No health care bill until 2010?
While the House may still vote on a $1.2 trillion health care bill in the next week, the Senate will not likely take the issue up until 2010:
When asked directly if he could finish legislation this year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday, "We're not going to be bound by any timelines. We need to do the best job we can for the American people. We want quality legislation, and we're going to do that."You want to focus on what Reid said. His spokeman's comments are damage control. If they wait until next year, there is a good chance nothing will pass. They're not going to want to pass legislation like that in an election year and they know they don't have the votes to get it through right now.Previously, the Nevada Democrat had said a bill could be finished by various other deadlines, with Thanksgiving being the most recent one. But Reid started to qualify his answer after an August recess deadline came and went, saying that he didn't want to be bound by "arbitrary timelines."
Later Tuesday, a spokesman for Reid told Fox News that Democrats are willing and able to finish work on a health care bill this year.
"Our goals remain unchanged. We want to get health insurance reform done this year and we have unprecedented momentum to achieve that," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said.
"There is no reason why we can't have a transparent and thorough debate in the Senate and still send a bill to the president by Christmas," he said.
Comments
Thus begins the spiral of false promises.
Posted by: Ronald Daniels | November 4, 2009 08:30 AM
The Democrats simply do not know how to handle prosperity...still have our military bogged down in two "wars", unemployment is still high, debt has grown and it looks like health care reform is on the rocks. It's looking like Obama isn't going to accomplish anything of significance and he's got no one to blame except his fellow Democrats.
Posted by: DonnieChaffin | November 4, 2009 09:57 AM