NEWS

AP sources: Obama wants Senate health bill quickly – Associated Press

House Democrats are moving ahead with sweeping health care legislation as President Barack Obama prods a Senate committee chairman to take faster action on a companion measure.

House Health Overhaul Bill Debuts Today – ABC

The House is due to release a massive health care overhaul bill today, amid grumblings about costs and an ultimatum from President Barack Obama.

GOP’s Grassley Key to Senate Hopes for a Bipartisan Deal on Health Care - Wall Street Journal

Democrats now have a supermajority in the Senate. But their top priority, a health-care overhaul, may well need the blessing of a veteran Republican, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, if it has any hope of becoming law.

Poll: Americans want health care bill, but not the cost – USA Today

Most Americans say it’s important to overhaul health care this year, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, but they are less enthusiastic about some of the proposals to pay for it.

Key Republican Troubled That Public Option Is "Cheaper," Has "Clear Advantages" – Talking Points Memo

If you ask most people whether politicians should be in the business of providing Americans better services at lower costs they’d probably say yes. But Rep. John Kline (R-MN)–ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee–seems to believe just the opposite.

OPINION

‘Socialized Medicine? Bring It On - Washington Post

When I was in the Army and known to my friends as "Combat Cohen," I could not get over the fact that, during an era of almost universal military service, the American public supported high Pentagon spending despite firsthand knowledge of astounding waste and theft. I cite, for instance, the well-known and frequently witnessed pillaging of food by mess sergeants. From tasting their stuff, I can say that theft is what they did best.

The Left’s Surprising Organizing Advantage – Ezra Klein

Last week, the Health Care for America Now coalition celebrated their its birthday. Formed, well, a year ago, with an initial infusion of $40 million and a coalition list that includes MoveOn.org, SEIU, the Campaign for America’s Future, and pretty much every other institution on the left, HCAN has become the dominant grassroots player on health-care reform. Which is really saying something.

Republicans Falsely Argue That Surtax Would Disproportionally Affect Small Businesses - Think Progress

Responding to reports that the House Ways and Means Committee has decided to raise $550 billion to pay for health care reform by applying a surtax to the richest Americans, Republican lawmakers took to the airwaves yesterday to argue that the tax would disproportionately burden small businesses.

The Health Care Clock, and Why Obama Has to Act Quickly – Robert Reich

Universal health insurance won’t happen unless Obama can light a fire under the Senate Finance Committee this week. Within the next two weeks, the Committee must report out a bill that contains a public option and a credible source of money (either limiting deductions of the wealthy to 28 percent or capping tax-free employer-provided health care, or some of both). Obama then has to get both the Senate and the House (which reports out a bill today) to approve their respective bills before August 7, when Congress heads home for recess.