Public Option Rejected by Senate Finance Committee

[Frodo]

Senate Panel Rejects Pair of Public Options in Health Plan
 
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: September 29, 2009

WASHINGTON — After a half-day of animated debate, the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday rejected efforts by liberal Democrats to add a government-run health insurance plan to major health care legislation, dealing the first official setback to an idea that many Democrats, including President Obama, say they support.

All of the other versions of the health care legislation advancing in Congress — a bill approved by the Senate health committee and a trio of bills in the House — include some version of the government-run plan, or public option.

But the Finance Committee chairman, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, long ago removed it from his proposal because of stiff opposition from Republicans who call the public plan a step toward “socialized medicine.”

The committee on Tuesday afternoon voted, 15 to 8, to reject an amendment proposed by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia, to add a public option called the Community Choice Health Plan, an outcome that underscored the lack of support for a government plan among many Democrats.

Mr. Baucus voted no, as did Senators Thomas R. Carper of Delaware, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, , and Bill Nelson of Florida, joining all 10 Republicans in opposition.

A second amendment by Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, to create a different version of a public plan was also defeated, though by a closer margin, 13 to 10, with the added support of Mr. Carper and Mr. Nelson.

Mr. Schumer who voted in favor of both proposals, said supporters of the public option would keep on fighting.

“We are going to keep at this and at this and at this until we succeed, because we believe in it so strongly,” he said.

Advocates of a public plan say it would provide crucial competition for private insurers and that the larger goals of the legislation, to extend coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans and to slow the steep rise in health care costs, cannot be achieved without it.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Oy.  Where to go from here?

[Alexander Hamilton]

God damn it

[Sbane]

God damn it

You want a public option?

[Lief 🗽]

Finance committee isn't important, it was never going to pass there, because the Finance committee is incredibly conservative. What's important is the budget committee, where the HELP and Finance bills are combined. We absolutely need a public option to come out of there, or bad things are going to happen.

[Lunar]

Carper doesn't even support a non-"robust" public option?


haha, I wonder how much smoother this process would be overall if we agreed to get rid of all of the Senators from states with 3 electoral votes.

[JSojourner]

Finance committee isn't important, it was never going to pass there, because the Finance committee is incredibly conservative. What's important is the budget committee, where the HELP and Finance bills are combined. We absolutely need a public option to come out of there, or bad things are going to happen.

But if we approve a public option, it will be worse Lief. 

My Congressman was on the radio just Monday talking about how the "Democrat scheme" will promote euthanasia, force handicapped children to give up their wheelchairs because of "hidden wheelchair tax" and require school children to receive socialist-athiestic indoctrination about sex and other risky behaviors.

(And people wonder why I so loathe the little weasel.)

[pogo stick]

Good.


Now we need to destroy the Federal Reserve, the office of President, and crush social security and Minimum Wage.

[Lunar]

Carper doesn't even support a non-"robust" public option?


haha, I wonder how much smoother this process would be overall if we agreed to get rid of all of the Senators from states with 3 electoral votes.

oops, nvm, I had it reversed, Nelson and Carper supported Schumer's more moderate version

[Ebowed]

Probably a good time to consider removing Mr. Baucus' congressional health benefits.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Democratic Control = Cluster Fuck

[The Age Wave]

Why must America remain so far behind other Western nations?

[CultureKing]

Well, my senators at least are smart enough to know how to vote. It's the rest of you all that have work to do.

[The Dowager Mod]

Doesn't matter, this version will not be the one that Ried brings to the floor anyway.

[anvi]

Good to see that the Senate Finance Committee is representing a whole 35% of the American constituency.  Maybe in the future, it will go down to 25%, then 20%, then whatever percentage of the population is accounted for by the total number of health insurance executives and lobbyists.

[Earth]

Good.


Now we need to destroy the Federal Reserve, the office of President, and crush social security and Minimum Wage.

A fourteen year old kid bitching about minimum wage. Jesus.

[Alexander Hamilton]

God damn it

You want a public option?

Of course

[Lunar]

Good.


Now we need to destroy the Federal Reserve, the office of President, and crush social security and Minimum Wage.

A fourteen year old kid bitching about minimum wage. Jesus.

I think his sarcasm is harder to detect.  While everything else in the sentence is more or less remotely believable, focus in on the middle clause, "destroy the office of the President," this is an unlikely position for 99.99% of Americans to throw around casually without elaboration.

[Earth]

I considered sarcasm, but he doesn't seem like the type.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Doesn't matter, this version will not be the one that Ried brings to the floor anyway.

But can the Democrats even agree on ANY version so that one does end up on the floor?  I'm starting to doubt it.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Good.


Now we need to destroy the Federal Reserve, the office of President, and crush social security and Minimum Wage.

A fourteen year old kid bitching about minimum wage. Jesus.

Hey now, if SPC can get away with it..

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

One of my favorites:

[Stampever]

Glad to see common sense still shines in some parts of Congress.

Why must America remain so far behind other Western nations?

You mean, why are we so far ahead? 

[Lief 🗽]

Glad to see common sense still shines in some parts of Congress.

Why must America remain so far behind other Western nations?

You mean, why are we so far ahead? 

Not objectively, no.

[Meeker]

One of my favorites:

Alan Grayson is a complete FF. It's a shame he probably won't be re-elected.