Free Republic

Democrats felt the heat Saturday -- from some liberal groups on one side and Republican lawmakers on the other -- over a deal struck in the Senate to secure enough votes to pass a health care overhaul pushed by President Obama. The Senate's Republican leader called the bill a "train wreck of historic proportions," while liberal groups stepped up their complaints that Democrats gave up to much ground to court the last remaining party holdout. Obama, however, praised the compromise, saying it put the United States "on the cusp" of reforming the health care system, a goal that has eluded...

National Organization for Women opposes Senate health bill By Michael O'Brien - 12/19/09 01:55 PM ET A leading women's group called on senators on Saturday to defeat its healthcare reform bill. The leader of the National Organization for Women (NOW) excoriated the language in the health bill curtailing federal support for insurance plan covering abortions, which was inserted to win the 60th vote of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). "The so-called health care reform bill now before the Senate, with the addition of Majority Leader Harry Reid's Manager's Amendment, amounts to a health insurance bill for half the population and a...

Senate Republicans blasted the chamber's new healthcare bill in no uncertain terms on Saturday. "Make no mistake, this bill will reshape our nation and our lives," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement. "This bill is a legislative trainwreck of historic proportions." McConnell's Democratic counterpart, Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), unveiled the final language for his party's healthcare bill while simultaneously sewing up the 60th vote for the bill in Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). "The history that's being made here is the ignoring of the will of the American people," McConnell said. Other Republican lawmakers dumped on...

CBO: Senate health bill costs $871 billion By Michael O'Brien - 12/19/09 12:00 PM ET The Senate's healthcare bill would cost $871 billion and cover 31 million more Americans, according to the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the bill. The CBO said that the final legislation, unveiled Saturday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, would cost $871 billion over the next 10 years and reduce the deficit by $132 billion over the same period. That's more than the first Senate bill had cost. Roughly 31 million Americans would receive new coverage under the legislation. The final Senate bill will cost...

With the clock ticking toward a self-imposed Christmas deadline, Senate Democrats scrambled on Friday to win over a potential defector and line up the 60 votes needed to pass a broad healthcare overhaul.Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and others spent hours negotiating with wayward Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, an abortion rights opponent who refuses to pledge his support until he gains stronger restrictions on the use of federal funds to pay for abortions.

For those who wish to get on the list, feel free to FReepmail writer33. If you wish to send one yourself to your Senator or Senator Ben Nelson, follow the link to find a singularized version at the blog site I sent to my Senator. Make sure to FReepmail writer33 with your name for those that can. Don't put your name out on the open forum. As you know that would make you vulnerable to any whack job on the internet. The letter goes straight to Senator Nelson and is not for public consumption.

This bill can't be read and digested in two days. Call Congress to demand we get 3 days to read the bill.

WASHINGTON – Congressional budget scorekeepers say the latest Democratic health care bill would cover 94 percent of eligible Americans while reducing the federal deficit. The Congressional Budget Office said Saturday the changes announced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would cut the deficit by an additional $2 billion, bringing the 10-year total reduction to $132 billion.

Senate Democratic leaders say last-minute changes to the health care bill include giving nonprofit health insurance companies an exemption from the excise tax on insurers, a revision pushed by Sen. Carl Levin, who is a major recipient of campaign contributions form mega nonprofit Blue Cross Blue Shield. The excise tax or fee on health insurance companies was expected to bring in $6.7 billion to help pay for the nearly $1 trillion bill, but the complete exemption for nonprofits sought by Mr. Levin, Michigan Democrat, would cut the revenue in half. "The health insurance fee proposal in the pending Senate bill...

I'm sure you've all heard this one before, but really this must be the battle cry for the next 3 years. 2010 will be a democrat massacre now that passage of the abomination is all but guaranteed, but it will not be enough because we will not have the numbers to override Zero's veto. Hence, it will again be the battle of cry of Sarah Palin's presidential campaign. Wonder how long it will take for the first lawsuits to start going through the courts on this bill. Insurance companies can probably start suing very soon. Taxpayer standing to bring suit...

