Congressman Jerrold Nadler on health reform

[ProSense]

Via TPM

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) issued the following statement on the current status of health care reform in the U.S. Congress:

"As Speaker Pelosi has said, the House of Representatives does not have the votes to pass the Senate health care bill alone. It is clear that the great majority of the House Democratic Caucus - right, left and center - is unwilling to pass the Senate bill as it stands. But we must not let this fact, or the election results in Massachusetts, cause us to abandon comprehensive health care reform.

"We must instead negotiate an agreement with the Senate to pass a few key changes to the Senate bill through the reconciliation process so that both Houses can pass a comprehensive bill. We can then take various popular insurance reforms that cannot be passed through the reconciliation process - dealing with such subjects as pre-existing conditions, rescissions and annual and lifetime benefits - put them in a separate bill, and see if the Republicans dare to filibuster them. The alternatives - giving up on comprehensive reform or attempting to only pass small pieces separately - are either unacceptable or impractical.

"Though the process of crafting and passing health care legislation has been frustrating and disappointing for many of us, we still have a rare opportunity to enact true reform, and we must not give up."

[Teaser]

1. good goin' Jerry. Be a hero

.

[ProSense]

2. This will be ignored by

the spinners.

[Armstead]

3. Um, he's talking about "killing the bill" to save it

Same basic idea that many of us "spinners" have been suggesting all along.

[Teaser]

4. He ain't talking about killing it. he is talking about

sidecar reconciliation.

[Armstead]

6. And we haven't all been about "killing" it either

I put the word "kill" in quotes deliberatly

[Teaser]

8. understood

that kind of killing I'm down with.

[ProSense]

7. He is saying no such thing

The alternatives - giving up on comprehensive reform or attempting to only pass small pieces separately - are either unacceptable or impractical.

[Teaser]

5. it's not time to worry about the spinners

it's time to make sure our Reps and Senators understand the stakes here.