Cuts: $700 million for pandemic flu preparedness, No computerization of medical records

[amborin]

too bad...the electronic medical records would make things more efficient, cut costs, and improve health care (assuming it was a good version of this objective, there were some bad versions)

lot of things cut that are sorely needed:

"Funding to computerize health records is all but gone, as is a national study on the comparative effectiveness of health treatments. Mr. Obama's Make Work Pay payroll tax holiday was clipped back, and an expansion of the per child tax credit for the working poor was also trimmed. At least half the funds to stop cutbacks at the state level in education were eliminated.

<snip>

The compromise package makes some $20 billion to $25 billion in trims from the tax-relief elements of the earlier Senate package. Under the package, the cuts would fall on planned investments in Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health to the poor, housing, energy and education. But proponents said it would still offer tax relief for low and middle income families, breaks for small businesses, and a one year patch to protect millions of Americans from paying the alternative minimum tax.

<snip>

not good:

"One Senate aide said some of the reductions in tax relief would come from trimming a tax cut that would promote development of clean energy..."

<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123393201756256999.html?mod=article-outset-box>

[Triana]

1. Excuse ME but why the g*ddamned hell BOTHER then?

NO EDUCATION
NO UNEMPLOYMENT EXTENSIONS
NO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
NO HEALTHCARE FOR THE POOR AND UNDER/UNEMPLOYED
VAWA GUTTED
NO MEDICAL RECORDS COMPUTERIZATION
NOTHING FOR THE WORKING POOR(except f*cking tax cuts that we already KNOW DON'T WORK!)

:wtf:
:grr:

NO WAY should Democrats accept or pass this piece of shit.

[amborin]

3. after reading Krugman's blogs, i think

President Obama should have started out with a massively pro-dem, massively pro-Keynesian stimulus proposal.....

and then only 'grudingly' allowed some actual tax cuts as a 'huge concession' to rethugs, when they protested

it seems Pres. Obama started out with a 'compromise' proposal, and in bargaining, most can never get their initial demands, which get watered down through compromise....

so....

[ProSense]

4. The details of the bill aren't final, but from the article

Still unclear is what the Senate will do with popular tax breaks -- for home and auto purchases -- that received wide support on the Senate floor. Some senators suggested those provisions would still remain in play, as efforts to meld the House and Senate bills begin.

Even a scaled-down Senate package, if passed, would likely be broadly consistent with the House-passed bill, and well within the range of what Mr. Obama originally called upon Congress to approve.

The new plan would still provide an array of tax cuts for individuals and business, aid to cash-strapped states, and billions of dollars in new spending, boosting support for jobless benefits, food aid for the poor, and road and bridge construction, among other things.

If the Senate passes a plan, it would set up private House-Senate negotiations, which are expected to begin next week. That will be where Mr. Obama and senior Democrats could exert far more influence on the details of the final package, amid efforts to conclude action by the end of the week.

The Republican bills all failed to pass, except the housing measure. The tax cuts in the bill are those proposed by Dems.

[Frank Booth]

5. This turned into a fucking travesty really fucking quickly.

I guess Harry Reid now agrees with the Republicans that education, unemployment, mass transit, medical record computerization, and all the rest of it is pork.

Is spinelessness endemic to Democrats? Even when we've got the majority and the White House we get fucked over.

[Triana]

6. I wish we could DUMP damned Harry f*cking Reid.

:mad:

[tsuki]

9. I know a couple of firefighters here that are rabid Republicons, anti-union. I cannot

wait to see them to tell them that the Republicons think that they are PORK.

[TheBigotBasher]

13. Or Special Needs Teachers

I kind of hope much of what is being cut comes back through an appropriations bill. As Rethugs said it should. Then the DNC needs to ensure that the Party Machine is able to defend the Party, President and people they represent from Rethug attacks saying basic government services are "pork".

[tsuki]

14. Are the special need teachers raving Republicons? nt

[Jennicut]

2. Put the records thing in a health care bill

that will eventually have to be dealt with.

[crimsonblue]

7. the payroll tax holiday would have actually stimulated the economy

plus it was a TAX CUT. WTF?

[WinkyDink]

8. Do people spend "tax relief"? To me, it's like something not really "there", IYKWIM.

[Baikonour]

10. This won't be the only bill, fortunately.

Once this bill does its job and begins to stimulate the economy (not sure how, since almost 50 percent of the spending has been CUT)then Obama and the dems will be vindicated. Then they'll pass another bill including the things the repukes cut.

[eridani]

11. Computerization of health records would be an utter disaster without universal health care

You want to make it easier for those insurance fucktards to find out about "pre-existing conditions"? No thanks. Those sociopathic shitstains wouldn't pay for breast cancer chemo (SiCKO) because the patient hadn't mentioned a yeast infection. I think that was the one who took advantage of the hookacanuck.com site.

[Clio the Leo]

12. He'll pick that one up later.....

.... computerization of medical records is too important to him.