Helen Keller’s legacy as an educator and advocate for the disabled has been carried on through literature, movies, and theatrical productions. Now she will live forever in bronze.

Alabama unveiled a new bronze likeness of Keller, who was deaf and blind, as a 7-year-old girl at the U.S. Capitol this morning. 

The statue of Keller is the first in the Capitol to feature a child, and a person with a disability. It depicts Keller by a water pump at her home in Tuscumbia, which is the moment she learned to connect symbols and meanings.

The new statue replaces the likeness of Jabez Curry, another Alabamian, since most states are only allowed to have more than two statues in the Capitol at one time. Curry, a former Confederate officer, educator, ambassador and preacher who was once well known for advocating for free public education, died in 1903. The likeness of Curry will be moved to Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said “This is not to diminish Mr. Curry at all, but I think Helen Keller probably is as recognizable nationally and internationally as anyone who has been born and raised in Alabama.”

Riley believes the statue of Keller will become one of the most recognizable statues in the collection. 

The statue, which cost $325,000, is located in the Capitol’s new visitor center.

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

Labor unions are pledging to fight a proposed excise tax on high-cost insurance plans, saying it will hurt public employees and union workers in industries and states with expensive health-care costs.

Under a Senate Finance Committee bill, insurance plans that cost more than $8,000 for an individual and $21,000 for a family would be subject to a 40% excise tax in 2013 to help pay the cost of the massive revamp of the nation's health-care system. As we reported today, the finance panel raised the threshold to $9,850 for an individual (and $26,000 for families) for retirees and workers in high-risk jobs, such as mining and construction.

Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Firefighters, whose members benefited from the change, wants lawmakers to go further and eliminate the tax. "There are a significant number of plans all over this country that would exceed or bump these limits right now, much less in 2013," he told USA TODAY this week.

Instead, Schaitberger favors a House proposal that would help pay for the health-care plan by imposing a tax on families earning more than $350,000. "They can afford to pick up at lot more of the cost," he said.

Schaitberger will join Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and other Democrats at a late-morning news conference on Capitol Hill to air their concerns. Courtney and more than 150 other House Democrats also have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, denouncing the excise tax.

When German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week accepted an invitation to address a joint session of the Senate and U.S. House on Nov. 3. Her spokesman, Thomas Steg, called it a "rare honor for foreign guests of state to be able to speak before the Senate and the House of Representatives.” 

He added, "Of Germany's chancellors only Konrad Adenauer, who spoke to both houses in May 1957, has had this privilege."

That got us thinking: how many heads of state addressed a joint session of Congress? Is it that rare?

The Office of the House Historian provided On Politics with a list of foreign heads of state that have addressed Congress in the past. The total number: 180. 

It all began in 1824. According to the House historian's office: “The first notable address was by Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de LaFayette in 1824. LaFayette served in the Continental Army under General Washington during the American Revolution and was credited for helping to train the Continentals in European war fighting and strategy. In 1824, President James Monroe invited Lafayette to the United States as the ‘nation's guest.’ During the trip, he visited all of the then twenty-four states. Although the Senate had held a formal reception for him 9 December 1824, he addressed Congress on 10 December 1824.”

Other heads of state that have addressed Congress include: England's Queen Elizabeth II in 1991; Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, 1994; and Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, in 1992. Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of United Kingdom, spoke three times: in 1941, 1942, and 1952.

The specifics of Merkel's speech are still being worked on, but according to Steg the speech will discuss the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November. She also will meet with President Obama. 

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

Republican Rep. Michael Castle announced at a press conference today in Wilmington, Del., that he will seek the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President Biden last year -- instantly boosting the GOP's chances of capturing a Democratic seat.  

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which handicaps congressional races, called Castle's candidacy a "major recruiting victory" for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). Cook moved the race from the "solid Democratic" column to the "toss up" column. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, chairman of the NRSC, crowed about the party's chances of stealing the veep's seat. In a statement, Cornyn said: “Mike Castle’s announcement today instantly transforms Delaware into one of the most competitive Senate races in the country in 2010." He promised that the GOP Senate campaign committee "will ensure that Mike Castle has all the necessary resources to win.”

