Thread: Saturday night set for initial health care vote UPDATE

Senate Dems moving ahead on health care vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — With no margin for rebellion, Senate Democrats pushed toward a crucial weekend test vote on their sweeping health care bill Friday, and wavering moderates appeared to be falling in line on President Barack Obama's signature issue.

One of three uncommitted centrists, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, announced he'd vote with his party's leaders on Saturday's must-pass procedural measure allowing debate to go forward.

Nelson said in a statement that it didn't mean he'd back the final bill, but that Nebraskans wanted changes to the health care system. "The Senate owes them a full and open debate," he said.

MORE: Health care's 'public option' would cover little of population
SIDE-BY-SIDE: Comparing House and Senate health bills

The nearly $1 trillion, 10-year Senate bill would extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, bar insurance company practices like denying coverage to people with medical conditions, and require nearly all individuals to purchase insurance.

Sixty votes are required to clear Saturday's vote, meaning that all 58 Senate Democrats and the two independents that generally vote with them will need to hold together. Republicans are united in opposition.

"We are not assuming a thing. We are working hard to bring all Democrats together for the 60 votes necessary to proceed to this historic debate," said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat. "I'm hoping that we can muster our ranks."

Nelson has been one of just three question marks in recent days, along with fellow moderate Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.

Landrieu has made comments suggesting she'd allow debate to begin so the spotlight was on Lincoln, who's facing a difficult re-election next year.

Durbin initially said Friday that Lincoln had informed Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., how she plans to vote. Durbin later issued a statement backtracking, contending that his remarks were "incorrectly interpreted."

A spokeswoman for Lincoln, Leah Vest DiPietro, said no other senator speaks for Lincoln. "She is reviewing the bill before determining how she will vote Saturday," DiPietro said.

Republicans sought to increase the discomfort for the moderate Democrats. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., noted at a news conference that national polls show at best a split on the health care bill. "We hope our more moderate colleagues on the Democratic side would respect the wishes of their constituents, rather than do the bidding of Harry Reid," Kyl said.

Ahead of the vote, Republicans and Democrats spent Friday trading barbs on the Senate floor over the 2,074-page bill. Republicans displayed the Senate bill and the 1,990-page House bill — stacked on top of each other to form a tall pile — to criticize the legislation as an unwarranted government intrusion. Democrats defended their plan and blasted Republicans for not producing a bill of their own.

"These insurance changes will increase costs for millions of Americans," said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. "The voices of August are still out there, and they know this bill is just more of the same."

Dismissing Republican criticism, Durbin said, "The Republican health care reform bill is zero pages long because it has zero ideas."

The House earlier this month passed its own health overhaul bill on a 220-215 vote. After Saturday's vote, senators will leave Washington for a week-long Thanksgiving recess, and return for a lengthy and unpredictable debate on the measure, with dozens of amendments expected from both sides.

Both the House and Senate bills would set up new purchasing marketplaces called exchanges where self-employed or uninsured individuals and small businesses could shop for insurance, including the choice of a new government insurance plan.

Both pieces of legislation would rely on more than $400 billion in cuts to Medicare over 10 years to pay for them. The Senate would tax high-cost insurance plans, drug companies and elective cosmetic surgery and raise the Medicare payroll tax on income over $200,000 per year for individuals and $250,000 for couples. The House approach would raise income taxes on the highest-earning individuals and households.
----------------------------------------------------------------
You can post comments on the USA TODAY site at this link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington ... nate_N.htm

Crucial vote to advance Senate healthcare bill seems assured

The last of three Democrats whose support was needed to allow debate on the bill after Thanksgiving says she'll vote to move the measure along, but all warn they still have doubts.

November 21, 2009 | 12:27 p.m.

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington - With the crucial support of a trio of centrists, Democrats seemed assured today of winning a procedural vote to allow debate on a sweeping overhaul of healthcare after Thanksgiving.

