Hoyer: House will go first on health bill

[cal04]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/84097-hoyer-says-house-will-go-first-on-health-bill

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Sunday that the House must pass the Senate bill before fixes to both bills can be approved.

Hoyer is the highest-ranking House Democrat to outline that path forward, which is perceived as a critical concession to Senate Democrats.

"Whether we're willing or not, we have to go first if we are going to correct thing that the House disagrees with," Hoyer said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

(snip)
"In the next couple of weeks we will have a specific proposal and start counting votes," he said.

[Oregone]

1. LOL. After all the hoopla, all you are now guaranteed is the Senate bill

[tekisui]

2. Nothing is guaranteed, really. The Senate bill is looking

like the 'best case scenario'. And, is far from great.

[Donnachaidh]

4. if anyone expected anything other than an insurance bailout bill

they're nuts.

this is NOT healthCARE reform. This is insurance profit guarantees, complete with the IRS becoming the collection agency for a for-profit racket.

Who benefits from this? Certainly NOT the millions who will STILL be uninsurable. The benefits go to the CAMPAIGN COFFERS of the folks who did the backroom deals ahead of time.

[Faygo Kid]

3. Just do it. Imperfect? Absolutely. But doing nothing is worse.

Once we get SOMETHING, no matter how much we hold our noses, we have a base to work from. To do nothing is to give it up to the Tea Partiers, who will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the GOP this November. And a disaster for every decent human being who needs health care.

Their great fear is that once Americans get access to health care - even flawed - they will demand improvements until it is truly universal. They are right to fear that.

[Oregone]

6. "But doing nothing is worse"

Why? In what sense (fiscally)? Can you prove this?


"Once we get SOMETHING, no matter how much we hold our noses, we have a base to work from"

If this is what your benevolent Congress has given you after decades of debate and years of work, how wise is it to presume it will get any better? Why is the possibility of it getting worse--perhaps by means of having subsidies stripped--not being considered? This will be an ongoing political football.


"once Americans get access to health care"

This is about giving Americans access to non-heterogeneous, multi-tiered private for-profit insurance, which may or may not give real access to health care.

[laughingliberal]

9. It's just all talking points all the time around here

They do not respond to reason and the ability to look to the unintended consequences is almost non-existent.

[backscatter712]

12. Absolutely. We've got to get it done.

Failure is not an option. The Senate bill is a clusterfuck, but getting nothing at all would be even worse.

[TacticalPeek]

5. I've seen this before.

[laughingliberal]

10. Exactly! nt

[Better Believe It]

7. House Democrats Will Pass Senate Healthcare Bill On Mere Promise Of Reconciliation "Fixes"

George Miller Says House Democrats Will Pass Senate Bill First On Mere Promise Of Future Fixes
By Jon Walker
February 26, 2010

Rep. George Miller (D-CA) is now saying the path forward will be for the House to pass the current Senate bill–unchanged–with the promise of a reconciliation fix later. Which, you know, the Senate Democrats promise they will get around to. Lucy, meet football. From The Hill:

Miller conceded that the House may have to pass the healthcare bill first approved by the Senate in December before the Congress can take up a bill using the reconciliation process in order to make fixes to the Senate bill. Using that process, the Senate could approve those changes with only a simple majority vote, instead of the 60 votes usually needed to end a filibuster.

“That may require us to pass the Senate bill first and then send the reconciliation bill to the Senate for them to pass,” Miller said. “I think Sen. Reid believes he can put the votes together for that.”

Reid believes he can possibly get the votes together. . . wow! That is the kind of rock-solid, almost promise House Democrats can take to the bank! Just like how Reid believed he could get the votes together for a Senate bill with a public option. With 290 House bills waiting to be acted on in the Senate, House Democrats would be fools to buy any vague promises from Reid.

It is important to remember that there are not even 50 Senate Democrats currently on record saying they would support the general concept of a reconciliation sidecar. Even if 50 Democratic senators agree to move forward, there is no guarantee that, when negotiating the specifics, support for the reconciliation bill not fall apart. Given that Senate Democrats seem pretty proud of their bill, and that it is basically the bill Obama wanted all along, does anyone think that once the House passed the Senate bill, all the air wouldn’t go out of the push for reconciliation?

Do House Democrats actually think that Senate Democrats will pick up health care reform again after they pass the Senate bill–after they give Obama and the Senate the big “W?” If they do, they must have had their heads in the sand for the past year as their Senate colleagues basically ruined every bill they sent them. If the House acts first, they better be prepared to be left holding the bag and defending in midterm elections an incredibly unpopular bill that they had no say in writing.

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/02/26/george-mill... /

--------------------------------------------

Emanuel, Pelosi Meet In Capitol To Chart Health Care Course
By Ryan Grim
02-26-10

Rahm Emanuel ventured to the Capitol Friday evening to hash out health care strategy with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a White House aide confirmed.

The meeting comes as Democrats are searching for a way to get to the health care finish line, though neither chamber wants to move first. Senate leaders want the House to pass the Senate bill first, after which the Senate would use reconciliation to fix the legislation to the liking of the Senate. House leaders contend that the votes aren't there for the Senate bill if the upper chamber doesn't move. The House, after two centuries of watching the Senate lag behind, doesn't trust that it'll act.

Senior Hill aides speculated to HuffPost that Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, would bring the message that the House must move first, with a pledge from Senate Democrats that they would follow. It's hard to make amendments to a law through reconciliation if that law hasn't been made official yet, they argue.

Pelosi's office wouldn't confirm that the meeting, which was still ongoing as of the early evening, was taking place or comment on what Pelosi's reaction might be. A White House aide said he was unsure what message Emanuel would deliver.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/26/emanuel-pelosi-meet-in-ca_n_479095.html



So how many Democratic Senators have even called upon Senator Reid to include any kind of public option in a possible reconciliation bill .... 20? So what are the chances that any of the House proposals including a public option would be included in a reconciliation bill AFTER the House approves the Senate bill? Somewhere between zero and nothing.

Once the House approves the Senate healthcare bill it's a done deal. Obama signs it. I can hear the excuses now: "Now was someone talking about some sort of reconciliation bill? We'll, start working on it now and perhaps this summer something will be done .... or not. We do have many more important legislation that the Senate must work on .... so check back at the end of the year."

The House Healthcare bill is dead. The Senate healthcare bill without reconciliation may be passed by the House. If that happens, the insurance industry and big Pharma will be getting exactly what they were promised by President Obama. And the Republicans will be handed control of the Senate and White House in 2012 on a silver platter. They will surely launch a phoney "populist" attack on the insurance industry. The Republicans will promise a repeal of the health insurance industry legislation including the proposed tax on health insurance benefits and hated and mandatory "forced" purchase of private insurance.

[SlingBlade]

8. I Call Bull Shit !

These fucks will pay dearly if they pass this piece of shit corporate HCR bill regardless
of what they now claim. They are in control, No ifs, No Buts, No Bull Shit

So stop with the big bad republican's are gonna get'cha

They have already got us, Remember? 2000-2006 ? Remember 2006-2009 ? Remember ?


Why is this shit like watching old re-runs on TeeVee ?

"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are in control of the transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will turn up the volume. If we want it softer, we will turn it down. We control the horizontal and the vertical. We can alter the internal linkfocus, to sharpen or distort the picture. For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear. Believe me, there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to take an adventure. You are about to experience the awe which is associated with a journey to - The Outer Limits."

[laughingliberal]

11. Abso-fucking-lutely Disgusting! Not to mention stupid and naive. nt