"Republican leadership abused the Rules of the House to block Members, both Republicans and Democrats, from legislating in an informed and thoughtful manner. House-Senate conferences are a critical part of the deliberative process because they produce the final legislative product that will become the law of the land."Now, at a time when the party that trumpeted their intention to be the most transparent in the history of government adjourns to reconcile the two healthcare bills in smoke-filled back rooms with blacked-out windows, sans even the slightest whiff of opposition, we should all be mindful of what a politician's word is worth. Spit.
And please bear in mind that some pledges are worth even less than others:
"We'll have the [healthcare] negotiations televised - on C-SPAN - so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituencies and who ise making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies..."Thus spake Barack Obama on the campaign trail. Spit, again.
The Democrats have decided to "ping-pong" the bill, which means that there won't be any bicameral horse-trading, and that the House will merely take the Senate bill, tweak it, and return it. So at this juncture, and with the expectation that the complete removal of any dissenting voices will quicken the pace of negotiations mightily, we need to take a brief look at Congressman McMahon's statement after he voted "nay" on the House version of the healthcare plan:
"I believe that we need to reform the healthcare system, reduce spending, cut waste, fraud and abuse and expand coverage for more Americans. Unfortunately the bill that passed the United States House tonight does not do that.Now that we have seen what the Senate version contains, there seems to be little hope that many, if any, of the Congressman's quite appropriate concerns could possibly be alleviated. No matter what parts of either bill are kept or dumped, no matter how they are ultimately reconciled, he is bound to find the final product of the Pelosi/Reid tete-a-tete offensive, obligating him to vote no yet again.
The cuts to Medicare will affect seniors in my district, the cuts to the Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) will make it harder for hospitals to service Staten Island and Brooklyn and the cost containment doesn't go far enough. There is no guarantee that this bill will reduce the cost of healthcare premiums for Staten Island and Brooklyn families."
That is, as long as he meant what he said and is a man that stands by his convictions. And unless and until he proves us wrong, we believe that he is.
