Max Baucus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Democratic U.S. senator on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama to announce that the United States will join trade talks with Vietnam, New Zealand and others as part of the Transpacific Partnership initiative. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus also urged Obama to move more quickly to resolve concerns blocking approval of free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. "We've got to trade or fade," Baucus said in a speech at George Washington University, adding that he felt the "palpable" absence of a comprehensive U.S. trade policy 10 months after Obama took office. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing ... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two more senators on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to pursue a regional trade deal in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. "The Asia Pacific region holds tremendous potential for American manufacturers, farmers and service suppliers," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Senator Charles Grassley said in a letter to Obama. They urged him to complete the Transpacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) begun by the administration of former President George W. Bush in 2008. That would build on existing free trade deals with Singapore, Peru, Chile and Australia by creating a regional trade pact that also includes Vietnam, New Zealand and ... Read Full Story

With support from a lone Republican, a key Senate committee Tuesday approved a middle-of-the-road health care plan that moves President Barack Obama's goal of wider and affordable coverage a giant step closer to becoming law. Maine Republican Olympia Snowe said she was laying aside misgivings for now and voting to advance the bill, a sweeping $829-billon, 10-year health care remake that would help most Americans get coverage without creating a new government insurance plan. "When history calls, history calls," said Snowe. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., called his bill "a commonsense, balanced solution." A distance runner, Baucus has endured months of marathon meetings ... Read Full Story

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Photo: WDCpix It happens in every recession: Medicaid enrollment leaps at precisely the same time that states are least able to afford the additional costs. The structural flaw has left state lawmakers threatening program cuts, Congress scrambling to find emergency funds to prevent a coverage crisis, and children’s health advocates urging an overhaul in the way Medicaid is funded. Trouble is, the Democrats’ health reform proposals do nothing to address the problem. Despite the Medicaid expansion at the center of both the House and Senate bills, neither chamber takes aim at the underlying funding flaws of the program, which is ... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate healthcare reform bill would raise $29 billion more in taxes on healthcare companies over 10 years than originally estimated, congressional experts said on Tuesday, fueling new Republican attacks on the legislation. The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation reported the bill would raise $121 billion in fees on drug companies, health insurers and the makers of medical devices, up from the $92 billion it reported last month. The new estimate came as the Senate Finance Committee neared a vote on its sweeping overhaul of the nation's healthcare system amid Republican charges the proposal is too costly and includes too ... Read Full Story