Senator Ben Nelson News

Don't tell the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, but that was supposed to be the easy part.

Democratic moderates who will determine the fate of much of President Obama's domestic agenda heard an early warning from this week's off-year elections: Congress had better do something about the economy, or sitting lawmakers will lose their jobs in 2010.

The challenge facing President Obama's effort to revamp healthcare can be summed up with these words from Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman: Losses loom larger than gains.

Today, Nebraskaa s Senator Ben Nelson said that a Nebraska winery/microbrewery and a telecommunications company will expand operations thanks to more than $6.6 million in loan guarantees announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The defeat of Democrats in races for governor of Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday has raised questions about whether political momentum is shifting against the Obama administration.

House Democratic leaders have put the finishing touches on their health care bill and could bring it to the full chamber as soon as Friday.

The Washington Post : "Moderates have raised numerous concerns about aspects of the bill, including the public insurance option that liberals persuaded Reid to add last week.

The crappy idea that just won't die is back, now courtesy Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu .

That's the hardball message liberal groups are hurling at moderate Democratic senators in a battle that is dividing their party.

Far from chastened by off-year election setbacks, congressional Democrats vowed no let-up in the drive to pass controversial health care Wednesday, arguing that the way to regain voter trust was to complete what they started in more prosperous political times.

In a blow to the White House, the Senate's top Democrat signaled Tuesday that Congress may fail to meet a year-end deadline for passing health-care legislation, leaving the measure's fate to the uncertainties of the 2010 election season.

Two groups seeking to pressure Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., into supporting a new government health insurance plan, or public option, say they have some home-state poll numbers to back up the effort.

Not very creative, those Republicans. From Roll Call [sub req.]: Acknowledging they can't stop the Senate from bringing up a health care reform bill, Republicans have mapped out a strategy to draw out the debate, attack the measure's core components and force difficult votes on vulnerable Democrats.

Joe Lieberman has once again rolled a political hand grenade into the Democrats' tent.

This story was written by Juliet Eilperin . The climate-change bill that has been moving slowly through the Senate will face a stark political reality when it emerges for committee debate on Tuesday: With Democrats deeply divided on the issue, unless some Republican lawmakers risk the backlash for signing on to the legislation, there is almost no ...

Senate leaders are negotiating to extend and gradually reduce an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers through 2010, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said.

There was considerable movement on the health care reform front in Congress in the last week.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont says Democrats should stop portraying health care reform as a bipartisan effort.

Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY : Afghan presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah; Sens.

Friday, October 30, 2009 at 5:49 p.m. For days, Republicans believed they were making headway by ripping Majority Leader Harry Reid for negotiating the health care bill in private.