Daily Democratic Wire 12-14-2009

George Wenschhof

Today, President Barack Obama will meet with executives of 12 major Banks - he will be urging them to lend more freely to consumers and small businesses. This comes one day after appearing on CBS "Sixty Minutes" and saying "he did not run for office to help out fat cat bankers on Wall Street". Obama is expected to hold a short press conference following the meeting. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Senator Joe Leiberman (I-Conn.) says he will not support recent compromise put forward for health care reform - he was one who had been invited to the "gang of ten" discussions and instead skipped every meeting. Furthermore, the most recent proposal is similar to the Gore-Leiberman platform in the 2002 presidential election. In spite of being allowed to caucus with Democrats and even hold a chairman position, he seems to continue to exhibit bitterness toward liberal leaning Democrats and to relish the fact he can be a determining factor as to what passes in the senate. The Washington Post has more here.

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Senate passes 1.1 Trillion in appropriation bills yesterday - In a 57-35 vote, mostly along party lines. 447 billion is directed at many government offices and 650 Billion went for Medicare and Medicaid. TheHill.com has more here.

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Al Gore arrives at Climate Summit in Copenhagen - amid protesters and lack of agreement from participating nations on ways to move forward on this important issue. Politico.com has more here.

Back home, a new proposal is being floated to replace the controversial cap and trade bill - Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are proposing direct rebates to households to offset higher energy costs. TheHill.com has more here.

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