By: Jessica Weinstein and Chad Pergram, Fox News Channel

He’s back in the hot seat again.

Tuesday, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) warned that the Republican health care plan was to “die quickly.”

On Wednesday, Grayson riled up Republicans again, likening the lack of health care reform to a “holocaust in America.”

Republicans howled and threatened to try to sanction Grayson for his comments on Tuesday. This mirrored efforts by Democrats to punish Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) after he shouted “You lie!” at President Obama during a Joint Session of Congress.

On Wednesday, Grayson refused to apologize.

“Because I said the truth,” Grayson noted in an interview with FOX News.

But the Florida Democrat did apologize. At least in one context. Grayson again took to the floor after speaking with FOX.

“I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.” 

Republicans again opened fire on Grayson.

“This is an individual who has established a pathological pattern of unstable behavior,” said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Alan Grayson not only refuses to apologize, but he is doubling down on his despicable remarks and he is dragging his party down with him.”

Grayson said that’s the kind of response he expects from the GOP.

“They simply attack me. Which means they’ve got nothing,” he said.

And Grayson was more than willing to challenge Republicans.

“I think that the Democrats are sick and tired of being kicked around with death panels. We’re sick of it. They have nothing to offer (on health care) themselves,” Grayson said.

Earlier Wednesday, the fourth-highest ranking Democrat in the House, Rep. John Larson (D-CT) said he didn’t think the House should punish Grayson in the same fashion that it penalized Wilson. Larson pointed out that Wilson broke a rule of the House which prohibits lawmakers from accusing the president of “lying” or being a “liar.”

“I wouldn’t have used the words Mr. Grayson has,” Larson said. “But I would encourage Alan to apologize.”

Grayson later disputed the context Larson was using to call for an apology.

In addition, Larson mentioned three House Republicans by name whom he thought had recently made comments that were similar to Grayson’s remarks. And Larson insinuated that those lawmakers should not be penalized either.

- FOX News’s Sarah Courtney contributed to this report.

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday dealt a setback to  efforts to create a government-run insurance plan, a cause celebre for many liberal Democrats for years.

And it gets a bit worse.

Senior Senate Democratic leadership sources tell Fox that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, will not include a so-called "public option" in a healthcare reform bill he will create once the Finance Committee completes its action this week, a decision first reported by The New York Times.

Reid must meld that more conservative product with the more liberal one crafted by the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee once headed by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-MA.   Kennedy's bill, which was sheppherded by his longtime friend, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CT, called for the creation of a public plan.

That puts the ball squarely in the court of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, who is currently working with her leadership team to craft a bill that many believe will include some version of a public option. 

The fight would then turn to a House-Senate conference where differences must the be reconcilied.  It is unclear what would happen if a final House-Senate conference product included a government-supervised plan. No doubt, though, the White House will be called upon to play an integral role.

Reid does retain the right to use a controversial budgetary tactic, used over the years by both parties, called "reconciliation" - which permits him to get a bill passed with just 51 votes. This tool, however, is not easy to use and would likely blow any chance to gain GOP support, not to mention create a situation that would make it very difficult to pass broader healthcare reform.

Five Democrats joined all Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday in defeating one version of a public option, or government-run insurance.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, sponsored an amendment that would have created a plan, run by the federal government, modeled on Medicare.   But too many of his Democratic colleagues voiced concern that low level reimbursement rates in some states, though they would be in effect for only two years, could bankrupt hospitals that don't get much from the federal government.

Democrats also voiced varying levels of concern that doctors, for two years, would be required to offer a public option if they want to continue to serve Medicare beneficiaries, a point that came courtesy of committee Republican John Ensign of Nevada.

It appeared that Democrats were fighting mostly amongst themselves.  Republicans, who have dominated the discussion on other days, did not speak nearly as much on Tuesday.  

By and large, GOP committee members hewed to an oft-repeated position that expert studies predict an end to competition, with a plan like Rockefeller's crushing the private market.

Rockefeller, a former VISTA volunteer fighting for affordable healthcare for uninsured children in his early career, made a passionate case to his colleagues, before the defeat, trying to turn the Republican argument on its head.

"Public option is on the march and if you want the single payer system or government-controlled health care system, do exactly what my GOP colleagues say...do nothing," Rockefeller charged, adding, "It's a moral decision. It's an ethical decision...It's a human decision...It's writ large in our legacies."

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, author of a competing plan that would set up a system of nonprofit cooperatives (a plan that Baucus included in his draft legislation), said of the Rockefeller plan, "The devil is in the details," saying that his state would be adversely impacted, hobbling hospitals that receive among the lowest level of Medicare reimbursement in the nation.

The five Democrats who helped defeat the Rockefeller measure:  Max Baucus, D-MT, Kent Conrad, D-ND, Bill Nelson, D-FL, Tom Carper, D-DE, and Blanche Lincoln, D-AR.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT, appeared pained at having to oppose the Rockefeller amendment, and tried to explain his 'no' vote, on a day when liberal groups hit him with negative ads for his opposition.

