Survey: Americans Mixed on GOP, Health Plans

According to a new Associated Press-Gfk poll, a slight majority of taxpayers (53%) support the campaign promise of many newly elected Republican leaders: to extend all of Bush tax cuts. However, they do not support a repeal of Obama's health care legislation.

CBN.com reports

Forty-four percent feel that only taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year should receive the cuts.

As for Obamacare, only 39 percent want to see the Republicans fulfill their pledge to kill the new health care law. Instead, 58 percent want it left alone or extended even further.

"I think everybody wants change," said Steven Lamb, 60, a Tenn. state government worker in Nashville who voted Republican last week despite opposing the party's stance on tax cuts and health care.

"I'm tired of what's going on, and the only way to do it is to make a change," he added.

Read more here

Obama OKs Taxing High-End Health Plans

According to the Associated Press, yesterday President Obama warned House Democratic leaders to end their opposition to taxing “Cadillac” health care plans in order to pay for the high costs of health care reform. It was reported that dozens of Congressional leaders opposed the tax included in the Senate’s legislation, but after Obama expressed his preference for the bill many are expecting Democratic leaders to get behind the new tax.

House Democrats want to raise income taxes on high-income individuals instead and are reluctant to abandon that approach, while recognizing that they will have to bend on that and other issues so that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., can maintain his fragile 60-vote majority support for the bill.

Pelosi and four committee chairmen met with the president Wednesday as they scrambled to resolve differences between sweeping bills passed by the House and Senate. The aim is to finalize legislation revamping the nation's health care system in time for Obama's State of the Union address early last month.

Despite the dispute over the payment approach, Pelosi, D-Calif., emerged from the meeting expressing optimism.

"We've had a very intense couple of days," Pelosi said. "After our leadership meeting this morning, our staff engaged with the Senate and the administration staff to review the legislation, suggest legislative language. I think we're very close to reconciliation."

Continue reading at Yahoo News…