I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
As a vote is looming in the U.S. House of Representatives on a historic health care reform package, Politico is reporting that Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) has reached an agreement with the White House that means he and other pro-life Democrats will support the bill in exchange for several considerations from the House leadership and the Obama administration.
The White House and anti-abortion Democrats have reached an agreement to defusethe controversy over abortion in the health reform bill – planning a series of steps that will secure the support of Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and other Democrats to give party leaders the votes they need to pass reform, sources tell POLITICO.
Under the agreement, President Barack Obama would sign an executive order ensuring that no federal funding will go to pay for abortion under the health reform plans. In addition, Stupak will get to state his concerns about abortion funding in the bill during a colloquy on the House floor during the debate.
And then, Stupak and several other Democratic hold-outs over abortion will sign on to the bill, the sources said. The agreement would almost certainly give House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the 216 votes she needs to secure an historic health reform vote by day’s end – capping a year-long drive to achieve Obama’s signature legislative goal.
But as of the time of publication, Stupak was denying such a deal had been completed:
Stupak himself told reporters in the Capitol that he remains opposed to the bill at this time. “I’m a no vote. There is no agreement. Until there is an agreement I’m a no vote,” Stupak said, but he said the negotiations on a final agreement are continuing.
Asked how many votes hang in the balance, Stupak said, “Enough” – meaning enough to save or kill the bill.
One of the other pro-life Democrats withholding his support for the bill — Rep. Alan Mollohan — confirmed that the deal was “essentially” done. Time will tell, of course, and that time is short. Debate continues on the House floor at this time, but a vote is expected sometime in the next few hours.
Update: C-SPAN is now reporting that Stupak himself has confirmed the deal.
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