House passes health-care reform bill without Republican votes, By Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery, March 22, 2010, Washington Post: “House Democrats scored a historic victory in the century-long battle to reform the nation’s health-care system late Sunday night, winning final approval of legislation that expands coverage to 32 million people and attempts to contain spiraling costs…”
Republicans vow repeal effort against health bill, By David Herszenhorn, Robert Pear and Carl Hulse, March 22, 2010, New York Times: “As jubilant Democrats prepared for President Obama to sign their landmark health care legislation with a big ceremony at the White House, Republicans on Monday opened a campaign to repeal the legislation and to use it as a weapon in this year’s hotly contested midterm elections…”
Legal and political fights loom, By Jeff Zeleny and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, March 22, 2010, New York Times: “The battle over health care is poised to move swiftly from Congress back to the country as Democrats, Republicans and a battery of interest groups race to define the legislation and dig in for long-term political and legal fights…”
Texas: Most uninsured, most votes against bill, By Dave Michaels, March 22, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “The state with the most to gain from a health insurance overhaul was also the state with the most lawmakers who voted against the bill on Sunday. Twenty-one of 32 lawmakers from Texas, including 20 Republicans, voted against the measure. The opponents said the legislation was overwhelmingly unpopular in their districts, although it would offer insurance to more than half of Texas’ 6 million uninsured…”
California stands to gain most from health bill, By Victoria Colliver, March 22, 2010, San Francisco Chronicle: “The stakes are high for Californians when it comes to the health care overhaul, mainly because the coverage problems in this vast state are so large. With a new UCLA study estimating that more than 8 million Californians, or nearly 25 percent of the population, lack health coverage, many health experts say California will be impacted more than other states by the reform legislation…”
Number of people living on New York streets soars, By Julie Bosman, March 19, 2010, New York Times: “The Bloomberg administration said Friday that the number of people living on New York’s streets and subways soared 34 percent in a year, signaling a setback in one of the city’s most intractable problems. Appearing both startled and dismayed by the sharp increase, a year after a significant drop, administration officials attributed it to the recession, noting that city shelters for families and single adults had been inundated. Robert V. Hess, the commissioner of homeless services, said in a subdued news conference that the city began feeling the increase in its vast shelter system more than two years ago. ‘And now we’re seeing the devastating effect of this unprecedented poor economy on our streets as well,’ Mr. Hess said. The city’s annual tally indicated an additional 783 homeless people on the streets and in the subway system, for a total of 3,111, up from 2,328 last year. That is in addition to almost 38,000 people living in shelters, which is near the city’s high…”
A shelter for families in need of a push, By Julie Bosman, March 21, 2010, New York Times: “Denise Benson runs a no-nonsense, no-frills homeless shelter for the city in Queens. There is no common room for lounging and watching television. Most homeless families meet with their caseworkers several times a week. Staff members escort residents to job interviews and to tour available apartments. ‘We are here to say, ‘Move it along,” she said in a recent interview at the shelter, swinging her arms forward for emphasis. Ms. Benson is on the front lines of the Bloomberg administration’s unsuccessful war against homelessness. During the eight years that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been in office, the number of homeless people filling city shelters has sharply risen, currently approaching 38,000, including 8,600 families with children. The number of families entering shelters has increased by more than 50 percent in the past two years. In February, 1,152 families entered shelters. More than 400 had been in the shelter system before…”