A new poll by Rasmussen Reports shows Beau Biden, the vice president's son who just returned from a year serving in Iraq, coming up short in a head-to-head matchup with Castle. Castle won 47% of the votes and Biden received 42%. 

Beau Biden, the state attorney general, has not said if he will run, but if he does it clearly will not be easy. Castle, 70, is the only representative from Delaware. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, and was elected to a ninth term with 61% of the vote last year. 

Eric Schultz, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said the Democrats "fully intend to hold onto the vice president's seat." 

“He (Mike Castle) built up a record of supporting the George Bush’s economic policies, including tax cuts for the super-wealthy, that drove Delaware's economy into a ditch – and now won’t support any of the Obama-Biden plans to fix it." 

Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., was appointed to Biden's Senate seat after the presidential election by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. Kaufman repeatedly has said he will not seek the seat in the general election.

Updated at 6:17 p.m. ET: Our colleague Nicole Gaudiano in the Gannett Washington Bureau says Senate Republicans are giddy over Castle's decision to run. In a story for tomorrow's Wilmington News Journal, she writes: 

GOP senators, eager for a comeback after two disappointing election cycles, said Castle’s candidacy will be "formidable," even if he ends up running against Biden’s son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. "I think he’ll win that," Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said. "People in Delaware, I think, love the man, and he’s been a great congressman."

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the latest Republican outside of Congress to weigh in on health care, arguing in a statement this morning that "our colleagues on both sides of the political aisle at the national level to move forward and accomplish these vital goals for the American people."

“Our principal goals, slowing the growth in costs, enhancing the quality of care delivered, improving the lives of individuals, and helping to ensure a strong economic recovery, are the same goals that the president is trying to achieve," Schwarzenegger said in the statement.

The Schwarzenegger statement follows comments from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former Republican who is now an independent, in which he said that the "health reform proposal that Congress will shortly consider is shaping up to merit broad, bipartisan support, incorporating Republican ideas and earning deserved support from Republican leaders." 

The White House released a statement Monday by Tommy Thompson, a former Republican presidential candidate and a Health and Human Services Secretary under George W. Bush, that included this line: "Failure to reach an agreement on health reform this year is not an acceptable option."

Timing of the statements is no accident. They come on the same week that the Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on a health care bill drafted by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Most of the Republicans on the committee, including Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, have said they oppose the measure, but all eyes are on Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who has not yet indicated how she will vote.

A coalition of African-American and Hispanic groups said today it will launch an advertising blitz on health care this week. The groups expect to spend as much as $500,000 on television and print ads targeted at lawmakers who represent large black and Latino populations in support of changing the nation's health care system. 

The campaign, which includes the NAACP National Voter Fund, the National Council of La Raza and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, comes weeks after a report by the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 31% of Hispanics, or more than 14,500 people, were uninsured in 2008, compared with 19% of blacks and 11% of non-Hispanic whites. 

"Inequalities in the health care system have a particularly negative impact on communities of color," said Steve Phillips, president of PowerPAC.org, which is raising money for the campaign. "There's a new political calculus people should be making that they're not: The growing Latino population, large concentrations of African Americans -- that really is the formula that propelled (President) Obama to the White House."

The ads will run in four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and Florida. They feature a black narrator who says "I'm not going to let special interest politicians throw 46 million of us under the bus" as a group attempting to board a bus is left standing on the sidewalk. 

Phillips, a social activist and lawyer, helped raise millions to promote Obama during the 2008 campaign. He is the son-in-law of billionaire Herbert Sandler, a major donor to the Democratic Party. Here's the new ad: 

Coal miners, firefighters and a slew of other workers in jobs defined as high-risk are likely to avoid a new tax on their health-care benefits, under a measure the Senate Finance Committee approved as it wrapped up work on a health-care plan early Friday morning. The provision was immediately criticized as unfair by some union groups.

At the heart of the debate: Who should help pay for the massive restructuring of the health-care system?

