In a letter today to my Senator Jeff Merkley and our stalwart public option hero Senator Bernie Sanders, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised a vote on the public option in the coming months.
In his letter, linked here, Reid states:
As you know, I am a strong supporter of a public option, and I included the HELP Committee's public option in the bill I brought to the senate floor last year. I was disappointed when it became clear that we did not have the votes to keep it.
Nevertheless, like you, I remain committed to pursuing the public option. While I believe that the legislation we are considering does much to provide affordable coverage to millions of Americans and curb insurance company abuses, I also believe that the public option would provide additional competition to make insurance even more affordable. As we have discussed, I will work to ensure that we are able to vote on the public option in the coming months.
This is a great development to see Reid state clearly his personal commitment to the public option, but is this promise worth the paper it's written on? How will Reid be able to garner the 60 votes needed to get this passed, when it has been impossible before?
Perhaps this is a good time for Alan Grayson's medicare buy-in bill to become the chocolate in Harry Reid's public option plan peanut butter.
In response, Senator Sanders:
"I very much appreciate Majority Leader Reid's continuing support for a public option and I am grateful for his commitment to bring legislation before the full Senate within the next several months. It's imperative that we have a vote on this issue and I'm glad that is going to happen... It is my judgment that a majority of members in the House and Senate would support a public option when it comes up for a vote."
I am really proud that our Senator Merkley has stood up as a freshman senator to take on this issue with partners like Senator Sanders. The public option is not dead yet! Keep pushing, don't let up. It won't be real reform until there's a public option!