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Senate Democrats stop filibusters on nominations
WASHINGTON - The Democratic-led Senate, in a historic rule change, stripped Republicans of their ability to block President Barack Obama's judicial and executive branch nominees. Live Coverage | Full Article- Republicans to keep cuts if budget talks fail: Boehner
- Reid committed to moving ahead with Iran sanctions in Senate
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Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton report: President Obama wants a bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan approved and signed by the end of the year by the Afghan government and not delayed until April. U.S. troops are to withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2014 and both governments are discussing what security arrangement will be in place afterward.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 4:35 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Roberta Rampton reports: The White House said on Thursday it has asked insurance companies and state insurance commissioners to send a letter about Obamacare healthcare insurance marketplaces and subsidies to all insurance customers.
The letter is part of a fix proposed by President Barack Obama to offer an extension of insurance policies that do not comply with new standards to customers who were surprised by cancellation letters. But the White House wants the letter to be sent to all customers in the individual market, whether or not they are being offered a policy renewal, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a briefing.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 4:35 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
Afghan President Hamid Karzai told his countrymen that a security pact with the United States should not come into effect until after next year's election and conceded there was little trust between the two countries. Full story: www.reuters.comby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 4:29 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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From the Washington Post: Nine reasons the filibuster change is a huge dealby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 3:57 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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The Democratic-led U.S. Senate stripped Republicans of their ability to block President Barack Obama's judicial and executive branch nominees. www.reuters.com
On a nearly party-line vote of 52-48, Democrats changed the Senate's balance of power by reducing from 60 to 51 the number of votes needed to end procedural roadblocks known as filibusters against presidential nominees, except those for the U.S. Supreme Court. The action underscored the bitter partisan divide in Congress, which has produced unprecedented gridlock and an approval rating of less than 10 percent for the institution.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, led the charge on the rules change, accusing Republicans of obstructionism and saying the American public is right to believe that "Congress is broken."
Reid said of the 168 filibusters against presidential nominees in U.S. history, half were held against Obama's picks. "It's time to change," Reid said.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell insisted that there was no reason for a rule change, saying Republicans had confirmed the vast majority of Obama's judicial nominees. McConnell also accused Democrats of taking the action to divert attention from the botched launch of Obama's new healthcare law known as Obamacare.
"On this point, the similarities between the Obamacare debate and the Democrat threat" to change Senate rules "are inescapable," McConnell said just before the vote. "They muscled through Obamacare on a party-line vote and didn't care about the views of the minority. And that's just what they're doing here, too," McConnell said.
Full story: www.reuters.comby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 2:47 PMComment ↑ 1 Likes -
Healthcare.gov has security flaws that put user data at risk, a respected security expert said on Tuesday.
"There are actual, live vulnerabilities on the site now," David Kennedy, head of computer security consulting firm TrustedSec LLC, told Reuters before testifying at a congressional hearing on the topic "Is My Data on HealthCare.gov Secure?"
Kennedy, a former U.S. Marine Corps cyber-intelligence analyst, presented a 17-page report describing the problems to the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. It does not go into specifics in some areas, he said, because that could provide criminals with a blueprint for launching attacks. "There is a lot of stuff that we are not publicly disclosing because of the criticality of the findings," Kennedy said. "We don't want to hurt people."
When asked to describe the severity of the threat that they posed to the public, he said it was a "critical risk."
The HealthCare.gov site collects data including the names, birth dates, social security numbers, email addresses and healthcare information about its users that criminals could use to engage in a wide variety of scams.
"The Obama administration has a responsibility to ensure that the personal and financial data collected by the government is secure," said Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who is chairman of the House committee. "Unfortunately, in their haste to launch the HealthCare.gov website, it appears the administration cut corners that leaves the site open to hackers and other online criminals."
