While I've sent letters to his office and done my part to try to pressure the Democratic leadership, I set off today to hit up a music festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, expecting a few hours break from the headache of the healthcare fight.
Then I saw a sign that said "Meet Chuck Schumer".
Lo and behold, the good senator was there, and I knew I had my chance to press him and get him on record about the public option. This is what happened.
While he hasn't been very progressive when it comes to Wall Street (their fundraisers are delicious), Sen. Schumer has been surprisingly vocal about healthcare and the public option. But he's a Democrat, so I'm afraid he's liable to fold when the going gets tough.
After meeting with individuals, he decided to make it easier, given his crunch for time, to have about 10 people at a time ask him questions. It was still very personal, and none of us disagreed with the decision.
I asked my question first. Basically, I asked, "are you willing to use reconciliation to pass a public option if need be?"
The answer was that while he would prefer 60 Dems to break a filibuster (he added the good news that Byrd was back and Kennedy would most definitely fly to DC for a vote), he said that if need be, he definitely would have no problem using reconciliation, and that was the opinion of the leadership, which he stressed he was an important member of.
As a brief caveat, he cautioned that they were still figuring out what exactly reconciliation could be used for, given that it must involve some sort of spending.
I would be more skeptical (and I'm about as cynical as it gets when it comes to what politicians say), but he quickly added that he believed whole heartedly that they could prove the public option, and other important details, could be proven to apply to reconciliation.
He then stated that, if in the event that they couldn't get public option under reconciliation, the bill could be broken into two pieces, one with the finances of it, the other with the details.
I quickly pointed out that it worried me that once the finance part passed, they'd end up dropping the public option part, but he said that he would remain dedicated to it and was certain they'd have the votes. There was some technical talk, but the important part was that he vehemently rejected the suspicion that, if they broke the bill up, the public option would be forgotten about.
Then, I asked, what if September 15th rolled around and the Finance Committee hadn't passed a bill yet? This is what made me smile the most: he said that while he rankled some feathers, he would try to force the party to go it alone, without Baucus's committee's input.
I then shut up, and let some other thoughtful young voters pepper him with questions. One guy standing near me asked why the Dems were so dependent on a CBO that constantly underestimated the public option's ability to save money.
Sen. Schumer agreed that the CBO was flawed. Using diabetes as an example, he said that while Medicare and other plans pay for later treatment (ie shots, dialysis and amputation), earlier treatment can greatly improve health over the long run, keeping people healthier and saving money. However, the CBO did not include such savings, a stance Schumer called "bullshit," which drew a lot of laughs (while we cried on the inside).
Still, he said that the Dems in the 80's used the CBO to refute Reagan's claims that tax cuts for the rich would make the government money, so it was difficult to criticize the CBO now without seeming like hypocrites. In my opinion, though, there arent enough memories that long to really have calls of hypocrisy impact the national debate.
Overall, Senator Schumer was very gracious and came off as a strong advocate of the public option. I hope that he is serious about using reconciliation if need be, though he seemed to hint that some Dems would vote against a bill after they voted down the filibuster, which is just as well.
Best of all, the hipsters and indie rockers must have scared off the tea baggers, birthers and death panelers, because it was an actual constructive conversation. That in itself is a win.
Updated: Thanks for putting this on the rec list (unless you don't want such thanks. In that case, thanks to everyone else for caring about this information, and to you, c'est le vie)! Let's hope that this a record that we can wave at Sen. Schumer when the debate reaches a crescendo next month. Keep pressuring the key players, and thank the ones that are standing up for progress!