Obama sees 'light along the horizon'
WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday his administration and Congress have "come a long way" and "we can see some light along the horizon."
However, addressing an audience at a Democratic Party fundraising event in Washington, the president said getting legislation passed will get more difficult because the economy has improved somewhat.
Addressing an audience estimated at 300, Obama said Congress should "feel proud" but not satisfied for its output since coming into office in January.
"We've come a long way," he said. "We can see some light along the horizon but we've got a much longer journey to travel. And this is when it gets hard. Ironically, in part because the economy has stabilized somewhat."
Obama said critics of his administration and Congress do not offer specific alternatives when criticizing Democratic proposals on healthcare reform.
"To those who simply criticize without offering new ideas of their own, I have to ask, what's your answer?" he said. "Don't tell me that all you're offering is meager tax cuts to uninsured Americans. Don't present that as a new idea. That's the same idea that's been proposed for the last eight years. Don't tell me that we're going to tinker around the edges and that nothing's going to change."
The event is expected to collect about $3 million, which will be divided between the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Senate healthcare leader pulls bill
WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate found itself on a detour in its consideration of healthcare Thursday as its main proposal was pulled back indefinitely, lawmakers said.
Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont, had planned to release healthcare legislation Friday and bring the reform proposal before his panel next week.
But, after a closed-door caucus Wednesday, that time frame was scuttled and Baucus said he would move "when we are ready." He declined to estimate when that might be, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The delay came as the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which shares jurisdiction, began consideration of a rival bill that would, among other things, create a new public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
Meanwhile, the House, where Democrats have more solid control, is moving toward a floor vote on healthcare next month.
Senate approves $106B war spending bill
WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate, after solving the issue of detainee abuse photos, passed the $106 billion war supplemental bill that would fund Iraq and Afghanistan efforts.
On a 91-5 vote Thursday, the Senate sent the measure to President Barack Obama for his signature, The Hill reported. The House approved the measure 226-206 Tuesday. The two chambers passed different versions, which were reconciled in conference committee.
The measure nearly tanked over a controversy of about how to keep secret photos showing U.S. military personnel abusing detainees in custody, the Washington publication said. Obama last month decided against releasing the photos, and a federal court last week stayed an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit to release the pictures.
The controversy was resolved Wednesday when the Senate voted for a stand-alone law to keep the photos from public view. The House still must vote on the stand-alone measure.
Senate Republican objected to add-ons to the military funding, The Hill said. In addition to about $80 billion to fund wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the bill includes $5 billion in new borrowing for the International Monetary Fund and $7.7 billion for flu pandemic preparations.
The measure also includes money for U.S. car buyers who trade in older models for more fuel-efficient vehicles, the so-called cash-for-clunkers program.
Thousands of protesters mourn Iran dead
TEHRAN, June 18 (UPI) -- Iranian protesters, clad in black for mourning, filled Tehran's streets in a post-election rally Thursday that began and ended peacefully, witnesses said.
Tens of thousands of protesters wore black in remembrance of those who died in the violence that followed Friday's elections in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the landslide winner over his nearest challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Iranian media reported at least eight people died since protests began Saturday.
The goal of the marchers was to begin their protest from mosques across Tehran and end at Freedom Square, CNN reported.
Mousavi addressed the throng during the "ceremony of mourning," messages posted on Twitter indicated. The Iranian government banned foreign media, such as CNN, from live coverage of "unauthorized" demonstrations, so accounts are based on Internet postings by witnesses or participants.
"Iran must participate in fair elections, it is a matter of national importance," Internet messages quoted Mousavi as saying.
Another opposition candidate, Mehdi Karrubi, called on demonstrators to march to the location where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, will speak Friday.
The Guardian Council, which oversees Iran's elections, said it was looking into complaints of ballot fraud, and invited opposition candidates to attend a meeting. It agreed to recount votes, but Mousavi is seeking a new election.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government continued its crackdown on prominent opposition figures, political analysts and journalists, The Washington Post said.
Security forces Wednesday detained opposition politician Ibrahim Yazdi and Mohammad Tavasoli, another revolutionary, Iranian news outlets said. Fars News Agency reported two children of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a critic of Ahmadinejad, were barred from leaving the country.
Mousavi and former President Mohammad Khatami have asked Iran's courts to subdue post-election violence and release protesters who have been arrested, CNN said.
Amnesty International said its monitoring indicated rallies also were staged in Tabriz, Bobol, Shiraz, Mashad and Zahedan.