The Obama administration said on Tuesday the website was safe to use. Continue reading: www.reuters.comby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 2:33 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
Pretty stark testimony from today's House technology committee hearing -- IT experts say the website is not safe, and most say they would shut it down until it is.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 1:39 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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The beauty of having an IT expert with an iPad and working data/wi-fi connection while giving live congressional testimony: they can check what a website like healthcare.gov says in real time.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 1:38 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Reuters' David Morgan reported on Monday that Obama administration officials, including senior White House staff, were warned last spring of risks to the rollout of new healthcare laws, including the danger of scant testing, according to a report released by congressional investigators.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 1:05 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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The race intensified between Republicans trying to discredit new healthcare laws and officials trying to repair healthcare.gov as Republicans began appealing to the public on Monday to share their personal accounts of negative experiences. Read more: www.reuters.comby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 1:01 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Thanks for joining us here at Reuters. Are you an IT security professional or policy expert? Feel free to share your thoughts on today's look at security issues with healthcare.gov as a comment on the blog.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 12:44 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Witnesses at the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Tuesday:
- Mr. Morgan Wright, Chief Executive Officer, Crowd Sourced Investigations, LLC
- Dr. Fred Chang, Bobby B. Lyle Centennial Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security, Southern Methodist University
- Dr. Avi Rubin, Director, Health and Medical Security Laboratory Technical Director, Information Security Institute, Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
- Mr. David Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer, TrustedSEC, LLCby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 12:37 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
Also on the hill today is a second security-related hearing about healthcare.gov -- this time at House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. We are now switching our video shortly to the hearing entitled, "Is Your Data on the Healthcare.gov Site Secure?" -- take a look at our exclusive below for more information on what we expect to hear.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 12:34 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Exclusive by Jim Finkle: A respected security expert will warn Congress on Tuesday that the Obama administration's healthcare website has security flaws that put user data at a "critical risk," despite recent government assurances the data is safe.
"There are actual live vulnerabilities on the site now," David Kennedy, head of computer security consulting firm TrustedSec LLC, told Reuters ahead of his testimony at a Congressional hearing on the topic "Is My Data on HealthCare.gov Secure?"
Kennedy, a former U.S. Marine Corps cyber-intelligence analyst, said his firm has prepared a 17-page report describing some of the problems. It does not go into specifics in some areas, he said, because that could provide criminals with a blueprint for launching attacks.
"There is a lot of stuff that we are not publicly disclosing because of the criticality of the findings," he said. "We don't want to hurt people."
Kennedy and other security experts have warned that vulnerabilities on the site pose risks to the security of user data since shortly after its October 1 launch.
READ: Expert to warn Congress of Healthcare.gov security bugsby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 19 at 12:01 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
Botched Obamacare rollout puts Republicans on offensive in 2014 elections
by Thomas Ferraro, Reuters Congressional Correspondent
"If you don't like your House Democratic member, you don't have to keep him."
Expect those words, or a variation of them, to be a central Republican theme in next year's congressional elections. With Obama and his Democrats taking heat for his failed promise that Americans could keep their insurance policies if they like them, Republicans are getting ready to pounce on it.
"It will be the defining issue of 2014," when the entire 435-member House and a third of the 100-member will be up for grabs, said Congressman Greg Walden, chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee.
Speaking at a breakfast with reporters on Friday sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, Walden said he expects Republicans to expand their House majority in the 2014 elections.
A month ago, Republicans were on the defensive in wake of the 16-day government shutdown that irate voters blamed on them. But the focus is now on the botched rollout of Obama's namesake healthcare law. Walden mentioned that someone suggested a 2014 campaign line the other day. "If you don't like your House Democratic member, you don't have to keep him," Walden said in a repeating the line.
Amid chuckles from reporters, Walden smiled, suggesting that this Republican political strategist figures it may be a winner.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 15 at 1:04 PMComment ↑ 1 Likes -
President Barack Obama bowed to political pressure from his fellow Democrats on Thursday and announced a plan to let insurers renew for one year the health plans whose policies would be otherwise canceled due to Obamacare.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 3:39 PMComment ↑ 1 Likes
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David Morgan reports: President Obama's fix for canceled health plans could "destabilize" the insurance market and lead to higher costs for consumers without further steps, America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group, said on Thursday.
"Changing the rules after health plans have already met the requirements of the (Obamacare) law could destabilize the market and result in higher premiums," AHIP President Karen Ignagni said in a statement. "Additional steps must be taken to stabilize the marketplace and mitigate the adverse impact on consumers," she said.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 3:16 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
Summary on Obama's remarks on Thursday, by Reuters' Matt Spetalnick, Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton:
President Barack Obama urged skeptical U.S. lawmakers on Thursday to hold off on imposing further sanctions on Iran, saying that if diplomacy fails to force Tehran to curb its nuclear program, any easing of punitive measures through negotiations could be "ramped back up." "If we're serious about pursuing diplomacy, there's no need to add new sanctions on top of the sanctions that are already very effective," Obama told reporters. Senior members of Congress have expressed distrust of a deal in the making between Iran and world powers that lawmakers - along with U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia - believe would prematurely ease sanctions on Iran. They instead want to tighten sanctions to pressure Tehran.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 3:01 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
READER COMMENT: Having worked in the IT industry for many years and in government as well, I am familiar with the way web sites and other computer systems work. I feel there was a definite lack of commitment and oversight to this project, whether that was due to incompetence, or deliberate, I can't say. But it is the ugliest event yet to occur in the Obama administration. He deserves better than that.by Ssragona edited by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 3:00 PMComment (1) ↑ 2 Likes
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Core Strats What about the American People?? Don't we ALL deserve better than that???
