Category: US
The Affordable Care Act Is Working, ‘Helping People…’
President Obama emerged from the White House on Tuesday to rousing applause. He announced that 7.1 million Americans had signed up for health care through the federal exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act.
“This law is doing what it’s supposed to do,” Obama said at the Rose Garden. “It’s working. It’s helping people from coast to coast.”
Seven million was the White House’s initial projection, but the rollout of the exchanges has been messy. HealthCare.gov, for example, was essentially useless for weeks after it was launched in October.
Because of that the White House brought its projection in line with the Congressional Budget Office’s 6 million figure.
During his speech, Obama acknowledged that the law wasn’t perfect and that the rollout wasn’t perfect, but the first six months are “a step forward.”
“Bottom line is this: Under this law the share of Americans with insurance is down” and the growth of the cost of health care is down, Obama said.
He went on to deliver an impassioned defense of his signature legislation, saying Obamacare has made health care in the United States better and it had affirmed the “dignity and worth” of millions of Americans.
“That’s what the Affordable Care Act is all about,” Obama said, “making sure that all of us… can count on the security of health care when we get sick.”
Obama said the 7.1 million Americans who signed up for coverage, as well as the millions more who are now covered because of other ACA measures, including the Medicaid expansion, have endorsed the law.
As we’ve reported, at various points, analysts questioned whether the White House would meet its projections. But as the website problems were fixed, enrollment picked up and March became a blockbuster month for the new health care exchanges. The pace of enrollments continued to pick up as the open enrollment deadline of March 31 approached. Some Americans faced fines if they did not sign up for insurance.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during his regular press briefing that about 200,000 people signed up Monday, bringing the total number of enrollees to 7.04 million by midnight last night.
It is not clear how many of those 7.04 million have paid for coverage.
The 7.1 million Obama used is an updated number.
Update at 4:27 p.m. ET. ACA Is Working:
President Obama emerged from the White House to rousing applause. He announced that 7.1 million Americans had signed up for health care through the federal exchanges set up by Obamacare.
“This law is doing what it’s supposed to do,” Obama said at the Rose Garden. “It’s working. It’s helping people from coast to coast.”
Update at 4:06 p.m. ET. President Obama To Speak:
President Obama is scheduled to deliver remarks at 4:15 p.m. ET. We’re watching and we’ll update this post with his comments.
US Sample News, US Sample News
While much of the midterm election talk has revolved around the Republican advantages apparent in this cycle, it shouldn’t be overlooked that women may also win big this year.
Even though it’s unlikely that 2014 will surpass the record number of women filing to run for Senate (36) or winning Senate primary contests (18), a look at the specific races across the country suggests that when all the votes are counted the next U.S. Senate may make history (or herstory).
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, four of the 29 incumbents (three Democrats and one Republican) running to keep their seats in the Senate are women. (Two of these incumbents were appointed and are now running for a full Senate term.) Should all four retain their seats, next year’s Senate will likely include 21 women, breaking the historical record of 20 women serving (16 Democrats and 4 Republicans), which was set during this current Congress. That’s because in the open seat contest in West Virginia, the likely nominees on both sides of the aisle are women: Democrat Natalie Tennant and Republican Shelley Moore Capito.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Congress.]
That said, two of the three Democratic women incumbents (North Carolina’s Kay Hagan and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu) are running in toss-up races, and given the Republican tilt of their states and the national political environment, it seems fair to speculate that one or possibly both of them will fail to return to the Senate, which would mean that the number of women in the Senate would not exceed the record.
But then again, there are another four competitive Senate contests (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan and Oregon) with impressive women candidates who have serious shots at not only securing their party’s nomination, but also winning their general election. Two are Democrats (Michelle Nunn in Georgia andAlison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky) and two are Republicans (Monica Wehby in Oregon and Terri Lynn Land in Michigan).
There are also a handful of other women (Democrat Colleen Hanabusa in Hawaii, Republican Karen Handel in Georgia, Republican Jodi Ernst in Iowa and Republican Heather Grant in North Carolina) who, while unlikely to win their party’s nomination, could land in the Senate were they to do so owing to the partisan lean of their states.
[Read more from blogger Lara Brown.]
Considering all of these contests amid the national political cross-currents, it seems to me that we are, in fact, on track to add a few more cracks in that glass ceiling.
Women are far (ridiculously far) from parity in federal elective office, but having 21, 22 or 23 women in the Senate would constitute progress. And given the political leadership we witnessed from our women senators last October, having a couple more women in the chamber next session, when gridlock is expected to only get worse, can’t be a bad thing.
