QUOTE
November 22, 2009
Democrats Clinch Vote on Health Debate
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and ROBERT PEAR
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats said they had clinched the votes needed on Saturday to propel major health care legislation to the floor for weeks of full debate, as the majority party’s two last holdouts said that they would not block consideration of President Obama’s top domestic initiative.
Both senators, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, cautioned that their support on what was expected to be a party-line vote on Saturday evening did not guarantee that they would ultimately vote for the bill itself. And their comments signaled that more horse-trading lies ahead when the vigorous debate and amendment attempts begin after Thanksgiving. Big changes might be required if the bill is to be approved.
Still, the decision by the two senators set the stage for a crucial preliminary victory and an important psychological boost for the Democrats, who spent Saturday laying out their arguments for the bill, condemning the practices of insurers and decrying the plight of the uninsured in a parade of floor speeches aimed at cementing party unity.
“I have decided there are enough significant reforms and safeguards in this bill to move forward, but much more work needs to be done,” Ms. Landrieu said.
Mrs. Lincoln, who faces a tough re-election campaign next year, said that her decision was not driven by political considerations.
“Although I don’t agree with everything in this bill, I believe it is more important that we begin debate on how to improve the health care system for all Americans,” she said, adding, “The vote tonight will mark the beginning of consideration of this bill by the full U.S. Senate not the end.”
Mrs. Lincoln said flatly that she would continue to oppose a government-run program like the public option that is now part of the legislation — signalling that more parliamentary maneuvering lies ahead.
Senate Republicans, powerless to keep the bill from reaching the floor unless they could break the ranks of the Democrat majority, countered with an impassioned denunciation of the measure as an ill-conceived, budget-busting expansion of government and a threat to the health and economic security of all Americans, especially the elderly.
With the Democrats nominally controlling 60 votes — the precise number needed to overcome the Republican attempt to stop the bill in its tracks — the procedural vote on Saturday evening loomed as the biggest test yet of the Democrat’s resolve and of the ability of the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, to unite his fragile caucus.
“Last year 750,000 Americans filed bankruptcy,” Mr. Reid said in a speech opening the debate. “Over half of those bankruptcies were because of medical expenses.
Over half of the people who filed bankruptcy because of medical expenses had health insurance. Don’t we need to do something on health insurance reform? Of course we do.”
Mr. Reid accused Republicans who oppose the legislation of “living in a different world,” and accused them of cowering from the debate.
“The health insurance industry has an insatiable appetite for more profit,” he said.
For their part, the Republicans sought to turn the test vote, technically a vote to end the preliminary debate on a motion to bring up the health bill for full debate, into a proxy for the bill itself and to shake the confidence of Democrats who have wavered in recent days.
“We know that Americans oppose this bill,” said the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, citing poll results. “They are not buying the claim that this legislation would do anything whatsoever to lower our nation’s staggering costs.”
Calling the bill a “monstrosity,” he added, “The experts agree with the public opinion polls that this 2,074-page bill is a budget buster.”
Mr. McConnell warned of the political consequences for senators who vote to move ahead.
“Senators who support this bill have a lot of explaining to do,” he said. “Americans know that a vote to proceed on this bill, to get on this bill, is a vote for higher premiums, higher taxes and massive cuts to Medicare.”
Republicans also said the test vote was a proxy for a larger dispute over abortion, because they said the bill did not sufficiently restrict the use of federal funds for insurance covering abortions.
Senator Mike Johanns, Republican of Nebraska, said, “The motion to proceed is the key vote on abortion in the health care debate — the most important vote a pro-life senator will cast.”
Saturday night’s procedural vote was required because Senate rules and precedent have long granted a right of virtually unlimited debate, or filibuster, to the minority. Because all 40 Republicans are expected to oppose the procedural motion to begin debate, Mr. Reid needs the unanimous support of all 60 members of his caucus — 58 Democrats and two independents who align with them.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, on Saturday morning assailed the Republicans as obstructionists.
“I will vote today to end the filibuster so the Senate can begin the historic debate to improve and reform our nation’s health insurance system,” he said. “Let’s not duck the debate, let the debate begin. Let’s not hide from the votes, let’s have the courage to stand up and vote.”
The health care bill, unveiled by Mr. Reid on Wednesday evening, seeks to extend health benefits to roughly 31 million Americans who are now uninsured, at a cost of $848 billion over 10 years.
It would do so by broadly expanding Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor, and by providing subsidies to help moderate-income people buy either private insurance or coverage under a new government-run plan, known as the public option.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the cost of the legislation would be more than offset by new taxes and fees and reductions in government spending, so that the bill would reduce future federal budget deficits by $130 billion through 2019.
