Daily Democratic Wire 9-3-2009

George Wenschhof

President Barack Obama to deliver health care reform speech to joint session of Congress - while he and his family are at Camp David, the president will be busy fine tuning the speech he will give next Wednesday. It is a pivotal speech in regard to the success of health care reform as Democrats need to recapture the momentum. Politico.com has more here.

The President while at Camp David, is also faced with reviewing the U.S. policy in Afghanistan and deciding if additional troops are warranted. You can read more here.

Look to see the speech on health care reform to focus on less than a half dozen areas where reform will help. Areas such as the rising cost of health insurance, denial of coverage due to preexisting conditions, and loss of insurance when you lose your job are likely to be included. Specifics are needed now as the Republicans have been successful in their misinformation campaign designed to scare Americans. Also, a new idea is being floated in regard to the public option which is being labeled a "trigger" provision - it would mean if certain conditions exist, then the public option would be instituted, otherwise, it would not.

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today where he talks about how the failure to reform the health care system will be costly for Americans. You can read it here.

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Vice President Joe Biden to give speech on Stimulus Bill today - He will address the Brookings Institute and talk about the success of the 787 Billion program. This speech comes as Americans are becoming wary of the massive government spending without visible signs of improvement in unemployment across the country. Biden is expected to discuss the added jobs in education, the addition police, and infrastructure projects underway. You can read more here.

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Union Card Check bill still alive - another controversial bill received a needed boost for passage when incoming AFL - CIO president Richard Trumka indicated he would favor preserving an employer's right to demand a secret ballot election. TheHill.com has more here.

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NY Times offers glimpse into Kennedy Memoir - a book penned by the late Senator Ted Kennedy is due to be released this month and is entitled "True Compass". The NY Times has some excerpts here.

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