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln said she will vote today to bring her party's healthcare bill to the floor, following a colleague, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, to the Senate floor to announce her decision. The third senator, Nebraskan Ben Nelson, on Friday had announced his support for full debate.

The three were part of the 60 votes needed to pass cloture on a motion to proceed -- the mechanism to bring the Democratic-backed healthcare bill to the floor and open formal debate. The vote is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST.

But in separate statements, they each said that just because they supported cloture doesn't mean that they will support the final healthcare bill.

"I will vote in support of cloture on the motion to proceed on this bill," Lincoln said on the Senate floor.

"Let me be perfectly clear. I am opposed to a new government-administered healthcare plan as a part of comprehensive health insurance reform and I will not vote for the proposal that has been introduced," Lincoln said. She said she was looking forward to being able to offer amendments.

"I don't agree with everything in this bill,' she said, but "I have concluded that I believe it is more important that we begin this debate to improve our nation's healthcare system for all Americans, rather than simply drop the issue and walk. That's not what people sent us here to do."

Of the three centrists, Lincoln has been the target of the most political pressure because she faces a tough reelection campaign next year. Lincoln took note of the political reality by saying she will not bend to pressure from the left or right.

Earlier, Landrieu said she would vote for cloture.

"After a thorough review of the bill," she said on the Senate floor, "I have decided there are enough significant reforms and safeguards in this bill to move forward but much more work needs to be done."

"My vote today to move forward on this important debate should in no way be construed on how I might vote" on the final bill, she said.

Tonight's vote is just a procedure on the road to the dealing with healthcare overhaul. Democrats need 60 votes to bring the bill to the floor so that the debate on its merits, expected to begin after Thanksgiving, can take place.

There are 58 Democrats in the Senate and two independents who usually vote with them. But the healthcare bill has opened splits within the caucus, though Majority Leader Harry Reid worked hard, and is expected to be able, to hold his troops together at least through tonight.

For example, Reid included language in his healthcare bill that would boost aid for Louisiana's Medicaid insurance program for the poor in a bid for Landrieu's support.

Reid's healthcare bill will cost $848 billion over 10 years, less than the version that the House narrowly passed this month. The bills also differ on how they handle a public option, the number of new people who will be insured and how to raise money for the program.

All of the details will need to be worked out in a conference with House leaders if the Senate passes its version of the bill. President Obama has said he hoped to sign a final bill into law this year, though that deadline seems ambitious.

The Senate debate, which began Friday, had two goals: to convince lawmakers to back the opening of debate and to provide a forum for the opening salvos on the issues that are expected to dominate the Senate for weeks.

All 40 Republican senators are expected to oppose cloture. So Republicans used their time to argue their key points: that the Democratic bill was too expensive, would hurt to economy and was funded through onerous taxes and budget gimmicks.

"Move over, Bernie Madoff. Tip your hat to a trillion-dollar scam," Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) said today on the floor.

Democrats have argued that healthcare reform was long overdue, that the current bill was both prudent and necessary and that failure to pass reform would hurt the country's economy more.

"The country suffers when there is a failure to act on serious challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face in their daily lives," Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said today.

Noam.levey@latimes.com

Michael.muskal@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and- ... 6871.story

The Senate voted to move the Debate into the open with a 60-39 vote.

All Democrats and all Independents voted for the right to debate the health care plan.

All Republicans voted to NOT have a debate on the health care plan.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

It appears that this vote is only whether they should start the debate on the health care plan, not on the actual plan.

Reid, D-Nev., scheduled a weekend vote to determine whether the Senate will begin debate on its health care plan.

Yes, this is a vote to bring it to the floor...but what the sneaky corrupt jerks don't tell you is that this time it took 60 votes, next time I think it only requires 50. So, some of them can vote no next time and say they voted no to their constituents when THEY KNEW that by voting YES THIS TIME AROUND it would be easier for them to PASS IT NEXT TIME AROUND!!! VOTE THE BUMS OUT OF OFFICE... ONCE AND FOR ALL!