Slaughter against the Senate Health Care Bill - will she back it up with a no vote?
Louise Slaughter just came out as a strong critic against the Senate Health Care bill.
Let me repeat that Louise Slaughter just came out as a strong critic against the Senate Health Care bill.
She said -
Even though the House version is far from perfect, it at least represents a step toward our goal of giving 36 million Americans decent health coverage.
But under the Senate plan, millions of Americans will be forced into private insurance company plans, which will be subsidized by taxpayers. That alternative will do almost nothing to reform health care but will be a windfall for insurance companies. Is it any surprise that stock prices for some of those insurers are up recently?
Anti trust legislation?
In the House, we fought hard to repeal McCarran-Ferguson, the antitrust exemption that insurance companies have enjoyed for years. We did that because we believed firmly that those Fortune 500 corporations should not enjoy special treatment.
Yet the Senate bill does not include that provision — despite assurances from some members that they will seek to add it. By ending that protection, we will be able to go after insurance companies with federal penalties for misleading advertising or dishonest business practices.
But the kicker is this - (my bold)
Now don’t get me wrong; the current House and Senate bills are a significant improvement over the status quo. Given the hard path to reform and the political realities of next year, there is a sizable group within Congress that wants to simply cut any deal that works and call it a success. Many previous efforts have failed, and the path to reform is littered with unsuccessful efforts championed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Bill Clinton.
Supporters of the weak Senate bill say “just pass it — any bill is better than no bill.”
I strongly disagree — a conference report is unlikely to sufficiently bridge the gap between these two very different bills.
It’s time that we draw the line on this weak bill and ask the Senate to go back to the drawing board. The American people deserve at least that.
There wasn’t any mention of stupak but still - who is this women and what did she do to my former Congresswomen?
You know Rep Louise Slaughter, the one I respect and agreed with on trade, trains, Afghanistan, and many other things but found her stance on health care - lacking. Now, if Rep Slaughter Louise backs this kind of a talk up with a no vote or working with leadership extract some improvements that benefit the nation as well as New York (AKA $25 billion for Bernie Sanders’ clinics, Nebraska Medicaid paid forever for Sen Nelson, and a pony for Lieberman) then hey, she can stay a while.
What do you think? Talk or posturing?
Is the Senate bill in trouble in House?
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I can’t believe I am reading this. Advocating earmarks amounts to a new low!
It’s nothin but noise folks. Louise is bought and paid for. In the end she’ll sell us out once again.