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U.S. President Barack Obama talks about the Affordable Care Act in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, November 14, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downingby Danielle Wiener-Bronner November 14 at 2:55 PMComment ↑ 1 Likes
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Obama concludes his remarks, almost an hour long, on Thursday. We will have a summary of his remarks on this blog shortly.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 2:54 PMComment ↑ 1 Likes
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Obama doesn't sound like he believe the Web site will be working all that well come Dec. 1st.
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Obama says there is "no doubt" that failure to roll out Obamacare smoothly has put a burden on Democrats, whether they're up for reelection in 2014 or not. (Reuters Wire)by Danielle Wiener-Bronner November 14 at 2:49 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Obama says he believes state insurance commissioners will allow his new fix to Obamacare to go ahead (Reuters Wire)by Danielle Wiener-Bronner November 14 at 2:46 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Obama: "Buying health insurance is never going to be like buying a song on iTunes"by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 2:39 PMComment ↑ 1 Likes
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"I completely get how upsetting this can be": Our bullet-point summary of the president's Obamacare news conference: theguardian.com/world/2013/nov…
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Reuters' Roberta Rampton, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason report:
Scrambling to fix flaws in his signature healthcare law, President Barack Obama on Thursday announced a plan to let insurance companies renew for one year the health plans for consumers whose policies would be otherwise canceled. White House officials who briefed reporters before Obama spoke said insurance companies may extend through 2014 the policies that would not meet the minimum standards of the president's Affordable Care Act.
Millions of Americans have been getting cancellation notices from insurance companies because their insurance plans do not meet the standards set out in the Obamacare law, creating a political crisis for Obama. Senior White House officials said it will be left up to insurance commissioners in individual states to allow the Obamacare fix to go ahead, and will be up to insurance companies to renew plans that have already been canceled.
Insurance companies must tell policy holders that their plans do not meet the new minimum standards and must inform them about other options on the new marketplaces, including the availability of subsidies to help them pay their insurance costs, the officials said.
The fix only applies to those who have lost their insurance coverage. Insurance companies may not offer such plans to other Americans because it would undermine the Affordable Care Act, the officials said.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 2:08 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday that he does not believe that President Barack Obama can fix problems with his healthcare reform law with administrative changes and it should simply be scrapped.
"The only way to fully protect the American people is to scrap this law once and for all," Boehner told a news conference.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 2:05 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
Reuters correspondent David Lawder reports on Thursday:Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are united on the need for improvements to President Obama's health care law and will propose their own legislative changes, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday. "We have to have a fix," Pelosi told reporters.She said she was briefed on the Obama administration's planned changes, adding that these are administrative, not legislative, in nature. The House is set to consider a Republican bill that would allow insurers to offer health plans that don't qualify under "Obamacare" reforms for another year, which many Democrats say would undermine struggling insurance exchanges.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 1:59 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have asked President Obama's current and former top healthcare advisers to testify next week on the rocky rollout of Obamacare, but the White House has so far not agreed to the idea, writes Roberta Rampton.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 14 at 1:58 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Alina Selyukh reports that HealthCare.gov site was subject to an unsuccessful cyber attack.
"We are aware of one open source action attempting a denial of service attack that has been unsuccessful," Roberta Stempfley, acting assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, told lawmakers.
Testifying at the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, Stempfley also said the DHS was aware of "about 16" reports from the Department of Health and Human Services on investigations related to the site's security.
It was unclear from the testimony whether the reports were related to actual cyber attacks, threats of attacks or other operational problems. Stempfley said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lead health agency managing the rollout of the site, had not sent a specific request for help, so federal cyber officials had not been providing any technical assistance.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 13 at 2:16 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
Enroll America, an advocacy group leading the campaign to sign Americans up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, said it will launch an enrollment push in December - once technical problems plaguing HealthCare.gov are set to be resolved.
Reuters journalist Lewis Krauskopf reports:
A new push to sign up Americans for insurance under President Barack Obama's healthcare law will begin in December, when the government's faulty enrollment website is expected to work better, an advocacy group leading the campaign said on Tuesday. Technical problems with the HealthCare.Gov website since it opened October 1 has hindered enrollment and undercut momentum for organizations such as Enroll America, which has led efforts to explain benefits to consumers in 10 states, including Florida, Texas and Ohio.
