Under White House pressure to act swiftly, House and Senate Democratic leaders reached for agreement Friday on President Barack Obama's health care bill, sweetened suddenly by fresh billions for student aid and a sense that breakthroughs are at hand.
"It won't be long," before lawmakers vote, predicted Speaker Nancy Pelosi [as] officials worked to maximize Obama's influence over lawmakers who control the fate of legislation that has spawned a yearlong struggle. They said he would delay his departure on an Asian trip for three days -- until March 21 -- and he will go to Ohio next week for a campaign-style pitch for his health care proposals.
..."I'm delighted that the president will be here for the passage of the bill; it's going to be historic," said Pelosi, D-Calif. -- though there's no guarantee the House can act by then. A procedural vote in the House Budget Committee is set for Monday afternoon, but as of late Friday lawmakers still hadn't gotten the final analysis from the Congressional Budget Office that they need to go forward.
By tying a nationalization of the student loan business into a reconciliation bill, Pelosi hopes to convince skeptical House Democrats that she's serious about fixing the Senate bill.
House Democrats plan to tack a major reform of the nation's student loan system onto the health care overhaul bill, a move that could help corral votes in the House but might make the bill's passage more complicated in the Senate.
House Democrats have been skeptical of voting for the Senate version of the health care bill [because the] Senate bill contains a number of provisions they don't like -- including federal aid targeted at specific states that critics say was used to buy votes and a tax on high-cost insurance plans. House Democrats fear that, after they approve the current Senate version of the bill, the Senate won't be able to pass the reconciliation bill and fix the objectionable parts.
What's their endgame? Even a simpleton or a Democrat (but I repeat myself), would admit that it has nothing to do with health care. It's a political calculation: Democrats are willing to lose Congress in November if they can create a brand new unfunded entitlement that will cement the power of government over the citizen.
...the president and leaders of the majority party have become infected with a kind of mania. President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders seem determined to ram through a severely flawed piece of legislation by any means necessary, heedless of the desires of the American people or the negative impact on the system they mistakenly say needs to be saved.
...All they need to do is pass the bill, and the poor, frightened, deluded American people will see the wisdom of their decisions. Hence House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's memorable (and revealing) comment, "We have to pass the [health care] bill so that you can find out what is in it." In her imagination, once the bill is signed, voters won't remember the struggle, just the glow of the accomplishment. Rip off the bandage; you'll feel better after the sting.
The Democrats' headlong drive is leading to bouts of political insanity, such as the aptly named Slaughter rule, which potentially could allow the House of Representatives to "deem" the health bill passed without a final vote. That the Democratic leadership would consider resorting to such a stunt betrays a high degree of contempt for the electorate...
This rogue Congress and this President have already taken over insurance companies, banks and two car companies. And they've screwed up everything they've touched, from Fannie Mae, to General Motors, to "Cash for Clunkers".
Now Democrats want to touch off another huge economic calamity by nationalizing one-sixth of the U.S. economy and taking control of the student loan business. Not only are these efforts clearly unprecedented in all of American history, they are both antithetical to our founding and completely, utterly unconstitutional.
Update: March 16th in Washington: Stop the Constitution Butchers... Stop Pelosi’s Slaughter House.
1 comment:
What do you mean by 'taking control of the student loan business"?
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