Sample US News
While much of the midterm election talk has revolved around the Republican advantages apparent in this cycle, it shouldn’t be overlooked that women may also win big this year.
Even though it’s unlikely that 2014 will surpass the record number of women filing to run for Senate (36) or winning Senate primary contests (18), a look at the specific races across the country suggests that when all the votes are counted the next U.S. Senate may make history (or herstory).
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, four of the 29 incumbents (three Democrats and one Republican) running to keep their seats in the Senate are women. (Two of these incumbents were appointed and are now running for a full Senate term.) Should all four retain their seats, next year’s Senate will likely include 21 women, breaking the historical record of 20 women serving (16 Democrats and 4 Republicans), which was set during this current Congress. That’s because in the open seat contest in West Virginia, the likely nominees on both sides of the aisle are women: Democrat Natalie Tennant and Republican Shelley Moore Capito.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Congress.]
That said, two of the three Democratic women incumbents (North Carolina’s Kay Hagan and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu) are running in toss-up races, and given the Republican tilt of their states and the national political environment, it seems fair to speculate that one or possibly both of them will fail to return to the Senate, which would mean that the number of women in the Senate would not exceed the record.
But then again, there are another four competitive Senate contests (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan and Oregon) with impressive women candidates who have serious shots at not only securing their party’s nomination, but also winning their general election. Two are Democrats (Michelle Nunn in Georgia andAlison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky) and two are Republicans (Monica Wehby in Oregon and Terri Lynn Land in Michigan).
There are also a handful of other women (Democrat Colleen Hanabusa in Hawaii, Republican Karen Handel in Georgia, Republican Jodi Ernst in Iowa and Republican Heather Grant in North Carolina) who, while unlikely to win their party’s nomination, could land in the Senate were they to do so owing to the partisan lean of their states.
[Read more from blogger Lara Brown.]
Considering all of these contests amid the national political cross-currents, it seems to me that we are, in fact, on track to add a few more cracks in that glass ceiling.
Women are far (ridiculously far) from parity in federal elective office, but having 21, 22 or 23 women in the Senate would constitute progress. And given the political leadership we witnessed from our women senators last October, having a couple more women in the chamber next session, when gridlock is expected to only get worse, can’t be a bad thing.
Sample News for US, Sample News for US
While much of the midterm election talk has revolved around the Republican advantages apparent in this cycle, it shouldn’t be overlooked that women may also win big this year.
Even though it’s unlikely that 2014 will surpass the record number of women filing to run for Senate (36) or winning Senate primary contests (18), a look at the specific races across the country suggests that when all the votes are counted the next U.S. Senate may make history (or herstory).
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, four of the 29 incumbents (three Democrats and one Republican) running to keep their seats in the Senate are women. (Two of these incumbents were appointed and are now running for a full Senate term.) Should all four retain their seats, next year’s Senate will likely include 21 women, breaking the historical record of 20 women serving (16 Democrats and 4 Republicans), which was set during this current Congress. That’s because in the open seat contest in West Virginia, the likely nominees on both sides of the aisle are women: Democrat Natalie Tennant and Republican Shelley Moore Capito.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Congress.]
That said, two of the three Democratic women incumbents (North Carolina’s Kay Hagan and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu) are running in toss-up races, and given the Republican tilt of their states and the national political environment, it seems fair to speculate that one or possibly both of them will fail to return to the Senate, which would mean that the number of women in the Senate would not exceed the record.
But then again, there are another four competitive Senate contests (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan and Oregon) with impressive women candidates who have serious shots at not only securing their party’s nomination, but also winning their general election. Two are Democrats (Michelle Nunn in Georgia andAlison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky) and two are Republicans (Monica Wehby in Oregon and Terri Lynn Land in Michigan).
There are also a handful of other women (Democrat Colleen Hanabusa in Hawaii, Republican Karen Handel in Georgia, Republican Jodi Ernst in Iowa and Republican Heather Grant in North Carolina) who, while unlikely to win their party’s nomination, could land in the Senate were they to do so owing to the partisan lean of their states.
[Read more from blogger Lara Brown.]
Considering all of these contests amid the national political cross-currents, it seems to me that we are, in fact, on track to add a few more cracks in that glass ceiling.
Women are far (ridiculously far) from parity in federal elective office, but having 21, 22 or 23 women in the Senate would constitute progress. And given the political leadership we witnessed from our women senators last October, having a couple more women in the chamber next session, when gridlock is expected to only get worse, can’t be a bad thing.
