Senate healthcare bill set to pass by Christmas

[steven johnson]

Source: LA Times

After a dramatic month of sometimes round-the-clock negotiating and deal-making, Senate Democrats came together on Saturday behind sweeping healthcare legislation, providing a powerful boost for President Obama's top domestic policy goal.

The breakthrough came after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his lieutenants engineered a delicately crafted compromise to prevent federal funding of abortions, the same issue that nearly stopped the House from passing its healthcare bill six weeks ago.

With the deal, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, a strong opponent of abortion rights, became the 60th and crucial last member of the Democratic caucus to line up behind the healthcare legislation.

That paved the way for Reid to introduce a final package of changes to his 2,074-page bill and file the necessary procedural motions that should allow Democrats to quash an expected series of Republican filibuster attempts over the next several days. The Senate now remains on track to pass its version of the bill by Christmas.



Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-health-senate20-2009dec20,0,1133756.story

[Libertas1776]

1. If this comes to pass,

history will not look kindly upon that moment.

[CreekDog]

6. but more kindly than if it fails and we wait years to help yet more people without access

:hi:

[nyy1998]

11. Agreed

There's still some good items in this bill, like some of the regulations and stuff.

[Jamastiene]

2. They deserve an Oscar.

They have played the part of the Grinch PERFECTLY.

[bbgrunt]

4. Grinch, indeed. How about trojan horse?

[Jefferson23]

3. They going to tie this up with a big bow and take a bow too?

Fucking schmucks.

[ShortnFiery]

5. It's time to vote these assholes out of office. eom

[CreekDog]

7. yeah the people saying no are working real hard for health care

oh wait, they aren't doing anything.

[Ticonderoga]

14. Rahm please, just shut the hell up.

[CreekDog]

17. $^&*(*% #@()*%

since you want me to stay in character. :rofl:

[midnight]

8. That's quit a big gift to give the insurance co.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Why does the idiotic media keep doing this

and DUers keep cluelessly going along with the bullshit?

THIS is NOT the "final" bill. This Senate version, if passed by that chamber, will THEN have to be reconciled with the House version in a joint committee, and then we start all over again with the debate, etc. (unless joint rules are agreed to that torpedo any further debate or amendments), where BOTH chambers will need to pass the EXACT SAME VERSION at the end.

Last night, House Dems were already out with their complaints on this latest travesty from the Senate. Whatever happens in the joint committee is where the pressure will need to come to bear to salvage anything meaningful from this monstrosity. This is where chairmanships should be threatened and nuclear option should be invoked to try to begin to yank this thing back from the abyss.

[ananda]

10. I wonder about people who are defending this bill.

There is no way in hell this bill is anything but bad.

[Jefferson23]

12. From what we have seen there is not much to be confident about and

if this gets "fixed" it will be a miracle. And I believe most folks here do realize that reality and are responding accordingly.

[upstandingcitizens]

16. Fixed?

It can't be fixed or they lose Nelson again.

[dominic savio]

13. the idiotic press plays to the idiotic public...

The press treats each new round of debate as a new drama in order to sell more ads to our micro-memory public. The real question is whether the House will sell out so completely as the Senate...

[ixion]

15. It's not a "healthcare" bill, it's the Insurance Profit Protection Act

I don't know why people don't get that. Nothing is changing on an already badly-gamed playing field. Healthcare is still outrageously over-priced, and will continue in that manner.

The only winners are the insurance cos.