The Senate voted 61 – 36 to end debate and vote on the $838 billion stimulus package. Final passage is expected to be voted on Tuesday. Senate and House negotiators will have only a few days to resolve significant differences before the Presidents Day deadline set by Democratic leaders. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night the Senate approved an amendment offered by Senators Harkin and Specter which raised the level of funding ($3.5 billion) already provided to the NIH in the stimulus package by $6.5 billion. Under this amendment, the NIH would receive $10 billion for research, including more than $1.3 billion for NCI. Read the rest of this entry »

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) announced he will be stepping down from the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 111th Congress to focus on health care reform. “As chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, I expect to lead a very full agenda in the next Congress, including working with [President-elect] Obama to guarantee affordable health care, at long last, for every American,“Kennedy said. Read the rest of this entry »

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nevada) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (West Virginia) unveiled a $100.3 billion economic recovery package. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus (D-Montana), unveiled his “Call to Action” for healthcare reform in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »