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Boehner: Reconciliation Is Here, And It Aint Pretty



Mar 1, 2010 6 Comments ›› Erik Wong

obama-pelosi-reid-jokers

GOP Leader:

Americans are asking “where are the jobs?” but out-of-touch Washington Democrats continue to focus on a massive government takeover of health care that is destroying jobs right now through the uncertainty it is causing for small businesses. Now Washington Democrats are getting ready to use a toxic legislative maneuver to try and ram through this unpopular, unaffordable health care bill.

Reconciliation has been called many things – “controversial,” “divisive,” “arcane,” “nasty,” a “trick,” an “end-run,” fraught with “all sorts of complications,” and “unhealthy for the country” – but ‘simple’ is not one of them. There’s also bipartisan agreement that reconciliation isn’t bipartisan: Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said it would “ensure that health care is perceived as a partisan exercise.” White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has called it “a club” to wield against Republicans. At least 18 Senate Democrats oppose reconciliation, for reasons ranging from it being “an outrage” to “very ill-advised” to “the worst.”

The future of one-sixth of our economy should not be decided this way. The American people have spoken: they want us to scrap this bill and start over with a clean sheet of paper and a step-by-step, common-sense approach focused on lowering costs for families and small businesses.

RECONCILIATION: ANYTHING BUT SIMPLE

“Pelosi Aide Outlines Healthcare Endgame. House Speaker Pelosi’s top healthcare adviser today outlined a plan that would allow both chambers to make changes to the Senate healthcare overhaul before the overhaul becomes law. … ‘There’s a certain skill, there’s a trick, but I think we’ll get it done,’ he said.” (CongressDaily, 2/9/10)

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) “said that … ‘the rules are pretty arcane, and there are all sort of complications.’” (The New York Times, 4/22/09)

“To approve a change as sweeping as this on a party-line vote strikes us as risky for Democrats and, pardon the phrase, unhealthy for the country.” (Washington Post editorial, 2/25/10)

“Health-care overhaul could hinge on procedural gamble. … It’s controversial…” (McClatchy, 4/2/09)

“The budget reconciliation process, with its arcane rules and potential for political chicanery, is not suited to healthcare reform, according to the Senate’s former parliamentarian.” (The Hill, 2/16/10)

“…The complexities of reconciliation are looking increasingly nasty.” (National Journal, 3/5/09)

“Democrats mull end-run for Obama” (The Washington Times, 3/17/09)

RECONCILIATION: ANYTHING BUT BIPARTISAN

“Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said Democrats needed to reserve the expedited procedures as a club…” (The New York Times, 4/22/09)

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) “says doing it through reconciliation will ensure that health care is perceived as a partisan exercise.” (Politico, 3/26/09)

“Few parliamentary rules are more divisive.” (The New York Times, 2/24/10)

“DAVID WELNA: But Rutgers University congressional expert Ross Baker warns reconciliation could carry a high political price. Professor ROSS BAKER (Rutgers University): To use it basically as a battering ram to get through the president’s budget intact, I think is pretty bare-knuckles politics.” (NPR, 3/24/09)


  • http://www.bootparkergriffith.com The Sentinel at the Gate

    Hey Dems, since you’re only out is to cheat it through, why don’t you go for the full Monty? Make sure it has the following:

    Death Panels
    Single payer
    Full Federal funding for all phases of abortion to include 15 minutes after birth
    Massive cuts to Medicare, MedicAid and Social Security
    Full and open insurance to everyone inside the US to include Illegal Aliens, Foreign visitors, and anyone else who wasn’t born here.
    Make sure it penalizes everyone with a job
    Make sure it rewards everyone who is sucking or will be sucking on the Government Teat
    Make sure there’s provisions in there to pay Tort Attorneys first
    Make sure it penalizes doctors and underpays them for their services
    Make sure it penalizes Health Insurors and that they are able to pass those high increases on to the rest of us
    Make sure it forces all private insurance policies into the “able and capable” hands of the Federal Government.
    Make sure you have provisions to swell the Federal Government by several million SEIU members so that they can determine (and often deny) health care for someone they’ve never seen.
    Make sure you have enough money in there to completely and totally hold all records of all citizens from birth to death
    Make sure we have microchips imbedded behind our ears for easy tracking and holding our medical records.

    Make sure it contains everything you want because this will be the last fucking time most of you will ever be able to conduct business on “behalf” of the American people again.

    Say goodbye assholes!

    • Solomonpal

      Good one Sentinal. Your permission to mail to my senator?

