Can the public option be put back in the bill after mark up?

[Botany]

I want these bastards on record in the senate and the house voting against what the American people want.

From day one Baucus has worked to kill the public option because that is what the insurance companies wanted
him to do.

"My job is to put together a bill that gets to 60 votes" .... Max Baucus

No Max your job was given to you by your bosses in the Health Care Insurance Industry ...... kill the public option.
It didn't have a damn thing to do w/ 60 votes.

[TheCoxwain]

1. Reconciliation .. is the last hope now

[Davis_X_Machina]

14. No. H-S Conference committee on a regular bill is the next hope.

Reconciliation is a process that will occur only if that doesn't work.

[Winterblues]

15. The Public Option will be reinstated during this process and then

it will go back to the Senate for a final vote and that is when they will use Reconciliation Process because otherwise Republicans would fillibuster it.

[Davis_X_Machina]

16. 60 votes exist for cloture -- bank on it...

...reconciliation won't get used.

[scheming daemons]

2. There are 5 bills that have made it thru committee... 4 have a P.O. in them...

It *WILL* be in the final bill.

[Botany]

3. That is what I thought.

Thanx.

We should pass it w/ 51 votes and dare the repugs to filibuster it and dare the blue dogs (house or senate) to vote
against it.

[jaxx]

5. Yes. And the bill today just needs voted on and get it out of the committee.

Then the real bill can be written with the PO in it.

Baucus is a bipartisan pub lover as far as I'm concerned.

[Mass]

4. Yes, either when the Senate votes for the final bill or in conference.

[sabbat hunter]

6. with the reconciliation bill

they can put the public option back in and then they will need only a simple majority to pass it. A recon bill cannot be fillibustered.

[Botany]

7. and for that to work we need 50 votes w/ Biden being the tie breaker?

right?

[sabbat hunter]

18. correct n/t

[renate]

8. phew... this thread is a relief

I didn't know there was still a chance. I just can't imagine what the point of health care reform would be without a public option.

[Botany]

11. what is the point of health care reform?

for some it is all about the protection of the insurance companies, big pharma, the HMOs, and the for profit
medical industry.

[BlooInBloo]

9. There are a variety of possibilities yet. This is just one battle - important, but just one.

[Cleita]

10. I thought Obama could threaten to veto if he doesn't like the final bill.

How does that work? Can he send it back to be reworked?

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Yes it is not dead

that said, it does not go in the bill and does not pass and does not get signed into law... as far as I am concerned I am done voting for democrats, or republicans, third party. I am done with the game.

They know that... they know that this will have a nasty effect in their electoral prospects... self preservation comes to mind

[Zen Democrat]

13. The Baucus bill has to reconcile with the Kennedy bill (w/PO)

and then be voted on by the full Senate. The House bill will definitely have a PO because the relevant House committees all included it.

So it is now 4 committees in the House/Senate WITH a public option. One sad committee in the Senate (Finance) without. I like the odds. Especially since Bill Nelson seems to have swung over to the PO. He told Rockefeller that his arguments were persuasive, but he held his YEA for the Schumer bill. I get the feeling he's now on-board.

Blance Lincoln, on the other hand, what's with this woman? She didn't even voice an opinion. What a waste of a Senate seat.

[Kajsa]

17. Thank you, Botany!

This gives me hope.