Obama Writes Own Health Bill

[FarLeftFist]

Source: New York Times

President Obama will put forward comprehensive health care legislation intended to bridge differences between Senate and House Democrats ahead of a summit meeting with Republicans next week, senior administration officials and Congressional aides said Thursday.

Democratic officials said the president’s proposal was being written so that it could be attached to a budget bill as a way of averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate. The procedure, known as budget reconciliation, would let Democrats advance the bill with a simple majority rather than a 60-vote supermajority.

Congressional Democrats, however, have not yet seen the proposal or signed on.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/health/policy/19health.html?emc=eta1

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Well, that's the right procedure.

Now let's see the content.

If there is a GOOD public option & a few other things, it will still be imperfect, but maybe tolerably so.

[Kolesar]

4. The president’s plan would require most Americans to obtain health insurance ...

... or face financial penalties; it would bar insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions, and it would give tax subsidies to help moderate-income people buy private insurance.

Officials said the president’s bill was expected to include a version of the Senate’s proposed tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored insurance policies. It would reflect a deal reached with labor union leaders to limit the impact of the tax on workers.

[Demeter]

15. then the President's Bill is Prima Facie Unconstitutional

and he should stop wasting our time and money.

[kestrel91316]

2. IIRC, he can't put anything into it that isn't already in the House or Senate bill.

I'll be shocked if we get a damned thing, frankly. I have about given up hope.

[Demeter]

3. Why doesn't he make it easy for all: medicare for every one by decree

enough with the kabuki

[Jackpine Radical]

7. That would alienate all the special interests he cut deals with.

Big Pharma, the insurance industry, etc. & that could jeopardize his campaign funding, especially after Americans United.

[Demeter]

13. So? He Said He'd Be Willing to Be a Great One-Term President

Time to put his money where his mouth is.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Seems he said a lot of things.

[Demeter]

18. Yup

[FarPoint]

8. Can Obama do such a thing via

an Executive Order?

[unblock]

12. no.

executive orders generally affect only the executive branch.

medicare provides, by act of congress, coverage based on age and the president can't unilaterally change this.

[Demeter]

16. W could have done it.

He did lots of illegal and shady and one-off things....

[unblock]

21. the real powers that be would have killed him for that

yes, shrub got away with ridiculously illegal and shady things, but they all had the approval of the real powers that be.

had he tried to use his borderline dictatorial powers to do something LIBERAL like extend medicare to everyone, they would have suddenly rediscovered the constitution and the rule of law.

maybe he did try something like that and that was the time he "fell down" after "choking on a pretzel". he got the message and there was no more of that.

[FarPoint]

31. Dang it!

We just got to keep on working this out.

[brooklynite]

32. ...in which case a Republican President can cancel it by decree

I'll go with a passed law.

[Gecko6400]

34. How would he pay for it?

He has no power to tax, even by decree!

[Oregone]

5. About fuckin time, but...well...a tad late

Seriously, at the start he should of held up a bill on live TV (with the congressional sponsors he handpicked) and demanded that it be on his desk, for the people, to sign in a few weeks or there would be major hell to pay for it (politically speaking in a populist tone). Of course, such a bill should of been more progressive, like single-payer or the like.

Instead, he sat around and let the Senate and House fornicate together a pile of fucking garbage? Eh. As if you couldn't learn what would happen when he tried that approach with the stimulus bill.

[mdmc]

6. band-aids and aspirin in a vending machine

(anyone remember this dilbert cartoon)

[bvar22]

9. Oh Man, wait a minute.

There is a contingent on DU that INSISTS that Obama can NOT do such a thing because it would violate the "Separation of Powers".

Those of us who have been begging Obama to do this for over a year "Don't understand how government works."
.
.
Will heads explode? :shrug:

[fascisthunter]

11. I don't know

but this "student" of government policy will be waiting to see.

[unblock]

14. there's an obvious workaround to any conceivable issues

technically, the president doesn't introduce bills in congress; a like-minded congresscritter does.

voila, no separation of powers problem.

the media usually don't bother to report at this level of detail, so most people don't know.