Under a plan pushed last month by Finance chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., insurers providing high-cost plans -- dubbed "Cadillac" plans by some critics -- that cost more than $8,000 for an individual and $21,000 for a family would pay a 35% excise tax on the excess amount. The excise tax is now at 40% in the Finance bill.

Experts say the tax is likely to be passed on to workers, but could help slow the rate of growth of health-care cost by discouraging overuse of the system. (The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explores the benefit of the tax here.)

The average premium is $13,375 for a family, according to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. But many unions said workers in expensive areas, such as the Northeast, have high-cost plans that would be hit by the tax.

Now, under a provision pushed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., insurance plans for workers and retirees in high-risk jobs would not be subject to the tax unless they cost more than $9,850 for an individual and $26,000 for families.

In addition to miners, those protected by the new measure include firefighters, law-enforcement officers, members of rescue squads and ambulance crews, construction workers and people employed in forestry, fishing and agriculture, excluding those who work in food-processing.

"These workers do their job honorably, day-in and day-out, and put their lives on the line for our safety," Rockefeller said in a statement. "It is imperative that we not tax their plans. Otherwise, they stand the risk of seeing a reduction in health benefits – and that is not acceptable. Ever."

(In West Virginia, the excise limit will be even higher for high-risk workers -- $11,450 for individuals and $30,200 for families -- under a separate provision that increases the threshold for expensive states.)

Unions representing workers left out by Rockfeller's measure call it unfair. "This is a cherry picking of occupations," Chuck Loveless, legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said in an interview.  "We are urging the income threshold be raised for all Americans."

Only a handful of senators in the history of Congress have cast 12,000 votes during their time in office. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, joined that exclusive club yesterday as he cast his 12,000th vote on a defense bill.

Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle honored Hatch for representing Utah for six terms.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, “No one who has ever met Orrin Hatch isn’t struck by his courtesy, and the dignity with which he carries out his duties. For Republicans he is a good friend, a constant ally and one of the best advocates we have. To Americans he is the very picture of a United States senator.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., spoke about Hatch’s commitment to community outside of the Senate. “During his heavy, heavy load here in the Senate he’s rarely not been a Sunday school teacher or doing other things with the church,” he said.

The junior senator from Utah Bob Bennett, R-Utah, recalled a time when Hatch settled a dispute between Bennett and an opponent. “He reached out to my opponent and settled that problem with the kind of diplomacy and capacity that he always has. And from that point forward, I could not have had and could not have wished for a more reliable or more supportive senior colleague than Orrin Hatch,” said Bennett.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., the Senate’s longest-serving senator was also on hand to support Hatch. Byrd has been rarely seen at the Capitol since having a series of health problems. Byrd holds the record for the most votes cast in the Senate’s entire history – 18,569 as of today.

Here is a video of the tribute:

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

The GOP may not have received an apology from Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., after he said their health care plan consisted of Americans not getting sick and dying quickly, but they plan on making the most of it.

The National Republican Congressional Committee introduced AlanDisGrayson.com, a website “chronicling Alan Grayson’s disgraceful record.”

In an interview, Andy Sere, spokesman for the NRCC, said, “This theme was already emerging, and I think the incidents over the past couple of days have crystallized that theme. So we decided to put up a site to let everyone know about it.”

The website features videos of Grayson pushing cameramen away, pictures of the congressman flashing the peace sign, editorials, articles and blogs.

One prominent feature of the website is a button that reads “Contribute to FL-08 Nominee Fund.” A fund, which “will go directly to the Republican candidate who emerges from the primary to challenge (dis)Grayson in 2010.” 

However, Grayson is seeing a fundraising boom of his own. ActBlue, the fundraising website for Democrats, shows more than $100,000 raised for Grayson. The site also lists four of Grayson’s fundraising pages as the “Hot Pages” of the day.

Grayson’s office didn’t have any comment on the NRCC’s website.

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

   Groups battling over health care have spent a whopping $114 million on television advertising this year, new data show. By comparison, President Obama spent nearly $70 million on TV ads to win the Democratic primary in 2008.

   A total of $39.7 million was spent in September alone as the Senate Finance Committee began work on the legislation, said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising. That's up from $29.5 million in August.

