federal judge in New Orleans agreed and awarded damages of about $720,000 to four people and a business.

Israel brushes off Obama criticism over Jerusalem

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:11:57 -0800

Israel broke ground on a new housing complex for Jews in east Jerusalem on Wednesday, brushing off President Barack Obama's criticism that construction in the disputed part of the holy city undermines efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks.

House and Senate fight over transportation funding

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:03:38 -0800

The U.S. House and Senate are fighting over a transportation bill that hasn’t even been introduced yet. Today, California Senator Barbara Boxer upped the ante by asking federal transportation officials to intervene on her behalf.