Latest Politics Headlines

All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Wisconsin Senate OKs Bill That Expands Malpractice Claims

Jan 21 2010 // The Wisconsin Senate has approved a bill that would allow for more medical malpractice claims against health care providers. The approved bill allows parents to sue for pain and suffering damages if their adult-aged...

U.S. Senate Vote Dims Hopes for Stronger World Climate Pact

Jan 21 2010 // Hopes for stronger world action in 2010 to curb climate change have dimmed after the U.S. Democrats lost a key Senate seat to a Republican opposed to capping emissions, experts said Wednesday.The election of Republican...

Republican Win in Massachusetts Could Jeopardize Healthcare Bill

Jan 20 2010 // In a stunning blow to President Barack Obama, Republican Scott Brown won a bitter U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts Tuesday and promised to be the deciding vote against his sweeping healthcare overhaul.Brown’s win...

Oklahoma House Republicans Roll Out Their Workers’ Comp Reform Plan

Jan 15 2010 // Republicans in the Oklahoma House of Representative followed their counterparts in the state Senate on Jan. 14 by introducing their plan to overhaul Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system. Senate Republicans...

Congressional Pressure Builds to Disclose AIG Payments to Banks

Jan 13 2010 // U.S. lawmakers moved Tuesday to force release of documents that may show whether the New York Federal Reserve pressured insurer AIG to limit discussions about payments to banks when current Treasury Secretary Geithner led...

House, Senate Democrats Struggle to Find Healthcare Compromise

Jan 13 2010 // Democrats in the House struggled Tuesday to find common ground with the Senate on how to pay for a healthcare reform bill, with the differences over taxes emerging as the biggest stumbling block to a quick deal.Returning...

Former State Rep. Ausley, Democrat, to Run for Florida CFO Post

Jan 13 2010 // Former state Rep. Loranne Ausley is running for chief financial officer.Ausley is the only major Democrat now seeking the seat Alex Sink is giving up to run for governor. Ausley, 46, of Tallahassee served in the House for...

Restructuring Workers’ Comp Among Goals for Oklahoma Senate GOP

Jan 13 2010 // Reforming Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system will be among state Senate Republicans’ top legislative goals for 2010.Republicans, who enjoy a majority in the Oklahoma Senate, are led by Senate...

Democrats Optimistic on Health Care Bill Prospect

Jan 6 2010 // House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she was sure Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate would produce a final health care reform plan that would hold insurers accountable and make medical coverage...

Key Differences in Senate, House Health Bills

Jan 6 2010 // Democrats in the U.S. Congress are preparing to merge the two health care bills passed in 2009 by the Senate and House of Representatives into a single bill.This compromise bill would have to be passed by both chambers of...

Michigan Auto Insurance Bills Stall As Senate Adjourns Without Acting

Dec 28 2009 // The Michigan Senate adjourned before Christmas without taking action on a property/casualty insurance bill package already passed by the House of Representatives.The package would, among other things, give the insurance...

Health Bill Passes Key Senate Vote

Dec 21 2009 // In a middle-of-the-night vote in a snowbound U.S. capital, Democrats unanimously backed the first in a series of three procedural motions to cut off debate and move the bill to a final vote by at least Christmas...

What Senate Health Bill Would Do

Dec 21 2009 // The bill has been criticized by some liberals who complain that without a new government insurance option it will not provide meaningful reform and by conservatives who say it costs too much.Here are some questions and...

Medicare Expansion May Not Survive in Senate Healthcare Bill

Dec 15 2009 // U.S. Senate Democrats struggled Monday to agree on a broad healthcare overhaul and said a compromise plan to allow an expansion of the Medicare health program for the elderly would likely be dropped.After a meeting to find...

Michigan House, Senate Pass Bills Banning Texting While Driving

Dec 10 2009 // The Michigan House has voted to prohibit the use of cell phones to send text messages while driving.The main bill in the package passed the House by a 94-13 vote Tuesday. A similar measure passed a Senate committee earlier...

Democrats Weigh Replacing Public Option, Expanding Medicare

Dec 9 2009 // U.S. Senate Democratic healthcare negotiators said they agreed Tuesday to replace a government-run insurance option with a scaled-back non-profit plan and would seek cost estimates on the deal.“We have a broad...

How House, Senate Health Care Bills Compare

Dec 6 2009 // The federal health care legislation released by the U.S. Senate’s Democratic leaders on Nov. 18 resembles a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 7 in many ways but there are some major differences...

House Extends Estate Tax But Senate Likely to Change

Dec 4 2009 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed a permanent extension of the federal estate tax on Thursday, but the measure, which taxes estates at rate of 45 percent after exempting the first $3.5 million, is likely to be...

Winners, Losers in Senate Health Bill

Nov 23 2009 // Democrats in the Senate cleared the first procedural hurdle for sweeping healthcare reform Saturday by voting to open debate on the historic legislation.The Senate debate due to start on Nov. 30 is expected to last for at...

U.S. Senate Gears Up for First Key Healthcare Reform Vote

Nov 20 2009 // Democrats in the U.S. Senate geared up for a fierce battle over a new healthcare reform plan Thursday as Republicans condemned the bill’s price tag and tax hikes before the first crucial test vote Saturday.Senate...