Posted on 07/29/2009 6:15:31 PM PDT by Maelstorm
Republican and Democratic senators negotiating financial details of healthcare reform have made great progress and are on the verge of a deal, a key Republican senator said on Wednesday.
"We have made great progress. Every day we make some progress," Sen. Charles Grassley, one of the three Republicans from Senate Finance Committee involved in the talks to overhaul the healthcare system, told NPR radio.
"Will we get it done so we can get a bill to the other members by this weekend because there is a certain time you've got to give people to study it? We're on the edge, and almost there," the Iowa Republican said.
President Barack Obama has pinpointed healthcare as his top legislative priority and has pushed lawmakers to quickly reach a deal to rein in healthcare costs, improve care and cover most of the 46 million uninsured Americans.
Obama had asked the Senate and House to come up with initial draft bills before they leave for the August recess but this deadline looks increasingly unlikely to be met.
Lawmakers "wanted to do it right," said Grassley, noting that lawmakers are trying to revamp one-sixth of the economy.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
[I heard today that, if the bill passes the Senate in any form, it can be changed back in Committee to include all that was taken out by the Republicans. Is that true?]
Yes. The bill that passes the House and Senate will be reconciled in committee and then just need a simple majority to pass. It only needs 60 votes to bring cloture the first time around.
Atleast that is my understanding.
Olympia Snowe is up for re-election in 2012.
She’ll be re-elected; she’s popular with both democrats and republicans here in Maine.
She’s not popular with me....I won’t vote for her ever again....but her democrat opponent, as usual, will be an ultra-left moonbat in the mold of Cindy Sheehan.
What could possibly go wrong?
Contact Senator Grassley, tell him what a senile old a-hole he is, and while you are at it, do the same to that other career criminal idiot Orin Hatch.
http://grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm
http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact
Its PAST time these two myopic, self-centered egomaniacs were voted out of office.
Let them damn traitors run on the Democrat ticket like Spector if they love them so much.
Always hated Grassely and Hatch since the CLinton Impeachment failure - thanks in part to these two jerks.
Try $640 mo for a single non-group, or $2500 for a family of 4 NG.
You are absolutely right on!!!!
I am beginning to think you might be right after getting an email a short time ago. Something doesn’t add up. I figured Lindsey Graham would sell us out.
When have they ever did it “right”? The government is a failure. If not for the ability it has to prop itself up at the expense of its citizens it would have collapsed long ago.
It is time to stop feeding the dragon.
Blah,blah, blah, shut up Grassley ,always blathering and doing nothing right.
We don't need no stinken government messed up health care.
Yup.
Hey Grassley, leave the Republican party and go join the DemocRATS.
Hey Grassley, leave the Republican party and go join the DemocRATS.
I’m betting this is a smokescreen. If they were this close to a deal, why would they be putting off the vote until after the August recess? Waiting only hurts the chances of passage.
My bet is that Grassley is trying to stop the avalanche of negative letters to congressmen by making things look hopeless and too late to stop. People giving up helps this travesty get passed.
This has me so Damn mad! G#@ Damn Stupid Sons of B$%^$#@!!!
Get this through your fat stupid heads GOP and Democrats: WE DON’T WANT HEALTH CARE “REFORM”! LEAVE US ALONE!
I have HAD IT with the Rhino party as well as the Dems.
They are BOTH about to destroy this country.
Screw them. Screw them all.
If they keep this crap up they are going to face the wrath of the people soon, and the people are armed and highly pissed off.
So help me, I’m willing to travel to his home state and illegally vote against his dumb ass. Ironically, they’d probably arrest me while a bunch of fence-jumping day-laborers cue up right behind me completely unnoticed.
WTH? I thought Obamacare was dead in the Senate, at least until after recess
I have the feeling all they agreed to was to put off the vote.
I don’t understand it. The GOP has every opportunity to stand with the majority who don’t want this damn bill. Most people do not want anything that will cause them to lose the right to choose their doctor and choose a private health care provider. I pay more just to not be in a HMO. Obamacare forces everyone into a system that will be worse than the best HMO. Grassley and others who think they are being cute had better wake up, this isn’t a game.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.