From TPM:
Six key Senate Centrists--Ben Nelson (D-NE), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Ron Wyden (D-OR)--are asking Democratic and Republican leaders to slow down the pace of health care reform efforts.
"[I]n the view of [CBO Director Doug Elmendorf's] statement, there is much heavy lifting ahead," reads a letter the group signed today. "We look forward to working with you to develop legislation that is vital to the well-being of the American people and urge you to resist timelines which prevent us from achieving the best results."
One Republican's view:
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) on the stakes in delaying a health care vote past August: "If we're able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him."
Mary, Mary, quite contrary Democrat, that's just what we want, isn't it? To break our Democratic president early in his administration.
I know that the health insurance and drug companies give you a lot of money, but really, have you totally forgotten that you have constituents in need of your help NOW? They are hurting NOW.
From Public Campaign Action Fund:
* According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Sen. Landrieu has raised $1,668,693 from health care and insurance interests throughout her federal political career.
* Of the $1,668,693 in health care and insurance money Sen. Landrieu has raised, just 36% came from in state donors, with 64% coming from out of state interests.
* Sen. Landrieu has received substantial contributions throught her career from leading health care industries, including HMOs and pharmaceutical companies:
Health Professionals $600,366
Insurance $376,731
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $266,645
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $228,446
Health Services/HMOs $160,005
* Sen. Landrieu has also received $677,014 from registered lobbyists and their political action committees throughout her career.
* Sen. Landrieu has received large contributions from some of the largest companies and groups in the health care and insurance industries.
There's more at the link.
Mimi,
ReplyDeleteI have no brief for Sen. Landrieu, but let me suggest there is something worse than no healthcare bill. That is a bad bill. Given the president's backing off some of the tax ideas and the CBO estimates that nothing pending now will actually reduce costs, clearly the Congress has not done its homework. Pushing a bill to have a bill is bad public policy as Mr. Obama seems to understand. Pushing a good bill is another matter. Taking a deep breath and few months seems to me a good idea.
FWIW
jimB
Sunlight is a good disinfectant.
ReplyDeleteJim, Mary is against the public option. I believe the public option is essential. That's her main beef - the public option.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I'm not wedded to the present plan. The rest of the details can be worked out, but I'm NOT for delay. The time is now, or it will not get done.
Paul, my small efforts are, very likely, for nothing, but I feel better after shining a little light.
ReplyDeleteMimi, I think that the faster the government moves on health care, the more likely it will pass. The Portland Press Herald had this about Collins and Snowe. They're usually pretty solid, so I pray they're not in the same league as your Mary.
ReplyDeleteAmelia, if you read the first paragraph of the quote from TPM, you will see that Olympia Snowe is in the mix.
ReplyDeleteI saw that and that's why I suggested the link. They may be asking for the slow-down for different reasons. I checked on Snowe from your link to see if she gets a lot of money from big pharma and the insurers. She does get some, but generally seems to support health care reform. The article from the PPH is an apologetic as to why the want the slowdown. It could well be bogus.
ReplyDelete"It will break him." De Mint may very well be right. I still believe that the principal cause of the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress was the way that the Democrats, whoring themselves out to commercial interests, killed the Clintons attempt to introduce universal health care. The three "moderate" Democrats in this group, plus the senator from Tel Aviv, are playing the same game. Collins & Snowe have some slight excuse. As the last vestige of New England Liberal Republicanism they have a party balancing act to play, but I suspect that they will come round - probably have to if they hope to survive politically.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, as these people fiddle with their "consciences" (Lieberman? Conscience?) and with the demands of those who have bought them, those without health insurance will continue to die.
Amelia and Lapin, the way I read that "sefety net" business in the article is that the senators will exclude the public option, which will make the bill a failure in my eyes, and will not save money, because the safety net will include only those people whom the insurance companies don't want, because their care will be costly. Insurance is about spreading the risk, but the insurance companies don't want to carry the really sick people who need health care the most.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm suspicious of anything at all that Lieberman wants.
I'd bet a good sum that if the health care bill doesn't pass before the August recess, it won't happen.
I don't like the safety net idea either. It might work as a stop-gap measure, but only if the plan is to insure everyone soon. I will not take you up on that bet.
ReplyDeleteAlmost Nobel Laureate Krugman has a good piece in NYT today about the 6 "centrists" ;=)
ReplyDelete(I say almost because the Economy prize is only founded by the Riksbank to celebrate its 300 years in 1966).
Göran, I could not find the Krugman column. Do you have a link?
ReplyDelete