As congressional Democrats and President Obama continued scrambling to reach major milestones in the current drive for health care reform, National Journal asked three veterans of President Clinton's failed attempt to overhaul the nation's health system how today's strategists can avoid ending up in a ditch. The July 27 roundtable featured the Clinton White House's deputy chief of staff, Harold Ickes; legislative director, Pat Griffin; and pollster, Stan Greenberg. Continue reading Taking Instruction From Failure. (Subscribers only).
Continue reading The 'Cyprus Problem,' 35 Years In.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has put together a coalition of 14 Democratic and Republican senators around a compromise health care proposal that would replace the current system of tax-exempt, employer-based health insurance with a system of tax credits or deductions for individuals to purchase insurance on their own. Democratic leaders have been dismissive of the proposal, and it has failed to gain traction. But after Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf testified before the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday that current Democratic plans would not reduce the government's health care costs in the long term, Wyden saw an opportunity to get his plan back in the mix.
A member of the Budget Committee, Wyden asked Elmendorf first to confirm that his plan would contain costs and cut taxes for millions of Americans and then to confirm that current Democratic plans wouldn't significantly reduce insurance premiums. Wyden, who is also a member of the crucial Senate Finance Committee, spoke to a couple of reporters immediately after the hearing about how his plan could solve the problems facing the primary Democratic health care proposals. Edited excerpts of his comments follow.
Continue reading Wyden's Moment On Health Care Reform?.
After 10 years as inspector general of the Interior Department, Earl Devaney is on leave to head up the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, an oversight panel set up to put details of the $787 billion economic stimulus spending online by Oct. 10 and otherwise prevent waste, fraud and abuse of the money. His mild manner belies a zeal for rooting out abuses of the public's trust, and he believes the retooled Recovery.gov will profoundly raise the bar for accountability throughout government.
Devaney recently sat down with National Journal Group reporters. Edited excerpts follow.Continue reading Transparency Will Be Embarrassing, Stimulus Inspector Says.
Prosecutors aren't often known for their diplomacy, but Stephen Rapp owes some of his success to his irrepressible streak of Midwestern civility. He remained on good terms with now-Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, after losing two close House races to him in the 1970s. And when Rapp wanted to leap from the U.S. attorney's office in Iowa to the United Nations tribunals for Rwandan war criminals, Grassley threw his weight behind him.
After scoring convictions against media instigators of the Rwandan genocide, Rapp has spent the last two years trying former Liberian President Charles Taylor as chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. A verdict is expected next year.
Rapp's even temperament will serve him well in his new post. Last week, President Obama nominated the Iowan to be ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues. He'll have to be part diplomat -- working with other governments, the International Criminal Court and NGOs -- and part enforcer, helping direct America's response to war crimes in some of the nastiest places on earth. After his appointment was announced, Rapp spoke with NationalJournal.com's David Gauvey Herbert about his unusual career path and the challenges of enforcing international law.
Continue reading For War Crimes Czar, Atrocities Need Details.
At a time when Congress and the White House are increasingly focused on curbing global warming and developing green sources of power, military-equipment manufacturer Lockheed Martin is raising its energy profile. Enticed by climbing energy prices, the company expanded into energy efficiency, working to help private companies and federal agencies lower their usage. Lockheed is also seeking to build the nation's largest solar-energy facility.
Lockheed's new ventures are being handled by Thomas Grumbly, the company's vice president for energy and environmental services. A longtime Washington insider, Grumbly, 59, worked in the Ford, Carter, and Clinton administrations. He also served on the staff of the House Science and Technology Committee's Investigations Subcommittee in the 1980s when the panel was chaired by Al Gore.
Continue reading edited excerpts of National Journal's interview with Grumbly.
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