HEALTH CARE: Speaker Pelosi Scrambles To Find Support Before Tomorrow’s Vote.

Blue Dogs and Vulnerable Democrats Move Against Speaker Pelosi To Vote No On Health Care Bill. Some Democrats from more conservative districts, like Representative Ike Skelton of Missouri, Representative Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Representative Jim Marshall of Georgia and Representative Bobby Bright of Alabama, made it clear they would oppose the measure. “The worst thing we could do in a recession is raise taxes, and this bill does just that,” said Mr. Boren, who also said he feared the proposal would lead to a single-payer national health care system. “Finally, I do not believe that the possibility for taxpayer-funded abortion has been clearly and emphatically removed from this legislation.” The New York Times

Social Issues Put Rank-And-File Democrats At Odds With The Speaker. For party leaders, setting a weekend deadline for passage represented a calculated risk, one that could backfire if the vote -- now expected late Saturday or Sunday -- fails or must be delayed. But they feared that if members were given more time to consider the legislation, new issues could arise, particularly as lawmakers digest the results from Tuesday's elections. … As written, the House bill would allow plans offered through new insurance exchanges, set up for individuals without employer coverage, to cover abortion services. But the plans would be required to establish payment firewalls to prevent federal subsidies from covering the cost. Democrats opposed to abortion call that an accounting distinction and are seeking ironclad guarantees. The Washington Post

Republicans Stand United On An Incremental Approach To Health Care Reform. "She'll get no help from us in passing this gargantuan, trillion-dollar overhaul," Cantor said of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), in a Thursday press conference. Cantor said GOP unanimity was solidified by Republican's unveiling this week of "a coherent counter-proposal." … Cantor said it is important to first tackle the problem of rising health-care costs, and further changes aimed at covering the uninsured could come later. "We've got to go about trying to fix now what's broken, and then try and continue the progress of reform." Nasdaq

Immigration Language Pits CHC Against Vulnerable Dems. But CHC members, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the group’s message was clear: Drop your insistence on preventing illegal immigrants from accessing the public exchange, even if their only option is to pay for insurance plans entirely out of their own pockets. ... If House leaders determined that they needed to insert the Senate immigration language in order to pass the healthcare bill, the Senate language would be included in a “self-executing” rule allowing for consideration of the healthcare bill containing the change. Should that occur, members of the CHC have said they will vote against the rule. Assuming all Republicans vote no, a revolt of any more than 37 Democrats would torpedo the legislation. The CHC has 27 members. ...“I have to be able to reassure my constituents that those who are here illegally cannot avail themselves of the provisions provided in this healthcare bill,” said freshman Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.). The Hill

Pledge Break: Final Health Care Bill Will Not Be Online For 72 Hours Before Vote. TWS: Madam Speaker, do you support the measure to put the final House bill online for 72 hours before it's voted on at the very end? PELOSI: Absolutely. Without question But tonight, when asked if Speaker Pelosi will leave the bill online for 72 hours after we see what's in the rule, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly replied in an email: "No; [the] pledge was to have manager’s amendment online for 72 hours, and we will do that." The Weekly Standard

AMA Endorsement Splits Group. Opponents of the group’s endorsement are planning to introduce multiple resolutions to rescind or amend the AMA’s nod, according to an official whose doctor group opposes today’s endorsement. Politico

ECONOMY: 10.2 % …

Unemployment Over 10% For The First Time Since 1983. The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 -- and is likely to go higher. … But the loss of jobs last month exceeded economists' estimates. It's the 22nd straight month the U.S. economy has shed jobs, the longest on records dating back 70 years. Counting those who have settled for part-time jobs or stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate would be 17.5 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994. The Associated Press

AMT Part Deux. Buried in Nancy Pelosi's health-care bill is a provision that will partially repeal tax indexing for inflation, meaning that as their earnings rise over a lifetime these youngsters can look forward to paying higher rates even if their income gains aren't real. These stealth tax increases—forcing ever more Americans to pay higher tax rates on phantom gains in income—were widely seen to be unjust. … Passed to hit only 1% of all Americans in 1969, the AMT wasn't indexed for inflation at the time and neither was Bill Clinton's AMT rate increase in 1993. The number of families hit by this shadow tax more than tripled over the next decade. Today, families with incomes as low as $75,000 a year can be hit by the AMT unless Congress passes an annual "patch." The Wall Street Journal

After Election Losses, White House Decides Job Loss And Spending May Be A Problem. Caught between Tuesday’s election results and Friday’s unemployment numbers, the White House faces increased pressure to slow spending next year but also to produce more Main Street jobs to match Wall Street’s recovery. Going into the 2011 budget cycle, the administration now appears on course to impose close to a freeze on new discretionary appropriations after the double-barrel increases in 2009 and 2010. Politico

Stimulus’ Rocky Road Continues As Watch Dog Claims Job Counters Confused. Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, added there is some inaccurate information on recovery.gov, where the stimulus spending and jobs information is being posted, though he did not elaborate.“Clearly, recipients are not getting it,” said Devaney, whose board maintains recovery.gov. “So I think there needs to be some clarity to that, and I am pretty sure there will be.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Continued Delay On Afghanistan Troop Levels Sends Mixed Messages To Our Allies.

More Mixed Messages From The Administration On Afghanistan. Clinton replied, "The president is well aware that it's important that he show resolve, that he show a commitment to seeing this effort through." But one of Obama's top domestic policy advisors, Valerie Jarrett, appeared to send a different signal Sunday when she said in a television interview that the United States would work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to improve conditions in his country "as we try to bring this war to a close."… North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies are watching U.S. steps, with an eye toward the exits. "If they think we're shaky, and we're on the way out, they're going to be out the door faster," said William S. Cohen, secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration. The Los Angeles Times

Review Shows “Dire Portrait” Of Afghanistan’s Military And Police Force, As The Administration Continues To Delay On Troop Level Decision. A series of internal government reviews have presented the Obama administration with a dire portrait of Afghanistan’s military and police force, bringing into serious question an ambitious goal at the heart of the evolving American war strategy — to speed up their training and send many more Afghans to the fight. … Among other problems, one of the reports found, the United States military’s training headquarters simply does not have enough people to do all it is already being asked to do, a flaw that “has delayed and will continue to delay” building the Afghan forces and that unless corrected would only prolong the American presence in Afghanistan. The New York Times

Report: Iran May Have Tested Nuclear Weapon Technology. The very existence of the technology, known as a "two-point implosion" device, is officially secret in both the US and Britain, but according to previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of the design. The Guardian

IN OTHER NEWS

• Feldstein: ObamaCare's Nasty Surprise
• Rep. Shadegg: The No-Cost Path To Cheaper Health Care
• Brooks: What Independents Want
• Strassel: Hello, Tipping Point
• Mukasey: The Right Place To Try Terrorists
• Fmr. Speaker Gingrich And Gov. Perry: Let States Lead The Way

THE SCHEDULE

• The House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes are expected at 5:00 p.m.
• The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m. and resume consideration of H.R.3082, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act of 2010