US News 01
While much of the midterm election talk has revolved around the Republican advantages apparent in this cycle, it shouldn’t be overlooked that women may also win big this year.
Even though it’s unlikely that 2014 will surpass the record number of women filing to run for Senate (36) or winning Senate primary contests (18), a look at the specific races across the country suggests that when all the votes are counted the next U.S. Senate may make history (or herstory).
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, four of the 29 incumbents (three Democrats and one Republican) running to keep their seats in the Senate are women. (Two of these incumbents were appointed and are now running for a full Senate term.) Should all four retain their seats, next year’s Senate will likely include 21 women, breaking the historical record of 20 women serving (16 Democrats and 4 Republicans), which was set during this current Congress. That’s because in the open seat contest in West Virginia, the likely nominees on both sides of the aisle are women: Democrat Natalie Tennant and Republican Shelley Moore Capito.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Congress.]
That said, two of the three Democratic women incumbents (North Carolina’s Kay Hagan and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu) are running in toss-up races, and given the Republican tilt of their states and the national political environment, it seems fair to speculate that one or possibly both of them will fail to return to the Senate, which would mean that the number of women in the Senate would not exceed the record.
But then again, there are another four competitive Senate contests (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan and Oregon) with impressive women candidates who have serious shots at not only securing their party’s nomination, but also winning their general election. Two are Democrats (Michelle Nunn in Georgia andAlison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky) and two are Republicans (Monica Wehby in Oregon and Terri Lynn Land in Michigan).
There are also a handful of other women (Democrat Colleen Hanabusa in Hawaii, Republican Karen Handel in Georgia, Republican Jodi Ernst in Iowa and Republican Heather Grant in North Carolina) who, while unlikely to win their party’s nomination, could land in the Senate were they to do so owing to the partisan lean of their states.
[Read more from blogger Lara Brown.]
Considering all of these contests amid the national political cross-currents, it seems to me that we are, in fact, on track to add a few more cracks in that glass ceiling.
Women are far (ridiculously far) from parity in federal elective office, but having 21, 22 or 23 women in the Senate would constitute progress. And given the political leadership we witnessed from our women senators last October, having a couple more women in the chamber next session, when gridlock is expected to only get worse, can’t be a bad thing.
Watch Out Glass Ceiling
While much of the midterm election talk has revolved around the Republican advantages apparent in this cycle, it shouldn’t be overlooked that women may also win big this year.
Even though it’s unlikely that 2014 will surpass the record number of women filing to run for Senate (36) or winning Senate primary contests (18), a look at the specific races across the country suggests that when all the votes are counted the next U.S. Senate may make history (or herstory).
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, four of the 29 incumbents (three Democrats and one Republican) running to keep their seats in the Senate are women. (Two of these incumbents were appointed and are now running for a full Senate term.) Should all four retain their seats, next year’s Senate will likely include 21 women, breaking the historical record of 20 women serving (16 Democrats and 4 Republicans), which was set during this current Congress. That’s because in the open seat contest in West Virginia, the likely nominees on both sides of the aisle are women: Democrat Natalie Tennant and Republican Shelley Moore Capito.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Congress.]
That said, two of the three Democratic women incumbents (North Carolina’s Kay Hagan and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu) are running in toss-up races, and given the Republican tilt of their states and the national political environment, it seems fair to speculate that one or possibly both of them will fail to return to the Senate, which would mean that the number of women in the Senate would not exceed the record.
But then again, there are another four competitive Senate contests (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan and Oregon) with impressive women candidates who have serious shots at not only securing their party’s nomination, but also winning their general election. Two are Democrats (Michelle Nunn in Georgia andAlison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky) and two are Republicans (Monica Wehby in Oregon and Terri Lynn Land in Michigan).
There are also a handful of other women (Democrat Colleen Hanabusa in Hawaii, Republican Karen Handel in Georgia, Republican Jodi Ernst in Iowa and Republican Heather Grant in North Carolina) who, while unlikely to win their party’s nomination, could land in the Senate were they to do so owing to the partisan lean of their states.
[Read more from blogger Lara Brown.]
Considering all of these contests amid the national political cross-currents, it seems to me that we are, in fact, on track to add a few more cracks in that glass ceiling.
Women are far (ridiculously far) from parity in federal elective office, but having 21, 22 or 23 women in the Senate would constitute progress. And given the political leadership we witnessed from our women senators last October, having a couple more women in the chamber next session, when gridlock is expected to only get worse, can’t be a bad thing.