Obama takes the stage in St. Charles and St. Louis

Mar 11, 2010 — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jake Wagman

Mar. 10, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- ST. LOUIS -- A room full of supporters were waiting for Barack Obama to take the stage at the Renaissance Grand hotel downtown, where the president is headlining a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a key Democratic ally.

Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley took turns offering opening remarks before a performance by Neal Boyd, a Missouri-born tenor who won the "America's Got Talent" competition in 2008.

The president is set to speak before meeting Air Force One at Lambert Field for his return to Washington.

Tickets to the fundraiser ranged from $25 for standing room to $25,000 for dinner and a photo with the president.

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ST. CHARLES -- President Barack Obama brought his healthcare road show here Wednesday, announcing a crackdown on waste and fraud in hopes of convincing a gridlocked and distracted Congress to pass sweeping health-care insurance reform.

Later, Obama appeared at a crowded downtown St. Louis fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Hundreds of protesters gathered in St. Charles and downtown St. Louis to express opposition to the health-care

Obama's speech in a stuffy gymnasium at St. Charles High School, his second health care address in three days, is part of a White House push to take the debate from the halls of Congress directly to voters, allowing the administration to frame the issue in its own terms without filter.

Earlier in the week, Obama used the prospect of rising insurance premiums to make the case for health care reform. Wednesday, in front of an invitation only crowd in St. Charles, he offered a new angle, announcing new oversight of federal entitlement programs.

Obama was joined on stage by McCaskill, a former state auditor whom the president praised as a person who "just pinches pennies."

"Washington is a place where tax dollars are often treated like Monopoly money," Obama said, "where waste -- even billions of dollars in waste -- is accepted as the price of doing business,"

Obama signed an executive order Wednesday calling for greater use of "payment recapture audits," which allows federal government departments to hire private auditors to find taxpayer funds paid in error or through fraud. The auditors are paid based on the amount of improper payments they reclaim -- providing incentive to root out waste.

The audits could be used to prevent overpayment in Medicare, Medicaid and, potentially, any new or expanded program under a health care reform program.

The audit plan, which has bipartisan support, comes as Obama attempts to carefully select certain Republican ideas that could make his health care package more palatable across the aisle. Obama has also expressed interest in a proposal suggested by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to use undercover investigations to further combat fraud.

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ST. CHARLES -- President Barack Obama has taken the stage at St. Charles High, where he is delivering a speech on health care reform.

The president arrived on Air Force One from Washington with U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, who he will host a fundraiser for later this evening.

Obama is expected to continue putting pressure on Congress to pass his health care reform package, as well as introduce a push to audit programs including Medicare and Medicaid to root out overpayment and fraud.

Frank Scimo,64, of Ballwin, said he helped organize a group of about 100 people to show up outside the high school to offer support for the president and health care reform.

"I believe the people should have health insurance," he said. He pointed to his stepdaughter, who he said was denied insurance through her employer because of a pre-existing problem with her knees.

Just down the street, Stefanie Wilson, 44, daughters Ellery, 18, and Charlotte, 16, held signs decrying health care reform. They said they drove four hours from Chicago today along with Ryan Szumny to protest.

Szumny's said had a tea bag attached to it and said: "you are not entitled to what I have earned."

Stefanie Wilson, whose homemade T-shirt said "you lie," said she had attended every Tea Party event in Chicago. She said she also planned to protest outside tonight's event.

"I really believe that health care is not the gocernment's business," she said.

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