Harry Reid Talks About Healthcare Vote Video

Harry Reid says he has the 60 votes. Obama will speak at about 1:30 pm eastern. It will be live streamed at msnbc.com and cnn.com. Bernie Sanders' amendment sounds good. It expands community health centers, which will help drive down costs.

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Republicans are very, very upset. Mitch McConnell: "this bill reshape our nation and our lives." Let's hope so! Republicans have no right to complain because they haven't helped one bit. They've only stood in the way, deciding early on to make this Obama's waterloo.

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New Health Committee Chair Ready to Roll

Tom Harkin of Iowa replaced Ted Kennedy as chair of the Health Committee. Senators won't vote against a health reform bill just because it has a public option in it, he says:

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Tom Harkin Defending Swine Odor Management

Senators are defending the omnibus bill that I'm hoping Obama vetoes. John McCain is right on this one.

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Hillary to Work on Healthcare Legislation

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Edward Kennedy named fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton to lead a working group on insurance coverage in the effort to write health-care legislation.

Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said in an e-mailed statement today that Clinton will head one of three groups developing ideas for health system changes. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa will lead a group on prevention and public health, and Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland will work on improvements in medical quality.

President-elect Barack Obama has proposed expanding government health programs, giving subsidies to low-income families and requiring insurers to cover everyone, regardless of medical condition. Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer, has been overseeing meetings among his staff and interest groups to develop legislation that Congress could act on next year.

Obama Securing Superdelegates for Nomination

can it be? over tonight? hillary has no scheduled travel this week and is in new york tonight, while obama will be in st. paul, minnesota, the site of the republican convention. enough superdelegates are expected to announce their support for obama tonight after polls close.

nyt: Sensing an opportunity to shut down the nominating contest, Obama campaign advisers said that they were orchestrating an endorsement of Mr. Obama by at least eight Senate and House members who had pledged to remain uncommitted until the primaries ended, and that the endorsements would come the moment the South Dakota polls closed on Tuesday night.

The group will be led by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, who on Monday met with three other uncommitted Democratic senators — Ken Salazar of Colorado, Thomas R. Carper of Delaware and Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland — at the offices of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in what Mr. Salazar called a unity session.
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