" There is a lot to like in public option. I included public option in a white paper I released earlier this year...But my first job is to get this bill across the finish line," Baucus said, repeating a line he has voiced for months that there are n0t 60 votes in the Senate to defeat a filibuster against public option.

 "There is a lot in this bill that will control costs. There is a lot in this bill that will expand coverage...Those things have to be my priority," Baucus, a moderate Democrat, reminded his colleagues, adding, "Rome wasnt built in a day."

With no fanfare and no roll call vote, not even a speech -- the Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved an amendment by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-NE, that bars any funds from the Defense spending bill from going to ACORN.

Johanns promised to introduce a similar amendment on every spending bill Congress considers this year, until the chamber takes up his broader bill that would impose permanent ban on ACORN receiving any federal funds.

It took the Senate a little over one minute to consider the measure.

Autumn has arrived. And so too have the fall follies that accompany the equinox.

But we start with a rather serious newsflash.

Washington is in crisis.

Not because the economy. Staggering deficits. ACORN. Cap-and-trade. Health care reform. Terrorist threats on mass transit systems. Or a nuclear-armed Iran.

At a time when the nation’s auto industry is in shambles, perhaps it’s only appropriate that one of the greatest debacles in Washington football history unfolded in the Motor City Sunday. The Obama Administration may have replaced Rick Wagoner as the head of General Motors earlier this year. The move called into question whether Washington was running the auto manufacturer. But it was clear that Detroit owned Washington on the gridiron Sunday. 

The town’s beloved Washington Redskins fell to the woeful Detroit Lions, 19-14. This the same Detroit squad who lost their previous 19 games dating back to late 2007. The losing streak spanned parts of three seasons.

To put it in political terms, the Lions last won a game before Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Back when Hillary Rodham Clinton was the odds-on favorite to be the Democratic nominee and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was flailing behind Mitt Romney in the GOP contest.

Think the Redskins would qualify for cash for clunkers?

Democrats and Republicans alike can’t agree on much in Washington. But whether they hail from a blue state or a red state, the city’s political establishment lives and dies with the burgundy and gold.

Few expected much from the Redskins this year. But a loss to the Lions will make Washington apoplectic. Expect a host of long faces exiting the Capitol South Metro station Monday morning. And you can count on lots of folks cutting off other drivers as they try to merge at the Beltway’s Mixing Bowl.

Perhaps it’s only fitting that the Lions vanquished the Redskins before sundown Sunday. That’s when the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, or “Day of Atonement” began. And after this wretched loss, the Redskins seemingly have much to atone for.

Keep Reading ...

Capitol Hill really isn’t much of a hill. It only rises 88 feet above sea level.

But the visibility here is almost down to zero.

That’s because there’s a thick fog bank shrouding Capitol Hill. It lingers day after day. And the veil never dissipates.

You’ve heard of the “fog of war?” Well, this is the fog of health care.

Generals and military historians often refer to “the fog of war” to describe the ambiguity of a battlefield operation.

Deep in the foxholes and trenches of the health care reform debate, Congressional Democrats and President Obama have a sense of what they want. But their tactics and methods remain ambiguous. No one really knows what a health care reform bill may look like. And to many, even the objectives are obscure.

Keep Reading ...

Senate Republicans have pulled their staff from an Intelligence Committee investigation of Bush Administration detention and interrogation policies and tactics, angered by a DOJ inquiry that could ensnare former interrogators.

Sen. Kit Bond, R-MO, top committee Republican, issued a statement to Fox, saying, "Had (Attorney General Eric) Holder honored the pledge made by the President to look forward not backwards, we would still be active participants in the Committee’s review.  Instead, DOJ sent a loud and clear message that previous decisions to decline prosecution mean nothing and old criminal charges can be brought anytime against anyone—against these odds, what current or former CIA employee would be willing to gamble his freedom by answering the Committee’s questions?"

Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, issued her own statement, saying, "I very much regret the fact that the Republican side of the Intelligence Committee has chosen not to continue to participate in the Committee’s study and investigation into the detention and interrogation of high-value detainees. However, that study and investigation is being pursued, additional staff are being hired, and the Committee is continuing the work with all due diligence.”

Bond voiced concern that any lack of witnesses would hinder the investigation and went on in his statement to say, "While there is value to learning from past experiences, there are other areas in need of current congressional oversight, including the war in Afghanistan, Iran’s intentions with respect to ballistic missiles, and expiring FISA terror fighting tools.  The Committee cannot give these matters sufficient attention if we are spinning our wheels in an endless document review." 

While the White House had signaled a willingness to move on with no "looking back" inquiries, Holder decided in August to appoint longtime prosecutor John Durham to lead a preliminary inquiry into a handful of cases, including one in which a detainee died in captivity.

Earlier this month, seven former CIA directors, who's tenures span 35 years, asked President Obama to quash the inquiry, but President Obama made it clear recently, he will not overrule his Attorney General.

"I appreciate the former CIA directors wanting to look out for an institution that they helped to build. But I continue to believe that nobody is above the law," Obama said on CBS' Face the Nation.  "I want to make sure that as president of the United States that I'm not asserting in some way that my decisions overrule the decisions of prosecutors who are there to uphold the law." 

