Democrats blame GOP for stalling on healthcare as Senate braces for vote
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans this morning of deliberately delaying any movement on healthcare reform by obstructing Senate action on the bill.
Speaking from the floor of the Senate on the fourth day of debate, Reid was unusually harsh, a symptom of how partisan the debate has been. The first votes on two amendments, which have been discussed throughout the week, are expected today.
“My Republican friends have been so busy coming up with games and gambits – with ways to distort and delay, with scare tactics and stalling tactics – that they haven’t left any time to come up with solutions to one of the most profound crises of this generation,” Reid said.
He accused Republicans of devising an “instruction manual” on how to use the Senate rules to delay consideration of the bill, which President Obama had hoped to sign this year. It is unlikely there is enough time for Senate passage and reconciliation with a House version this year.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell denied that his party was being obstructionist and insisted Republicans were just concerned with the substance of the Democrats’ healthcare bill, especially as it dealt with Medicare cuts.
Republicans and Democrats each have one pending amendment. The GOP amendment, sponsored by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, would send the bill back to committee to work on easing Medicare cuts. If passed, which is unlikely, consideration of the entire healthcare bill would go back to square one.
Republicans argued the cuts would especially hurt seniors, a key voting bloc, and would violate the spirit of not cutting any benefits while reforming the entire system. Democrats argue that no services to the elderly would be lost.
The other amendment, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, would expand insurance benefits to women seeking mammograms and Pap tests.
The amendment has become a vehicle for some Republicans to argue that the overall bill increases the government’s role in healthcare, threatening the traditional relationship between patient and doctor. Democrats reject this argument as untrue.
-- Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal
