Today House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that Congressional Democrats are inching "closer" to final votes on health care reform. She declared that Democrats will take "whatever time is required" to get it finished. “It won't be very long,” she said, “and we'll be making a real difference in the life of the American people.”
Pelosi has also made it clear that the public option will not be in the final legislation, adding “I’m quite sad that the public option is not in there.” Pelosi also noted that she has been for single payer for many years, long before many of the reporters in the room were born.
I, too, have been watching the health care reform battle since the days of the Nixon administration, and I realize how easy it is to come close—and then let victory slip through your fingers. Younger reformers may not fully appreciate just how much Pelosi and other progressives in Congress have accomplished in the face of unwavering conservative opposition.
She is right, I think, not to let the public option complicate things at this point. The person who “killed” the public option is not Nancy Pelosi, but Joe Lieberman. This will be his legacy.
Most importantly, progressives have three years to pass a public option as a separate piece of legislation before health care reform rolls out in 2014. I suspect that, sometime in the second half of the president’s first term, they will do just that.
The public option is very popular with American voters, and Democrats would be wise to make it an issue during this fall’s Congressional elections. The recession and continuing unemployment will make it difficult for some Democrats to retain their seats. A pledge that, if reelected, they will work to pass a public option could help.
Meanwhile, President Obama has delayed his planned Asia-Pacific trip by three days to stay home and continue working on health care, moving his departure date from March 18th to March 21st.
Well, this is an “interesting” update, espl’y in light of another update that arrived in my inbox a short time ago from a progressive political action group:
“Dear Ann,
I have some great news.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said today that Sen. Durbin and the rest of the Senate Democratic leadership is prepared to aggressively whip votes for a reconciliation bill that includes the public option if that’s what the House passes.
This statement validates our strategy thus far and gives a green light for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put the public option in the House reconciliation bill.
The ball is now squarely in Speaker Pelosi’s court. Let’s make sure she knows that we’ll back her up if she moves forward and passes the public option through the House.
Tell Rep. Capuano to ask Speaker Pelosi to include the public option in the reconciliation bill. Click here for a number to call and a script.
The House has already passed the public option and more than 40 senators have already said that they’ll vote for it in the reconciliation process.”
Oy vay.
One can easily imagine things changing moment to moment in Congress and we won’t know the final legislation until it’s voted on. Nonetheless, activists for meaningful health system reform have a responsibility to keep the pressure on for a strong public option in the bill.
As Maggie has suggested, whatever health reform bill passes (next week?), it will provide essential momentum to pursue further reforms. After all, this has been a long and tortured journey and will never really be over. We’ve got to take a first step, flawed as it may be, and then work to make it better.
Can House Democrats Trust the Senate?
http://keithhennessey.com/2010/03/10/trust/
Ann–
At this point, I’m 98% to 99% sure that reform will pass–unless liberal Democrats screw it up.
Some Senate “yes” votes will change to “no,”; some “no votes will change to yes.
Bottom line: there will not be the votes there for a public option.
It would be very follish to obstruct passage at this point by insisting on the public option.
Especially since it should be quite possible to pass the public option between now and 2014.
IF it isn’t, it will be because the Democrats have lost control of Congress–which means that hte total heatlh care reform bill will be repealed before 2014. The public option will be the least of our worries.
House Dems are being led to a precipice by Pelosi and the President and told to jump, before knowing if there will be a net below. Once the House votes to the verbatim Senate version, with the Senate cave and reconcile? I wonder what the real legislative plan is that we are not aware of. More Americans, according to AP poll few days ago, oppose current versions of HCR than support it. While they may support individual provisions and concepts, they do not endorse the current legislation. Of course, you can state they ‘don’t fully understand it’, a common canard, but, perhaps, they do but just don’t like it. http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com
Michael –
Polls show Americans divided on reform http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/12/AR2010031203719.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Given the number of provisions in the legislation, chances are most Americans don’t know what’s in the bill.
But the majority do know that the status quo is unacceptable.
Finally, while some think the current legislation goes too far, others think it doesn’t go far enough.
(They want a public option or single-payer.)
But there does seem to be a consensus among the majority that everyone should have health care, and that the current system is too expensive.
We’re paying too much, and cannot afford to watch the cost of care continue to spiral.