Morning Must Reads — To cut Medicare, first expand it

The newest bargain being proposed on health care in the Senate would give liberals a major expansion of Medicare by making more than 30 million Americans between the ages of 55 and 65 eligible for the financially exhausted program, previously just for senior citizens.

But by expanding an existing government-run insurance program (while cutting it by $500 billion?) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hopes to avoid defeat of his bill because of moderate member’s concerns over his plan to create a whole new health entitlement.

Writers Greg Hitt and Janet Adamy tell us that what’s being offered as the alternative to the government plan approved in the House is a non-profit, national private plan regulated by the federal government.

Liberals in the Senate are trying hard not to look too happy. The bill would ultimately make the government responsible for the new health plan and would create a genuine public option if the non-profit/private/public lash-up goes bust.

Reid was crowing again last night, but as Examiner colleague Susan Ferrechio points out, there is still no certainty that a bill will pass.

Everyone is waiting to see what the CBO has to say about the plan, which could effect retirement rates and create a host of other unintended consequences.

There’s also the issue of elective abortion.

An amendment banning coverage of the practice was defeated, meaning that at least one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, is out.

“Democratic leaders have suggested the issue could still be revisited by tightening the limits, though not as far as Mr. Nelson wanted. Mr. Nelson proposed to bar any woman receiving a government tax credit from buying insurance that covers abortion.

With the need for Democratic unity at a premium, Mr. Nelson suggested he’s open to further discussion on the issue. ‘I don’t want to be stubborn or closed-minded,’ he said.”

USA Today — Supporters add hidden nuggets to health care bills

Writer John Fritze looks at some of the special-interest language hiding within those 2,000 pages of health legislation: new work rules for breastfeeding mothers, nutritional information for vending machines, etc.

“[Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff] Merkley said the breastfeeding provision, which has failed in the past, stands a better chance now as part of the massive revamp of health care. ‘The best odds of passing anything relative to health care,’ he said, ‘is to put it in a bill that’s going to be debated and voted on.’”

Washington Post — Action on job proposals may wait till next year

As Examiner colleague Julie Mason tells us, the president’s “major address” on the economy Tuesday at the Brookings Institution ended up being part political attack against his detractors, part rehashing of old ideas.

One of the reasons that Obama may have sounded so crabby Tuesday is that if he wants to dip into the unused funds from the Bush-Paulson TARP for any reason other than “financial market stability” he needs Congress to take action.

The president talked about new spending on infrastructure, free money for people who weatherize their homes, more unemployment benefits, and more, but did not talk about cost. That’s in part because it will be months before Congress will take up the idea of repurposing the bailout into a stimulus.

Writer Ben Pershing tells us that after health care, Afghanistan, raising the federal debt limit, financial regulatory reform, and reconfirming Ben Benanke as Fed chairman, Congress will get right on that whole TARP-stimulus thing.

In the House, members are more likely to throw something back at the president while in the Senate, frayed nerves and legislative exhaustion suggest little appetite for more big initiatives.

Even so, the White House is calling “Mush!” to the sled dogs on Capitol Hill.

“Congress’s remaining work falls into two categories — unfinished appropriations bills and everything else. The endgame depends on the second category hitching a ride on the first. Seven appropriations bills for fiscal 2010 have yet to become law, and the House plans to package them into two ‘minibus’ measures instead of one huge omnibus.”

New York Times — Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag

Writer John Broder explains that the new price tag set by the U.S. for battling climate change from 2010 to 2030 will be $10 trillion, and that’s just the investments thought to be needed to meet the carbon targets to be set in Copenhagen. Not included are the trillions in reduced economic output predicted by the Congressional Budget Office and others.

But why quibble over what Broder calls “a significant sum but a relatively small fraction of the world’s total economic output?”

“President Obama’s spokesman said last week that the president supported a short-term fund to aid developing nations and that the United States would pay ‘its fair share.’ In many multilateral efforts, the United States picks up a quarter to a third of the tab.

‘Providing this assistance,’ the White House statement said, ‘is not only a humanitarian imperative — it’s an investment in our common security, as no climate change accord can succeed if it does not help all countries reduce their emissions.’”

New York Times — Accepting Peace Prize Will Be a Test for Obama 

President Obama has been cramming like crazy for his Nobel Prize speech on Thursday — reading up on past speeches and huddling with his top speech writer Jon Favreau.

The White House is pumping up the effort and raising expectations for a speech that will talk about his escalation of the Afghan war and strike a humble tone.

Writer Jeff Zeleny has the details:

“[The] president’s advisers said they will reprise the words of humility that Mr. Obama delivered on Oct. 9, hours after learning he had won the award.

‘It’s not necessarily an award he would have given himself,’ Mr. Axelrod said. ‘In that sense, it poses a challenge, but thinking through these issues is not burdensome. He spends a lot of time thinking about how you promote a more peaceful and secure world, about the appropriate use of power and about the value and importance of diplomacy.’”

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