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Decision day for health care in the House
President Barack Obama is traveling to Capitol Hill on Saturday to try to close the sale on his signature health care overhaul, facing a make-or-break vote in the House certain to be seen as a test of his presidency.
Obama scheduled a late-morning visit with House Democrats convening a rare Saturday session on legislation to remake the U.S. health care system, extending coverage to tens of millions now uninsured and banning insurance company practices such as denial of coverage based on pre-existing medical problems.
Late Friday, House Democrats cleared an abortion-related impasse blocking a vote and officials expressed optimism they had finally lined up the support needed to pass Obama's signature issue.
Under the arrangement, Democratic Reps. Bart Stupak of Michigan, Brad Ellsworth of Indiana and other abortion opponents were promised an opportunity to insert tougher restrictions into the legislation during debate on the House floor.
The leadership's hope is that no matter how that vote turns out, Democrats on both sides of the abortion divide will then unite to give the health care bill a majority over unanimous Republican opposition.
"We wish to maintain current law, which says no public funding for abortion," Stupak said. "We are not writing a new federal abortion policy."
Ellsworth added, "From day one, my goal has been to ensure federal tax dollars are not used to pay for abortions and to provide Americans with pro-life options on the exchange. And I am proud to be part of an effort to help make this goal a reality."
With Democrats' command of the necessary votes looking tenuous in the final hours, Obama threw the weight of his administration behind the effort to round up support. He and top administration officials worked the phones to pressure wavering lawmakers.
Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said he heard Friday from Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
Their message: "This is a historic moment. You don't want to end up with nothing," said Altmire, who remained undecided.
Democratic leaders hoped to hold the vote Saturday evening, but Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said it could slip.
Democrats hold 258 seats in the House and can afford 40 defections and still wind up with 218, a majority if all lawmakers vote. But all 177 Republicans were expected to vote "no," and Democratic leaders faced a series of complications trying to seal the needed votes for their complex and controversial legislation that would affect one-sixth of the economy and touch the lives of countless Americans.
In the GOP's weekly radio address, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Democrats should scrap their ambitious legislation and concentrate on modest health care changes that could find bipartisan support.
"The House Democrats' health care bill should be withdrawn and reworked," he said.
Tuesday's elections — in which Democrats lost two governors' races — sent a message that voters care about jobs, not growing the size of government, Barbour said.
The final hurdle for the Democrats was a controversy over federal funding for abortion, which simmered into Friday night with tensions running high as party leaders shuttled between meetings of anti-abortion and abortion rights lawmakers.
Federal law currently prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions except in the case of rape, incest of situations in which the life of the mother is in danger. That left unresolved whether individuals would be permitted to use their own funds to buy insurance coverage for the procedure in the federally backed insurance exchange envisioned under the legislation.
Democrats have little room for error, with the prospect of the 2010 midterms looming large and a some of their own moderates already declaring their opposition.
The 10-year, $1.2 trillion House bill would create a new federally supervised insurance marketplace where the uninsured could purchase coverage.
Consumers would have the option of picking a government-run plan, the most hotly contested item in the legislation.
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African Union imposes sanctions on Guinea junta
The African Union has implemented sanctions on Guinea's military rulers, AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said Saturday.
"Africa has implemented sanctions against several dozen people in Guinea who are opposing a return to constitutional order," he said at a press conference on the sidelines of a summit on the Madagascar crisis.
"The list has been sent to AU member states, to the UN Security Council and to the European Union (EU) so that we can harmonize our positions and take appropriate measures," he added.
Lamamra said that "the hand outstreched to Madagascar to help it return to constitutional order coincides with the implementation of sanctions on Guinea: on the same day Africa is expressing its resistance to anticonstitutional changes of government. Democracy must be promoted everywhere".
The sanctions include bans on travel and the freezing of assets held outside Guinea by the junta's leaders.
They were imposed after junta troops on September 28 opened fire at a rally in a Conakry stadium where protestors were urging junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara not to stand in presidential elections planned for January.
Camara now wants to stand in the elections, despite his earlier committment not to do so and despite demands from the international community that he should not run.
At least 150 people died, the United Nations says. Human rights groups put the toll at 157 dead and more than 1,200 injured, including women who were publicly raped.
The military regime has said that 56 people died and 934 were wounded. NGOs say that between 150 and 200 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded.
The United Nations has announced it will set up an inquiry into the massacre while the International Criminal Court said it will hold a separate preliminary inquiry to determine if war crimes were committed.
Both the AU and the west African economic grouping ECOWAS have already suspended Guinea and both the United States and the EU have imposed sanctions on the junta. ECOWAS has also imposed an arms embargo.
