Rep. Maxine Waters: House liberals to put up tough public-option fight

[babylonsister]

Rep. Waters: House liberals to put up tough public-option fight
By Tony Romm - 12/22/09


One of the public option's most vocal supporters in the House on Monday stressed she and her colleagues would fight "as hard as we possibly can" to ensure its inclusion in the final healthcare bill.

The government plan is sure to be one of the most difficult debates to resolve once House and Senate lawmakers confer and combine their bills early next year. But Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) made clear last night that other liberal Democrats would not accept the Senate's decision to strip its bill of both the public option and a proposed expansion of Medicare.

"A lot of us will be fighting and encouraging our conferees to hold tight for the public option," she told MSNBC. "We haven't given up on that. That's extremely important to a lot of people — not just Democrats, but I mean Americans throughout this country.

"If we held to our position, it would certainly die in conference," Waters said, adding she was "hopeful" she could vote for the bill but ultimately had not read its most recent revisions.

The forthcoming conference committee to resolve differences between the House's and Senate's healthcare efforts is already shaping up to be a tough battle.

Some House Democrats still believe the chamber cannot pass a healthcare bill without a public option, while Senate Democrats insist that very provision — or any changes to their current proposal — could ultimately doom reform.

more...

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/73313-rep-waters-house-liberals-to-put-up-tough-public-option-fight

[elehhhhna]

1. the senate = horsetraders

if the dems want to house after the next election, they willl do what needs doing.

FIX IT.

[begin_within]

2. Then hold to your position, Maxine!

The bill is worthless without a public option or Medicare-for-all.

[Froward69]

5. Hear Here!!

[tekisui]

3. Please stand firm! Call your rep and give them your support!

[derby378]

4. While you're at it, Maxine...

...make the public option a real public option, not the sham that was approved by the House in October.

[Smashcut]

6. Maxine is a hero.

[Sgent]

7. Might as well get a