Anthony Weiner (D-NY) has a new op-ed in Politico calling for giving the public option a vote in the Senate. While he does not address the process dynamics, he leaves the impression that he is calling for an up-or-down vote on the public option as an amendment to the reconciliation bill or as a stand-alone [...]

Watch CBS News Videos OnlineToday on CBS’s “Washington Unplugged,” Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Anthony Weiner (D-NY) threw some very cold water on the current plan of having the House pass the Senate bill unchanged, followed by the passing of some “fixes” through reconciliation. Stupak said, “I don’t think they have ten votes for the [...]

Today, Kent Conrad (D-ND) basically declared the current Senate bill–with a plan to pass fixes using reconciliation–dead. Conrad said the only way forward is that the Senate bill must first pass completely unchanged in the House. There is simply not (nor will there be) the votes for that in the House. From TPM: “The only [...]

Ben Nelson is currently threatening to filibuster reform if it does not contain a version of the anti-choice Stupak amendment: The Senate health care bill does not provide federal money for abortion, maintaining the status quo. But like Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and a sizable bloc of conservative House Democrats, Nelson says that’s not good [...]

The language on abortion in the original version of House health care reform bill, before it was amended on the floor, and the Senate language on abortion are very similar. Both say that: No federal funds will be used to pay for abortions, but as provided by the Hyde amendment, exceptions are made for rape, [...]

The Capps compromise in the House was supposed to be the compromise which would have kept health care reform “neutral” on the issue of abortion. Capps Compromise–The Capps proposal would have made sure that abortion was not part of the minimum benefit requirement package for health insurance plans. It would have guaranteed that in each [...]

The Stupak Amendment could radically reduce the availability of abortion coverage in this country. The amendment effectively stops the sale of insurance plans that also cover abortion on the new exchange. Even though the exchange will start small, the goal is for it to expand over time and be used by many mid-sized employers. Thanks to [...]

Bart Stupak successfully held his ground. Nancy Pelosi and President Obama agreed to give into his demands because they saw it as the path of least resistance. There were no pro-choice Democrats willing to go to the mat for their convictions. This why the Stupak amendment made it into the House bill, and why it [...]

It is time to fact check the fact checkers. PolitiFact incorrectly labeled Rep. Nita Lowey statement on the Stupak Amendment as “false.” Lowey said the amendment “puts new restrictions on women’s access to abortion coverage in the private health insurance market even when they would pay premiums with their own money.” We believe that Lowey’s [...]

The Stupak anti-abortion amendment reaches far beyond what most reports indicate, and could effect tens of millions of people. And still, Americans United For Change is thanking representatives who voted for it. Fortunately, Boxer thinks the Stupak language will not be part of the Senate bill. The House vote on health care has already become an [...]