   More than 70 groups have taken to the airwaves -- from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AARP to soft-drink makers, who have run ads warning against taxing sugar-sweetened drinks to help cover the cost of the health care plan.

    "It's kind of a perfect storm," Tracey said. "There are lot of people who have skin in the game ... and they have access to capital" to spend heavily.

   Tracey said $49.2 million was spent to support health care legislation; $33.3 million went to oppose it. The rest was spent on advertising that did not advocate for or against the leading legislative proposals, but urged lawmakers to addresses a variety of health care issues, such as autism.

  The ads run in about a dozen states and on national cable television, much of it aimed at moderate Democrats and Republicans, such as Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, whose support is crucial to passing the health care plan.

Minnesota’s Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is not running for higher office – yet. He is, however, asking for people to support and stand by him on his new website.

In a video posted on timpawlenty.com, the governor says, “This is an important time in America. The stakes are high, and standing on the sidelines isn’t an option. I’m making a commitment to you to fight for our principles. I am asking for your support, and I want to hear your voice.”

The website and video are part of Pawlenty’s new political action committee, Freedom First.

According to the PAC’s mission statement, “This organization is dedicated to putting freedom first again in America. By helping candidates and translating our ideas into policies that everyone can relate to and support …”

Many are considering the launch of this new website as Pawlenty’s movement towards a 2012 presidential run, which is speculation that the website encourages. A Wall Street Journal story with the headline “Gov. Pawlenty Paves Way for a 2012 Run” is prominently displayed under the website’s  “Latest News” section.

As we reported last month, the PAC is set to kick off in November with a $5,000-per-person fundraiser in Minneapolis.

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

More than four in 10 Americans favor making an abortion more difficult to have, up 6 percentage points from 2007, according to a poll released today by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The poll found that 45% of Americans favor making abortion illegal in most or all cases, up 4 percentage points from last year. 

The Pew analysis of past polls found that abortion is less of a critical issue for both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans than it was a few years ago; however, the drop-off in concern was more pronounced for liberal Democrats (26 percentage points) than conservative Republicans (9 percentage points). Find the results of the analysis here. 

Pew researchers speculate that President Obama's election may be one reason the issue has become less important for Democrats. Obama supports abortion rights.   

"The timing of this shift in attitudes on abortion suggests it could be connected to Obama’s election," according to the poll report. "The decline in support for legal abortion first appeared in polls in the spring of 2009. Overall, roughly three in 10 (29%) think Obama will handle the abortion issue about right as president."

Abortion resurfaced as an issue this week after Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, attempted to insert stronger anti-abortion language into the $900 billion, 10-year health care bill pending in the Senate Finance Committee. The amendment failed. Obama and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., have both vowed that the bill already prohibits any federal money from being used for abortion. 

To read more about the issue and how it's being dealt with as part of the health care debate, check out this post from USA TODAY's Faith & Reason blog.

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., changed parties earlier this year to avoid a defeat from former Rep. Pat Toomey in the Republican primary, but a new Quinnipiac University Poll shows Toomey could defeat Specter anyway – in the general election.

The poll found 43% of Pennsylvania’s voters are likely to vote for Toomey and 42% for Specter, despite President Obama's fundraiser for the Democratic senator last month. That's a far cry from Specter’s 20-point lead in May following his party switch. But it is similar to a July poll that showed Specter clinging to a 1 percentage point lead, 45%-44%.

Toomey told a Pennsylvania radio station today that the poll shows how dissatisfied Pennsylvanians are with the status quo, and that they are tired of Specter looking out for himself.

The Specter campaign declined to comment.

Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said, “The challenger’s ability to close the 53%–33% gap in Quinnipiac University’s May 4 poll is evidence that the longtime senator’s decision to switch parties to avoid a potential loss to Toomey in a GOP primary may not be the magic bullet for re-election that he had hoped it would be.”

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

New Jersey’s Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine is showing that he is down, but not out when it comes to political polls.

The latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows Corzine closing the gap between him and Republican challenger Christopher Christie, a former federal prosecutor, with less than five weeks to go.

