Harkin: Reconciliation is a go

[tmyers09]

Source: Politico

Sen. Tom Harkin told POLITICO that Senate Democratic leaders have decided to go the reconciliation route. The House, he said, will first pass the Senate bill after Senate leaders demonstrate to House leaders that they have the votes to pass reconciliation in the Senate.

Harkin made the comments after a meeting in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office including Harkin and Sens. Baucus, Dodd, Durbin, Schumer and Murray.

When asked whether the leaders had made the decision, Durbin said: "We are moving ahead with a version of the health care reform bill that we believe has a good chance of passing both the House and the Senate."

He then put the onus on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to signal whether she can provide enough votes to pass the Senate bill, followed by a package of fixes through reconciliation.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0310/Harkin_Reconciliation_is_a_go.html

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More at the link. I was shocked to not see this posted yet!

Let me be the first to say FINALLY!

[gateley]

1. Let me be the first to say

:woohoo:

Thanks!!

[Nite Owl]

2. Do we know what is in

the 'package of fixes'?

[WriteDown]

3. Noooooooo!!!! Let this thing die.

No mandates to buy insurance!

[Winterblues]

4. It is going to pass so try and find the good and hope a lot of the bad will be "fixed"

We need to focus on the good aspects now since it is basically a done deal. This is what Democrats are going to run on so save the criticism for the Republicans...

[WriteDown]

5. The good in this bill is miniscule..

They could have used this opportunity to have single payer or a strong public option, but they're not going to do that. There is no way to "fix" mandated insurance.

[Plucketeer]

6. I'm with you!

Such a preponderance of evidence that there's STRONG support for SP or the PO and we're going to be FORCED to sit and watch as the Health Insurance Industries are subsidized. Frankly, this will be the DEATH KNELL of any support I felt for Obama.

[dflprincess]

11. They just can't seem to grasp that the problem is not access to private, for profit insurance

the problem is access to care - as many of us with high out of pocket insurance plans have tried to explain to our members of Congress again and again.

[sabrina 1]

14. The bad far outweighs any good that is in the Senate Bill.

What is really significant about this decision is that NOW they could pass a bill with a good PO. How many times did many of us ask them to not try to get their '60 votes' which they were using to claim they could not pass a bill with a PO.

If this bill passes through reconciliation without a PO, we will know for sure that this administration were deceiving the people who elected them all along. Over and over we were told, even here on DU, that they could not pass a bill using that procedure. So, now they can suddenly? But without a PO? What do we do then? Still keep supporting people who do not want what we want? How would that be different from supporting Republicans who are also against a PO and FOR Mandated Insurance? Someone explain that to me please.

[pasto76]

7. WTF does that mean anyhow

a "mandate" to buy insurance? people will be forced to buy insuarance? Do you know anyone who does not want to have health insurance?

[WriteDown]

8. Exactly.

Think Romney-care in MA.

[tmyers09]

9. I think the issue is that the subsidies may not be enough for people to buy it.

And even those who won't get subsidies can't afford it, due to there not being strong price control mechanisms. I am confused. We made all these compromises in order to reach the 60 vote threshold. Now we don't need sixty votes. So why not make it a stronger bill? If it is not made better, I will be completely fucking puzzled.

[karynnj]

17. The entire bill can not be done through reconciliation

The "fixes" are the things that they are doing to make the bill stronger, but there are limitations of what can be done.

[CTLawGuy]

15. apparently there are a lot of people

I just have never met any of them.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[twitomy]

19. Look for the courts to be flooded by lawsuits....

Makes me wonder if the Amish will file a lawsuit based on religious grounds over the mandate issue.

[dflprincess]

10. What guarantee does the House get that the Senate won't double cross them?

Neither house is well known for sticking to what they said they would or wouldn't do (how many times have we heard Pelosi or the Progressive Congress announce they wouldn't do this or that - and then cave?).

You would think each house would know better than to trust any promises the other one makes.

[t0dd]

18. We're stuck with a bill written by the insurance companies

And people here cheer for it because Obama wants it. Nevermind that it does nothing but mandate millions of new customers to the same industry that has abused our citizenry for decades; those executives must be celebrating.

The whole process is sickening.

[Maeve]

13. Go! Go! GOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! eom

[WillyT]

16. K & R !!!

:kick:

[w4rma]

20. Not without a public option. There are 33+ known concrete supporters of p.o. through reconciliation

No bill without a P.O. It is nothing but an insurance industry bailout without a p.o.