Public Option Headed For Vote Tomorrow

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

The public option is headed for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) lamented on a conference call Thursday evening that the debate Friday would be the first time that the committee, since it began negotiating health care reform months ago, would be debating the public option.

"We're going to have a full blown debate in the Finance Committee," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a backer of the public option. While it may be an "underdog," Schumer said, "don't count it out."

The bill in its present form, written by Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in consultation with three Republicans and two Democrats on the committee, offers health care cooperatives as an alternative.

.........................

"I'd like to make a prediction," said Schumer. "The health care bill that will be signed into law by the president will have a good, strong, robust public option."




Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/24/public-option-headed-for_n_299232.html

[Canuckistanian]

1. I admit, I feel uneasy about Schumer cheerleading this vote

But what the hell, it may actually go somewhere.

As long as Baucus' bill is trashed.

[badgervan]

4. Normally I'd Be With You.....

.... but sometimes we need a loud, forceful voice that loves the cameras out front for us, willing to fight the lies of the other side and cut through the bull. Schumer fits this description to a T.

[Canuckistanian]

11. That's true

Schumer IS a showboat. Just glad he's on our side this time.

[onehandle]

23. Sen. Schumer phoned into The Ed Show tonight. He was excited and confident in the public option. nt

[beltanefauve]

30. And Sherrod Brown

was on Countdown last night, and also sounded pretty confident as well.

[creeksneakers2]

2. Something good has come out of this

Before Baucus, people were calling those co-ops a public option. Now they don't.

[JerseygirlCT]

3. From Schumer's lips to God's ears... nt

[Aragorn]

5. Hopefully

this means our elected officials are just barely smart enough to know what the voters actually want them to do.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Buck Faucus

That is all.

[grahamhgreen]

16. Scuttle the pay or punish crapsurance bills. Buck Baucus! Buck him!

Nicely put.

[earcandle]

7. I watched the mark up in congress on Baucas bill and not too many Democrats liked it.

All preferred the public option. 

All agreed this bill was for the industry and would not create
a savings in health policy.  

[patrice]

8. Public HC Co-operatives + New Financing models that protect private equity in partnership with

Public Money in collaboratively designed and built HC communities that have extensive local roots and different kinds of owners working on an HC local economic collaborative.

[patrice]

10. P.S. Instead of spending down for LTC, have Grandma & Grandpa invest in Private/Public Equity partne

rships for Care communities.

[mike3121]

9. If the Dems Really wanted to get this through

If the Democratic leadership really wanted to get this through they should contrive an emergency just prior to the vote. Perhaps some real or contrived "hate crime" would be enough to start this ball in motion. Remember when there's a flood always point to a fire. I think they should suddenly pull Fox's license and, at the same time, shut down all talk radio and arrest Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, etc. There would be a huge cry from the lunatic right. With this commotion going on no one would notice the Gov Health Care bill going through. Afterwords Rush and company would be released with apology (but the stations would stay closed).

[Aragorn]

12. ambitious?

me likee

[DeSwiss]

13. I want some of what ^ he's smokin..... n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

15. That ^ stuff ^ isn't legal yet.

But I really think there's a movement afoot to take care of that problem.

[patrice]

14. Disaster Politics? FRAK!! that. That's what we're trying to END.

:crazy:

[Selatius]

20. I hope you ordered yourself a hot, steaming tombstone pizza for your stay. nt

[beltanefauve]

32. Why are you hiding

your profile?

[24601]

41. If it were the repugs, they would conjure up some emergency BS

like, "Iran has been hiding a secret nuclear facility."

N'est pas?

[xchrom]

17. 'strong' -- i guess we'll all know exactly what that is after it comes out. nt

[craigmatic]

18. They're putting in 2 ammendments but niether one has a chance of passing.

Everybody on the left wants the public option but if the only people who are eligeable to get it are the poor then we might as well keep medicaid. The public option Obama talked about won't even be open for a large part of the middle class.

[JanusAscending]

19. You don't know what you are talking about!

Get a clue!