[Zenlitened]

24. If not sep of powers, it was that he'd be "Pulling a Clinton."

Which, it turns out, was not an Urban Dictionary term of some sort... :D

...but a way to declare that the very act of drafting a healthcare bill and handing it to Congress has -- now and forever more -- a talismanic power of doom.

Clinton tried that approach and failed. Solely because he drafted his own bill, apparently.

*sigh*

[No Elephants]

36. There is no difference from the First Lady doing a bill with much fanfare and without

consulting with Congress and the President (whom the people elected, unlike the First Lady) doing a bill after consulting with key members of Congres, or even working with key members of Congress?

Besides, do we really believe health care died under Clinton because the bill came from the White House?

Jeebus, the Patriot Act came from the White House--and that contained several provisions a REPUBLICAN Supreme Court later held unconstitutional. Yet, most Republicans and Democrats fell over themselves voting it into law.

[Arkana]

29. You've been demanding that he do it via executive order.

He's not.

[bvar22]

30. Executive Order?...Demanding?.....not.

I've been lobbying HARD for Obama to take a "Leadership Role".
Presidents have ALWAYS submitted legislation through proxies in the House and Senate.
I NEVER bought into all that apologist, protectionist BS "excuses" about "Obama can't influence legislation, or write his own bills" nonsense that was disgustingly omnipresent around DU for the last year, even in the face of the White House manipulations of the Bills (Pharm deals, give in to Lieberman, pull the Kucinich Amendment, yadda, yadda, yadda).
At least today's Concrete Example should put and end to it.
(No one in that crowd EVER explained how Hillary was able to write the first failed Centrist Health Care Plan.)


NOW, we wait and see exactly WHAT Obama thinks is important.
No excuses this time.

BTW: The SAME thing applies to the Attorney General who is NOT and NEVER has been completely autonomous from the President, though the same crowd continues to insist that the False is True in THIS case too.

[No Elephants]

35. A contingent of DU insists the President can't submit a bill for

Congress to consider and act upon, especially when the President and the majority of both Houses of Congress are from the same Party?

Have they ever heard of FDR, LBJ, Dummya, etc.?

[patrice]

10. PO, PLEASE, listen to John Conyers!!!

:insert smilie for praying here:

[SlingBlade]

19. Getting Nervous,Huh. Can you say, Reconciliation ?

[bc3000]

20. I should be thrilled about this, but instead I'm pessimistic

I hope Obama proves me wrong, but right now I don't have any faith that he will put out something better that a typical corporatist conservadem would.

[MannyGoldstein]

22. And it includes single payer!!!

But only for bankers, you chumps!!!

[Zorra]

23. The content of this plan could give us more insight as to who Obama really is

personally and where he stands ideologically.

[Doctor_J]

25. Bridge the differences

since one is worse than the other, this will be a disaster

[benld74]

26. 1) Give up GOP Bipart.isanship - BAD FOR HEALTH of EVERYONE!!!

[theFrankFactor]

27. Mr. Hands Off Bipartisanship Changes His Tune? Not Bloody Likely!

His leadership so far has been astounding........ly SHITTY! I wonder if he has heard from the people who elected his ass about this issue yet? Hmmm, too soon. Give it a few more years. I know he asked his friends in to write this thing right out of the gate... That's encouraging--NOT! I know Congressional Democrats and BO put Industry cock sucker Max Bacchus in charge of this from the outset.... That's encouraging--NOT!

But now a change of heart! Now that expectations are in the shitter and millions are broke and flooding into Medicade to stay alive our Knight in Shinning Corporately Paid For Armour arrives?

Public Option? Oh my god! Haven't the corporate "Democrats" in Congress already painted that as ridiculous anti-America socialism that "nobody wants"?

[Arkana]

28. I'll reserve judgment until I see it.

[Kablooie]

33. So whaddya bet this crashes and burns just like the other one did.

There will be several Dems who refuse to go along with either the bill or reconciliation and it putters out in another show of uselessness.

[No Elephants]

37. If it crashes and burns, the reason will NOT be that the bill came from the WH.

Plenty of legislation got passed that way, including entitlement legislation, regulatory legislation, tax legislation, two war declarations, even massive violations of civil rights (with bipartisan support), etc. And that was only George Dummya Bush.