Results tagged “healthcarereform”

Senators are back in Washington D.C. after the holiday week to debate health care reform legislation. Politico reports, "Republicans want six weeks of debate — which would be enough to push the final vote past Christmas — and have an arsenal of stalling tactics. But Democrats can short-circuit the debate all at once, simply by reaching a deal on the public option and filing cloture on the bill, which would set up the final crucial test vote before final passage." C-SPAN's coverage begins at 3 p.m.—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said his colleagues should "expect daily votes on the bill, plus evening and weekend session."

Now that the Senate will debate health care reform next week, the question is whether Senate Democrats can gain enough support to pass legislation. Senator Charles Schumer told Face the Nation, "Look, there are still many bumps in the road, discussions, arguments, disagreements. But I think now the wind is at our back. There's real momentum. And the good news here is we still have a very diverse caucus but every Democrat, from the most liberal to the most conservative, very much wants to get a bill."

Last night, the Senate voted to debate health care legislation after Thanksgiving, in a 60-39 vote along party lines. Two weeks after the House passed its health care legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said, "The road to this point has been started many times. It has never been completed."

Be warned: this video of Sad Panda will melt even the coldest of hearts. The fact is that Sad Panda (sometimes Spongebob Squarepants) is actually pretty sad, and that makes us Sad Humans.

A House Republican joined 219 Democrats to vote for the landmark health care reform bill last night in the House of Representatives, enabling the bill to pass 220 votes to 215. Rep. John Dingell (D-Michigan), who has"> introduced national health insurance in every Congress since taking office 1955, said, "It provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone, regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need it."

Senator Olympia Snow (R-Maine) said that she would back the Democrats' plan for health care reform. During a Senate Finance Committee meeting, she said, "Is this bill all that I would want? Far from it. Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls... The mark before us produces some bipartisan landmark reforms. It bolsters what works in the system and engenders quality and competition."

Besides admiring the heart-shaped potato an audience member brought in, President Barack Obama continued his media blitz by discussing various issues with David Letterman on the Late Show just now. For instance, when Letterman asked about former President Jimmy Carter's belief that some political attacks against the President (including Rep. Wilson's "You lie!") were steeped in racism, Obama joked, "It's important to realize that I was actually black before the election."

       

Last night, President Obama made an appeal to Congress—and the American public—that health care must be reformed, "I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last... Our collective failure to meet this challenge - year after year, decade after decade - has led us to a breaking point... The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action."

Tonight, President Obama will discuss the need for health care reform in a televised address to Congress; he told Good Morning America today, "The intent of the speech is to, A, make sure that the American people are clear exactly what it is that we are proposing"—a CBS poll says 70% of Americans think health care needs to be overhauled; a Pew poll says 67% think the health care debate is hard to understand—"[And] B, to make sure that Democrats and Republicans understand that I'm open to new ideas, that we're not being rigid and ideological about this thing, but we do intend to get something done this year." The NY Times suggests that health care reform is not on life support, "The uproar does not seem to have greatly altered public opinion or substantially weakened Democrats’ resolve. Critical players in the health care industry remain at the negotiating table, meaning they are not out whipping up public or legislative opposition." Still, who knows, given that Senator Max Baucus, Senate Finance Committee chair, says leaving the public option out may be the only way for bipartisan support while Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is pushing for the public option. And now there's talk of fining the uninsured...

       

Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of people—the AP estimates 1,000—gathered in Times Square to rally for health care reform. And many of those there invoked the memory of late Senator Edward Kennedy in appealing for a single payer system—signs mentioned Kennedy, such as "TeddyCare For All."

Spurred by the raucous town hall debates about health care, the Daily Show went to the archives to look at the time-honored tradition protesting the president...and wonders about Fox News' sudden transformation in the liberal media! But can it be? Hmm—one of the early examples is Bill O'Reilly saying on August 10 that when Fox News covers the town hall meetings, "We don't describe the protesters as loons"— then there's a September 1, 2004 (in the middle of the Republican National Convention here in NYC) clip of O'Reilly saying, "Surveys show many protesters are simply loons."

At a health care reform town hall in Fresh Meadows Wednesday, one angry attendee warned Anthony Weiner, "Last time I looked this is still America—not China, not Russia, not Cuba," and last night in Midwood the congressman got more of the same. During a noontime meeting at the Council Center for Senior Citizens, one elderly constituent opined, "It's a Socialist country!" The crowd cheered, for surely all in attendance proudly refuse such "Socialist" handouts as Social Security and Medicare. But the bigger issue yesterday was that the meeting delayed the center's lunch service. Hungry retired postal worker David Figman told the Daily News, "I came to eat and I came to eat on time. They are having chicken marsala today and the food is good." More seniors grew impatient as the meeting dragged on past 12:15, and 61-year-old Linda Lefton fumed, "Usually our lunch starts at noon. I think he is going to cause us to delay our lunch. That's no good." 76-year-old Albert Fink moaned, "I'm just hungry." Finally, administrators interceded to end the forum at 12:22 p.m., but it makes ya' wonder: Why is Obama trying to euthanize seniors with forced starvation?