The Obama administration is racing to fix the website by November 30 so that people who want benefits to start on January 1 can enroll in time under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Enroll America has "heard the expectations that things will really be running smoothly by the end of November, so for our planning purposes, we do want to do that big push in early December," the non-profit group's president, Anne Filipic, told reporters on a conference call.
The Obama administration is due to report October enrollment totals this week, but has already said the early numbers will be very low due to the technical failures. Previously, as many as 7 million people had been expected to sign up for the private plans offered through new insurance marketplaces in each state. December 15 is the deadline to sign up for coverage effective January 1. The open enrollment period lasts until March 31.
Enroll America officials said the organization has reached more than 300,000 consumers and identified 30,000 who are uninsured or underinsured and very interested in enrolling for coverage. It expects to reach about 300,000 people by the end of the enrollment period, representing 10 percent of the roughly 3 million people expected to enroll during the period in the 10 target states.
The organization said it has raised $27 million since March to support its "Get Covered America" campaign. It focuses on reaching people who otherwise likely would not have been aware of the new coverage, "needles in the haystack," Filipic said. With 200 staff, Enroll America said it has signed up 10,000 volunteers, more than half since October 1, to knock on doors, make phone calls and staff tables at farmers markets, football games and other community events.
(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Grant McCool)by Danielle Wiener-Bronner November 12 at 6:09 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes -
United States honors its veterans with ceremonies, parades, tributes reut.rs/17PO7UF
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Troubled Obamacare website enrolled fewer than 50,000 in October: WSJ reut.rs/17Q4vVk
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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reaches out to New Jersey U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D) as she arrives to testify at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on "Health Insurance Exchanges: An Update from the Administration" and the issues surrounding the Obama administration health plan commonly referred to as "Obamacare," on Capitol Hill in Washington November 6, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Bourgby Corinne Perkins edited by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 6 at 2:09 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on "Health Insurance Exchanges: An Update from the Administration" and the issues surrounding the Obama administration health plan commonly referred to as "Obamacare," on Capitol Hill in Washington November 6, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Bourgby Corinne Perkins November 6 at 2:07 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Second time criminal background checks brought up for healthcare navigators. Corynin asked "Could a felon be a navigator?" Sebelius "yes"
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Sebelius: "We have contracts with the organizations and they have taken the responsibility to screen their individual navigators"
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READER COMMENT: She should ask the godly senators why doesn't the worlds greatest country already offer healthcare to all its citizens. She should ask them when the private sector insurance company greed is going to end. She should ask them how come they let cigarettes continue to be produced with 5000 harmful chemicals and sold for government profits. She should ask our godly senators were the legislation is too halt cigarette sales and production. I'd love to see the face change and the beat around the bush answer for those questions when The Truth is it always come down to money! Truly pathetic country we live in, its a shame what they have done to this great country our horrendous corrupt politicians on both sides of the aisle.by TheTruth edited by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 6 at 1:38 PMComment (3) ↑ 0 Likes
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Emily Jane How do you propose to restrict personal freedoms? Do you honestly think that Government bans work?
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Keith a profit and nothing else. Smoke all you want Emily but the FDA shouldn't have allowed such cigarettes to be produced once the proof was there they in fact cause cancer. You have been robbed of your health, and money for too long as many have. FYI i'm a smoker and its harder and harder to quit, your personal freedom kills people around you too remember that.
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Keith And yes a government ban would work if the tobacco companies were shutdown. Then you can grow your own cancer free tobacco isn't that a great deal!!!
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President Obama's top healthcare adviser, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, told a Senate oversight committee on Wednesday that delaying the healthcare reform law known as Obamacare is "not an option," despite the troubled rollout of the federal website, HealthCare.gov.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 6 at 12:36 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Baucus is pushing Sebelius on shutting down website to fix it. She's already said that won't happen.
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"Why not shut it down - and do it right?." Sen. Max Baucus to Kathleen Sebelius
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Here's the Manhattan Institute Obamacare research project website that is referenced by Senator Hatch: www.manhattan-institute.org and a summary in Forbes of healthcare premium costs: www.manhattan-institute.orgby Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 6 at 12:22 PMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Video: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies before Senate Finance Committee on Affordable Care Act implementation.by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) November 6 at 11:59 AMComment ↑ 0 Likes
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Detroit to delay plan to enroll retirees in Obamacare exchanges reut.rs/1b4xAZE
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Business interests line up against Tea Party candidate in Alabama reut.rs/1egElN0
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