Today, the United States Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats, voted down a bill by the Republicans. The Republicans have been trying to force a bill that would let employers choose to not give health care is they opposed to reform morally.

Supporters of the bill, which was shot down by a vote of 51-48, claimed that certain religious beliefs are violated by the health care reform and that those whose beliefs are violated should not have to adhere by the new policies.

The main issue at hand was the coverage of birth control, which is in fact against some religions. Churches were left out of the policy. But other religions companies were still in the plan.

There have been advocates for both sides of the debate. However, the extension of the coverage should not be limited to employees due to the decision of employers who personally disagree with parts of the plan.

The details of the health care reform of a few years ago are still being debated. It is unclear when, or if, the battle over health care will end.

The argument over the health care reform that President Barack Obama pressed so hard for seems to be never-ending. The House of Representatives, which has a strong Republican majority, has voted to repeal the reform already this month. Now, a judge in Florida is taking the stance that the reform is not even constitutional.

So far there have been over two dozen states filing lawsuits claiming that the reform is unconstitutional. The most prominent one has been in Florida.

With a ruling that he presented in a 78-page report, Judge Roger Vinson said that the part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that makes it mandatory for Americans to buy health insurance in the next three years or deal with fines is simply unconstitutional.

Vinson’s statement read, “I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate. That is not to say, of course, that Congress is without power to address the problems and inequities in our health care system.”

Vinson went on to say that because the one section of the bill is unconstitutional and must not be permitted, “the entire Act must be declared void.”

In Florida, it was also debated whether it was lawful or not to make each state increase their Medicaid so more citizens who are in the lower tax brackets and that are not insured can get coverage.

Some states are complaining that even with the assistance of the federal government in paying off the costs of Medicaid, the price tags are still too high for each individual state.

In other suits against Obama’s bill, there have been mixed results. In Virginia, the new law has been ruled unconstitutional as well. However, in two other cases, the health care reform has been ruled perfectly constitutional.

It is practically a certainty that the cases will all result in a huge battle in the Supreme Court.

It is expected that by the end of 2011, the Supreme Court will begin its evaluation of Obama’s health care reform in order to determine once and for all if it is unconstitutional or not.

Obama said of his bill and all of its requirements, “It’s the right thing to do, and I’m confident that the courts will uphold it.”

While it may seem as though it is asking a lot of the American people for all of them to have insurance by 2014, in a country where people like to have control of their fate, do Americans really want to have to depend on the government to help them pay for their medical bills if something were to come up?

AP

President Barack Obama held his second State of the Union address on Tuesday. It was the 222^nd to ever be held.

Obama began the address by “congratulating the men and women of the 112^th Congress,” especially John Boehner, the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Arizona congresswomen, Gabby Giffords, was not present due to the tragic shooting that she became a victim of in Tucson. However, she was not forgotten by Obama or any of the other members of Congress on Tuesday.

The President said that despite the differences between Democrats and Republicans over the last two years, the shooting in Tucson reminded everyone “we are part of the American family.”

Obama said that the moments of unity we are currently experiencing need to be continued into the future for the United States to prosper.

President Obama said he has faith in the new Congress. He said, “We will move forward together, or not at all,” as with how Congress is now split, all new laws will require bipartisan support to pass.

Now is a crucial time for Congress to make sure that the economy continues to grow. Since the 2008 economic crash, “the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again,” said Obama.

However, Obama said that to truly measure the success of the economic resurrection, we must make sure that Americans are prospering on every level and are getting the jobs that will help them maintain the American standard of living.

Obama touted the work done by Republicans and Democrats in December to help Americans by extending tax cuts, tax breaks, and unemployment benefits, among other measures.

The President sympathized with how the job market went from a place where “if you worked hard, chances are you’d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits, and the occasional promotion,” to a place where businesses are shutting down, people are losing money, and others are losing their jobs all together.

Obama credited the advances in technology to the shrinking of the job market. Factory jobs no longer need as many workers and some jobs don’t require humans at all anymore.

President Obama then complimented China and India on their economic successes and their ability to act quickly to educate their children on the necessary skills to succeed in the new world.

But Obama made it clear that Americans are still leading the pack. “America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place in the world,” said Obama.

Obama then reminded the men and women of Congress, as well as the millions watching at home, that they should not forget that once upon a time, the United States was a new nation founded on “the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny.”

He then told his audience that we must work to maintain our success. He quoted Robert Kennedy when he said, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.”

Obama said that the keys to success were innovation, education, and production. In addition, Obama also focused on taking on the national deficit.

Obama emphasized the need to promote imagination and creativeness. Obama told Americans that we cannot become stagnant in our innovations. From the Wright brother and Thomas Edison to the Internet and Google, we must take a note from our past that innovation is necessary.

“Biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology,” as the areas that Obama is investing in.

