Congressman Alan Grayson, (D-Orlando), today introduced a bill (H.R. 4789) which would give the option to buy into Medicare to every citizen of the United States. The “Public Option Act,” also known as the “Medicare You Can Buy Into Act,” would open up the Medicare network to anyone who can pay for it.
Congressman Grayson said, “Obviously, America wants and needs more competition in health coverage, and a public option offers that. But it’s just as important that we offer people not just another choice, but another kind of choice. A lot of people don’t want to be at the mercy of greedy insurance companies that will make money by denying them the care that they need to stay healthy, or to stay alive. We deserve to have a real alternative.”
The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish enrollment periods, coverage guidelines, and premiums for the program. Because premiums would be equal to cost, the program would pay for itself.
“The govern
21 minutes ago · Up to half the food aid in Somalia is routinely diverted to corrupt contractors, Islamist militants and local UN workers, a UN report says.
The report by the UN monitoring group in Somalia is particularly critical of the UN's own World Food Programme and recommends an independent inquiry.
It says WFP contracts are awarded to a few powerful individuals who operate cartels that sell the food illegally.
26 minutes ago · WASHINGTON – Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country.
The data is somewhat better than December, when 43 states reported higher unemployment rates, but worse than November, when rates fell in most states.
Still, five states reported record-high joblessness in January: California, at 12.5 percent; South Carolina, 12.6 percent; Florida, 11.9 percent; North Carolina, 11.1 percent; and Georg
32 minutes ago · Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who is playing a crucial role in bipartisan negotiations over financial regulation, pressed to remove a provision from draft legislation that would have empowered federal authorities to crack down on payday lenders, people involved in the talks said. The industry is politically influential in his home state and a significant contributor to his campaigns, records show....
Late last month, Mr. Corker pressed Mr. Dodd to scale back substantially the p
42 minutes ago · ATLANTA — Former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed announced Wednesday that he has decided not to run for Congress in Georgia. Reed considered seeking the Republican nomination for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District northeast of Atlanta, but said Wednesday on the social networking site Twitter and his Web site that he won’t.
The boyish-looking 48-year-old was clobbered in his first bid for elected office in 2006. Facing questions about his ties to disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramo
42 minutes ago · Bulk of Billions in Stimulus Money Will Hit Private Sector in Coming Months
What started as a trickle of money into the private sector could soon be a gusher, an analysis of the status of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan reveals.
A roughly $200 billion chunk of stimulus money much of it earmarked specifically for projects ranging from highway repairs to alternative energy initiatives is only just now beginning to wind its way from government agency coffers and into the econ
1 hour ago · 1 hour ago
PARACHINAR, Pakistan — Pakistani officials say suspected U.S. drones have fired missiles at a house and nearby truck in the country's northwest near the Afghan border, killing at least four people.
Local government official Sabir Khan said Wednesday's attack occurred in the Mazer Meda Khel area of the North Waziristan tribal area. Mazer Meda Khel is located some 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the main town of Miran Shah.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed the de
1 hour ago · 10 Mar 2010, 1056 hrs IST, REUTERS
WASHINGTON: US economists raised their forecast for economic growth in 2010 in March, the third straight monthly rise, while trimming their growth forecast for 2011, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
Economists surveyed earlier this month in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter said the economy is expected to grow by 3.0 per cent in 2011, which is 0.1 percentage point lower than estimates made a month ago.
But economists raised the
1 hour ago · ISLAMABAD — Suspected militants armed with assault rifles and a homemade bomb attacked the offices of a U.S.-based Christian aid group helping earthquake survivors in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six Pakistani employees, police and the organization said.
The assault prompted World Vision, a major international humanitarian group, to suspend its operations in Pakistan. Other aid organizations condemned the attack but said it would not lead them to curtail their own activities.
1 hour ago · BAGHDAD -- A controversy over the disqualification of candidates threatened Tuesday to undermine the legitimacy of Iraq's recent elections and inflame supporters of a coalition seeking to topple the alliance led by the prime minister.
U.S. officials, who had deemed the elections historic, were growing increasingly concerned by the dispute Tuesday evening, fearing it could lead to violence.
The candidates were barred on election eve by a commission -- run by onetime U.S. ally Ahmed Chalabi
1 hour ago · Jean Springer was 22 when she joined a new corps of female pilots needed to help the country in World War II.
Now 89, the Cincinnati woman is in Washington on Wednesday with about 180 other former fliers finally to receive the nation's thanks.
Congress is awarding the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor, to members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, a civilian branch of the Army Air Force. Fewer than 300 of the 1,100 survive. Relatives of those who have died or could n
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