In her floor speech, Ms. Landrieu highlighted a number of issues she wanted addressed in the weeks ahead, methodically cataloging provisions of the bill that she liked and those that she said needed improvement.
Under the bill, she said, owners of small businesses would no longer face "volatile costs" for health insurance. In addition, she said, the bill would "encourage employers to move away from high-cost benefit plans” and shift some compensation to wages, so workers might get more take-home pay.
Because of federal subsidies that would be provided for the purchase of insurance, Ms. Landrieu said, most families in Louisiana "would pay no more than 10 percent of their income on health care.”
But she said, "A great deal more work needs to be done.”
The bill, which would affect virtually every American, would reshape the health care industry, which accounts for nearly one-sixth of the nation’s economy. It also seeks to slow substantially the growth in government spending on Medicare, which covers Americans 65 and older.
Republicans have accused the Democrats of using an array of financing gimmicks to create the appearance that the bill would reduce federal deficits, including a delay in the implementation of most of the legislation’s major provisions until Jan. 1, 2014.
Mr. McConnell, in his opening speech, asserted that the bill would actually cost the nation $2.5 trillion — a claim that Democrats dismiss as wildly overstated and a political attack intended to distort the debate.
In making their calculation, the Republicans note that major provisions of the bill, like the expansion of Medicaid and subsidies to help people buy insurance, do not take effect until 2014.
Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said: “Many revenue components in the bill begin to kick in next year, on Jan. 1, 2010. But much of the spending in the bill would be deferred until much later, not taking effect until Jan. 1, 2014. That distorts the true picture of what this legislation would cost.”
The $2.5 trillion figure reflects the cost from 2014 to 2023, Republicans said, while the $848 billion figure is for 2010 to 2019
Democrats said that the bill would actually save more money than the Congressional Budget Office has predicted, because the office does not calculate the potential savings from prevention and wellness programs that cannot be directly attributed to the legislation and to federal spending.
“We get no credit for all the wellness things we do in this bill,” Mr. Reid said. “In spite of that, everything in this bill is fully paid for, it reduces short- and long-term debt, it expands coverage.”
Carl Hulse contributed reporting.
Democrats Clinch Vote on Health Debate
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and ROBERT PEAR
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats said they had clinched the votes needed on Saturday to propel major health care legislation to the floor for weeks of full debate, as the majority party’s two last holdouts said that they would not block consideration of President Obama’s top domestic initiative.
Both senators, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, cautioned that their support on what was expected to be a party-line vote on Saturday evening did not guarantee that they would ultimately vote for the bill itself. And their comments signaled that more horse-trading lies ahead when the vigorous debate and amendment attempts begin after Thanksgiving. Big changes might be required if the bill is to be approved.
Still, the decision by the two senators set the stage for a crucial preliminary victory and an important psychological boost for the Democrats, who spent Saturday laying out their arguments for the bill, condemning the practices of insurers and decrying the plight of the uninsured in a parade of floor speeches aimed at cementing party unity.
“I have decided there are enough significant reforms and safeguards in this bill to move forward, but much more work needs to be done,” Ms. Landrieu said.
Mrs. Lincoln, who faces a tough re-election campaign next year, said that her decision was not driven by political considerations.
“Although I don’t agree with everything in this bill, I believe it is more important that we begin debate on how to improve the health care system for all Americans,” she said, adding, “The vote tonight will mark the beginning of consideration of this bill by the full U.S. Senate not the end.”
Mrs. Lincoln said flatly that she would continue to oppose a government-run program like the public option that is now part of the legislation — signalling that more parliamentary maneuvering lies ahead.
Senate Republicans, powerless to keep the bill from reaching the floor unless they could break the ranks of the Democrat majority, countered with an impassioned denunciation of the measure as an ill-conceived, budget-busting expansion of government and a threat to the health and economic security of all Americans, especially the elderly.
With the Democrats nominally controlling 60 votes — the precise number needed to overcome the Republican attempt to stop the bill in its tracks — the procedural vote on Saturday evening loomed as the biggest test yet of the Democrat’s resolve and of the ability of the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, to unite his fragile caucus.
“Last year 750,000 Americans filed bankruptcy,” Mr. Reid said in a speech opening the debate. “Over half of those bankruptcies were because of medical expenses.
Over half of the people who filed bankruptcy because of medical expenses had health insurance. Don’t we need to do something on health insurance reform? Of course we do.”