Obama is challenging the United States to become a nation of clean energy. To do so Obama has suggested to Congress that the tax money that goes to oil companies goes to those working on clean energy instead. As Obama put it, “instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.”

To make sure that Americans are ready for the new technologies and to take the jobs that will come with the innovations, Obama stressed progressions in education, especially in math, science, and graduation levels.

Obama challenged parents to make sure that the knowledge of why learning is important is instilled in every child. Obama has also challenged schools to raise the standards for students and teachers with programs such as the Race to the Top.

Obama is also working on providing more grants for college students as the rates of a college education grow. The work Obama is putting in will benefit students from Harvard Law to the local community college.

Obama then alluded to his disappointment with the DREAM Act not passing. He then asked Congress to work with him to settle the issues of illegal immigration so that intelligent young adults with good moral character don’t get deported when they could instead contribute to the American economy and society.

Obama then directed focus on improving the speed of American technology and the quality of American infrastructure. Part of the additions will be high-speed rail to increase the speed that Americans can travel.

In addition, faster Internet signals and phone signals will also be made a priority to connect Americans.

Obama is also calling on Congress to change the way businesses are taxed in order to help out the small businesses of America.

Obama then address the health care law. He said the door is open to discuss any ideas for improvements with him at any time as his top concern is providing the best possible plan for the American people.

Finally, Obama addressed the issue of the national deficit. To tackle the issue, the President offered up ideas from freezing annual domestic spending for the next half-decade as well as freezing federal and military salaries.

Obama concluded his address by asking the men and women of Congress to work together for the good of the American people. Obama also spoke of the issues in the Middle East in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Tunisia.

Obama touted the American Dream. He reiterated the need to dream in order to succeed in the future.

To cap off his speech, Obama said, “Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.”

After two years of a divided Congress, it is now clear that Republicans and Democrats have no choice but to work together. And President Obama knows that. With foreign affairs, the economy, energy, jobs, education, and health care all needing attention from Congress, it is now time for the men and women of the House and the Senate to come together and resolve the issues that have been holding back Americans for far too long. And President Obama is leading the way.

Alex Brandon/AP

One of the promises of Republicans running for the House of Representatives in the 2010 Midterm Elections was that they were going to repeal Obama’s health care reform bill. The strong statement proved to be a wise choice for the congressmen and women as Americans who were not pleased with the reform rushed to the polls in November to turn control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats over to the Republicans.

Last week, Republicans wanted to vote on the potential repeal, but the shooting in Arizona caused the debate and vote to be postponed. But this week, things fell into place for the Republicans. Tuesday, the matter was opened up for debate on the floor of the House. Wednesday, the members of the House came together to vote on the vital issue.

The bill was passed in the House by a total of 245 votes to 189. All of the Republicans voted to repeal the health reform law and they were joined by three members of the Democratic Party.

The bill, which was titled, “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act,” may have passed the House of Representatives, but now is where the biggest flaw in the House Republicans plan is exposed.

The likelihood of the bill making it past the Senate is next to impossible. The Senate has a majority of Democrats and on top of that, a total of sixty votes are needed to pass a bill in the Senate. As a result, all of the Republicans and thirteen Democrats would need to vote in favor of the repeal.

Even then, there is one major obstacle standing in the way. President Obama has veto power. Even if the bill manages to pass through the Senate, in which Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he will not bring it to a vote, there is virtually no chance that President Obama will not use his veto power to stop the repeal in its tracks.

Another problem with the Republican opposition to Obama’s reform is that they have not offered an alternative. They have simply said that Obama’s plan should be abandoned, but have not offered a new plan or a way to undo Obama’s version of the reform.

The Republicans will more than likely be forced to attempt to simply cut funding to certain parts of Obama’s program. An overall repeal is highly unlikely, but a cutting back on the financial allocations to the bill is a feasible option for Republicans.

Getty

When President Barack Obama decided to take on the United States Health Care system, the Republicans were displeased to say the least. With the two major parties completely divided on the matter, Obama pressed on until a compromise was finally met where he was able to get a mild version of the reform he had in mind passed.

The reform allowed for children to stay under their parents’ health care insurance until they turn 26, which came as a blessing considering the rising health care rates and the low economy. Also under Obama’s health reform, individuals could not be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

But now the Republicans have the majority in the House of Representatives. As part of the campaign platforms of many congressmen and women, a repeal of the health care reform was promised.

Now, the new leaders of the House are announcing that they are soon planning to vote on the potential repeal of Obama’s reform.

The new Speaker of the House, John Boehner of Ohio, is planning to open the floor to debate on the matter on Tuesday and then bring about the voting on the issue on Wednesday.

Boehner said of his desire to repeal the reform, “Repealing the job crushing health care law is critical to boosting small business job creation and growing the economy.”

