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Senate Bill Going Back to the House - Can We Now Get a Public Option Vote?
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Issue
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy Mar 25, 2010 09:22am |
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| Category | Commentary |
| Author | David Sirota |
| News Date | Thursday, March 25, 2010 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Let's take Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and some Colorado progressive groups at their word when they say the only reason they have previously opposed offering a public-option amendment to the Senate reconciliation bill is because if it passes, the bill would then have to be sent back to the House. They say that having to send it back to the House would "complicate" matters (which doesn't make much sense to me, considering the House is controlled by Democrats, and the House has already passed the public option...but I digress).
So fine - let's just for a moment take Bennet at his word that he's not trying to defend the insurance industry and take some Colorado progressive groups at their word that they aren't simply bowing down to their Democratic bosses and their Big Donors.
OK - so what about now?
Senate Republicans succeeded early Thursday morning in finding two flaws in the House-passed health care reconciliation package...the upshot is that Republicans will succeed in at least slightly altering the legislation, which means that the House is once again required to vote on it.
The ruling might give Democrats another option -- the public one.
Democratic leadership no longer has to worry that additional amendments would send it back to the House, since it must return to the lower chamber regardless. The Senate is now free to put to the test that much-debated question of whether 50 votes exist for a public option. Democrats could also elect to expand Medicare or Medicaid, now that they only need 50 votes in the Senate and the approval of the House. |
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