Senate Abuzz Ahead Of Busy Night On Health Reform
EmailABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports: Democrats don't meet in their special caucus huddle until 5 p.m., when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will officially unveil his version of health reform to them. But the Senate is abuzz with activity right now. Vice President Joe Biden has been on the Hill for most of the day, meeting with Reid and working from his own office off the Senate floor. Moderate Democrats who have expressed their reservations with the broad strokes of the legislation, including Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, all just walked into Reid's office. A Reid spokesman said Reid will give the moderates a first: Reid "walking them through the particulars" before he distributes the bill to the rank and file. Reid will need all Democrats to support the bill if he wants to break the first Republican attempt at filibuster, likely to come Saturday. So his special session with the moderates is an attempt to bring them on-board.
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Still an awfully long way to go to get anything through the Senate. I am not optimistic. Democrats do not have a supermajority (you’re delusional if you think Lieberman is even a fair weather Democrat) and even if they did the $2 trillion dollar health care complex has surely bought a few Democratic Senators to go with the full set of Republican ones in their back pocket. But perhaps this will get the public a bit more informed, wear the lies a little bit thinner, and give the people a better shot next time at the world class health system the most prosperous free nation in the history of mankind deserves.
Posted by: jhw539 | November 18, 2009, 3:17 pm 3:17 pm
the most prosperous free nation in the history of mankind… Posted by: jhw539
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Right now I think we need to focus on retaining that status. jobs, jobs, jobs.
This health care legislation isn’t solving the problems in our society, it’s creating new ones.
Posted by: wow | November 18, 2009, 3:49 pm 3:49 pm
Right now I think we need to focus on retaining that status. jobs, jobs, jobs.
This health care legislation isn’t solving the problems in our society, it’s creating new ones.
wow | Nov 18, 2009 3:49:08 PM
If you don’t think the high cost of health care born by US employers – a cost that no other first world company has to pay – harms job creation, then you’re not paying attention.
Posted by: jhw539 | November 18, 2009, 4:03 pm 4:03 pm
Obama’s senate record is on full display
of what he did there. On the issues he faces now like in the senate he is voting PRESENT instead solving problems. Obama is like a broken record he keeps repeating the same speech on every issue. The tragic part about Obama is he knows what he is doing but fails to see his policies are failures.
Posted by: John Demeter | November 18, 2009, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
On the issues he faces now like in the senate he is voting PRESENT instead solving problems.
John Demeter | Nov 18, 2009 4:14:11 PM
So on the issues he is facing now he is voting present only about 3% of the time, like he did in the IL state senate? That’s amazingly high praise – I like Obama and even I don’t think he’s doing that well at solving all the problems (nor do I expect him to, there are some really long and complex issues to sort)!
Posted by: jhw539 | November 18, 2009, 4:19 pm 4:19 pm
Thinking that jobs must have focus over health care means that there is a failure in understanding the relationship between the jobs and health insurance. When employers are burdened by the high costs of health insurance as compared to the costs in other countries and employees are trapped in jobs because of their dependence on specific health insurance plans, this has a strong impact on national competitiveness.
In even simpler terms, when employers and employees you are paying 16-17% of GDP on health care as compared to 10% in other countries, competitiveness is seriously hindered.
Posted by: Wellescent Health Blog | November 18, 2009, 4:21 pm 4:21 pm
trapped in jobs because of their dependence on specific health insurance plans, this has a strong impact on national competitiveness.
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I understand, that is why my family purchases our own health insurance. We believe in personal responsibility. I don’t believe businesses should have to supply insurance. I would rather have an increase in salary and purchase my own.
Posted by: wow | November 18, 2009, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
I don’t see what the big hold up is they should have already passed the damn Health Care Bill these people are out of control and need to get a life lesson of how other people are depending on having some type of hope for a better health care system America is so jacked up I swear.
Posted by: Mike Bates | November 19, 2009, 12:26 pm 12:26 pm