To discredit Boehner’s claims, the Congressional Budget Office conducted a study on the economy and concluded that if the reform is repealed, the result would actually be an increase of nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars to the national debt in the next decade.

While the majority in the House means that the repeal is more than likely to be successful in the House, the nearly evenly split Senate will prove to be a nearly indestructible obstacle.

With sixty votes needed in the Senate, Republicans would need to persuade thirteen of the fifty-three Democrats to abandon the reform that they pressed so hard for.

As a result, Boehner and his party will more than likely be forced to simply try to take back some of the funding allocated for the programs under the new health care system.

Some Democrats have come out and said that when it comes to certain programs that have shown to be too costly, they are willing to discuss a possible defunding.

While the repeal of the reform is more than likely going to prove to be impossible, Republicans can still hope to cut down some of the aspects of the system economically.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- With the New Year now upon us, it was only a matter of time until American politics take up headline news once again. And on Sunday, exactly that happened.

President Barack Obama signed the first bill of 2011 into law as he put his John Hancock on the 9/11 Health Bill, or the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act as it is written on the document.

Obama put pen to paper while on vacation. Obama and his family are in Hawaii right now. A staff member from the White House took the document all the way from the Capital to the island of Oahu in Hawaii just so the President could sign it and make sure that there is no long delay until the new health coverage is made available.

Survivors and the first responders who were present for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City are now going to receive free medical coverage as a result of the bill. The Victim Compensation Fund is also going to be made available so that financial assistance will be there for those affected by the terrorist attack over nine years ago.

New York officials are extremely pleased with the passage of the bill, as their citizens have been coping with the events and subsequent effects of that day for nearly a decade.

Senator Charles Schumer said, “After a long, arduous path with several near defeats, this bill is finally law. The heroes who rushed to Ground Zero in the hours and days after the attacks will not be forgotten. These first responders were like veterans and this law keeps with a time-honored tradition of standing by our veterans when they get harmed answering the call. We will begin work immediately to make sure this law gets renewed for another five years.”

Other lawmakers touted Obama for pushing for the bill and signing it despite being on his vacation. The action was taken as a sign that the United States “government has not forgotten the thousands who have served and suffered,” according to Jerrold Nadler of New York.

While the attacks of that day will never be forgotten and can never be compensated for, the men and women who risked their lives to help their fellow human beings on that day can now rest assured that the United States government has their best interests at heart and will be looking after them medically and financially.

AP/Alex Brandon

San Francisco (Obama.net)- The people of the United States have been strongly divided on the matter of whether or not the Health Care Reform is the right way to go for the American people. The matter was also hotly contested in Congress as Democrats fought for its passage while Republicans wanted the bill to get rejected.

Now, those who were not happy with the passage of the reform can see a glimmer of hope that the bill will not be going through as planned.

Monday, Virginian judge Henry Hudson found a clause in the reform bill that he saw as unconstitutional. The United States District Judge said that making every American buy health insurance within the next three years goes against the civil rights laid out in the United States Constitution.

The ruling is more than likely going to be appealed by the United States Justice Department. That will in turn lead to what is most likely going to be a series of appeals until the Supreme Court makes a final verdict.

Hudson made the claim that “An individual’s personal decision to purchase, or decline purchase, of health insurance from a private provider is beyond historical reach of the U.S. Constitution. No specifically articulated constitutional authority exists to mandate the purchase of health insurance.”

Hudson’s decision is different from other judges ruling over the same matter. Another Virginian judge, as well as one from Michigan, have said that the aspect of the reform is constitutional.

Hudson and other Virginian elites have taken the stance that the Commerce Clause in the US Constitution should not give Congress the right to make people buy an optional insurance that may not be necessary for all Americans.

Virginia’s state constitution says that its citizens cannot be made to buy any form of insurance.

Obama has already been urged to appeal the decision and take the matter to a higher court.

The White House released a statement saying it was not happy with the ruling, but that it believed that after the appeals process goes through and the matter is resolved, the entire Health Care Reform will be ruled Constitutional.

While some may be happy that a shot has been taken at the hotly debated Health Care Reform, all legal precedents and an inspection of the Constitution shows that the Obama Administration and the United States Congress acted in their full authority and did nothing to go against the Constitution.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Ever since it just began to be discussed so long ago, health care reform in America drew a lot of criticism and divided American’s heavily. Once it passed, millions resented it immediately, before even knowing what it entailed. The outrage continued to grow as time passed. One of the main reasons why the Republicans gained so many seats in the Midterm Elections was that they promised to repeal health care reform.

However, Republicans in Congress don’t have the power to repeal the reform. Any such attempt would just receive a Presidential Veto if it is not first blocked by the Democratic majority in the Senate. But, they can vote to limit its funding and to block it in other ways.

