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Live! Bernie Sanders Speaking on Senate Floor.
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking about the single-payer system Health Care Abroad: Taiwan.
Sanders withdrew his amendment some three hours later, after 139 pages had been read, with a broadside at Republicans. Pounding the lectern on his desk, his voice rising, he accused Republicans of trying to shut down the legislative process. “That is an outrage,” Sanders said. “People can have honest disagreements, but in this moment of crisis it is wrong to bring the United States government to a halt.”
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats’ drive to pass health care overhaul by Christmas sputtered today as a lone moderate holdout remained undecided and Republican delaying tactics stretched an already protracted debate even further.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said he still has concerns about abortion and other issues. Nelson, the only known holdout among 60 senators whose votes are needed to move the bill.
To make matters more complicated, the Senate stumbled into health care gridlock after a Republican senator forced the clerk to read aloud a 767-page amendment.
GOP Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma had sought approval to require that any amendment considered by the Senate must be offered 72 hours in advance and with a full cost report.
When he was rebuffed by Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, Coburn invoked his right to require that an amendment by another Democrat be read aloud. That sent the Senate into limbo, since the amendment by Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders is 767 pages long. It calls for guaranteeing coverage to all through a public program similar to Medicare.
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In an effort to stem billions of dollars in tax increases that would begin in several weeks and to improve transparency in the health care debate, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) today introduced a motion with U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD) that would send the government-run health care legislation back to the Senate Finance Committee with instructions that no taxes or fees be imposed on American families and businesses until the supposed benefits of the bill have begun.
“The Democrats’ government-run health care proposal will levy taxes on virtually every American and business in this country during a time when we’re in one of the worst economic downturns in recent memory,” Senator Hutchison said. “In an attempt to mask the massive cost of this legislation, the Democrats impose these taxes on prescription drugs, medical devices, and business as soon as next month. But astoundingly, it’s only after four years of these taxes that the supposed reforms to the health insurance market will take effect. This is a classic example of a bait and switch,” Hutchison said. “I’m outraged the Democrats would even attempt to tax the American people without offering anything in return for four years, and my motion is a critical step in making sure that doesn’t happen.”
Senator Hutchison’s motion requests that the Senate move “to commit the bill (H.R. 3590) to the Committee on Finance with instructions to report the same back to the Senate with changes to align the effective dates of all taxes, fees, and tax increases levied by such bill so that no such tax, fee, or increase take effect until such time as the major insurance coverage provisions of the bill, including the insurance exchanges, have begun. The Committee is further instructed to maintain the deficit neutrality of the bill over the 10-year budget window.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Dodd’s vote on Dorgan’s amendment only makes sense in the context of the doughnut-hole deal. Dodd is facing an increasingly difficult reelection race and a vote against reimportation is a political loser in Connecticut, where he has no room for error.
When the roll was called and Dodd’s name was announced in the nay column, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), betrayed his surprise loudly enough to be heard in the press gallery. “Dodd?!” said Sanders, in a rising stage-whisper that indicated disbelief.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who is generally supportive of reimportation but voted against, why he did so.
“The colloquy yesterday, between Leader [Harry] Reid and Chairman [Max] Baucus and Chairman [Chris] Dodd, did not happen in a vacuum,” said Whitehouse, carefully choosing his words.
What was the subject of the colloquy? “Closing the doughnut hole,” said Whitehouse. A senate Democratic aide confirmed that the doughnut-hole move was largely made in exchange for votes to kill Dorgan’s amendment.
Republicans up to mischief in roll call of vote
The defenders of the PhRMA deal were forced to round up so many Democratic votes because the GOP decided to make mischief on the Senate floor. Twenty-three Republicans — more than half their total — broke with their traditional opposition to reimportation and voted with Dorgan, many of them smiling as they watched nervous Democratic leaders huddled around the table in front of the Senate president’s desk.
When it was clear it would fail, two of them -= Sens. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) =- switched their votes back to no. Ensign was rewarded for his flip-flop by a sharp Senate-floor tongue-lashing from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a longtime and serious supporter of reimportation.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."