Healthcare Reform Will Go to the Supreme Court

Making News

Central Bankers Join Forces in Response to European Debt Crisis ()

While heads of state are debating the prospects for another global recession, a coalition of central banks today took some action. It could be the first step in avoiding a financial crisis in Europe that could spread worldwide. Jim Tankersley is economics correspondent for the National Journal.

Guests:

• Jim Tankersley: National Journal, @jimtankersley

Main Topic

Healthcare Reform Will Go to the Supreme Court ()

President Obama's Affordable Health Care Act has received mixed reviews from appellate courts, and the US Supreme Court has agreed to pass judgment by June of next year. Democrats and Republicans are braced for the impact. From the Right and the Left, pressure is building for liberal Justice Elena Kagan and conservative Clarence Thomas to step aside. The stakes could include next year's presidential election and the make-up of Congress, not to mention health coverage for many millions of Americans. We hear about federal power and states' rights, the mandate to buy insurance and the consequences of possible court decisions.

Guests:

• Robert Barnes: Washington Post, @scotusreporter
• Dan Schnur: University of Southern California, @danschnur
• Uwe Reinhardt: Princeton University
• Thomas Miller: American Enterprise Institute

Links:

• MIT's Jonathan Gruber on ObamaCare, RomneyCare
• Barnes on the Supreme Court healthcare case and recusal battle
• Miller's 'Why ObamaCare Is Wrong for America: How the New Health Care Law Drives Up Costs, Puts Government in Charge of Your Decisions, and Threatens Your Constitutional Rights'

Reporter's Notebook

Hillary Clinton Visits Myanmar ()

For decades, Myanmar — also called Burma — has been subject to a brutal military dictatorship, most famous for holding Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest after she won a national election. The country has a new civilian leader and there have been some reforms, but skeptical human rights groups have recently released new reports of atrocities. Today, Hillary Clinton has become the first American Secretary of State to pay what she calls a "fact finding" visit since John Foster Dulles in 1955. Joshua Kurlantzick is a fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power is Transforming the World.

Guests:

• Joshua Kurlantzick: Council on Foreign Relations, @CFR_org

Links:

• PlanetPic photos on steps toward openness in Burma