Congress has extended legal immunity to interrogators who acted with "good-faith reliance on advice of counsel."

FOX  has learned that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has met with Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA), a surgeon who the GOP tapped to deliver the official response to President Obama's health care speech before a Joint Session of Congress more than two weeks ago.

Earlier this week, Hoyer mentioned Boustany by name and expressed interest in meeting with GOP lawmakers after the Louisiana Republican said his party could reach an "80 percent" on health care reform.

Sources familiar with the session say they met in the Majority Leader's office for 30 minutes. Fox is told that Boustany told Hoyer that the current bill should be scrapped and the House should craft a new, bipartisan health care bill.

Sources familiar with the meeting say Hoyer signaled that starting anew could waste precious time.

Meantime, senior House Democratic leaders met multiple times to try to meld three bills that a trio of House panels approved in July. House leaders hope to present a unified bill to Democrats sometime next week.

Fox is told that Hoyer and Boustany agreed to meet again.

Senator-designate Paul Kirk, a lifelong friend and former aide to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-MA, and former chairman of the DNC, arrived on Capitol Hill at 12:40pm where former Kennedy staffers greeted their new boss with a round of applause.

"It's both exciting and sobering at the same time," Kirk told reporters, before he heading into the Russell Senate Office suite occupied for decades by Kennedy. A reception area is still adorned with historic pictures of the late senator's famous family.

Kirk is scheduled to meet with staff and later in the day sit down with Massachusetts senior senator, John Kerry.

With the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Massachusetts Republicans, Kirk will be sworn in at about 3:30pm on the Senate floor.   Vice President Joe Biden, D-DE, as President of the Senate, is expected to preside over the ceremony, and Victoria Reggie Kennedy, wife of the late senator, is expected to attend.

Kirk will serve until the January special election.

 The 71-year old was joined by his wife, Gail.

  UPDATING AT 6:40PM

A senior Democratic official tells Fox that Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-CT, as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, "recognized the implications and alerted the White House."

The aide pointed to language of the Collins amendment, that it applies to officials “without express statutory authorization and which is responsible for the interagency development or coordination of any rule, regulation, or policy….”

The aide continued:  "Neither the (White House) chief of staff nor the National Security advisor are authorized statutorily. Nor are dozens of other White House officials who coordinate policy. "

The aide contends, the amendment would have gone too far, encircling close advisers to the President.

Under pressure from the White House, arguing separation of powers, Senate Democrats on Thursday employed a procedural tactic to kill an amendment that would have imposed congressional oversight on some 18 czars appointed by the Obama Administration, though not confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The amendment to a spending bill that funds the Interior Department was sponsored by moderate Maine Sen. Susan Collins, top Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,who took to the floor to decry the move, saying she was "deeply disappointed" that her colleagues would do this.

The measure would have withheld federal funds for the creation of any new, unconfirmed czar positions until the Administration agreed to allow the individuals to testify before Congress, if a "reasonable request" was made, and every czar to produce a detailed "public, written report" biannually of their actions and involvement in the creation of policy, rules, and regulations.

"My amendment has been carefully tailored to cover officials that the President has unilaterally designated for significant policy matters. It would not have covered the President's chief of staff, for example, and it would not cover less senior White House officials, despite some misinformation to the contrary," Collins said, noting that her staff had worked with White House officials Wednesday night without agreement.

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-IL, a close ally of the White House, was not convinced, sensing a more politically-motivated attack, by "czar watchers," invoking "the political wiseman" Fox News' Glenn Beck, as well as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX, who Durbin said had found a larger number of czars than Collins, who detailed 18 unconfirmed czars for the record. Durbin noted that both Beck, who he jokingly called a "political adviser," and Hutchison had come up with the same number of czars, 32, which included positions that are confirmed by the Senate.

"Who's going to define who is covered by your amendment?" Durbin implored. He also noted that the workload the Collins amendment would have imposed on the czars would be onerous.

But Democrats earlier in the week appeared to be on the cusp of accepting the amendment without objection.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, manager of the Interior spending bill, had told Collins that Democrats were prepared to include her amendment, though one objection had popped up. At the time, Collins told Fox that it appeared to be a simple misunderstanding. Soon after, it became clear the White House had objections. Feinstein told Fox Thursday that the White House had told her to back off, with the California Democrat saying, "It's a huge separation of powers issue. I had no idea."

Durbin listed czars used by President George W. Bush, as well, which he said numbered 47, though Collins appeared to disagree, saying "there wasn't this kind of proliferation" under Bush. Collins said her effort would be the same no matter who occupied the White House.

"Regardless of whether it's a Democratic president or a Republican president, a Democratic Congress or a Republican Congress, I think this is an institutional issue. And I think all of us as members of Congress should be very concerned about organizational structures that make it impossible for us to conduct productive, conventional oversight," Collins said.

Durbin would not bend, and instead offered, "The good news is this. Our trusted friend Joe Lieberman (chairman of the committee on which Collins serves)...has promised a hearing on this issue."

And with that, Durbin used a Senate rule that prohibits legislating on a spending bill, something that is often done by both parties despite the rule, to kill the measure.