Medicare

In 2004, when Bush administration officials unveiled a project to provide every American with an electronic health record by 2014, they pledged to put privacy and security first. But the discovery in April of stolen health records containing sensitive medical information about U.S. patients on a computer server in Malaysia controlled by cyber criminals indicates such records so far do not pass the privacy and security test.

(01-03) 04:00 PST Washington -- Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi is choosing accomplishment over accommodation as her promise to run the most open House in history crashes into her pledge to move an ambitious agenda in the first days of a Democratic Congress. As Democratic leader in the Republican-run House, Pelosi regularly complained about the way the minority party was ignored and promised to operate differently if her party won control. The pledge was a central part of the Democrats' campaign message this fall and one Pelosi repeated often after the party won control of the House in November. But as party leaders prepare to push their legislative priorities before President Bush delivers his State of the Union address later this month, they realize they can't meet their pledge to complete their agenda within the first 100 hours if they allow full hearings, debate and amendments.