Big Company Asks Congress to Vote No on Health Care

Caterpillar, the heavy-equipment maker that President Obama cited last year in making his argument for a massive economic stimulus package, is opposing the health care bill nearing final passage, saying the bill would ramp up the company's operating costs by $100 million alone in the first year and imperil coverage for its 150,000 employees and retirees.

In a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, and provided to FoxNews.com, the Peoria, Ill.-based company urged lawmakers to vote against the bill, citing provisions in it -- such as new coverage mandates and the taxation of Medicare subsidies for prescription drugs -- that would drive up its health care costs by more than 20 percent.

"In our fragile economy, we can ill-afford cost increases that place us at a disadvantage versus global competitors that are not similarly burdened," Gregory Folley, vice president of the company, wrote.

"As one of America's leading manufacturing companies and exporters, we're disappointed that efforts at reform have not addressed the cost concerns we've raised throughout the year," he said. "And we strongly believe the current legislation is not in the best interests of Caterpillar or the more than 150,000 employees, retirees and dependents that we cover."

The company's estimate of $100 million is the equivalent of about an additional $55 a month for each of 150,000 workers. - FOX News Story

Democrats Avoiding Obama

If anyone sets up a Do Not Call Registry to block phone solicitations from the White House, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) wants in.

Cuellar, a fiscally and socially moderate Hispanic Democrat from Laredo, tells reporters that he’s strongly leaning toward backing heath care reform – but that he’s been ducking calls from President Obama’s staff because he doesn’t want to enter the wind tunnel of presidential persuasion.

“With all due respect to the president, I have to look at my district. ... I want to make up my own mind,” said Cuellar, one of several Democrats who have told POLITICO that they’ve been avoiding Obama and his surrogates during the final few days of lobbying.

The last call came from Dan Turton, Obama’s top liaison to the House, the day before last – “I haven’t returned it,” said Cuellar, a former Texas secretary of state with a maverick streak. He endorsed George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential race.

“Whether [Obama] is popular or not in my district – I don’t know,” Cuellar added with a sly smile. “But he’s not going to be supporting me in my district. He’s not going to be running in my election.”

This week, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), who is a “no,” told POLITICO that he hadn’t been responding to some White House calls because there was little to change his mind.

Hiding from the White House – or Congressional leaders – is nothing new during tough votes. During last year’s vote on climate change legislation, allies of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) searched frantically for one member, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Tex.), who voted against the majority and sped from the chamber. - Politico Story

Now make it 3 - Number of States to Sue Federal Government over Health Care

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster says he and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum are ready to file a federal lawsuit if health care reform legislation passes.

The U.S. House plans to vote on the plan Sunday.

McMaster said Friday that he expects attorneys general to join the lawsuit. He and other GOP counterparts have denounced the legislation.

McMaster says he wants to challenge an exemption that would keep Nebraska from paying for Medicaid costs.

He says even if that provision is dropped, he will sue over the requirement for everyone to buy health insurance. McMaster says both provisions violate state sovereignty.

Both McMaster and McCollum are running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in their states. - FOX News Story

Americans Not Buying What Obama's Selling

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 23% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21. That matches the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President (see trends).

Each time the President leads a big push for his health care plan, his job approval ratings suffer. For Members of Congress, the impact may be more tangible. Just 34% say they’re more likely to vote for someone who supports this legislation. Fifty-percent (50%) are less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who supports the health care reform plan proposed by the President and Congressional Democrats.

One reason for the opposition is the cost of the plan. Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide are opposed to reducing Medicare spending as a means of paying for the reform effort. Most also oppose the excise tax on “Cadillac” insurance plans. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

CBS Projects $1 Trillion in Savings is Highly Unlikely

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Democrats pushing for health care reform are closer to the finish line than ever, but it's not over yet. And the question of cost will remain a central issue in coming days.

On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office weighed in with a key -- if still very preliminary -- cost estimate.

he latest bill is a mix of provisions from a bill the Senate passed last December and proposals made by President Obama recently.

Like the Senate version, the so-called reconciliation bill would provide government subsidies to low- and middle-income families buying health insurance on their own, expand eligibility rules for Medicaid and provide coverage for a majority of uninsured Americans.

It would also establish a number of insurance reforms.

The whole package will cost $940 billion over 10 years to provide expanded insurance coverage, according to the CBO forecast. In addition, the new plan could reduce the deficit by $138 billion over the first 10 years -- $20 billion more than the Senate bill.

