[Vision2020] Senate Democrats Block GOP Bid to Repeal Health Care Law

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of CNN at:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/02/senate.health.care/index.html

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Senate Democrats block GOP bid to repeal health care law
Washington (CNN) -- Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican
effort to repeal the health care reform bill passed last year.

The 51-47 vote, along party lines, meant the procedural motion failed to
get the necessary 60 votes to pass.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has passed a bill to
repeal the health care overhaul. However, Democrats used their majority in
the Senate to block a similar measure proposed by the Republican minority
as an amendment to another bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Tuesday he wanted to get
the repeal effort "out of the system" so the Senate could move ahead with
other business, while his Republican counterpart said his party was
fulfilling an obligation to voters from last year's congressional
elections.

"It would be a dereliction of duty if Republicans didn't fight for
repeal," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. "We made
a promise to our constituents that we would vote to repeal this bill on
their behalf. And that's just what we intend to do."

Wednesday's vote amounted to a push by Republicans to get Democratic
opposition to a full repeal on the record in the form of votes against the
amendment. Led by President Barack Obama, Democrats concede the health
care overhaul can be improved, but they oppose rolling back benefits for
consumers against health insurance industry practices such as denying
coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

"We're not going to go back and fight the battles of the last two years,"
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday. "We're not going
to go backward. We're going to move forward."

Overall, the Republicans oppose the increased government role in
regulating health care, claiming it will impinge on individuals' right to
choose care options in the future. Democrats say the law enacted last year
will better control skyrocketing health care costs and expand coverage to
millions of people currently lacking health insurance.

The specific motion the Senate voted on Wednesday involved a Democratic
challenge to the Republican repeal amendment on the grounds that it would
increase the federal deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office
has said the health care reform law will lower the deficit, so Democrats
argue that repealing it would increase the deficit.

By filing a budget point of order against the repeal amendment, Democrats
forced Republicans to hold a vote on waiving the point of order to
consider the amendment. That required 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate to
pass, a threshold out of reach of the Republicans, who hold 47 seats.

Using the budget challenge was a way for Democrats to say they voted for
fiscal responsibility, while Republicans contend the public will
understand that the vote was really against the repeal of health care
reform.

While a repeal of the entire health care law won't move forward, Senate
Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the elimination of a rule,
scheduled to take effect in 2012, requiring businesses to issue Form 1099s
to any individual or corporation from which they buy more than $600 in
goods or services in a year. Most liberals and conservatives view the rule
as an unnecessary burden on private-sector employers.

The push for an outright repeal is one of several strategies currently
being pursued by the GOP leadership in order to undermine support for the
law. Senate Republicans also introduced legislation Tuesday that would
allow states to opt out of key provisions of the new health care law.

Specifically, the bill would allow state governments to opt out of the
so-called "individual mandate" requiring everyone to obtain health care
coverage by 2014 or face penalties. It would also allow states to ignore
new mandates regarding employer-based coverage, insurance benefits and an
expansion of Medicaid.

The motion was introduced one day after a federal judge in Florida issued
a sweeping ruling against the law, siding with 26 states that had
challenged the measure and setting up a likely Supreme Court challenge in
the months ahead.

A federal judge in eastern Virginia has also found the health care law
unconstitutional, while two other federal judges, one in western Virginia
and one in Michigan, have ruled the opposite. Twelve other federal judges
have dismissed challenges to the law, according to the White House

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown