Jul

Health bill hits a snag in the House

The democrats’ promised destruction of the American health care industry hit a little bump in the road when the Blue Dogs demanded some changes. Okay, so it’s not the best news, but it’s better than nothing. The longer it takes them to get a bill out for a vote, the longer we have for the truth about what they have in store for us to get out.

The drive to remake the nation’s health care system suffered yet another setback in Congress on Thursday when a pivotal group of House Democrats demanded numerous changes in legislation the leadership was drafting on a fast track.

The emerging bill “lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken,” 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate to conservative Democrats wrote in a letter to party leaders.

To win their support, they said, any legislation would need to be much more aggressive in reining in the growth of health care.

The letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also called for greater protections for small businesses and rural health care providers. It did not specify how much additional time the group wanted, but Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., said he believes no vote should take place until September.

That is well past a midsummer informal deadline set by Pelosi, D-Calif. “I promised the president that we would have legislation out of the House before we went on an August break,” Pelosi said earlier in the day. “That is still my goal.”

Aw heck, who am I kidding. Nancy Pelosi will just tell the Blue Dogs she’s giving them what they want, hand them a 1,300 page bill stuffed with pork on Sunday and expect a vote on Monday. You know, business as usual.

Share this post