The measure would change the massive Senate-approved health bill to what bargainers from the White House, Senate and House agreed to last month, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said in a brief interview.
WASHINGTON – Leading lawmakers hoping to revive President Barack Obama's stalled health care overhaul have started writing a compromise bill, but it's unclear when the legislation will be ready for votes, a top House Democrat said Tuesday. The measure would change the massive Senate-approved health bill to what bargainers from the White House, Senate and House agreed to last month, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said in a brief interview. Rangel's remarks, if borne out, could be the first concrete sign that Democrats will try enacting major health legislation in the wake of the Republican upset in a Massachusetts special election that cost them their crucial 60th Senate seat. Stunned by that setback, the White House and top Democrats have been conceding that they no longer know if they have the votes to pass health legislation, or what such a bill would look like. In January, White House and congressional negotiators agreed to ease a Senate-approved tax on high-cost health insurance plans opposed by unions and many House Democrats. They also planned to remove a Senate provision having the federal government fully pay for an expansion of Medicaid coverage solely for Nebraska, one of whose senators, Democrat Ben Nelson, was the crucial 60th vote for the Senate bill at the time. Rangel said leaders have to decide whether the health package would begin moving before or after Congress tackles legislation aimed at creating jobs.
"The question is when are we going to do it," said Rangel, who chairs the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. "We got to move on with jobs. It's not clear to me what the priority is going to be." He said a fight between liberal and conservative Democrats over how to limit federal financing for abortion remains unresolved. In a remark underscoring the political sensitivities Democrats have about their two top issues, Rangel said, "The major things we're talking about now are, one, don't let health care even look like it's not on the front burner. And don't forget that the priority of people in their districts is jobs." The measure Rangel discussed would be a so-called reconciliation bill, a seldom-used procedure that only requires a simple majority of votes for Senate passage. He said he believed both chambers could muster the votes needed for passage, despite virtually unanimous GOP opposition. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also voiced optimism about the approach in a conference call Tuesday with bloggers, while cautioning that final decisions to move forward remained to be made.
"We will not be deterred from this course of getting something done one way or another, and I'm hoping it will ... be mainly by passing the comprehensive bill. That's our plan," Pelosi said. Pelosi also said the House plans to vote next week on a small element of the massive health bill it approved in November stripping insurance companies of their decades-old exemption from certain federal antitrust laws. Pelosi's office provided audio of the conference call. Industry analysts see the effort as largely symbolic as courts have long allowed federal regulators to intervene when competition could be jeopardized. Also Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., emerged from a meeting with Pelosi to say no decisions had been made about the health bill. Reid said a scenario in which the House produces a reconciliation package "seems like a strong possibility," but is not the only option.
In a separate interview, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who was Obama's first pick to lead the health care effort, said he thinks Democrats are back on track to finishing a bill. "The bottom line is that this is still doable" because many Democrats realize they may take a bigger hit politically if they fail to deliver a bill, Daschle said. Republicans will still use the legislation to attack them, but Democrats won't have any of the overhaul's benefits to defend themselves unless they approve it.
"I don't think any of this is easy to solve," he said, adding that the likeliest window for action would be between the Presidents' Day recess and the late March break for Easter and Passover.
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Kevin Haendiges
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I would like to see the House just pass the Health Care Bill already passed by the Senate. The Senate bill has a provision in it, that is not in the House bill, that would greatly increase physician reimbursements for the medical specialty which constitutes most of my practice.
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"There is nothing in the world like a persuasive speech to fuddle the mental apparatus and upset the convictions and debauch the emotions of an audience not practiced in the tricks and delusions of oratory." --American author and humorist Mark Twain (1835-1910)
I would like to see the House just pass the Health Care Bill already passed by the Senate. The Senate bill has a provision in it, that is not in the House bill, that would greatly increase physician reimbursements for the medical specialty which constitutes most of my practice.
