February 26, 2010, 1:51 pm
Washington’s “Snowmageddon” may have already passed. But the storm still has the power to kill Washington’s health care reform talks, perhaps for good.
Take a look at where the health care reform process is now. Despite high hopes, Thursday’s much anticipated summit meeting did not seem to move the needle much. And yet, even with cannons to the left of them and cannons to the right of them, Democratic leadership vowed to charge forward.
“If nothing comes of this we’re going to press forward,” The Times quoted Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, as saying. “We just can’t quit. This is a once-in-a-political-lifetime opportunity to deal with a health care system that is really unsustainable.”
The implication is that Democrats regard the impasse as an extension; health care reform is, after all, a long-term question, and not one that had to be resolved by Thursday, per se. But how long will this “once-in-a-political-lifetime opportunity” to address the long-term issue last?
My guess: The deadline is probably one week from today, when the February jobs report comes out.
That report will probably be very, very ugly. I have seen some forecasters project job losses as high as 100,000.
The main culprit behind the expected jobs plunge is the blizzard, which closed businesses and kept people from going to work or even seeking work for days and sometimes weeks. These work stoppages probably occurred precisely when the government was collecting data for its February jobs report.
The Labor Department is of course very aware that the blizzard will distort its numbers. In fact, labor officials will probably try to isolate the effects of the storm from all the other data so economists can get a better sense of what’s going on in the economy. Offcials did this after previous major weather events like the 1996 East Coast blizzard and Hurricane Katrina.
But even though everyone will know that “snowmageddon,” and not President Obama, is really at fault for the poor report, the headline number may still be shocking enough to sufficiently discredit economic policy of Democrats. And all other economic policy debates, including health care which will be set against this backdrop of the Democrats’ failed stewardship of the economy.
Worsening economic dysfunction, at least when it comes to Main Streeters, sends a powerful message to Americans who believe that Democrats want a “government takeover of 17 percent of the United States economy.”
After all, if you were a Republican hell-bent on derailing health care reform, that's what I'd do.
Showing posts with label republicans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label republicans. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Obama to GOP on health care: `Let's get this done'
Associated Press -
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday he is ready to compromise with Republicans on health care if they are serious about it, but that an overhaul must go forward. "Let's get this done," he said.
Obama's comments in his weekly Internet and radio address, two days after an all-day bipartisan summit across from the White House, were the latest sign that Democrats are getting set to try to pass health care legislation without any Republicans on board.
Success will require colossal efforts on the part of Obama and Democratic leaders to round up votes after a year of corrosive debate and a Senate special-election upset that threw the overhaul effort into limbo last month. But Obama and the Democrats reject the piecemeal approach sought by Republicans and have no intention of scrapping their 10-year, $1 trillion bill and starting over, as the GOP demands.
"I am eager and willing to move forward with members of both parties on health care if the other side is serious about coming together to resolve our differences and get this done. But I also believe that we cannot lose the opportunity to meet this challenge," Obama said.
"The tens of millions of men and women who cannot afford their health insurance cannot wait another generation for us to act. Small businesses cannot wait. Americans with pre-existing conditions cannot wait. State and federal budgets cannot sustain these rising costs.
"It is time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities to the American people and to future generations," Obama said.
Obama's legislation would insure some 30 million more Americans over 10 years with a new requirement for nearly everyone to carry insurance and would end insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with medical problems. Republicans generally oppose mandates that make everyone get insurance, and although they want people with health conditions to be able to buy insurance, they would try to address the problem without new requirements on insurers.
Obama plans to release an updated proposal in the week ahead, likely on Wednesday, according to press secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs suggested it would include concepts put forward by Republicans at the summit. One attendee, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., was contacted Friday by the White House and asked to submit details of suggestions he made to tackle waste and fraud in the medical system, Coburn's spokesman said.
John Hart said Coburn views Obama's legislation as a government takeover and would not be able to support it even if it includes some of his proposals.
Adding Republican ideas is not likely to win Republican votes because the GOP insists Democrats should start from scratch. But Obama would be able to say that he'd listened to Republicans and attempted to meet them part way. Moving ahead may mean using Senate rules that would let Democrats pass legislation with a simple majority instead of the 60 vote they no longer command.
The approach infuriates Republicans and is opposed by some Democratic moderates because of its partisan nature.
Coburn, in the GOP's weekly address, argued against a Democrats-only bill.
"Unfortunately, even before the summit took place the majority in Congress signaled its intent to reject our offers to work together," Coburn said. "Instead they want to use procedural tricks and back-room deals to ram through a new bill that combines the worst aspects of the bills the Senate and House passed last year."
"The American people are telling us to scrap the current bills, which will lead to a government takeover of health care, and we should start over," Coburn said.
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday he is ready to compromise with Republicans on health care if they are serious about it, but that an overhaul must go forward. "Let's get this done," he said.
Obama's comments in his weekly Internet and radio address, two days after an all-day bipartisan summit across from the White House, were the latest sign that Democrats are getting set to try to pass health care legislation without any Republicans on board.
Success will require colossal efforts on the part of Obama and Democratic leaders to round up votes after a year of corrosive debate and a Senate special-election upset that threw the overhaul effort into limbo last month. But Obama and the Democrats reject the piecemeal approach sought by Republicans and have no intention of scrapping their 10-year, $1 trillion bill and starting over, as the GOP demands.
"I am eager and willing to move forward with members of both parties on health care if the other side is serious about coming together to resolve our differences and get this done. But I also believe that we cannot lose the opportunity to meet this challenge," Obama said.
"It is time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities to the American people and to future generations," Obama said.
