WASHINGTON (AP) House Democrats on Tuesday rolled out a far-reaching $1.5 trillion plan that for the first time would make health care a right and a responsibility for all Americans, with medical providers, employers and the wealthiest picking up most of the tab.

WASHINGTON Democrats' health care bills won't meet President Barack Obama's goal of slowing the ruinous rise of medical costs, Congress' budget umpire warned on Thursday, giving weight to critics who say the legislation could break the bank.

... history. That doesn't make it easy. It's hard." A new surtax agreed to by Democrats on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee would start with households making $350,000 a year and begin in 2011, said the committee's chairman, Rep ...

... million by exposing it to new taxes. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said the new 90 percent tax would apply to bonus money paid to employees earning more than $250,000 at firms ...

... with the progress," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after $275 billion in tax cuts cleared the House Ways and Means Committee on a party-line vote of 24-13. Democratic leaders have promised the measure will be ready for Obama's signature ...

... force family members to sell off their land when a loved one dies." The bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. Ron Durst, senior economist for the Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, argues that farmers ...

... N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said of Obama's call to limit high-income ... Dave Camp of Michigan, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner argued ...

... said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. On Tuesday, Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said he, too, had reservations about the proposal. "I would never want to adversely affect anything that ...

... during his appearance Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee. He claimed repeatedly that any deficit increase ... said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Mused House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y.: ...

... the tax code could be inappropriate, declared Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the taxwriting Ways and Means Committee. He said, "It's difficult for me to think of the code as a political weapon." Others saw the connection ...