Judge Orders Notorious Terrorist Freed from Gitmo

A federal judge says 9/11 al Qaeda recruiter should be freed.

BY Thomas Joscelyn

Senate Democrats get favorable ruling

By MANU RAJU | 3/22/10 10:26 PM EDT

A ruling by Senate parliamentarian Alan Frumin handed Democrats a major victory Monday night, beating back a GOP push to declare a key tax proposal in the health care bill out of order.

After hearing arguments on both sides, Frumin said that Democratic plans to push back an excise tax on so-called Cadillac insurance plans until 2018 was within the purview of budget rules allowable under the filibuster-proof reconciliation process. The GOP had challenged the language on the grounds that it violated a 1974 budget law because of its impact on the Social Security statute, and was thus subject to a point of order that would doom the bill in the Senate.

Now Republicans say there are a series of other challenges they plan to levy against the bill in the coming days, and believe there is still a chance to knock out the Cadillac tax by arguing it violates the so-called Byrd rule, named after Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), which states that extraneous provisions not related to the budget can be stripped from reconciliation packages. Frumin has not yet ruled on that objection.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34840.html

“For more than a year, Planned Parenthood has worked tirelessly for a health care" bill, its president Cecile Richards said in a statement today. "It's a huge victory for women's health, but our work isn't over yet."

With passage of the legislation, "monumental progress was made toward achieving these goals."

http://www.lifenews.com/nat6175.html

House Democrats are pivoting to a jobs agenda hours after sending President Barack Obama landmark healthcare legislation.

Democrats are planning votes as soon as Tuesday on an $18 billion bill that funds infrastructure projects and provides small-business tax breaks, as well as a disaster-relief measure that includes $600 million for a summer youth jobs program.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/88465-house-dems-switch-to-jobs-agenda

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) will oppose the House reconciliation health bill when her chamber votes on it later this week. 

"The Reconciliation package devised by the House includes matter unrelated to health care and employs a legislative process that wasn't subject to the same transparency and thorough debate that we used in the Senate," she said in prepared remarks. "I cannot support this process." 

The Senate needs 51 votes to pass the reconciliation package. So Lincoln's vote is not as crucial as it was to pass the Senate health plan, which needed 60 votes.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/801-economy/88249-lincoln-opposes-house-reconciliation-bill

Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire

Paul Hodes’s open seat, New Hampshire

Bill Delahunt’s open seat, Massachusetts

Patrick Kennedy’s open seat, Rhode Island

Michael Arcuri, New York

Scott Murphy, New York

Mike McMahon, New York

Dan Maffei, New York

Tim Bishop, New York

Eric Massa’s open seat, New York

John Adler, New Jersey

Frank Kratovil, Maryland

Mike Castle’s open seat, Delaware

Glenn Nye, Virginia

Rick Boucher, Virginia

Gerry Connolly, Virginia

Tom Perriello, Virginia

Allan Mollohan, West Virginia

Nick Rahall, West Virginia

Lincoln Davis, Tennessee

John Tanner’s open seat, Tennessee

Bart Gordon’s open seat, Tennessee

Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania

Paul Kanjorski, Pennsylvania

Chris Carney, Pennsylvania

Kathy Dahlkemper, Pennsylvania

Joe Sestak’s open seat, Pennsylvania

Patrick Murphy, Pennsylvania

Dina Titus, Nevada

Ann Kirkpatrick, Arizona

Gabby Giffords, Arizona

Harry Mitchell, Arizona

Harry Teague, New Mexico

Martin Heinrich, New Mexico

Kurt Schrader, Oregon

Brian Baird’s open seat, Washington

Jim Matheson, Utah

Betsey Markey, Colorado

Walt Minnick, Idaho

Baron Hill, Indiana

Brad Ellsworth’s open seat, Indiana

Bill Foster, Illinois

Debbie Halvorson, Illinois

Phil Hare, Illinois

Leonard Boswell, Iowa

Steve Kagen, Wisconsin

Ron Kind, Wisconsin

Dave Obey, Wisconsin

John Boccieri, Ohio

Zach Space, Ohio

Charlie Wilson, Ohio

Mary Jo Kilroy, Ohio

Steve Dreihaus, Ohio

Mark Schauer, Michigan

Gary Peters, Michigan

Ike Skelton, Missouri

Earl Pomeroy, North Dakota

Suzanne Kosmas, Florida

Allen Boyd, Florida

Ron Klein, Florida

Chet Edwards, Texas

Mike Ross, Arkansas

Marion Berry’s open seat, Arkansas

Vic Snyder’s open seat, Arkansas

Ben Chandler, Kentucky

John Spratt, South Carolina

Gene Taylor, Mississippi

Travis Childers, Mississippi

Bobby Bright, Alabama

John Barrow, Georgia

Jim Marshall, Georgia

Dan Boren, Oklahoma

Larry Kissell, North Carolina

Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, South Dakota

Dennis Moore’s open seat, Kansas

Charlie Melancon’s open seat, Louisiana

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2UzZjM5NzkxYjE2NDQ5N2RjZTYxNWExMTVjMjFkYjI=

Forty words to repeal 2,400 pages

By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
03/22/10 1:57 PM EDT

Republican Rep. Steve King has filed a bill to repeal Obamacare. This is its entire text:

Effective as of the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, such Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Forty-words-to-repeal-2400-pages-88834752.html

Washington (CNN) – For the first time, a CNN poll has found that a majority of Americans disapprove of President Obama's job performance.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday, 51 percent of respondents disapprove of Obama's job performance and 46 percent approve of it.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/22/cnn-poll-majority-disapprove-of-obama-for-first-time/?fbid=6exs1PX16Zd

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Dems Tune Inn, Rock Out

Judge Orders Release of Gitmo Detainee With Ties to 9/11 Attacks

March 22, 2010 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson issued this statement on health care reform and the reconciliation bill before the Senate:

“Congress has passed historic health reforms that will insure 220,000 more Nebraskans and 30 million Americans who today have no health coverage. That, in turn, will help stop the cost-shifting when the uninsured can’t pay their medical bills and the tab is picked up by everyone else through higher costs and insurance premiums. Health reform also puts an end to dropping insured Americans when they get sick and, finally, guarantees health coverage for those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes.

“With these and other major improvements, Congress has given a green light to much-needed private insurance reforms without a government takeover of health care. As a result, Nebraskans will see lower health care costs, better quality care and a greater peace of mind that a major illness or injury won’t bankrupt them.

“For these and other reasons, I supported the Senate bill approved by the House and sent to the President.

“That said, however, I will vote against the House reconciliation package of add-ons now before the Senate.

http://bennelson.senate.gov/press/press_releases/032210-01.cfm