Healthcare Passed The House. Now What?

The Senate will most likely pass its own version instead of amending the House bill just passed. Then both versions passed will go to a bi-partisan conference committee where members of both chambers will take parts of both bills and form one joint bill.

Sounds incredibly stupid, tedious, and painfully clickish, but that's how something this historic is done when 535 people and one President all with different ideas on health care try to come together on some kind of consensus.

So, who voted how?

Congressman Jason Almire (D-4) pussied out (yes, I used it), yet Freshman from Erie County Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3) in a much more contentious district went for it. Altmire said his seat was not his motivation behind his vote, but rather that he thought the House could do better and he wanted to be a part of the process going forward. Oh, and he thought his district was against it. (post)

Was his district against the Employee Free Trade Act while he went out and spoke for it?

Sometimes a politician does things for the good of the common, despite what his conservative district wants; despite his seat (Arlen, are you reading this?).

I also don't understand why not vote for a less than perfect bill now, while it has the steam and the votes, and work on the imperfections later? Why wait for that Perfect Bill that he seems so sure will come?

Others who voted for the bill were Mike Doyle (D) and John Murtha (D). Tim Murphy (R), Bill Shuster (R) and Glenn Thompson (R) voted no.

One Republican voted for the bill--Joseph Cao from Louisiana. When asked what happened, he said he thought he was voting for the Ten Commandments to be etched in stone in every public school building. jk. Really, he voted "to keep taxpayer dollars from funding abortion and to deliver access to affordable health care to the people of Louisiana." (Cao)

Sue Kerr has a good blog about the impact on LGBT people.

The final vote was 220-215.

Opponents say it cuts Medicare--$500 billion. Fact: they are actually cutting the RATE of medicare spending INCREASES. They are not reducing current spending. The feeling is it will reduce supposedly excess funds previously paid to insurance companies and hospitals for artificial profits. So, they are using the savings to help make insurance affordable for working people who don't have it.

So, what will happen in the Senate?


Public Option killer #1--Joe Lieberman. He has already said he will not vote for any bill that has a Public Option. If you don't know, a Public Option would provide a government run plan that would compete with private insurance plans. Liberals very, very, very much want this in the health plan and believe this would in effect, give more people the opportunity for health care coverage.

SENATE MATH LESSON

58 Democrats + 2 Independents who Caucus with them = 60

60 Senators are needed to stop a filibuster, which provides indefinite debate to stop a vote.

If the Senate Democrats want to have a Public Option, then they must have one Republican to vote to stop a filibuster, since Lieberman will encourage a filibuster. (Paging Olympia Snowe... paging GOP Senator Snowe. Please come home to your allegedly progressive roots!)

After that, the Senate Dems will only need 51 Senators to vote for the bill, on final passage.

All of this and a health care bill still will not be signed into law.

HA!

LE