[Selatius]

21. Is that a big dose of sarcasm there?

If it isn't, according to Obama's speech, he said less than 5% of the US population would enroll in the Public Option. That sounds like it is out of reach of most people.

[saracat]

22. Some have trouble "listening to comphrehend"!That is exactly

my problem with this and Obama DID say exactly that. Why some deny it is beyond me.

[JanusAscending]

28. Saracat...you should know me better than that by now!

I "comprehend" very well thank you!

[saracat]

37. Then you know that is what Obama did, in fact ,say.Why

would you think the comment had anything to do with you?:shrug:

[ProudDad]

24. Actually...

Only 5% of the population would be ALLOWED to join the public option in the House bills HR3200...

The POS House bill would also leave over 15 million people uninsured... So much for "Universal"...

----------------------------------------

As for the Baucus bill, AFAIK there IS no public option and it would leave over 20 to 25 MILLION people uninsured...

Way to go, shills...

========================================

They would both direct an additional half a TRILLION to a TRILLION dollars PER YEAR once they get rolling into the pockets of the fucking leeches in the insurance corporations and the drug kingpins at Big PhRMA...

A huge amount of that in taxpayer dollars.

[JanusAscending]

29. It will no longer be "the Baucus Bill"

when the rest of the committee gets through with it!! It is the Senate we are talking about here, not the house bill. They all have to be reconciled to become the FINAL bill.

[JanusAscending]

25. Not only are we keeping medicaid....

we are going to be extending it! Yes that takes care of the poor. and those too young for medicare. I think the number of people that will be loosing their jobs, thus their health insurance will benefit from the public option, as will those who already have health insurance, who's premiums are skyrocketing. This gives them a chance to save some bucks too. I believe many more than estimated will opt out of their "great" med. insurance and opt for public option!

[ProudDad]

26. The Public Option CAN'T PASS in that committee... (n/t)

[JanusAscending]

27. Wanna take a few bets on that?

We still outnumber them. I think many here will be pleasantly surprised! Stay tuned!! We've got some BIG GUNS in there now, not just the gang of six!!

[ProudDad]

31. Who's this guy "we"?

The vote will probably be:

Baucus - No
Rockefeller - Yes
Conrad - No
Bingaman - Maybe
Kerry - Yes (maybe--he's the 2nd highest health lobby recipient but he's FILTHY rich in a secure seat and pretends to be "progressive" whatever the hell that means any more...)
Lincoln - No
Wyden - Yes
Schumer - Yes
Stabenow - Maybe
Cantwell - Yes
Nelson - No
Menendez - Maybe
Carper - No
Grassley - No
Hatch - No
Snowe - No
kyl (Slime ball mother fucker) - NO!
Bunning - zzzzzzz - NO
Crapo - No
Roberts - No
Ensign - No
Enzi - No
Cornyn - No

So best case I count 8 for Yes --- 15 for NO

You Lose...

[MNDemNY]

39. ...

:crazy: :rofl:

[sakabatou]

33. So is this the good public option or the weak version?

[t0dd]

34. Both.

Rockefeller's is the one tied to Medicare rates. Schumer's creates a more level playing field. Schumer himself said he intends to also vote for Rockefeller's, since it is the ideal one, but he proposed his in an attempt to attract more of the conservadems. The ideal endgame is to get the public option tied to Medicare and for Wyden's amendment to be accepted, that way we have a strong public option that anyone can join.

[ProudDad]

35. The only good "public option" would be to

improve and enhance Medicare and make it available to ALL...

HR676 comes close...

[saracat]

38. True enough.

[ProudDad]

36. The BEST thing would be NONE of these egregious bills

The 2nd best thing would be a bill including the Kucinich Amendment allowing states to opt for single-payer...

Followed by California getting rid of the SteroidenGroppenFuhrer and getting a Dem as governor and passing SB840 again...this time getting it signed...

And show the country how well single-payer works...

We ain't NEVER gonna get Universal Health Care from the Feds...until they're led kicking and screaming to it...

[joeycola]

40. Nope, they are in recess until next Tuesday.