George Wenschhof
Yesterday, President Obama visited the House Democrats on the Hill on the eve of the historic vote on health care reform. He concluded with "We're Going to Get This Done".
Today, is the day health care reform will finally pass - the House vote is likely to take place around 3:00 PM ET and we will post the results of the vote. Jon Larson (D-Conn.), who is the House Democratic caucus leader, said today on ABC "This Week", "We have the votes". Politico.com has more here.
Yet, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), appearing on NBC "Meet The Press" this morning, tells David Gregory we're not there yet. However, Hoyer believes they will receive the 216 votes needed to pass the bill. Politico.com has more here. Politico.com has the whip count at 210 this morning for Democrats.
I hope that is true as our country has gone too long being the only industrialized nation without a form of national health care. More needs to be done to make the bill better in the future, including the inclusion of the "public option", but this is a great start and a basis to build upon.
If, this passes today in the House, Democrats can be proud their Representatives did not shrink from doing what was right, in spite of the bombardment of misinformation and outright lies from many Republicans.
The NY Times is reporting today that Democrats have 207 "Yes" votes for certain and 28 "No" votes for certain, leaving 18 Democrats still on the fence. 9 of the 18 fence sitters will need to vote "Yes" for the bill to pass with the 216 vote minimum number needed. The NY Times has more here.
Also yesterday, House Democratic leadership decided against using the "Slaughter rule" know as "Deem and Pass" and there will be an up or down vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) also said no to any side votes to appease Bart Stupak (D-Mich) who has argued against existing abortion language in the Senate bill. Stupak cancelled a news conference he had scheduled for 11:00 AM yesterday. TheHill.com has more here.
Under consideration to help appease Rep. Stupak and what appears to be another 5-6 votes would be the president issuing an executive order reaffirming the Hyde amendment which says no federal monies would be used to fund abortions.
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Sunday, March 21, 2010
Health Care Reform Update 3-21-2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Daily Democratic Wire 3-5-2010
George Wenschhof
President Barack Obama will visit a small business in Arlington, Virginia this morning - he will discuss clean energy and job creation. The new jobless report has unemployment remaining at 9.7% which is better than expected after the horrific snowstorms across the country during the past month. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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Separate legislation may be solution to gain Stupak support for health care reform - Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) has opposed the current Senate version as he claims it provides for abortion payments and has threatened he has as many as 12 more democrats who will vote against the bill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) believes passing another piece of legislation should satisfy Stupak. TheHill.com has more here.
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Representative William Delahunt (D-Mass.) becomes 17th House Democrat to announce retirement - he indicated he had informed the late Senator Ted Kennedy he wanted to retire prior to the last election but was talked out of it by Kennedy who said new president elect Obama was going to need him. Interestingly, his district was won by Scott Brown in the recent senate election. The Boston Globe has more here.
Chris Cillizza, in his Washington post Blog "The Fix" speculates on the Democrats who may run for his seat. You can read it here.
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Meanwhile, Representative Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) delays resignation from House - he will stay until the health care reform vote and cast his "no" vote. There are 3 vacancies in the House and with 432 members, Democrats will need 217 votes. The House Health Care Reform version passed last November with a 220-215 vote. The NY Times "The Caucus" Blog has more here.
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Representative Sander Levin (D-Mich.) takes helm of House Ways and Means Committee - yesterday, it was reported that Pete Stark (D-Calf.) the next in line in seniority to Charles Rangel (D-NY), had been named. Stark took himself out of the running after colleagues suggested he do so. Politico.com has more here.
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Senate deliberation continues on finance reform - you would think after a near collapse of the U.S. economy, a 700 billion bail out bill, government need to take ownership in auto maker companies and high unemployment that this bill would have received the most attention from Congress and quick passage.
But, that has not been the case as obstructionist Republicans in the senate have objected to the creation of a Consumer Finance Protection Agency. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chair of the senate banking committee and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) have been working on a compromise which would place the consumer finance protection agency inside the Federal Reserve. A bizarre compromise as the federal reserve deals with monetary policy only.
In case you have not seen this yet, below is a hilarious video produced by Ron Howard with past and present SNL actors portraying past and present Presidents who support the creation of the Consumer Finance Protection Agency.
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