Mr. Reid accused Republicans who oppose the legislation of “living in a different world,” and accused them of cowering from the debate.
“The health insurance industry has an insatiable appetite for more profit,” he said.
For their part, the Republicans sought to turn the test vote, technically a vote to end the preliminary debate on a motion to bring up the health bill for full debate, into a proxy for the bill itself and to shake the confidence of Democrats who have wavered in recent days.
“We know that Americans oppose this bill,” said the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, citing poll results. “They are not buying the claim that this legislation would do anything whatsoever to lower our nation’s staggering costs.”
Calling the bill a “monstrosity,” he added, “The experts agree with the public opinion polls that this 2,074-page bill is a budget buster.”
Mr. McConnell warned of the political consequences for senators who vote to move ahead.
“Senators who support this bill have a lot of explaining to do,” he said. “Americans know that a vote to proceed on this bill, to get on this bill, is a vote for higher premiums, higher taxes and massive cuts to Medicare.”
Republicans also said the test vote was a proxy for a larger dispute over abortion, because they said the bill did not sufficiently restrict the use of federal funds for insurance covering abortions.
Senator Mike Johanns, Republican of Nebraska, said, “The motion to proceed is the key vote on abortion in the health care debate — the most important vote a pro-life senator will cast.”
Saturday night’s procedural vote was required because Senate rules and precedent have long granted a right of virtually unlimited debate, or filibuster, to the minority. Because all 40 Republicans are expected to oppose the procedural motion to begin debate, Mr. Reid needs the unanimous support of all 60 members of his caucus — 58 Democrats and two independents who align with them.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, on Saturday morning assailed the Republicans as obstructionists.
“I will vote today to end the filibuster so the Senate can begin the historic debate to improve and reform our nation’s health insurance system,” he said. “Let’s not duck the debate, let the debate begin. Let’s not hide from the votes, let’s have the courage to stand up and vote.”
The health care bill, unveiled by Mr. Reid on Wednesday evening, seeks to extend health benefits to roughly 31 million Americans who are now uninsured, at a cost of $848 billion over 10 years.
It would do so by broadly expanding Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor, and by providing subsidies to help moderate-income people buy either private insurance or coverage under a new government-run plan, known as the public option.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the cost of the legislation would be more than offset by new taxes and fees and reductions in government spending, so that the bill would reduce future federal budget deficits by $130 billion through 2019.
In her floor speech, Ms. Landrieu highlighted a number of issues she wanted addressed in the weeks ahead, methodically cataloging provisions of the bill that she liked and those that she said needed improvement.
Under the bill, she said, owners of small businesses would no longer face "volatile costs" for health insurance. In addition, she said, the bill would "encourage employers to move away from high-cost benefit plans” and shift some compensation to wages, so workers might get more take-home pay.
Because of federal subsidies that would be provided for the purchase of insurance, Ms. Landrieu said, most families in Louisiana "would pay no more than 10 percent of their income on health care.”
But she said, "A great deal more work needs to be done.”
The bill, which would affect virtually every American, would reshape the health care industry, which accounts for nearly one-sixth of the nation’s economy. It also seeks to slow substantially the growth in government spending on Medicare, which covers Americans 65 and older.
Republicans have accused the Democrats of using an array of financing gimmicks to create the appearance that the bill would reduce federal deficits, including a delay in the implementation of most of the legislation’s major provisions until Jan. 1, 2014.
Mr. McConnell, in his opening speech, asserted that the bill would actually cost the nation $2.5 trillion — a claim that Democrats dismiss as wildly overstated and a political attack intended to distort the debate.
In making their calculation, the Republicans note that major provisions of the bill, like the expansion of Medicaid and subsidies to help people buy insurance, do not take effect until 2014.
Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said: “Many revenue components in the bill begin to kick in next year, on Jan. 1, 2010. But much of the spending in the bill would be deferred until much later, not taking effect until Jan. 1, 2014. That distorts the true picture of what this legislation would cost.”
The $2.5 trillion figure reflects the cost from 2014 to 2023, Republicans said, while the $848 billion figure is for 2010 to 2019
Democrats said that the bill would actually save more money than the Congressional Budget Office has predicted, because the office does not calculate the potential savings from prevention and wellness programs that cannot be directly attributed to the legislation and to federal spending.
“We get no credit for all the wellness things we do in this bill,” Mr. Reid said. “In spite of that, everything in this bill is fully paid for, it reduces short- and long-term debt, it expands coverage.”
Carl Hulse contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/health/p...agewanted=print