Over the following decade, CBO projected, it could reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion, although the agency stressed that such long-term projections are highly uncertain. - CNN Story

States Lining up to Sue Federal Government over Health Care

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care overhaul Wednesday when its governor became the first to sign a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government if residents are forced to buy health insurance.

Similar legislation is pending in 37 other states.

Constitutional law experts say the movement is mostly symbolic because federal laws supersede those of the states.

But the state measures reflect a growing frustration with President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The proposal would cover some 30 million uninsured people, end insurance practices such as denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, require almost all Americans to get coverage by law, and try to slow the cost of medical care nationwide.

Democratic leaders hope to vote on it this weekend. - FOX News Story

Nancy Pelosi Struggling to Get Her Own Leadership on Board

The controversial plan to approve health care reform without a direct vote doesn't even pass the smell test for one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's own floor whips, according to the Boston Herald.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., who helps round up votes for the leadership, told the Herald the plan is "disingenuous" and threatened to vote against it unless he sees changes. Lynch voted for the House health bill last year.

"It would really call into question the credibility of the House," Lynch said, according to the Herald.

He was referring to a plan to use a parliamentary maneuver that would allow the House to simultaneously approve the Senate bill while voting on a package of changes to it. This would "deem" the Senate bill to be passed, without compelling members to vote for it directly.

Democratic leaders are considering the option because many House Democrats don't want to cast a vote in favor of the unaltered Senate bill, which they oppose for numerous reasons. But the House must pass the Senate bill in order to move on to the package of changes intended to correct all the things about it that they don't like.

The esoteric procedure has drawn fierce protest from Republicans, who say Democrats are trying to avoid accountability. But some Democrats argue that the procedure has been used plenty of times before, and that there will be no doubt about where lawmakers stand on health care reform in the end. - FOX News Story

Majority of Americans Against Health Reform Bill

As Americans wait for Congress to act on health care, a Fox News poll released Thursday finds 55 percent oppose the reforms being considered, while 35 percent favor them.

In addition, just over half of voters think House Democrats are “changing the rules” to get their bill passed.

About a third of voters (31 percent) think House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are “playing by the rules” to get health care through, while 53 percent think they are “changing the rules.” Looking at the results by political party, 53 percent of Democrats think their party is playing by the rules, about one in four think they are changing the rules (27 percent) and the rest are unsure (19 percent). Varying majorities of Republicans (78 percent) and independents (57 percent) think House Democrats are changing the rules to pass the bill.

The level of public support for the health care overhaul has remained fairly steady since last July -- 35 percent favor it now and 36 percent favored it last summer. The number opposed -- 55 percent -- is up from 51 percent in January, and from 47 percent last July. Opposition hit a high of 57 percent in December.

Among partisans, the president’s party faithful are alone in supporting the proposed reforms. Sixty-six percent of Democrats favor them, while 53 percent of independents and 88 percent of Republicans oppose them. - FOX News Story

Obama's Approval Rating Falling Fast

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 23% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -20. That’s just one point above the all-time low (see trends).

Each time the President leads a big push for his health care plan, his job approval ratings suffer. Rasmussen Reports will release new polling data on the health care plan at both 10:30 and noon Eastern today. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

Tea Partiers Arrive in Washington - Can They Stop the Madness?

Tea Party activists from across the country began to rally outside Democratic congressional offices in Washington on Tuesday to protest the $875 billion health care bill and demand meetings with their respective members of Congress.

And by all appearances, their arrival is not being taken lightly.

House Democrats received a formal memo from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, listing tips for how targeted representatives should handle the crowds of activists.

"Tens of thousands of conservative and Tea Party activists will be on the Hill as part of what they are dubbing a 'Surge Against Obamacare,'" reads the memo, which also includes a checklist of provisions in the current bill to counter the "caricature of the reform bill presented by right-wing media outlets."

The checklist says: "Reduces the deficit; Cracks down on Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse; Provides historic tax credit for small businesses and individuals to purchase health insurance."

One rally, dubbed the "Code Red Health Care Rally," is planning to feature a host of Republican speakers, including Reps. Mike Pence, R-Ind.; Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.; Tom Price, R-Georgia; and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

Two separate groups affiliated with the Tea Party movement, Freedom Works and the Tea Party Patriots, told Fox News they are expecting a large Pennsylvania contingent to be present at the rally. The office of Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., who voted against the health care legislation last fall, may be a popular destination for protesters.

Altmire, a pro-life Democrat, told Fox News in an interview Tuesday that he remains concerned about the cost of the bill as well as its current language on abortion.

"There's definitely a lot of anxiety about this bill," said Altmire. "I'm not gonna cast a vote that my constituents are not comfortable with." - FOX News Story