Health Care Debate in the Balance
From the blog of Representative Frank Lucas, R-Oklahoma. Carried on the Hill web site, homepages of the
So where is the vote count in the US House of the socialization of 1/6 of US economy by Pelosi and her liberal allies in Congress? To give you an indication of how tight the vote count is, the newly elected Democrat Bill Owens from District 23 in New York is being sworn in so he can vote with the Dem majority. But Majority Leader Hoyer may not have the votes.
All 177 House Republicans have long been expected to vote against the bill, meaning that Democrats can lose no more than 40 of their 258 members and still pass their highest legislative priority.
According to the Hill www.hill.com “Democratic leaders, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have given away as many concessions as they could spare in an effort to get to 218 "yes" votes.
And they continued to try to do so even late into the day Friday, as a pocket of pro-life Democrats needed further tweaking of language designed to guarantee that federal funds won’t find their way to insurance plans offering abortion coverage. Into the wee hours of Saturday morning, the Rules committee approved an up-or-down vote on an amendment blocking any money in its healthcare overhaul from funding abortions, risking the votes of members who support abortion rights.”
According to Politico www.politico.com at least 23 members of the Democrat caucus of 258 plan to vote NO on the health care bill. If 41 members, plus the total GOP caucus of 177 members vote NO, the Pelosi-Reed-Obama health care bill with not pass the House. Thus the secondary vote on taxpayer funded abortions, which the original bill had in the draft. Now the Stupak amendment is being proposed the health care bill to bar Federal funding of elective abortions will be held, in order to keep the fragile majority of Democrats on board.
You may have been surprised by the American Medical Association endorsement of the health care bill? According to Fox News www.foxnews.com/politics it turns out that the AMA took the controversial position without the support of the organizations House of Delegates. Thus, the rank and file AMA membership is up in revolt and they have moved to have the endorsement voted on and withdrawn.
“The American Medical Association's much-touted endorsement of the House health care reform bill has triggered a revolt among some members who want the endorsement withdrawn.
Some members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates.
On Monday, delegates will vote on a resolution offered by some members that, if approved, will withdraw the AMA’s endorsement of the bill.
President Obama cited the endorsement of the influential AMA, along with AARP's, in a surprise appearance Thursday in the White House briefing room as he attempted to beat back criticism that the bill would gut Medicare.” Fox News Political
On Saturday, the US House (on a party line dominated vote of 242-192 moved the Health Care bill to the full House for floor debate. A vote could take place by Saturday evening, although some sources indicate it may be early next week before a vote is taken. The delay is due to serious problems in the 2,000 page bill, that even Democrats are reluctant to support. We’ll see which Democrats are willing to vote with their constituents and which ones cave to Democrat party pressure.
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