Camara seized power in the mineral-rich west African state on December 23 last year, just hours after the death of Guinea's long-serving ruler Lansana Conte, who was an autocratic army general.
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Gordon Brown: UK staying in Afghanistan, but wants reform
Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Afghanistan's government on Friday to take action against corruption, saying he would not risk more British lives there unless it reforms.
Brown said in a speech that success in Afghanistan is vital to Britain's security — but declared that if the Afghan government does not mend its ways it will forfeit the world's support.
"I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption," he said.
Brown's ultimatum echoes the words of President Barack Obama, who said Wednesday that he told newly re-elected Afghan President Hamid Karzai that "this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter" in Afghanistan.
The U.K. leader's speech comes after the deaths of seven British soldiers in the past week, including five who were shot by an Afghan police officer they were training. Corruption-marred presidential elections and rising casualties have undercut support for the war — and increased pressure on Brown to justify Britain's presence in Afghanistan.
Public support has eroded in countries trying to stabilize Afghanistan, something a top NATO general has warned could undermine allied efforts.
"The clock in Afghanistan is clearly running against us," said German Gen. Egon Ramms, whose Allied Joint Forces Command oversees NATO's force in Afghanistan. "In the end, politicians will not go against their public opinion."
Increasing violence in the country is also threatening the U.N. mission there. On Thursday, the world body said it was temporarily relocating more than half of its international staff while it looks for safer accommodation, following an attack last week on a guesthouse in which five staff members were killed.
Karzai has repeatedly promised to work to clean up his government. Corruption is deeply rooted in Afghanistan, a country awash in drug money, and where bribes are a part of everyday life.
Karzai's spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said that Afghan and international officials needed to work together to counter corruption.
"The President has renewed his committment in fighting this menace by redoubling his government's efforts," Hamidzada said. "But fighting corruption requires closer and more effective cooperation between the government of Afghanistan and the international community."
A March report by the U.S. Agency for International Development found that corruption had reached "an unprecedented scope in the country's history." Transparency International, a non-governmental organization, last year ranked Afghanistan 176th out of 180 countries on its corruption perceptions index, a poll that assesses the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.
Brown acknowledged that the government in Afghanistan had become a by-word for corruption, but noted that Karzai had assured him that he would take decisive action against it.
"International support depends on the scale of his ambition and the degree of his achievement in five key areas: security, governance, reconciliation, economic development, and engagement with Afghanistan's neighbors," he said. "If the government fails to meet these five tests, it will have not only failed its own people, it will have forfeited its right to international support."
Brown linked military action there to safety on Britain's streets.
"We will not be deterred, dissuaded or diverted from taking whatever measures are necessary to protect our security," Brown said.
Britain currently has about 9,000 troops in the country, the majority in the restive southern Helmand province. The force is the second-largest foreign one in the country after the United States. Germany, the third-largest contributor to the NATO-led force, has some 4,300 troops in the country.
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Germany: Civilians likely killed in Afghan strike
Germany's defense minister said Friday he believes civilians were killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan, but insisted that the German-requested attack was necessary from a military standpoint.
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said a NATO report concludes there were "procedural errors" in the Sept. 4 airstrike, but he defended the decision by a German commander to request it as "appropriate in military terms."
The commander, Col. Georg Klein, called in the NATO airstrike against two tanker trucks that had been seized by Taliban insurgents near Kunduz, fearing they could be used to attack troops.
Although the information remains contradictory, "I personally assume that there were civilian victims," Guttenberg told reporters after assessing the NATO report.
He stressed that "I regret ... every civilian victim deeply."
The report prepared by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force remains classified, but Guttenberg was allowed to present it to members of Germany's parliament responsible for military affairs.
The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, appointed a Canadian major general to lead the investigation along with officers from the U.S. Air Force and German military.
Guttenberg did not elaborate on the procedural errors that were found. However, he said the report made clear that "contradictory, confusing and at times outdated rules of engagement" had come into play in the incident.
He said that "there is considerable room for improvement at the international level, but also at a national level" and said German troops would receive appropriate instruction to prevent future misunderstandings.
Germany has more than 4,000 troops serving in northern Afghanistan and 36 have been killed so far in the mission.
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Czech, US governments discuss military cooperation
Senior U.S. and Czech defense officials held talks Friday to discuss ways for the Czech Republic to participate in a reworked U.S. missile defense plan.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Alexander Vershbow told reporters the U.S. "did present ... some concrete ideas to begin that process of developing the Czech role in the new approach."
Vershbow's visit comes two weeks after Vice President Joe Biden won Czech support for the new plan.
