Sen Sherrod Brown hit the airwaves today to make it clear: 4 senators should not be able to kill what most the people want- apublic option. His position is keep it in the bill and make those 4 have to stand on the floor and really kill it. He doesn’t think they will . Its time for progressives to call the bluff of the gang of 4 here. The opt out now isn’t enough for the conservadems- they now just want it out.
Does anyone have any idea how the public option passes the Senate? If Reid weakens it more he will lose the Left. If he doesn’t kill the po he loses Lincoln etc..
Also of note Rep Woolsey in Politico says again there must be actual reform in this bill. A national strong public option is critical or its just a total shill for big insurance. Rep greave-the other chair of the Progressive Caucus has issued a statement saying any triggers in the bill means the House cannot pass it as triggers do not have near the votes there.
I do not see how a real public option gets done without reconciliation. And yes I know its complex and risky but Im willing to take the risk over some Carper/Schumer/Lincoln garbage compromise. Also note Sen Bennet of CO said he and Brown are not happy with Reid’s tinkering of the bill to suit 4 senators. This is going to be so complex here trying to pass this I have no clue the outcome.
UPDATE FROM HUFFPO-SEN SANDERS SAYS NO DEAL IF PO NOT THERE:
While conservative members of the Democratic caucus threaten to block passage of health care reform if it includes a public health insurance option, a growing chorus of liberal lawmakers are making similar threats if the bill doesn't have one.
Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, said in a statement on Sunday that the bill must have a strong public option to win his vote.
"I strongly suspect that there are a number of senators, including myself, who would not support final passage without a strong public option," he said. Not supporting final passage, however, is different than vowing to filibuster it and prevent it from even getting to a vote on final passage, as independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut is now doing, hoping to strip the public option.
Sanders, who self-identifies as a democratic socialist, said that democracy should triumph in the Senate. "The overwhelming majority of Americans want to be able to choose between a strong public option and a private insurance plan. Without that competition, there is very little in this bill that would keep health insurance premiums from escalating rapidly," Sanders said. "This legislation cannot simply be a huge subsidy to private insurance companies that will get millions of new customers and be able to raise their rates as high as they want."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Brown on CNN:
The four senators who helped inch health care reform legislation through a test vote Saturday but who oppose a public option, shouldn't be able to force the controversial feature out of a final bill, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Sunday.
"In the end, I don't want four Democratic senators dictating to the other 56 of us and to the country," Brown, a strident supporter of the proposed public insurance plan, said on CNN's "State of the Union."
Brown also said he doesn't believe any of the four senators -- Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- will use Senate rules to block a vote on a final bill, despite their opposition to a public option.
"I don’t think they want to be on the wrong side of history," Brown said. "I don’t think they want to say, 'On a procedural vote, I killed the most important bill of my career."
Posted by Josh Gerstein 08:57 AM
http://www.politico.com/...
Brown and Bennet are not happy-
Two Democratic senators are expressing some discomfort with the horse-trading Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) engaged in to get the 60 votes needed for a key test vote on health care reform Saturday night...
"Nobody likes these kinds of - any kinds of deals," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "I think anything that’s done needs to be in the best interests of those states and this country.... We do what we need to do within ethical bounds. We do what we need to do within practical bounds."
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), also speaking on CNN, said it is critical that voters believe the final bill not look to Americans like it is filled with political compromises. "This has been about moving the ball down the field," he said. ""It is critically important that we maintain the fiscal discipline that's represented by this bill."
http://www.politico.com/...
Warnings from Burris and Brown
...From the liberal end, Burris repeated a threat made earlier: That if the public option is taken out, he's gone. "I won't vote for it," he said.
"You'll lose people on the left," confirmed Brown.
Reid, aware of the fine line he's walking, told reporters that Landrieu, Schumer and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) are working on a compromise public option, perhaps something that 60 folks could support and save face.
"Now," said Kerry, "we just have to go forward and really legislate."
Arthur Delaney contributed to this report
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Warnings from Woolsey:
Q: No matter how you do the math there doesn’t seem to be 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster of a health care bill with a public option. What, if anything, can your colleagues in the Progressive Caucus do?
A: We have already compromised on the robust public option. We will be putting all our effort toward strengthening that. If we don’t have a strong public option there’s no point of having one at all. The trigger would not do it.
If it does it doesn’t have a robust public option can’t be called health care reform – it will have to be called insurance company tweaking. What we have to protect from is that we are putting together a health care plan that will add more than 30 million to the rolls of private insurance companies, and then they can do whatever they want with the new customers with no restraint or oversight.
Q: Does President Obama need to get more involved in the health care negotiations?
Now is the time for him – he said he didn’t support the Stupak abortion language and it made a difference coming out of the Senate. We are hoping, because we are his base – along with the 78 percent of the public who want a public option – we want him to step up now.
http://www.politico.com/...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2009
Contact: Adam Sarvana
Grijalva Emphasizes Health Care With Triggers, Opt-Out Or Reproductive Restrictions Will Not Pass House
Washington, DC – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today announced his continuing support for health care reform with a strong public option available as soon as possible to all Americans, emphasizing that a final bill containing triggers, state opt-out language or excessive restrictions on reproductive rights will be defeated in the House.
"The American people have made clear their support for an effective public option throughout this process, and now it’s time to give them one," Grijalva said. "Further watering down an already weakened public insurance program, either out of misplaced political calculation or a misunderstanding of policy, would be a profound mistake. Voters, including political independents, continue to back a public option by a wide margin, and anyone standing in the way will be held accountable."
The recently released Senate health care bill gives states the right to deny their citizens access to public insurance, the result of a prolonged negotiation in which a handful of senators objected to a public option available to everyone equally. The House version creates a public option accessible regardless of place of residence.
"The original goal was universal coverage, and we have already compromised that goal far too much," Grijalva said. "Voters and progressive voices in Congress have made it clear that the time for compromise is over. An ineffective public option, created to meet every contradictory demand in Washington, will not give the American people the help they need, and it will not reflect well on this Congress.
"The nation is watching closely," Grijalva added. "Millions of Americans know what will and won’t work, and they know who has stepped up to meet this challenge."
Grijalva also said a final bill – the result of expected negotiations between House and Senate leaders based on each chamber’s approved language – should not include the overreaching restrictions on abortion coverage included as a last-minute compromise in the House version.
http://grijalva.house.gov/...