Among New Jersey’s likely voters: 43% said they would vote for Christie, 39% for Corzine, 12% for independent Christopher Daggett and 6% undecided.

These numbers are an improvement from the last poll earlier this month, where 47% said they would vote for Christie and 37% for Corzine.

Even though these numbers are improving, Corzine’s job approval rating remains the same from this summer, 58%. His approval rating among independents is even worse, 63%, which could explain Daggett’s rise in the polls from 9% earlier this month.

Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said all candidates in this election matter, especially Daggett.

“This race looks as if it will go down to the wire,” he said. “Does Christopher Daggett’s impressive climb measure a swing to him or simply a distaste for the two guys hollering at each other? Will Daggett fade on Election Day? At this stage, his numbers matter.”

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

Rep. Eni Faleomavaega, a non-voting delegate who represents American Samoa in the House, wasn't getting cut any slack from Continental Airlines as he tried to rush home to help coordinate relief efforts on his tsunami-stricken island, his spokeswoman, Lisa Williams, tells USA TODAY.

Williams says her pleas to get the congressman on a Continental Airlines flight were turned down flat. Only the intervention of the congressional travel office and a last-minute opening on a Delta flight enabled him to get en route home.

Faleomavaega, informed of the disaster yesterday afternoon in his Capitol Hill office, rushed to catch a red-eye United flight that would get him to Los Angeles Wednesday morning. From there, he was supposed to make a United connection into Honolulu, arriving in time to jump aboard a military flight bound for American Samoa with relief supplies.

Early Wednesday morning, United telephoned the congressman's office to report a problem: The flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu was having mechanical difficulties and would be delayed until close to noon (PT), meaning Faleomavaega would miss the flight to Samoa. (The military plane is carrying emergency supplies so it cannot be delayed.)

Williams says United telephoned the government desk of Continental, to try to get the congressman a seat on Continental's morning flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu. No dice.

Williams said she then personally called Continental, explaining the congressman's dilemma. "We've had a tsunami," she says she told the Continental officials. "He's trying to get back to his people." According to Williams, the Continental officials were unmoved.

"There are a lot of other people trying to get to Hawaii too," she said the airline officials told her. "They said, 'It's not our problem.'" The situation finally was resolved when a staffer who helps make congressional travel arrangements intervened to get Faleomaevaga the last remaining seat on a Delta flight.

"That was a miracle for us," said Williams. She praised United for the airlines' efforts to help, but Williams says she's not planning on taking any Continental flights any time soon.

We called Continental spokesman Dave Messing for a comment. He's checking on the situation and says he'll get back to us.

Updated at 3:35 p.m. ET: The congressman's spokeswoman, Lisa Williams, just sent us this message:

Nancy VanDuyne, Vice President for Government Affairs called and issued an apology and said she would get to the bottom of this – we have accepted her apology and take it in good faith that Continental, like United and Delta, stand by to assist us – United and Delta were remarkable and we trust this was one mistake on the part of Continental and not a pattern of behavior.

Updated at 6:08 p.m. ET: Continental spokesman Dave Messing got back to us with this response: 

"It appears likely that we did not have seat inventory at the time the request was made, and that contributed to our inability to make a booking for him. We certainly want to apologize for not coming through for him in this time of need in American Samoa."

There is another demand in the House of Representatives for an apology, but this time it is coming from the Republicans.

The outrage comes after Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., made a short speech on the House floor last night slamming the Republicans' health care plan.

Grayson, a freshman congressman, said, “If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That’s right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.”

Republicans immediately called for an apology on the House floor. They demand that the House act against Grayson, as it did after South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s address to Congress.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., drafted a “resolution of disapproval” saying Grayson’s conduct was “a breach of decorum and degraded the integrity and proceedings of the House.” The language in Price’s resolution is similar to that used in the Democrats' resolution against Wilson.

Price said he would not immediately introduce the legislation, but wait to see whether Grayson makes an apology.

Grayson has not made any official comment but touts his controversial speech on his YouTube channel.

