Well here is a first, Obama is actually writing a bill! He is writing a health care bill designed to pass both House and Senate. The bill is suppose to be attached to a budget bill and passed with reconciliation in the Senate.
President Obama is working on health care legislation intended to reconcile differences between House and Senate Democrats that could be attached to a budget bill and avoid a Republican filibuster, according to a published report.
The president's proposal, which is still being written, will be posted on the Internet by Monday morning, senior administration officials and Congressional aides told the New York Times.
By piggybacking the legislation onto a budget bill, Democrats would be able to advance the bill with a simple majority of just 51 votes, averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate.
The White House signaled Thursday that an aggressive, all-Democratic strategy for overhauling the nation's health system remains a serious option, even as Obama invites Republicans to next week's televised summit to seek possible compromises.
"It will be a reconciliation bill," the Times quoted a Democratic aide as saying. "If Republicans don't come with any substantial offers, this is what we would do."
The administration's stance could set the stage for a political showdown, with Democrats struggling to enact the president's top domestic priority and Republicans trying to block what many conservatives see as government overreach.
Obama's plan, like the House and Senate bills, would expand coverage to some 30 million, require most Americans to carry insurance or face financial penalties, and block insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions, the Times reported.
One Capitol Hill Democrat told the Times abortion remains "a wild card." [MORE]
This is not a serious effort to pass ObamaCare 2.0. This bill is really designed to get Republicans to say “NO” and stymie the reconciliation process with amendments. The true goal is to give Obama and the Democrats cover with their base by saying: “the Republicans killed healthcare reform”.
If there were 51 votes in the Senate and 217 votes in the House to pass ObamaCare 2.0, why even bother having the Healthcare Summit with Republicans? If bi-partisanship is the reason for the summit, then why craft a bill design to be passed with reconciliation? Again, the answer is to blame the Republicans. Obama and the Democrats cannot have their base realize the truth, healthcare reform died because of Democrat bungling and Democrat cold feet.
If this dog and pony show is successful in blaming Republicans, I doubt it will have any effect on the electorate at large. Poll after poll shows that most Americans put healthcare reform at #4 or #5 on the list. Jobs, the economy, the deficit and taxes all rank higher for Americans than healthcare reform.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: Fox News
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