The fix to the Senate health bill also provides direct student loan reform to families and students by cutting out banks.
Instead, the government will expand a direct lending program, a step that the Congressional Budget Office said would save taxpayers $61 billion over 10 years, and use the money to increase Pell grants for students.
Private banks want to keep those billions of dollars flowing to them, and they don't care if they scuttle the fix to the Senate health bill. It's time to cut out the middlemen, and Senators Nelson and Lincoln need to be on the side of American families and students for a change instead of on Wall Street's side.
SIGN OUR PETITION TELLING SENATORS NELSON AND LINCOLN TO SUPPORT THE FIX TO THE SENATE BILL!
Does Senator Ben Nelson not know that by opposing the reconciliation fix, he's also working to preserve his special Nebraska Cornhusker Kickback deal? He was just previously on the record as OPPOSING that special deal and in supporting reconciliation.
The flip happened because of student loan reform and the payroll tax in the reconciliation package. Senator Nelson apparently hasn't had enough after working to kill the public option, and he's stepped up to the plate along with Senator Lincoln to look out after the interests of Wall Street, instead of the interests of the American people.
Senator Lincoln also lied about the reconciliation process not being a transparent one. It's an odious lie, and it's one that was rebutted indirectly by Representative Louise Slaughter in her diary:
Americans across the country watched us debate this bill and watched the votes happen. And of course, last month there was the historic White House health care summit. There’s simply no way someone can complain that there was not a sincere and real effort to reach out to the other side to include their ideas in this package.
Even if the reconciliation bill does pass the Senate on a majority vote of 50 votes, these two Senators still need to be told that it's the right thing to do in supporting the fix to the health bill. In supporting the reconciliation fix, they help improve the Senate health bill by increasing subsidies for the middle class and the low-income, getting rid of special deals, and fixing the excise tax. They'd be on the side of American families in voting to pass the fix.
They need to be on our side instead of the side of special interests.
SIGN OUR PETITION TELLING SENATORS NELSON AND LINCOLN TO SUPPORT THE FIX TO THE SENATE BILL!
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