Posted on 07/06/2009 5:08:11 PM PDT by Libloather
Dems to reveal how they'll pay for healthcare
By Mike Soraghan
Posted: 07/06/09 05:17 PM [ET]
By the end of this week, House Democrats may have answered the biggest question looming in the healthcare debate – how they plan to pay for their overhaul.
Leadership aides say they will introduce a bill by Thursday or Friday, in preparation for votes in committee next week. And that bill, they say, will include a way to pay for the bill.
“It is premature to point to any specific provision, but the House is committed to ensure that healthcare reform is paid for,” said Nadeam Elshami, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Introducing a bill will also solidify the Democrats' blueprint for a "public option." The discussion draft released last month included a government option that closely resembles Medicare, alarming the health insurance industry.
But before the revenue-raisers and the rest of the fine print is rolled out, Democratic leadership will engage in some serious hand-holding.
They have scheduled a caucus meeting with each of the three chairmen handling the bill. Energy and Commerce Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) will lead off Tuesday, explaining the public plan and the numerous other details that could give members relief or heartburn.
House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) will brief on Tuesday. And Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) speaks Friday. Rangel and his committee are in charge of finding the cuts and tax increases needed to pay for the bill.
Leadership aides stress that no final decision has been made on how to pay the tab. The Democrats on Rangel's committee will hold a marathon meeting all day Tuesday where healthcare and the "pay-for," as it's called, are sure to come up.
A large portion is expected to come from reductions in Medicare and Medicaid. But that won't pay for the full overhaul. As for raising money, ideas have included a national sales tax, taxing soda and a "surtax" on people making more than $250,000.
In addition to that, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), Caucus Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.) and Vice-chair Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) will hold six "listening sessions" that break rank-and-file members out by region. The three leaders will take concerns and ideas from the sessions' members back to the leadership in preparation for markup next week.
"This process is moving forward effectively," said a House leadership aide. "If you look at the struggles they've had in the Senate over turf, we've avoided that."
Feeling that they have momentum coming out of their climate-change victory before recess, House Democrats are rushing to make a July 31 deadline for passing the bill out of the House. The idea is that a conference committee can work out the details in the fall and pass the package by the end of the year.
But Democrats are already preparing to fight charges that they're moving too swiftly and not getting enough Republican input. They note that they've held 79 hearings on healthcare reform in the House since taking over in 2007.
Just call it rationing and be done with it...
I call it Partisan Genocide. They'll rig it so that non-Obamabots get thrown not to the back of the line but out of it completely.
They’re going to raid the savings/life insurance/property of those who will be deemed “too old,” “unfit,” “the wrong race,” “too Christian,” to be able to keep their own goods.
Wouldn’t reductions in Medicare and Medicaid piss the senior citizens off?
They plan to do part of it by taking 50% of the estates of those who die. Not only will he raise taxes on the living, but also on the dead.
More capital destruction for Lord Obozo.
Dems suck.
You can count on no congresscritter getting hurt.
I'm pretty sure domestic terrorists won't be covered.
They also Lie and Steal.
But all Commies do.
Rationing...Letting Socialists who have no respect for Human Lives......Potato Po tato.....Lets call the whole thing off......
“Wouldn’t reductions in Medicare and Medicaid piss the senior citizens off?”
Once the seasoned citizens are dead, the dems won’t care.
What are a bunch of old people going to do about it? Uh?
Lord have mercy.
Maranatha!!
Right now we have Joe the Taxpayer funding $3200 /month pensions and silver plated benefits for 50 year old UAW members. And no credible voice from the right calling the Baraqqis out on it. Don’t any Republicans know how to play the class warfare card?
Will we be able to do anything with their fakeout on socialized medicine?
Do tell.
Agreed. Non-liberals need not apply for 0bama-care. Anyone who thinks it can't happen should look at how 0bama decided which GM and Chrysler dealers were to be closed.
Did you know that most of the people covered by the UAW pensions are widows/widowers of former employees? Did you know that the reason the pensions are what you call "silver-plated" is because so many former workers die from cancer and other job related illnesses? (it's hazzard insurance, few make it to the so-called golden years)
Did you know that the workers actually worked 30 years for the pensions? The jobs are by no means "cushy." The MSM misrepresented them just like they do everyone else. Funny how people will believe anything about the auto worker as long as it fits their agenda, but get touchy if the same MSM disses their favorite politician.
I will now hop off of my soap box. Thank you.
This must be a mistake. Obama promised only to tax the rich. /sarc
See the Mandrake Mechanism.
I worked for GM for 40 years and saw the waste, corruption, and featherbedding that UAW brought to work everyday.
No it wasn’t 100% of the workforce by any means but the fundamental premise of the UAW was true to the principles of its founders the Reuther brothers who studied communism in Russia in the 1930s.
Yeah, even UAW members saw the waste, corruption and stealing by the upper UAW echelon. They also saw the handwriting on the wall that management refused to heed when told ways needed to be changed.
Oh, well, no one will listen anyway. ;)
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