The Health Care Bill

SOLD: $100 Million Payoff for Senator Dodd...
A $100 million item for construction of a university hospital was inserted in the Senate health care bill at the request of Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who faces a difficult re-election campaign, his office said Sunday night.

SOLD: Neb.'s Nelson sees backlash on health bill...
The chairman of Nebraska's Republican Party declared Nelson's decision to be the end of his political career in Nebraska, and within hours of Nelson's announcement, the state GOP launched a Web site, , to collect funds to oust the Democrat in the 2012 election.http://www.givebentheboot.com/

Nebraska's Republican Sen. Mike Johanns said he was "stunned and incredibly disappointed," and called the compromise's abortion language a "watered-down accounting gimmick that leads to Nebraska taxpayers subsidizing abortions in other states."

Reid's Government-Run Plan STILL Requires a Monthly Abortion Fee...
Fixed it is not. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) latest health care “manager’s amendment” would STILL levy a new “abortion premium” fee on Americans under the Democrats’ health care plan. Just like the original 2,032-page, government-run health care plan from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) and the last version of Senator Reid’s 2,074-page bill, this latest 383-page amendment levies an abortion premium and does not fix the problem of government funds being used to subsidize elective abortions.

Graham: Seedy Chicago Politics Passed Health Care Bill...
“This is far from over. The House and Senate bills are in many ways irreconcilable,” Graham, a Republican who voted against the bill said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sunday morning. “ … You know, change you can believe in, after this health care bill debacle is now becoming an empty slogan. And it's really been replaced by seedy Chicago politics, when you think about it, backroom deals that amount to bribes.”

Bill falls short of Obama's vision... (Fluff piece)

Dem Senator: 'Foes of health care bill are right-wing militias, aryan groups'...
"Voting 'no' and hiding from the vote are the same result. Those of us on the floor see it. It was clear the three of them who did not cast their yes votes until all 60 Senate votes had been tallied and it was clear that the result was a foregone conclusion. And why? Why all this discord and discourtesy, all this unprecedented destructive action? All to break the momentum of our new young president.

They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one."

Video...

The Price Is Right? Payoffs for Senators Typical in Health Care Bill
While Sen. Ben Nelson got a particularly juicy concession -- permanent and full federal aid for his state's expanded Medicaid population -- in the health care bill, support from a slew of other senators likewise came with its price.

Sen. Ben Nelson's hardly the only lawmaker extracting sweetheart deals out of the health care reform bill.

Democrats Pin 2010 Hopes on Bill
Slumping in the polls and struggling to pass climate and financial legislation, President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders are counting on an historic health care victory to buoy their electoral prospects in 2010.

Catholic Bishops Oppose New Abortion Restrictions in Senate Health Bill
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, one of the most important anti-abortion voices in the country, continues to oppose the Senate health care bill despite additional restrictions included to segregate taxpayer money from abortion coverage.

What Did Senators Get For Their Health Care Votes?
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) negotiated $250 million in Medicaid payments for their state.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in her own high-profile sellout negotiated $300 million in non-guaranteed Medicaid payouts in what has been called the New Louisiana Purchase.

Months earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) negotiated his own Medicare payment carve out for his home state of Nevada.

Senate Health Care Bill 'Ugly, Partisan and Dangerous,' Conservatives Say
"The fact is that the Senate bill specifically authorizes federal funds to be used for abortions. The so-called 'protections' in the compromise simply require that the federal subsidies and premium dollars that are collected for these services be kept separate from other federal funds. The end result provides no restrictions on abortions, but simply sets up what can only be described as a scheme that allows for federal funding of abortions, which directly violates long-standing federal law under the Hyde Amendment." (The Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.)

Senate Health Care Bill Includes Money for Hospital Sought by Sen. Chris Dodd
A $100 million item for construction of a university hospital was inserted in the Senate health care bill at the request of Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who faces a difficult re-election campaign, his office said Sunday night.

Democrats Clear Critical Hurdle in Effort to Ram Through Health Care Bill
All 58 Democrats and the Senate's two independents held together early Monday against unanimous Republican opposition, providing the exact 60-40 margin needed to shut down a threatened GOP filibuster.

The vote came shortly after 1 a.m. with the nation's capital blanketed in snow, the unusual timing made necessary in order to get to a final vote by Christmas Eve presuming Republicans stretch out the debate as much as the rules allow. Despite the late hour and a harshly partisan atmosphere, Democrats' spirits were high.

Health plans on collision course
But the titanic struggle to lock in Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) as the 60th senator for the first key test vote early Monday morning has changed all that. The need to hold Nelson and other moderates in line means major changes on the public option, abortion, taxes, Medicare and Medicaid are unlikely — and that the Senate’s vision of health reform is likely to prevail over the House’s in the final talks.

Dems anticipate a health care bounce

Playbook: 'Cornhusker Kickback'

Change Nobody Believes In

Sen. Ben Nelson’s price for voting yea on Harry Reid’s health-care bill? $100 million.

Five Reasons It Might Not Pass

...1am Cloture Vote All but Ensures Passage by Christmas

'Cash for Cloture' Downright Immoral

CBO: Senate Health Bill Won't Reduce Deficits

Dodd slides $100 million hospital into Senate Health Bill

ObamaCare Bill Historic In Its Recklessness

Obama pledges to import drugs; 'could evaporate' American pharmaceutical companies




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