Top CBC member Current healthcare bill not going
anywhere
Breaking News January 14, 2010
By Jordan Fabian - 01/14/10 01:38 PM
ET
A leader of
the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) said on Wednesday that the healthcare bill
as it currently stands will not pass the House of Representatives.
CBC first
vice chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) told liberal blogger Mike Stark that
the bill, the final terms of which are currently being negotiated by the White
House and congressional Democratic leaders, won't garner enough support in the
lower chamber because of weakened provisions in the Senate bill.
"I don't think this bill is going to go
anywhere," he said.
Cleaver,
however, said that Congress will pass some form of healthcare reform
legislation this time around, but only after the House rejects it and it is
sent back to the Senate for improvements.
"I do
think it's in trouble but I do think, ultimately, that we're going to get
something. I think what comes out may be disapproved and then in 30 days when
they bring something else forth -- because we have never this close
before," he said.
Cleaver's
tough words come as President Barack Obama has been
pushing House and Senate Democrats to agree on a bill in lengthy private
meetings. The White House would like to have a bill signed before Obama gives
his State of the Union address in a few weeks.
House and
Senate leaders agreed to conduct a informal "ping
pong" merger process in which the Senate bill would be sent back to the
House for revisions then passed back to the upper chamber for final approval.
House
Democrats narrowly passed their version of the bill in November 2009, 220-215.
But The
Missouri congressman's words indicate that the Senate proposal may still be
unworkable for the liberal bloc in the House Democratic Caucus.
Cleaver
specifically objected to the Senate bill's lack of a public health insurance
option, but other House Democrats oppose the Senate's excise tax on high-cost
healthcare plans in favor of the House's high-income surtax.
But
Democrats on Thursday reportedly reached an agreement on the bill's tax
structure, though the details remain unclear.
The merger
talks are also under threat from conservative House Democrats, led by Rep. Bart
Stupak (D-Mich.) who say the Senate's abortion
restrictions are too weak.
Liberal
Democrats, though, say Stupak's amendment banning federal subsidies for
abortions went too far in restricting private funding for abortions.
All logos and
trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. FAIR USE
NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always
been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such
material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental,
political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice
issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes. For more
information go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml