Rep. Dennis Kucinich on Health Care Ed Show - State single payer stripped from bill

[slipslidingaway]

Run time: 09:06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP2rpbwn02M   Posted on YouTube: October 29, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: October 29, 2009 By DU Member: slipslidingaway Views on DU: 1056

 
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6880388&mesg_id=6880388

by David Swanson

"Healthcare Hoax from Hell

Lies, damn lies, and promises from Democrats. An amendment allowing states to create state-level single-payer healthcare has been stripped out of the House healthcare bill, after having passed in committee back in July by a vote of 27 to 19. And rumor has it that a vote on national single-payer that was promised in July in exchange for skipping a committee vote on it will now be denied.

First, the state single-payer amendment.

Back in July, the House Committee on Education and Labor did something right, something that could have made all the difference in the world to millions of Americans. Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced in the committee an amendment that would have effectively allowed states to improve on our healthcare system if they chose to, allowed them to create state-level single-payer healthcare. There are bills to do this in several state legislatures already. Such a bill has passed and been vetoed in California twice, where a change in governor is imminent.

President Obama told the committee chairman, George Miller, to oppose Kucinich's amendment, and he did so, leading off the voting with a resounding "No." But the Democrats voted 14 to 14 with one member passing and two failing to vote. And the Republicans voted 13 to 5 with one member failing to vote. That added up to 27 yes votes and 19 no votes. Some Republicans may have voted yes simply because the chairman voted no, but they said they were voting yes for states' rights. And that would be a sensible, decent, and constitutional position. Why shouldn't states be permitted to do better, as well as worse, than Washington, even if the insurance companies bring in less blood money? ..."