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Leading Democrats confident they have the votes on healthcare
The Hill ^ | March 3, 2010 | Michael O'Brien

Posted on 03/03/2010 10:25:31 AM PST by jazusamo

Top Democrats expressed confidence on Wednesday that they have the votes to move forward with healthcare legislation.

Three members of the House Democratic leadership sent signals that they now believe they have rounded up enough votes to move forward on a healthcare bill.

"I think we have the votes for the Democrats to move this agenda forward and have had for some time," House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.), the fourth-ranking Democrat, said during an appearance on Fox News.

The confident projections come as President Barack Obama rolls out his own healthcare plan this afternoon, which is expected to move the months-long health reform battle forward.

Democrats in Congress are expected to pass the Senate's healthcare bill and pass a series of fixes to that legislation using the budget reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to pass a bill with only a simple majority of votes, instead of the 60 votes usually needed to end a filibuster.

"I believe we do," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and fifth-ranking House Democrat, said Wednesday morning on MSNBC when asked if the majority had the votes to pass the Senate bill, with the understanding that fixes would be made.

Van Hollen cautioned though that a formal whip count hasn't been conducted, pending the release of the president's own bill.

"We haven't done a whip count because we still don't have the final legislative language," he said. "And I think it's only fair to our colleagues that they have an opportunity to see the bills."

Democrats' chief vote-counter, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), stopped short of saying how many votes Democrats have on Wednesday morning, but said the majority is in "good shape" when it comes to their vote count.

House and Senate Republicans have downplayed reports that Democrats may have the votes, with House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) having released a memo last week outlining GOP math on the health bill.

The Senate's fourth-ranking Republican also said he's not confident Democrats will having the votes, while pledging GOP efforts to slow or halt the legislation.

"You know, I don't want to concede that it's going to pass for sure yet," Republican Policy Committee Chairman John Thune (S.D.) said. "I still think that there's a lot of clock left in this game."



TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 111th; democrats; liberalfascism; obamacare; reconciliation
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To: jazusamo

Life..is about to get very interesting...regardless of the outcome here....


21 posted on 03/03/2010 11:09:17 AM PST by mo
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To: jazusamo

They are all hedging their answers, bluffing, and LYING. If they had the votes, a vote would be getting held THIS MOMENT!!!


22 posted on 03/03/2010 11:09:26 AM PST by MrDem (Founder: Democrats for Cheney/Palin 2012)
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To: jazusamo

if true they would pass the Senate bill TODAY.

1) they cannot trust that the Senate will actually follow-through on the changes they are demanding via reconciliation

2) they cannot be confident that Senate Republicans can’t derail all or part of those changes with parliamentary tactics

If you were a House Dem who didn’t like the Senate bill you would not risk it.


23 posted on 03/03/2010 11:11:42 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Dewey Revoltnow
Then vote damnit

....Posing for the cameras. If they had the votes, it'd already be a done deal.

24 posted on 03/03/2010 11:14:05 AM PST by wbill
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To: jazusamo
Then let's have the damn vote TODAY. DO IT RIGHT NOW, c'mon....let's rumble, Hussein cultists!!! BRING IT ON!
25 posted on 03/03/2010 11:23:59 AM PST by Recovering_Democrat
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To: wbill

March is not that far from November for House Democrats. They had the votes many times and yet their is no Health Care.


26 posted on 03/03/2010 11:25:14 AM PST by scooby321
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To: jazusamo

OBAMANOMICS—TRICKLE DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy

SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!

PLEASE ASK THEM TO REPEAL THE BIG NEW FEES in TRICARE for Life, the retired Military over 65 secondary health ins. which they passed in a DOD bill. They promised our Military these benefits, and our Military have earned them.

Bambi doesn’t keep his promises...so buyer beware!
Sen Scott Brown’s number is 202-224-4543

Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121

Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts

Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military’s secondary health ins.
(DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011 NEEDS TO BE REPEALED!

OBAMA’s WAR ON SENIORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2433867/posts/

New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake. http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Friday, February 19, 2010

Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security
http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security

Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Medicare tax may apply to investment income (ObamaCare tax hike)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2460988/posts

SOCIALIZED MED THREAD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2462963/posts

TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:

http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html

This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollee’s cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.) http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/hcva09/hcva110609-1.htm
Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries

Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/

By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009

Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.
Snip The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.

Snip

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.

“President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees” in fiscal 2010, Matz said. “We took them at their word, and I can’t believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward,” he added.


27 posted on 03/03/2010 11:47:05 AM PST by GailA (obamacare paid for by cuts & taxes on most vulnerable Veterans, disabled,seniors & retired Military)
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To: jazusamo
"We haven't done a whip count because we still don't have the final legislative language," he said. "And I think it's only fair to our colleagues that they have an opportunity to see the bills."

They have cofidence in the vote on a bill that has never been seen by a single Congressman or Senator. And it is to be passed by Reconciliation? Scorched earth outcome is coming in November!

28 posted on 03/03/2010 11:55:56 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: b4its2late
NO the Obama state media changed it again.

Its now called “a up and down vote “.

The serfs figured out that Reconciliation was BAD !

29 posted on 03/03/2010 11:58:11 AM PST by ncalburt (e)
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To: ncalburt

Oh they changed it again? See how much I listen to them?


30 posted on 03/03/2010 12:05:03 PM PST by b4its2late (A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own.)
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To: jazusamo
They don't have the votes.

The Senate version doesn't have the anti-abortion funding language of the House version and that is the only reason it barely passed.

31 posted on 03/03/2010 12:06:00 PM PST by fortheDeclaration ("Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people".-John Adams)
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To: jazusamo
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

32 posted on 03/03/2010 12:06:52 PM PST by Recovering_Democrat
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To: Texas Fossil
It wouldn't be passed by Reconciliation, it would be FIXED by Reconciliation.

If the Bill passes the House, it is already passed.

33 posted on 03/03/2010 12:08:13 PM PST by fortheDeclaration ("Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people".-John Adams)
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To: b4its2late

The latest Poll tested term on how to confuse and lie to the public.


34 posted on 03/03/2010 12:08:59 PM PST by ncalburt (e)
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To: fortheDeclaration
It wouldn't be passed by Reconciliation, it would be FIXED by Reconciliation.

OK now I understand. Mr. Congressman please sign this blank bill, and trust me to fix this after passage. Do I understand how this works?

35 posted on 03/03/2010 12:12:42 PM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: ncalburt

I believe in an up-or-down vote.

November 2010. Write the bill. Publish it. Let Congressional candidates go on the record for or against it in their campaigns.

Massachusetts already voted “NO”.


36 posted on 03/03/2010 12:18:37 PM PST by AmishDude (It doesn't matter whom you vote for, it matters who takes office.)
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To: jazusamo

the very minute that they do, we will know. because it wont matter what day of the week or weekend, or what time of day it is, they will call for the vote.

If they think that they have the votes on saturday at 2am, that is when they will do it.

Till then, they are not sure. The last thing that they want is a tentative vote where it all goes south because of one.


37 posted on 03/03/2010 8:40:55 PM PST by Munz (All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.)
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