First, thank you to all our veterans for their service and sacrifice.

This Veteran's day we're a bit caught up in the upkeep of grant reports, so he's a quick run down of the news and issues that caught our attention:

Tuesdays with Harry: Politico reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took procedural steps yesterday that would allow him to open debate on a bill Tuesday next week. Of course there a lot that needs to happen before then, including the release of bill with CBO scores, but still, it's a good sign that things are moving in the Senate.

My Life, Your Work: Former President Bill Clinton spoke to Senate Democrats at their weekly meeting Tuesday. His message? Git'er Done. "The worst thing to do is nothing," Clinton told reporters.

An Option You Can't Refuse? The New York Time's Kevin Sack looks at the likelihood that states would actually opt-out from a public health insurance plan. Aside from the politics, Sack argues the critical factors affecting a state's decision are its uninsured population and the amount of competition in its insurance market. Health Affairs and RWJF have put out a helpful brief explaining how a public health insurance plan would actually work.

How much for that horse of yours? Politico's Jonathan Allen and Patrick O'Connor have an excellent story on the political horsetrading that went down to secure the final passage of the House bill Saturday. Meanwhile House Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) told MSNBC that the controversial Stupak amendment on abortion netted the bill about 10 votes -- enough to push the legislation over the 218-vote threshold, but less than previous suggestions of a 40-vote swing.

If you like it then you shoulda put a cost control on it? Our colleagues have written about the existing cost control measures in the bill and the potential improvements that could be made. The New York Times' David Leonhardt weighs in with a detailed list of recommendations and one of the best explanations for why this matters:

It is not simply about bending the curve, or slowing the growth, of Medicare's projected spending. It's also about preventing thousands of needless deaths from hospital infections. It's about making sure you get the best cancer treatment, even when that treatment is not the most profitable one. It's about keeping health costs from denying most families a decent pay increase, as has happened in recent years.

Making the medical system more efficient is, in short, about saving lives and giving Americans a long overdue raise. It is arguably the single most important step that the federal government could take to improve people's lives.

Do you know where the majority of our nation's toothpicks come from? Maine, which Gardner Harris calls the Charlie Brown of Health Care:

The state's legislators have tried for decades to fix its system, but their efforts have always fallen short: health insurance premiums are still among the least affordable in the nation, health care spending per person is among the highest and hospital emergency rooms are among the most crowded. Indeed, many overhauls to the system have done little more than squeeze a balloon -- solving one problem while worsening another.

But like the Peanuts character, the state keeps trying.

We hope that includes the state's senior Senator.