I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean said Monday that it is time to kill the U.S. Senate health care bill and start over — and he used the “r” word. Reconciliation.
The liberal Democrat, who previously served as governor of Vermont, said “This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill.”
Earlier this year, Sen. Jeff Bignaman, D-N.M., made headlines after he said he could support reconciliation to pass portions of the health care reform bill. Bingaman made the remarks at a health care town hall in Albuquerque.
Reconciliation is a Senate rule that allows budgetary items to only require 50 votes and not be subject to the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster.
Later, a Bingaman spokeswoman said there was no clear head count on passing health care reform through budget reconciliation.
With opposition by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Olympie Snowe, R-Maine and some concerns over abortion from Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., health care reform supporters in the Senate have not been able to get to 60 votes despite a number of attempts at compromise.
The latest compromise, which caused Dean to say it was time to kill the bill, was to drop a Medicare buy-in which would have given 55-64 year olds access to purchasing Medicare.
MSNBC reported yesterday that Lieberman had previously voiced support for the Medicare buy-in.