Hope you're kidding! That bill will cut your compensation by an additional 15% right out the gate. Then because you are a member of a small, "well to do" group, they'll demonize you just like the bankers, Wall Street workers, et al, and cap your compensation at a "reasonable" rate. A news article yesterday said the Premier, or whatever they call the political leader of Nova Scotia (Canadian system) just travelled to the U.S. for heart surgery. That's a rousing endorsement for the Canadian system. Congress has exempted themselves from the Senate bill! THAT's an even a bigger vote of confidence! How about we ask them to limit tort liability/malpractice claims and allow insurance sales across state lines. Then sit back and see if that works before we turn this country's health care ystem into Bulgaria.
Yes is the short answer to your original question. The pols are stuck on stupid. Most Americans wanted the current health insurance issue improved but not the ways the pols are trying to do. There are better ways to reduce costs, make health insurance more affordable and also tailor plans better for individuals. Obama isn't listening just like Hillary didn't and it's going to cost him politically also.
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If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Most Americans wanted the current health insurance issue improved but not the ways the pols are trying to do. There are better ways to reduce costs, make health insurance more affordable and also tailor plans better for individuals. also.
I think the key word there is "improved." There is nothing in the House Bill, or the Senate bill that even comes close to improving anything. It is even worse than that.The American people have come to the conclusion that this proposed government healthcare has absolutely nothing to do with health care, and everything to do with government. You know it is pretty bad when they can't even get Snow or Collins to go along with it.
They have insulted the intelligence of the American people, and their payday is coming. Or as I like to say Jubilees a cumin'....for us anyway. They may be uniting the American people in a way they never even dreamed.
C. Davis
__________________ Am I greedy because I don't want to give you what is mine?
or
Are you greedy because you want to take what is not yours?
Yep, they are stuck on stupid. The Democrats have wasted one entire year on their healthcare monstrosity. Nothing else is getting done. The first priority should have been the re-regulation of the derivative market. The Democrats have done nothing to fix the problems that caused the Wall St. meltdown. Instead, they have made it much worse by coddling their Wall St. donors who created the meltdown.
The Rep's would have it no other way. Glad you voted for the party of "NO" and "Obstruction" all the while they sit and do nothing but vote no and you are happy.
Simply amazing. If you don't see the incredible problem with Healthcare you are very misinformed. If there is one thing that is a deterrant to hiring more people it is certainly the fact that we provide them with insurance and that cost is going up 40% per year.
Remember how well the "Hands off" do nothing guys did in the early 2,000's.
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
Posts: 24,185
Quote:
Originally Posted by WillPA
falcon
The Rep's would have it no other way. Glad you voted for the party of "NO" and "Obstruction" all the while they sit and do nothing but vote no and you are happy.
Simply amazing. If you don't see the incredible problem with Healthcare you are very misinformed. If there is one thing that is a deterrant to hiring more people it is certainly the fact that we provide them with insurance and that cost is going up 40% per year.
Remember how well the "Hands off" do nothing guys did in the early 2,000's.
What are you talking about? Being a big CEO, you should know an employer does not have to provide insurance (not yet). We provided insurance for one of our businesses and not for the other. One was a oil well service, that employed 100s of people. The rate was low enough that we could provided it to everyone, free. Yet at our grocery store, we did not. We had a few chashiers and a few sack/stock personal, so we did not provided it, until we opened a few more stores and created a coupon clearing house. That way we had enough employees to get a group rate.
But what do we expect, you have done nothing but spout the Demo talking points. The very talking points (with no action or true meaning) that is going to gut the Demo party. FYI, the "party of NO" has had suggestions, but why am I even trying to point that out. You still believe that being locked out of rooms, while bribes are going on, obstructionisim. Never mind, Ill just go talk to the wall. It has a deeper thought process.
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kaafir mushrik
Unintended consequences and God have one thing in common: Liberals don’t believe in either of them.
Are pols just stuck on stupid?
