One Down For Health Care Reform, Senate Hurdles Loom
Health care reform took another historic step towards legislative reality on Saturday night as the House approved by a 220-215 vote their $1.1 trillion version of reform and sent the legislation on to the Senate. While Democrats and the White House rightfully celebrated the landmark achievement, another shift to the Senate brings uncertainty and potential for embarrassing and politically damaging delays before reform is ultimately passed.
House reform, passed with only one Republican (Holy Cao!) voting for it and 39 mostly conservative Democrats in the nay column, turned out to be a more moderate compromise than even the toned down bill Speaker Pelosi unveiled two weeks ago. Goodies for pro-life moderates allowed the Speaker to cobble together the Democratic coalition needed to assure passage in her chamber.
But what is seen as a moderate brand of reform in the House is still a questionable deal in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid is feeling intense pressure from all involved in the fight for - and against - reform. Most significant is the unabashed call for swift Senate action on the House legislation from the White House and President Obama, most prominently in his Sunday remarks following Saturday night’s landmark vote.
The president said in his Rose Garden speech that the House vote was “historic” and “courageous” but that now the spotlight to get comprehensive reform done falls on the Senate, who must “take the baton” and bring reform legislation to the “finish line.”
The first was the historic vote the House took last night on health insurance reform. For years we’ve been told that this couldn’t be done. After all, neither chamber of Congress has been able to pass a comprehensive health insurance reform bill for generations. But last night the House proved differently.
The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality, affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and our government, while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. It is legislation that is fully paid for and it will reduce our long-term federal deficit.
Given the heated and often misleading rhetoric surrounding this legislation I know that this was a courageous vote for many members of Congress, and I’m grateful to them and for the rest of their colleagues for taking us this far.
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Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people. And I’m absolutely confident that they will. I’m equally convinced that on the day that we gather here at the White House and I sign comprehensive health insurance reform legislation into law, they’ll be able to join their House colleagues and say that this was their finest moment in public service — the moment we delivered change we promised to the American people and did something to leave this country stronger than we found it.
Private pressure from the White House on Reid is also intense. More reaction to the House vote from President Obama and personal lobbying by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, the president’s point man on health care legislation, are turning up the heat on the Senate and on Reid to get a bill based on the House version voted on and passed by the end of the year, or essentially by Christmas. The biggest question is whether Reid and Senate Democrats can count to 60 that fast.
The White House began prodding Mr. Reid to move quickly even before Saturday’s House vote. In a private meeting with Mr. Obama this year, Mr. Reid pledged to work to finish the measure by the end of December. But last Tuesday, Mr. Reid said the Senate was “not going to be bound by any timelines.”
On Wednesday, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, visited Mr. Reid. The two met on Capitol Hill to “continue the discussion on ways to get a bill done by the end of the year,” said Mr. Reid’s press secretary, Jim Manley, adding that Mr. Reid intends to bring the bill to the floor “as quickly as possible.”
In case the leader did not get the message, Mr. Obama reinforced it Saturday night. In a statement after the House vote, he said he looked forward to signing comprehensive health legislation “by the end of the year.”
A big question is whether Mr. Reid has the 60 votes that will almost certainly be necessary to permit debate to begin. Mr. Manley said Democrats hoped “the momentum from the House bill will make everyone realize that the Senate should at least have a chance to begin debate.” Still, he conceded that there was “no glide path” toward getting the Senate to actually pass the measure.
The days since the House vote has brought swift condemnation of that particular legislation from Republicans and, most importantly, little overwhelming support from any Democrat other than Reid, who has promised a quick vote and has even broached the idea of weekend session to tackle reform. It’s a timetable that will most likely be influenced far more by the usual key players on reform than by any White House threats.
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I never thought our government would fail us so badly. If you think corporate greed is
behind many of our problems wait and see what the government has in store for us in
the near future!
This is nothing but a greedy power grab by Pelosi, Reid, Obama and the other socialists.
The pain these people are inflicting on this country is unreal – and all under the
guise of “fairness” and helping people.