Obama's legislation would insure some 30 million more Americans over 10 years with a new requirement for nearly everyone to carry insurance and would end insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with medical problems. Republicans generally oppose mandates that make everyone get insurance, and although they want people with health conditions to be able to buy insurance, they would try to address the problem without new requirements on insurers.
Obama plans to release an updated proposal in the week ahead, likely on Wednesday, according to press secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs suggested it would include concepts put forward by Republicans at the summit. One attendee, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., was contacted Friday by the White House and asked to submit details of suggestions he made to tackle waste and fraud in the medical system, Coburn's spokesman said.
John Hart said Coburn views Obama's legislation as a government takeover and would not be able to support it even if it includes some of his proposals.
Adding Republican ideas is not likely to win Republican votes because the GOP insists Democrats should start from scratch. But Obama would be able to say that he'd listened to Republicans and attempted to meet them part way. Moving ahead may mean using Senate rules that would let Democrats pass legislation with a simple majority instead of the 60 vote they no longer command.
The approach infuriates Republicans and is opposed by some Democratic moderates because of its partisan nature.
Coburn, in the GOP's weekly address, argued against a Democrats-only bill.
"Unfortunately, even before the summit took place the majority in Congress signaled its intent to reject our offers to work together," Coburn said. "Instead they want to use procedural tricks and back-room deals to ram through a new bill that combines the worst aspects of the bills the Senate and House passed last year."
"The American people are telling us to scrap the current bills, which will lead to a government takeover of health care, and we should start over," Coburn said.
Friday, February 26, 2010
After healthcare summit: What's next?
Washington
After a day-long White House summit on healthcare, Republicans returning to the Senate said that President Obama and the Democrats appear ready to go it alone on this issue.
“They’re not interested in putting a 2,700-page bill on the shelf,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, referring to GOP demands that the president start over with a step-by-step approach, focusing on issues on which there is broad agreement.
At the end of the summit, Mr. Obama said, “I did not propose something complicated just for the sake of being complicated.” He added, “The reason we didn’t do it is it turns out baby steps don’t get you to the place where people need to go.”
To get a bill without 41 Senate Republicans means resorting to a process called reconciliation. The process allows measures that meet certain budget criteria to pass by a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes now typical for major bills.
In the dictionary, “reconciliation” means bringing together, conciliation, or fence mending. But on the floor of the US Senate, it’s pure procedural warfare.
Liberal activists are urging Democrats to get back to the principle of majority rule in the Senate, now seen as the graveyard for much of the Obama agenda. But moderate Democrats are wary of a move that could further alienate the public from a comprehensive healthcare reform.
A new Gallup poll, released Thursday, reports that most Americans oppose using reconciliation, by a margin of 52 percent to 39 percent. Nine percent were unsure.
On Feb. 23, Sen. Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia, the leading in-house defender of the Senate traditions, urged his colleagues to allow filibusters to run their course and not change rules to block them.
“The Senate is the only place in government where the rights of a numerical minority are so protected. Majorities change with elections. A minority can be right, and minority views can certainly improve legislation,” he wrote in a letter to his Senate colleagues.
“Extended deliberation and debate – when employed judiciously – protect every senator, and the interests of their constituency, and are essential to the protection of the liberties of a free people,” he added.
Sen. Kent Conrad (D) of North Dakota, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, says that there could be a role for reconciliation in the healthcare debate, but only “in a very limited way”: First, the House must pass the Senate bill, then use reconciliation procedures to “fix” the bill. “You cannot do the whole healthcare bill through reconciliation. It will not work,” he adds.
If Democrats opt to push healthcare reform through the Senate using reconciliation, “the opposition to it would be bipartisan,” said Senator McConnell after the summit.
After a day-long White House summit on healthcare, Republicans returning to the Senate said that President Obama and the Democrats appear ready to go it alone on this issue.
“They’re not interested in putting a 2,700-page bill on the shelf,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, referring to GOP demands that the president start over with a step-by-step approach, focusing on issues on which there is broad agreement.
At the end of the summit, Mr. Obama said, “I did not propose something complicated just for the sake of being complicated.” He added, “The reason we didn’t do it is it turns out baby steps don’t get you to the place where people need to go.”
To get a bill without 41 Senate Republicans means resorting to a process called reconciliation. The process allows measures that meet certain budget criteria to pass by a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes now typical for major bills.
In the dictionary, “reconciliation” means bringing together, conciliation, or fence mending. But on the floor of the US Senate, it’s pure procedural warfare.
Liberal activists are urging Democrats to get back to the principle of majority rule in the Senate, now seen as the graveyard for much of the Obama agenda. But moderate Democrats are wary of a move that could further alienate the public from a comprehensive healthcare reform.
A new Gallup poll, released Thursday, reports that most Americans oppose using reconciliation, by a margin of 52 percent to 39 percent. Nine percent were unsure.
On Feb. 23, Sen. Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia, the leading in-house defender of the Senate traditions, urged his colleagues to allow filibusters to run their course and not change rules to block them.
“The Senate is the only place in government where the rights of a numerical minority are so protected. Majorities change with elections. A minority can be right, and minority views can certainly improve legislation,” he wrote in a letter to his Senate colleagues.
“Extended deliberation and debate – when employed judiciously – protect every senator, and the interests of their constituency, and are essential to the protection of the liberties of a free people,” he added.
Sen. Kent Conrad (D) of North Dakota, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, says that there could be a role for reconciliation in the healthcare debate, but only “in a very limited way”: First, the House must pass the Senate bill, then use reconciliation procedures to “fix” the bill. “You cannot do the whole healthcare bill through reconciliation. It will not work,” he adds.
If Democrats opt to push healthcare reform through the Senate using reconciliation, “the opposition to it would be bipartisan,” said Senator McConnell after the summit.
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