As The Associated Press reports:
Under White House pressure to act swiftly, House and Senate Democratic leaders reached for agreement Friday on President Barack Obama’s health care bill, sweetened suddenly by fresh billions for student aid and a sense that breakthroughs are at hand.
“It won’t be long,” before lawmakers vote, predicted Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She said neither liberals’ disappointment over the lack of a government health care option nor a traditional mistrust of the Senate would prevent passage in the House.
At the White House, officials worked to maximize Obama’s influence over lawmakers who control the fate of legislation that has spawned a yearlong struggle. They said he would delay his departure on an Asian trip for three days-until March 21-and he will go to Ohio next week for a campaign-style pitch for his health care proposals.
The delay gives congressional leaders much-needed breathing room to finish the legislation and nail down support from wavering lawmakers.
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Republican Senators today announced a breakthrough health care plan designed to reduce taxes, provide universal coverage and avoid government involvement in health care.
The plan, labeled “Don’t Get Sick” by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, consists of three parts.
1-A copy of “Science and Health, with Key to Scriptures” to be distributed to every American.
2-A national day of prayer to ensure implementation of the Don’t Get Sick plan drafted by Mrs. Eddy.
3-A $200 billion annual subsidy to Pharmaceutical Companies to provide homeopathic medicines to Medicare recipients.
The subsidy is accompanied with felony provisions prohibiting the importation of cheap, foreign, homeopathic medicines from Canada or any other Socialist Hell-hole. Importation of foreign prayers from Canada would also be prohibited.
Early reaction to the plan was muted, with former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado blasting the plan for not requiring illegal immigrants to get sick.
“Letting illegal immigrants pray to not get sick will put thousands of American preachers out of work,” Tancredo, nattily attired in a propellor-beanie, told Fox News. Illegal Immigrants should get sick.
Then they will have to remodel my basement at sub-minimum wages to pay their doctor bills.”
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said he was still studying the Republican proposal but was inclined to vote against it on the ground that the national day of prayer provision was a step toward the dreaded public option for health care.
Excellent.
Maybe this was the intention all along, let the Republicans prove that they are the party of “No,” let them have a year to prove that they have no significant ideas.
While there may be some Dems that will lose seats in November, I think other Dems will be saved by this action. And perhaps some people will vote Dem just for the courage to do this.
I think overall it will work for the Dems.
over someone who does nothing.
I wish Democratic politicians understood this better. Nobody cares about process, nobody cares about bipartisanship, they just want to see things happen. It was a tough lesson for me to learn, but that’s how politics works. People who hated Bush would vote for him because he GOT THINGS DONE, and they respected that. And it didn’t matter whether they agreed with the policies or not.
Where “less government” really means “less government.”
In an email blast today, PCCC are making the case that if the House passes HCR with the Public Option, the Senate will too:
Sen. Bennet’s letter just might have been the push needed to make this happen.
Should be a fun topic at the caucuses!
Would they need to pass a PO again in conference to get the Senate (assuming it gets the 50 or 51 needed to pass)? I’m admittedly a layman when it comes to these kinds of sausage-making processes.
Doesn’t matter what was in the House version. What the House is going to do is adopt the Senate version. And then the House will adopt and send over a separate bill that includes a few fixes to the Senate version. If things go according to plan, the Senate then adopts this fix using majority rule. (That’s the reconciliation process, something Republicans raised to a high art when they controlled Congress.)
Don’t you mean parliamentary tricks? How short the memories of the body politic.
by adopting a bill that’s already passed the Senate with 60 votes. The nerve of those Democrats, thinking they can use the same rules Republicans use when they’re in power! There’s something unseemly about it.
One thing is certain, the GOP will be insufferable, sore {winners/losers}
The lesson Democrats need to remember is that voters respect courage, even when they don’t agree with the position (e.g. Tea Party has a 46% favorable rating?!).
Cowardice is not going over so well this election.
Maybe it’s the really the media’s ADD I should be frustrated with.
Please please PLEASE pass health reform! Don’t f*** it up!
Pass Health Reform! Send Rush Packing!
….It’s Health Insurance Reform. Has been almost from the beginning.
The top line is health insurance reform, but there’s plenty in the bill to reform health care too. That’s the main reason the bill is so long (which seems to bother Republicans to no end). Read a really good story on all that here:
http://www.newyorker.com/repor…
Let’s go.