Daily Democratic Wire 12-22-2009

George Wenschhof

Today, President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with heads of small and community banks - about a dozen bankers were invited to the White House to discuss ways to stimulate lending. TheHill.com has more here.

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Yesterday, the President announced changes in government contracting that will result in 19 billion in savings in 2010 - the goal is to cut another 40 billion in 2011. government contracting doubled under the George W. Bush administration, rising to 540 billion in 2008. CNN.com has more here.

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Senate Health Care bill passes second of three procedural votes - aimed at cutting off debate and passing an amendment to the bill. The vote was 60-39 with the final procedural vote scheduled tomorrow. Final passage by simple majority is expected in the Senate on Christmas Eve. Reuters.com has more here.

Yesterday, the American Medical Association (AMA), the largest physician organization also gave their support to the bill. You can read more here.

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Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fights back against the party of "No" - robocalls are being made to congressional districts in swing states such as Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania pointing out Republicans voted against the financial reform bill that was passed recently by the House. Politico.com has more and the text of a robocall here.

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Unemployment funds in 40 states strained - the recession is also resulting in the tapping of unemployment funds at record levels and it is projected 40 states will be without funds within two years. the Washington post has more here.

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Giuliani not running for Senate - the often rumored candidate will not seek the seat but instead endorse Rick Lazio tomorrow. Politico.com has more here. The best line from the 2008 Democratic presidential debates came from Joe Biden when he said the only thing Giuliani can do is string three words together in a sentence; a noun, a verb, and 9/11.

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