Updated at 5:01 p.m. ET. Grayson went to the floor a short while ago to address his critics, but not to apologize. Not only wouldn't he apologize but he compared the nation's health care system to a holocaust. "I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America,” said Grayson. He added, the “holocaust” is the thousands of Americans dying every year because they do not have health insurance.

Here's the original video that caused a stir:

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has canceled the traditional week-long Columbus Day break to keep working on health care.

The Nevada Democrat told his colleagues Wednesday that it would be improper for them to take the break when there is so much work to be done. He said the Senate should be able to take up health care legislation that week.

“With all the things going on here, it just would not be right for us to take that week off,” he said. “I apologize to everyone for not being able to have that whole week off, but I think with health care, which is really beginning to ferment, it would not be possible.”

Reid did not scrub the break all together. The Senate will be in recess Monday, Oct. 12 – Columbus Day – and Friday, Oct. 16.

The shortened break means the Senate has had 11 consecutive workweeks.

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

Congress continues to pass legislation to make sure no government funding makes its way to ACORN, the liberal community organizing group whose workers were found in videos to be helping people circumvent tax laws.

Today, an amendment by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., was adopted in the Senate by a voice vote. The amendment bars any federal funding in the defense spending bill from going to ACORN or its affiliated organizations.

But is that necessary?

This month, USA TODAY’s John Fritze reported that both the House and Senate had already voted to strip ACORN of all its federal funding.

In a news release on his website, Johann said he would continue to amend each spending bill to make sure ACORN receives no funding.

The backlash against ACORN is sweeping through government, USA TODAY’s Judy Keen and William Welch reported last week: “The Internal Revenue Service said it will no longer partner with ACORN to provide free tax advice. Congress voted to withhold money from ACORN. The Census Bureau decided not to work with the organization on the 2010 Census.”

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

As they did with the stimulus bill, Republican governors are organizing a letter writing campaign to their congressmen to fight the current health care legislation in front of the Senate Finance Committee, The Hill reports.

The letter focuses in large part on the bill’s expansion of Medicaid, which would lead to higher costs for some already cash strapped states. Medicaid provides health care coverage for the poor.

Gov. Haley Barbour, R-Miss., wrote in a three-page letter to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., at the beginning of September, “Should the reforms being debated in Congress become law, Mississippi would be saddled with an average increase of $360 million in additional costs, on top of the already $707 million it costs to fund Mississippi’s annual state share of the Medicaid program.” He said Mississippi "simply can’t afford to pick up the tab for another unfunded mandate passed by Congress.”

Republican governors are not the only ones worried about the increased Medicaid costs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., struck a deal with Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the sponsor of the proposed health care legislation, to have the federal government cover 100% of Nevada’s increased Medicaid costs over the next five years, the New York Times reports.

The deal will carry the same provision for Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island at the cost of other states who will need to provide more funding for their Medicaid program; however, this provision can be dropped or altered during the ongoing committee hearings.

The expansion of Medicaid comes from the bill’s language covering anyone whose income is less than 133% the poverty level.

(Reported by Andrew Seaman)

A new poll released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests support may be growing for changing the nation's health care system after a brutal summer for the legislation. Fifty-seven percent of Americans say tackling health care changes is "more important than ever," up from 53% in August, according to the poll. 

The poll, which can be read here, also found that the proportion of Americans who say their families would be better off if health care legislation is passed rose 6 percentage points since August to 42%. 

The new monthly poll comes as the Senate Finance Committee resumes work today on a version of the health care bill drafted by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. 

“Opinion in the coming months is hard to predict, but as the focus shifted from the town halls and hot button issues to the president, the Congress and the core issues in the legislation that affect people the most, the summer downturn in support was largely erased,” Kaiser CEO Drew Altman said in a statement.

Still, the results were not entirely rosy. Nearly five in 10 people said they support letting lawmakers work longer to find a bipartisan solution. Though 68% said they are "hopeful" about the legislation, 58% also said they are "frustrated" and 31% said they are "angry." 

Read about recent USA TODAY health care polls here and here. 

The Kaiser survey of 1,203 adults was conducted Sept. 11 through Sept. 18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.