House Passes Second Version of Fixes to Health Care Bill

Yesterday, Nancy Pelosi signed the companion bill that fixed what many Congressional Democrats saw as problems with the first health care bill. President Obama plans to sign the companion bill into law this coming Tuesday. But the health care saga is far from over as Congress breaks for a two-week recess and lawmakers go back to their districts to justify their support, or lack thereof, for the largest piece of health care legislation in decades. For more, see today's New York Times here.

Why he's leaving the Senate

Senator Evan Bayh authored a lengthy op-ed in the New York Times this morning, explaining why he has chosen to leave the Senate. The senator cites legislative dysfunction as the main cause of his decision but quickly proceeds to a discussion of various ways to improve the legislative process. His suggestions for reform include changing the campaign finance laws to increase the power of small donors to counter corporate interests; revising the filibuster rules so that senators who want to filibuster must pledge to actually engage in continuous debate, not just threaten it, and requiring only 55 votes to break a filibuster; and inviting fellow senators over for dinner. This last suggestion may not seem as serious as some of the others, but Senator Bayh offers a strong counter to that claim: "It is much harder to demonize someone when you know his family or have visited his home." How very true.