In September the Obama administration scrapped Bush-era blueprints for basing long range interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic as part of a missile defense shield designed to shoot down long-range missiles from countries including Iran. It was strongly opposed by Russia.
The new system is focused on short- and medium-range interceptors.
Vershbow suggested the Czech contribution could include "potential facilities here on the territory of the Czech Republic."
Friday's talks were the first of a series meant to improve Czech-U.S. defense relations.
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First lady Michelle Obama praises employees at Energy Department
On a visit to the Energy Department on Thursday, first lady Michelle Obama quizzed middle-school students about red blood cells and nanotechnology during a practice science quiz competition.
Mrs. Obama also praised department employees during her 13th stop on a tour of the federal bureaucracy.
"You don't often get the thanks that you deserve," she said. "Sometimes you get a lot of the blame and none of the credit for the progress that has gone on in this country."
The first lady said the agency's work has been critical for bolstering the economy, promoting national security and preserving the environment.
"What you're doing here couldn't be more urgent," she said. "And it's not easy. Everyone knows it's not easy."
Mrs. Obama commended the agency's educational initiatives. "We all know that we can't transform our energy future unless we transform our education system," she said. "So that's why were so pleased by what folks here at the Department of Energy are doing to get young people excited about science."
After her speech, Mrs. Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu took turns asking questions of 7th and 8th graders from Kenmoor Middle School in Landover, Md., and Takoma Park Middle School in Takoma Park, Md., during an unofficial practice Science Bowl competition.
The Energy Department coordinates Science Bowl competitions around the country. Winning teams from each regional competition will compete at the National Science Bowl this spring.
"I'll be reporting the results back to the president," Mrs. Obama joked before asking the first question. "So no pressure, young people."
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Liberal lawmakers defy Barack Obama on Patriot Act
Defying the Obama administration, the House Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to remove from the USA Patriot Act a tool for tracking non-U.S. citizens in anti-terrorism investigations.
The committee, dominated by Democratic liberals, also voted to amend the anti-terrorism law to curb the government's surveillance and seizure powers.
The bill went to the full House on a 16-10 vote along party lines, with Republicans casting all the votes in opposition. GOP lawmakers said the legislation would hinder law enforcement and intelligence agencies in fighting terrorism.
The legislation would allow the Patriot Act's never-used "lone wolf" section to expire at the end of the year. The provision permits the government to spy on non-Americans even when they're not linked to a recognized terrorist group.
The Justice Department has asked that the "lone wolf" authority be continued, even though it hasn't been needed yet. Patriot Act revisions before the Senate would retain the tool, but the House Democrats said normal criminal investigative tools could be used instead.
Three sections of the Patriot Act expire at year's end, giving lawmakers the opportunity to amend the law.
Congressional liberals believe the act tilts too far in favor of law enforcement and intelligence agencies while failing to protect Americans' privacy against government snooping and seizures.
The bill before the Senate, approved by that chamber's Judiciary Committee, would make it easier than the House legislation for authorities to obtain tangible items, including business and library records, and conduct wiretaps.
In addition to eliminating the "lone wolf" language the House bill would place restrictions on national security letters, which are FBI demands for information that do not need a judge's approval.
Liberal lawmakers argue that restrictions on court-ordered seizures mean little unless there are curbs on the FBI's authority to issue the letters.
Under the bill, before issuing national security letters the FBI would be required to demonstrate that the information requested is connected to a foreign power or its agent.
The bill also would force the government to justify to a judge the need for a gag order, which prevents the recipient of the letter from disclosing it.
The Justice Department inspector general has reported that the FBI in the past improperly collected and retained improper information from the security letters.
The House bill's curtailment of some government authority is certain to upset law enforcement and intelligence officials, but sponsors only need a simple majority to pass it.
The 100-member Senate needs 60 votes to advance a bill, and the compromise bill before that chamber — crafted by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and others — was designed to overcome that hurdle.
A wildcard in the debate is the Obama administration's Justice Department. So far, the department's only public stance been to seek continuation of the three expiring sections. Several lawmakers demanded that the Obama administration provide it's position on the changes.
The House bill's also would:
_Require the government, in requesting a roving wiretap, to demonstrate to a judge that the target is a single person. This would avoid a fishing expedition that could ensnare innocent people, supporters say.
_Require the government to produce more evidence to a court than currently needed, in order to obtain records from businesses, libraries and booksellers. An even higher standard would be needed for obtaining library and bookstore records.
_Set a December 2013 expiration for the roving wiretap and records seizure sections. Congress would have to revisit the legislation to keep those sections in force.
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