    • http://www.bootparkergriffith.com The Sentinel at the Gate

      Fucking “A” Brother! Go for it.

      Fortunately both Senators in my state have stood firm against this insanity.

  • Political.fish

    Dear Mr. Soetero,

    I just want to spell out in the most elementry terms (so that perhaps you may understand the point being made) my oppostion to your attempt at incremental socialism regarding the health control issue. Now, I understand that you, as a result of no fault of your own, are a micorcephalic half-breed cocksucker, but that fact should not entirely render you unable to dicern the will of the American People. In the off chance that I have not been entirely clear about my postion, I shall close with a resounding FUCK YOU!

    With all due resppkfieyt,
    P.F.

  • CPLViper

    Is this an experiment in the reconsiliation process or is it a test to see if the phrase “Up In Arms” is just an old phrase from another time?

  • Arabella

    It’s sad how you have been led around by your noses.

    “Republicans are committed to holding the Democrats accountable for their vote and making sure they do not abuse the reconciliation process.” Newt Gingrich

    Excerpt below from ethics violation complaint filed with Congress over GOP dishonest conduct re GOP/Bush 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug Modernization Act(MMA) including its “Budget Reconciliation” bill process abuse

    John Boehner, Eric Cantor, John McCain, Lamar Alexander lied to the American people when they said “budget reconciliation” could not be used for health care reform and that GOP NEVER USED RECONCILIATION FOR 2003 MMA.

    Congressional Investigation of Budget Reconciliation Bill

    “Like the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug bill, the reconciliation bill sacrifices the interests of low-income families for drug industry profits.
    The Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill had several provisions that would have required drug companies to share the burden of reducing Medicaid’s costs. These provisions would have increased the minimum rebate for brand-name drugs and extended the rebate to drugs dispensed through Medicaid managed care plans. In total, these provisions would have saved over $10 billion over 10 years.

    “These provisions were mysteriously dropped from the conference agreement. Instead, the legislation takes the budget savings directly from the pockets of the low-income beneficiaries served by Medicaid. The legislation specifically authorizes states to raise the co-payments Medicaid beneficiaries have to pay for prescription drugs to up to 20% of total rX costs. These provisions are estimated to cost low-income beneficiaries up to $5.3 billion.

    “We believe that any investigation into lobbyist Group should also examine what role the firm played in the budget reconciliation bill, specifically with regard to the prescription drug provisions.

    Conclusion
    “The image and integrity of Congress have been called into serious question.
    http://www.truthout.org/article/me

    GOP 2003 Medicare Rx Drug Ac& Budget Reconciliation bill both abused process & compare unfavorably with Obama reform:

    1. By law, Reconciliation can only be used for a bill that does NOT increase deficits – unlike Obamacare, GOP MMA was deficit-funded & by 2006 had already cost $1.2 trillion & added $8 trillion to Medicare unfunded liability. GOP’s unprecedented use of reconciliation violated Congress law.

    2.GOP leaders lied when they said reconciliation had never been used for a bill as big as Obamacare – deficit-causing Bushcare cost 10 x Obamacare!

    3. GOP MMA Senate Reconciliation bill allocated $10 billion to insurers to offset Medicaid costs – GOP allowed lobbyists to drop this without Congress agreement, & shift $5 billion cost to low-income Medicaid beneficiaries to pay.

    4. On 9/7/04 investigative arm of Govt Accountability Office found Bush administration had “illegally witheld data from Congress on the cost of the new Medicaid law”. GOP had lied it would only cost $400 billion.

    5.Democrats were disallowed ANY amendments to GOPMMA

    6. Unlike Obamacare, the American people never saw a copy of the bill, even once law, & hence given no voice re $15 billion annual taxpayer-funded subsidies to giant HMO/insurers, price hikes for premiums & Rx drugs, outlawing of foreign cheaper Rx, privatization of Medicare,etc, forced through by GOP potentially against the will of the people.

    6.GOP allowed lobbyists to write the bill “behind closed doors” in secret deals – Dems had less than 24hrs to review entire bill
    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/60minutes/main2625305.shtml Under the Influence

    7.Consequently the ethically-challenged bill benefitted drug & insurance industries with massive windfall profits but forced new higher prices & huge costs on seniors, taxpayers & Medicare.

    8.On 3/17/04 Congress Investigative Cttee found GOP Majority leaders guilty of corruption – offering $100,000 bribe for YES votes on controversial bill
    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/08/politics/08medicare.hf