[StBernard] BREAKING NEWS: Senator Mary L. Landrieu to vote yes on Democratic health care bill

[Westley Annis]

Health care bill faces a crucial Senate vote 
Key Democrat says she will vote with party leaders to begin floor debate
The Associated Press
updated 12:45 p.m. CT, Sat., Nov . 21, 2009
WASHINGTON - Democratic senators called an overhaul of the U.S. health care system long overdue as historic legislation advanced toward a crucial first vote Saturday night, an early test of party unity on President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative 

Democratic leaders are optimistic of success, but they need every Democrat and both independents to vote "yes," in the face of solid Republican opposition. 

Only one Democratic moderate remained uncommitted ahead of the vote, which is expected around 8 p.m. EST. The vote will determine whether debate can go forward on Majority Leader Harry Reid's 2,074-page health care reform bill. 

"The country suffers when there is a failure to act on serious challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face in their daily lives," Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said during debate in a rare weekend session. 

Republicans cast the bill as a costly government takeover of the U.S. health care system, built on budget gimmicks to hide its real cost. 

"Move over, Bernie Madoff. Tip your hat to a trillion-dollar scam," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, referring to the convicted mastermind of a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. 

Most everyone would be required to purchase insurance under Reid's legislation to remake the U.S. health care system over the next decade, and billions in new taxes would be levied on insurers and high-income Americans to help extend coverage to 30 million uninsured. Insurance companies would no longer be allowed to deny coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions or drop coverage when someone gets sick. 

Democrats said their legislation could make historic and necessary improvements in the U.S. social safety net. The U.S. is the only major developed country that does not provide comprehensive medical coverage for its people, and Obama campaigned on a promise to change that. 



As the legislation advanced to a Saturday night Senate showdown, centrist Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana fell in line as the 59th vote by declaring she will vote "yes" on the crucial procedural vote. 

"It is clear to me that doing nothing is not an option," Landrieu said on the Senate floor as she delivered her long-awaited announcement. Landrieu said this does not necessarily mean she will support the party on the final vote on the legislation. 

Reid needs 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to go forward with debate on the bill. The lone holdout is another moderate Democrat, Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who faces a tough re-election next year in the Republican-leaning southern state. The 40 Republicans are unanimously opposed. 


A defeat Saturday might not definitively end hopes for a health care bill, but it would cast doubt on whether Democrats can cobble together any plan that the party could rally behind. Also, it would push the debate well into 2010, when the electoral politics of midterm congressional elections could undermine prospects for passage. 

A Democratic victory, though, hardly guarantees that Obama's plan — his top domestic priority — will pass. Moderate Democrats may agree on Saturday to allow debate to continue, but that does not commit them to supporting the final bill. 

These Democratic centrists from conservative states are wary of provisions to have a government-run plan compete with private insurers. Efforts to insert stricter language to bar federal funds from being used to cover abortions has also become a divisive issue. 

Even if a bill passes the Senate, it must be reconciled with the version narrowly approved by the House of Representatives. If a compromise can be reached, it would then have to be approved by both chambers. 

Landrieu has made comments suggesting she'll support the move to debate, but Lincoln, who faces a difficult re-election next year, carefully avoided taking any public position Friday. 

Republicans used their weekly radio and Internet address to slam the legislation, calling it a government takeover of health care that would increase taxes and raise medical costs. 

"This 2,000-page bill will drive up the cost of health care insurance and medical care, not down," Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho said in the address. "This is not true health care reform, and it is not what the American people want. This bill will result in higher premiums and higher health care costs for Americans — period." 

The White House issued a statement late Friday praising the Senate measure. 

The action in the Senate comes two weeks after the House approved a health overhaul bill of its own on a 220-215 vote. After the vote Saturday night, senators will leave for a Thanksgiving holiday recess. Upon their return, assuming Democrats prevail on the vote, they will launch into weeks or more of unpredictable debate on the health care bill, with numerous amendments expected from both sides of the aisle and more 60-vote hurdles along the way. 

Senate leaders hope to pass their bill by the end of the year. If that happens, January would bring work to reconcile the House and Senate versions before a final package could land on Obama's desk to sign. 



The bills have many similarities, including the new requirements on insurers and the creation of new purchasing marketplaces called exchanges where self-employed individuals and small businesses could go to shop for and compare coverage plans. One option in the exchanges would be a new government-offered plan, something that's opposed by private insurers and business groups. 

Differences include requirements for employers. The House bill would require medium and large businesses to cover their employees, while the Senate bill would not require them to offer coverage but would make them pay a fee if the government ends up subsidizing employees' coverage. 

Another difference is in how they're paid for. The Senate bill includes a tax on high-value medical insurance policies that's not part of the House bill, while the House would levy a new income tax on upper-income Americans that's not in the Senate measure. The Senate measure also raises the Medicare payroll tax on income above $200,000 annually for individuals and $250,000 for couples. Both bills rely on more than $400 billion in cuts to Medicare, the government-run program that provides health care coverage to seniors.