NTERACTIVE GRAPHIC Health-Care Reform: How The Bills Stack Up Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled a revised health-care bill Dec. 19 that includes concessions on abortion and other issues needed to secure a 60-vote Democratic majority to overcome a Republican filibuster. The Senate is expected to vote Christmas eve.

Quite an explosive leak! I wonder how this will affect things? It is certainly a thuggish and dangerous thing for Obama to play with National Security over this craptacular idea of socialized medicine. Quite a desperate move. According to a Senate aide, the White House is now threatening to put Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn’t fall into line. Offutt Air Force Base employs some 10,000 military and federal employees in Southeastern Nebraska. As our source put it, this is a “naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson’s vote.”...

Here is video of GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calling the Democrats' Senate Health Care Bill a "legislative train wreck." McConnell was reacting to news that Democrats now have the 60 votes to invoke cloture and move to a vote on final passage on the bill. They hope to do so on Christmas Eve. McConnell said the bill will lead to higher taxes, and that it includes "permissive language" on government-funded abortions. He said the bill will cut back on Medicare, Medicaid, and Hospice funding. McConnell pointed out that the bill now contains a special deal for Medicaid funding...

There was an air of unreality in the United States Senate when I entered the Capitol building on Wednesday to record some PJTV interviews. I sat down with five U.S. senators to discuss the imminent future of the long-embattled health care bill. We are approaching the eleventh hour for Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) slowly dying health care legislation, which he insists will be passed before Christmas. This is the same bill that was to be enacted last summer, then by August, then after Labor Day, and then before Thanksgiving. Now it may be a Christmas present for the country. The...

Video: "Now - for the first time - there is a clear majority in the Senate that's willing to stand up to the insurance lobby and embrace lasting health insurance reforms that have eluded us for generations. Let's bring this long and vigorous debate to an end." Oooooooobama! A CLEAR MAJORITY!!! A clear manufactured, arm-twisted majority at best!

n a conference call with Pennsylvania reporters Saturday, Specter compared the passage of the health care bill to the Civil Rights Act. He said tough legislative achievements take considerable time. "The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was necessary, although it did not go as far as people would have liked then, to get the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Again, it did not go as far as people would have liked, but we did find the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We have to find times when we have to build incrementally on these matters,'' Specter said. ~snip~ pecter said...

Nancy Pelosi: "Thank God" Senate Bill Funds Abortions Washington, DC -- In yet another comment that will draw guffaws from pro-life advocates, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is thankful to God that the Senate bill include massive abortion funding. Pelosi also claims she has enough votes to pass a pro-abortion health care bill in the House, though that is disputed. http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5781.html

WASHINGTON — Don’t touch that C-SPAN dial. The Senate is planning a midnight session tonight as Democrats and Republicans fight fire with fire over health care reform. Tonight’s session is not even about health care but rather the annual Department of Defense spending bill. Senators have a 1 a.m. vote on the Pentagon bill. But with just one week to go before the Christmas deadline on health care, neither side is making this easy. Democrats have little room to spare as the health bill must go through a series of potentially time-consuming procedural votes in coming days if Senate Majority...

The Senate is heading toward a Christmas Eve vote to pass landmark healthcare legislation, but instead of holiday cheer, Democrats and Republicans are digging in for trench warfare. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is determined to finish work before the Christmas holiday and has set a schedule that would end with a final vote on the evening of Dec. 24. “We’re going to finish this healthcare bill before we leave here for the holidays,” Reid declared on the floor Thursday. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has told colleagues that he will not give any ground on procedural...

With the clock ticking down on health care reform, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has until Saturday to strike a 60-vote compromise if Democrats hope to meet a Christmas Eve deadline - but the obstacles kept piling up Thursday. Reid still had no legislative text and no cost analysis to release. One of the final moderate holdouts, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), rejected compromise language on abortion funding and said he's doubtful a bill can pass by Christmas. Two powerful unions blasted the bill. House Democrats threatened to undo the Senate bill during a conference committee. And a Democratic war...