Senator Jay Rockefeller is one of the most tireless champions of healthcare reform on the Hill. He has been around a long time, was key in crafting CHIP and a champion of expanding Medicare 55 and up. He plans to push congress to lower the Medicare age again with an amendment. The more press he now gets I think changes the dynamic in favor of the liberal’s reforms.
His comprehensive letter on why co ops cannot work, along with confirmation from CBO that they wont control costs is an example of leadership. The WH wont provide the kind of leadership needed, but Rockefeller may well do this for us in the Senate. A tireless goal of his has been universal healthcare and Baucus cut him out of the process. Until now. And how fun this will be.
more below...
Rollcall r eports the markup will be only of Dems and maybe Snowe. I do not expect a pubic option out of this markup but surely Rockefeller plans to bring it to a cmte vote so we know who is for what. He plans dozens of amendments- which could take weeks to debate. He has made clear he wants a real reform bill, not some "any bill."
Last night on Charlie Rose Rockefeller laid out his case for reform and need for a strong pubic option. His PO btw is linked to Medicare and more expansive than any other I’ve seen for the Senate. He says he is no fan of the gang of 6 at all. That they excluded him from the process and kept most dems out of the loop. He intends to use markup as a way to address the so many policy items Baucus dropped for GOP backing. Also note in his interview he says he doesn’t care how long it takes him to fight on the cmte for real reform. He warns months is more likely. Months.
So msm is now interviewing him left and right. Because he is the dem who really came out so hard against the anticipated Baucus crap bill now people are paying attention. The more attn Rockefeller can get the more dynamics can be shifted. I cant wait to see all his amendments. Rocky I pray will be Baucus’ worst nightmare. Baucus and Snowe will push hard against any PO and use whatever gimmick they can. But the hope is Rocky will get them on record as being on the side of industry. Of course if Sen. Dukasis is in by then how relevant is Snowe anyway?
Here is the Rose interview with Rockefeller. Axe shouldn’t have told him just pass any kind of bill. He alludes to that here. Worse Baucus foolishly excluded a very important senior Senator from negotiations. Looks like Baucus will have to renegotiate the whole thing again with Rocky. Hopefully Schumer,Kerry,Menendez, and Wyden will back him up in this fight.
Sen Menendez also is a no vote on Baucuscare. The anti-immigrant provisions are unacceptable to him and the Hispanic caucus. He will be a crucial voice in the days ahead.
UPDATE- NYT SAYS 543 AMENDMENTS ARE IN TO BE DEBATED. ROCKY WILL PROPOSE MEDICARE LINKED PO. SCHUMER WILL PROPOSE A WEAK PO WITH A "LEVEL PLAYING FIELD," CANTWELL WANTS 200PCT ABOVE POVERTY SETUP FOR FOKS TO GET MEDICAID, MUCH MORE-
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.c...
Interview 9-17-09 Sen Rockefeller on Charlie Rose:
clip 1-
clip 2-
see transcript and full vid here:
http://www.charlierose.com/...
Rocky in The Hill again. Oh its on...
Rockefeller: Dems have 'let loose' against Baucus
By Michael O'Brien - 09/18/09 12:01 PM ET
Democrats "let loose" against fellow Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) during recent caucus meetings on healthcare reform, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said Friday.
Rockefeller told the Washington Post's Ezra Klein that there's been a "very hot discussion" within Senate Democrats about the health reform bill proposed by Baucus as part of the Senate Finance Committee's effort to win bipartisan support for reform.
"There's very hot discussion," he said. "At the second-to-last meeting with Baucus, Democrats really let loose at Baucus."
"When you're getting close to the time you need to vote, public policy takes on a new type of intensity," Rockefeller added.
The West Virginia Democrat has emerged as one of the leading advocates for the public (or "government-run") option in health insurance form in the Senate. Baucus's proposal abandons that public plan in favor of nonprofit health cooperatives, in search of backing from centrist Democrats and some Republicans.
http://thehill.com/...
And interview in wapo:
What's Wrong With the Finance Bill? An Interview With Sen. Jay Rockefeller.
Can you support the Finance Committee bill in its current form?
No.
Why?
There are a number of big things. The Children's Health Insurance Program is put into the exchange. That's like putting it into a farmer's market. It loses its defined benefits. And children need defined benefits.
Obviously the public option. I feel very strongly about that as a discipline on the private health insurance market. The public health insurance option doesn't have to make a dime. It doesn't have to make Wall Street happy or shareholders happy.... What's the alternative? My staff has done extensive research on co-ops and everyone says they can't do health insurance. The best health care co-op exists in the state of Washington, and both of Washington's senators are adamantly for a public option. That ought to tell you something....
...if you really want to be honest about it, eight to 10 percent of the members of Congress understand health care. At maximum. I chaired the intelligence committee, and health care makes it look like riding on a tricycle it's so complicated. So what you have is lobbyists picking on congressmen who don't know health-care reform, and they say, you know what, you could get a lot more jobs in your state if you only put more money into oxygen or a certain medical device. If you're going to do Medicare right, understanding that the trust fund is going to go downhill in 2016, you can't have Congress making these decisions. You need professionals.
That's why I have well over 25 amendments ready for Tuesday.
...
What about Olympia Snowe?
I think the world of Olympia Snowe. She's got incredible courage, and the Republican leadership is brutal in the way they apply pressure.... Much more so than the Democrats....
How do they do this to Snowe?
They bring the hammer down on her, and I'm not going to say how. She's very strong, and she represents a very rural state that has gone blue. .. Republicans (will)filibuster every single amendment or item we bring out. We don't have 60 members right now. This is where Olympia becomes very important.
You met with the president this week. How did that go?
I can't talk about that.
Well, what did you tell him?
I gave him eight or nine or 10 things I thought were wrong in the bill. I feel very strongly about them and I said them very strongly and it was a terrific meeting. The 35 percent excise tax has a devastating effect on coal miners because they have good benefits...
Are you optimistic about getting a bill?
Very. The meeting we had last night helps me say that. Max Baucus does need our votes to get the through the Senate Committee. And there was a coalescence of Democrats that hadn't been pre-plotted. Some of these members had been quiet, and suddenly they were speaking, and loudly, about what was wrong. And if those things weren't fixed, they implied they wouldn't vote for it.
Photo credit: By Andrew Harrer -- Bloomberg
By Ezra Klein | September 18, 2009; 10:42 AM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/...
Rockefeller isn’t the only Fin. Cmte member saying no to Baucus. Sen Menendez has said he wont back the bill unless Baucus drops anti-immigrant language from it and remedies the issue. Rockefeller and Menendez are crucial on this cmte.
...Satisfying Menendez’s objections to the immigration provisions will not be an easy task. Any concessions making it easier for immigrants to buy insurance could be seized on by opponents who have accused Democrats of planning to subsidize health plans for illegal immigrants.
But Menendez has more power on the Finance Committee than usual because the second-ranking Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), has said there is "no way" he will vote for the healthcare reform package assembled by Baucus.
The Finance panel has a 13-10 Democratic advantage, and while several Democrats on the committee have raised concerns about the bill, Rockefeller and Menendez are the most critical.
The New Jersey Democrat is also concerned about whether low- and middle-income residents of his state would receive high enough federal subsidies to afford coverage, and is skeptical of a proposal to tax high-cost insurance plans. New Jersey’s healthcare premiums, on average, rank among the costliest in the country.
http://thehill.com/...