Dems scramble for 218 healthcare votes

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- House Democratic leaders worked furiously to nail down final votes before a scheduled weekend vote on their plan to reform the U.S. healthcare system.

Democratic head counters said they didn't have the 218 confirmed votes necessary to pass the bill, but expressed confidence they'd exceed that number by the time it comes up for a vote Saturday evening, The New York Times reported Friday.

Among other things, the $1 trillion bill would extend healthcare to 96 percent of the U.S. population and create a government-run health insurance option.

"We have a historic opportunity for us to, again, provide quality healthcare for all Americans," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said. "It's something that many of us have worked our whole political lifetimes on."

While Democrats pressed their cause inside, opponents of the House measure rallied outside, where participants were encouraged to tell their lawmakers to vote against it, the Times said.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., was the rally's organizer. House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio called the package the "greatest threat to freedom that I have seen in the 19 years I've been in Washington."

Alleged Fla. office shooter deeply in debt

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The suspect in the Orlando, Fla., office high-rise shooting that left one person dead and five wounded had filed for bankruptcy, records show.

Jason Rodriguez, 40, who police said was arrested Friday at his mother's apartment a few hours after the gunfire at the Legions Place building, had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May, CNN reported Friday.

He had listed assets of $4,675 and liabilities of $89,873 in the filing. His 2002 Nissan accounted for all but $675 of his assets.

Rodriguez had been let go by Reynolds, Smith and Hills architectural and engineering firm, located in the building, because of performance issues in June 2007.

As he was being escorted into a police station, reporters asked Rodriguez why he had opened fire.

"Because they left me to rot," he said.

Later police said he had apologized while being taken into custody, saying: "I'm just going through a tough time right now. I'm sorry."

Witnesses at the apartment complex where his mother lives said Rodriguez surrendered peaceably, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

"I really wish I knew his motive," Orlando Police Chief Val Demings said.

The victims were taken to several Orlando-area hospitals.

Rodriguez listed his monthly income as a "sandwich artist" at an Orlando Subway restaurant, where he had worked nine months, as $890.67; his monthly expenses, $815.

CNN said a Subway spokesman confirmed Rodriguez had worked for the company but left six weeks ago.

Neighbor says Hasan gave away belongings

FORT HOOD, Texas, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A neighbor of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan says he gave her most of his belongings shortly before going on a deadly rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

Patricia Villa told The New York Times Hasan said he was being deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan and would be gone for six months. He gave her an air mattress, a steamer, men's clothing for her husband, bags of vegetables and a copy of the Koran, the Times reported Friday.

The Army officer also offered her $60 to clean his apartment on Friday morning, which turned out to be the day after he is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 30 others at the base. Hasan, 39, was wounded in the shooting spree and was hospitalized unconscious and connected to a ventilator.

Villa said Friday Hasan asked that she take any items of his that she didn't want to the Salvation Army.

"He said he was ready," Villa said. "I said, 'For real?' He said, 'I'm ready.' I figured, he's with God. He's ready to go fight."

Proclamation honors Fort Hood victims

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A proclamation honoring the victims of the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, was signed Friday by President Barack Obama.

"Our nation's thoughts and prayers are with the service members, civilians, and families affected by the tragic events at Fort Hood, Texas," the proclamation read. "The brave victims, who risked their lives to protect their fellow countrymen, serve as a constant source of strength and inspiration to all Americans. We ask God to watch over the fallen, the wounded, and all those who are suffering at this difficult hour."

Thirteen people died and 30 people were wounded Thursday when alleged gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, an Army psychiatrist at Darnall Army Medical Center, opened fire at the base's military processing center Thursday.

The proclamation also noted Obama ordered flags be flown at half-staff at the White House, federal buildings, diplomatic venues, military installations, naval vessels and stations in the United States and abroad until Veterans Day.

Obama also plans to attend a memorial service at Fort Hood once the service is scheduled, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during a news briefing.

Spending vs. jobs a Dem dilemma

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The White House and the Democratic Congress are caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, pressured to cut spending and create more jobs, analysts say.

After Tuesday's elections skewed toward the Republican party, GOP pollster Neil Newhouse warned President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats ignore voters' angst over growing deficits and government intrusion in their lives at their own peril, the Washington publication Politico reported Friday.

"The Obama administration would do well not to underestimate the intensity of voter opinion on these issues -- or the impact they have on independent voters," Newhouse said.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., acknowledges the nation faces "a long road back" to prosperity that extends beyond Wall Street to Main Street.

Democrats want to create jobs by pumping up highway construction. But at what level and over how many years is being debated. Rep. James Oberster, D-Minn., wants $80 billion over two years. Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, wants to tap into unspent stimulus funds, but House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, D-Wis., opposes it.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., proposes a 4-6-year program that would be financed by a securities transaction tax on the financial community.

"Transaction taxes -- that's a painless way," Clyburn said. "If you're sitting there on Wall Street, if you're Goldman Sachs, if you're making all this money, if you got all this federal money (in a bailout), and you are paying all these big bonuses to your folks, where is your contribution to this recovery? That's why it's painless."

Wall Street would likely view that differently, and rally its allies, such as Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Politico said.

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