And that’s exactly what Republicans, along with at least one Democrat, are trying to do now.

Scott Brown, a Republican, with the support of Ron Wyden, a Democrat in the Senate, told Congress of their plan to introduce a new measure that would give individual states more power in terms of health care.

The plan would enable states to opt out of the United States system for health care in 2014 presuming the state can also provide the same amount and quality of care that the federal government is.

Wyden said of the plan, “it ought to be appealing to conservatives. This is a states’ right approach. And it certainly ought to be appealing to progressive folks who would like to try some of their ideas at the state level.”

The new idea is actually not that new. The current health care plan gives states the option to leave the federal system in 2017.

Wyden did agree with President Obama that people should not be rejected coverage based on previous conditions. He also spoke again large co-pays.

Wyden said of the chance to alter health care in America, “This is an opportunity for folks in the U.S. Senate to come together and come up with a real solution.”

While the exact details of the plan are not quite clear, the plan falls in line with the Republicans’ goal of hurting the health care reform plan, which will more than likely end up with attempts to adjust the funding.

The health care bill is clearly only being embraced by some Americans while being rejected by others. But time will tell whether or not President Obama was right at the end of the day.

Official White House/Pete Souza

San Francisco (Obama.net)- It is rare in the political world of the United States to see someone admit to doing something wrong. It is even more rare when that someone is the President of the United States of America himself. But that is exactly what President Barack Obama did Thursday while attending a small get-together in Seattle, Washington.

Some who attended the small gathering asked the President about the poor feedback he has received on some of the reforms he has passed in the first half of his historic presidential term. President Obama told them that the Republicans did everything they could to knock down Obama and his ideas. Obama also told them that he was wrong in not fighting back.

The President of the United States admitted that he devoted all of his time to constructing the best possible policies for the American people and did not spend nearly enough on actually explaining the benefits and advertising his plans.

However, President Obama did say now that bills like Health Reform are truly beginning to be implemented throughout the nation, the American people are now seeing first hand the benefits of what he has done.

Obama was clearly disappointed in the amount of negative advertising against his policies, but made a point to say that he and his administration will continue to do what is right for the American people and to explain to them all of the positives of what is being done.

The Head of State said, “I think that one of the challenges we had two years ago was we had to move so fast, we were in such emergency mode, that it was very difficult for us to spend a lot of time doing victory laps and advertising exactly what we were doing because we had to move on to the next thing. And I take responsibility for that.”

Obama then proceeded to knock down the Republican assertions that Obama and the Democrats are responsible for the debt and deficit of the United States due to their spending. The President said that the Republicans are painting the picture as if he created all of the debt when in actuality he had a $1.3 trillion deficit waiting for him.

Obama then knocked the Republicans again for their ideas to cut spending. As Republicans suggest cutting Health Care, Obama points out that the reform would actually bring in $1 trillion in the next two decades. As they suggest cutting the rest of the stimulus package, Obama makes it clear that the only part left that hasn’t been spent is for “tax cuts, which they say they’re for.”

AFP

San Francisco (Obama.net)- With the passage of his small business plan last week and the signing of it this week, President Barack Obama and his administration are steadily getting their economic goals taken care of.

With the implementation of another one of his economic measures, Obama is moving the United States in the direction of reduced unemployment and a recovery from the recession.

But some Americans are still not completely sold on the President’s ideas and plans.

To inform the American public of the details of his work, Obama took to the road on Wednesday.

Obama came to Des Moines, Iowa and spoke with families in the area. Among the topics of discussion were the unemployment rate, health care reform, the price of the military efforts in the Middle East, and the debate over tax cuts to the wealthy.

Obama made it very clear to his listeners that his measures would in fact progress the American economy and that the children of tomorrow will have a positive life.

Obama told them, “I do want everybody to feel encouraged about our future. We’ve been through tougher times before, and we’re going to get through these times.”

The President then called on the people of America to work together for the better of the future and that a combined effort by all American’s would result in that better future.

Later on in the day, the President of the United States stopped in Richmond, Virginia to deliver a similar message and hear the concerns and comments of the citizens there.

Tuesday, Obama went to New Mexico and echoed the message that he has been giving all summer. He told them that come November 2^nd, the people of America would have to choose between the Republican policies that got us into this economic crisis, and the Democratic policies that have been bring us out of the crisis for the last two years.

During his speeches, Obama explained the facets of the health care reform that benefit the youth of America, as well as those that benefit the elderly of the state.

Obama also spoke negatively about the lack of new ideas by the Republicans Party in addition to their desire to extend the Bush era tax cuts to those making over $250,000 a year, which would cost the American government $700 billion.

Obama made it clear that the measures the Republicans want to take are too costly for the American government and the American people right now. As Obama said, 98% of the population shouldn’t suffer just so 2% can hold onto a little extra money.