debbie stabenow

The push is on to dilute the climate change bills moving through Congress, and it’s not coming only from conservatives. Mother Jones’ Kate Sheppard reports today that 14 Senate Democrats are urging their leadership to amend the proposal to grant more free polluting permits to the coal-burning utilities that emit the most greenhouse gases. In [...]

With 7,000 Americans exhausting their unemployment insurance (UI) each day, Senate Democrats are hoping this week to pass legislation extending those benefits nationwide — a bill that’s been held up for weeks while upper-chamber leaders haggle over a series of controversial Republican amendments. First, though, those Democrats are taking every opportunity to place the blame [...]

Citing budget concerns, the Senate on Wednesday killed a $245 billion proposal to scrap the controversial formula that dictates doctor payments under Medicare.
The vote count was 47 to 53 — 13 votes shy of the 60 needed to defeat a GOP filibuster.

Just announced from the office of Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the upper chamber will vote this afternoon to bring to the floor a $245 billion proposal scrapping the formula by which doctors are paid to treat Medicare patients.

But that’s what they’re getting.
With Democratic leaders hoping to bring up legislation to fix, once and for all, the formula to pay doctors who treat Medicare patients, a great deal of attention is being paid to the inconvenient fact that Democrats have not presented a plan to pay for the bill’s $245 billion price tag. [...]

Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) isn’t the only Democrat playing hard-ball on health reform this year. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that the House won’t support a $245 billion proposal to revamp Medicare’s physician reimbursement formula unless the Senate agrees to adopt pay-as-you-go rules for most other elements of federal spending.

Senate Democrats this week are hoping to pass legislation to repeal, once and for all, the flawed formula that dictates physician payments under Medicare. And today they’re getting some help from patient advocates and the senior lobby.

Democrats are in the uncomfortable position of claiming that an overhaul of the way doctors are paid under Medicare is somehow not part of health care reform.

There will be no cloture vote on a $245 billion proposal to prevent pay cuts to Medicare doctors, according to the office of Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who sponsored the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed a motion yesterday to hold a cloture vote on the bill Monday — the procedural move required to [...]

Without any ceremony, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took to the floor this afternoon and filed a motion to hold a cloture vote Monday on a 10-year, $245 billion proposal to update payments to physicians participating in Medicare.
The bill, introduced just two days ago by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), would eliminate the flawed Medicare [...]