The U.S. Senate debate on a sweeping healthcare overhaul stumbled toward gridlock on Wednesday, with frustrated Democrats considering new procedural moves after Republicans blocked votes on the first amendments.
On the third day of a divisive debate, Democrats threatened to keep the Senate in session through the Christmas holiday if necessary to pass a healthcare reform bill that President Barack Obama has made his top domestic priority.
Republicans refused to agree to the timing of votes on either of the first two amendments -- a Democratic plan to ease access to preventive health screenings for women and a Republican effort to restore more than $400 billion in cuts in Medicare, the government health program for the elderly and disabled.
After a hastily called strategy session, Democrats accused Republicans of stalling and said they would consider filing motions to cut off debate or kill Republican amendments.
"Unless the Republican leadership comes forward with a reasonable approach to these amendments, I think our patience is wearing thin," said Dick Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat.
"We're not going to let them run this bill into the ground into next year," he told reporters. "They want to drag this out in the hopes that our desire to go home for Christmas means we'll walk away from healthcare reform."
Democrats stuck to their pledge to pass the bill by the end of the year. "If we have to be here for Christmas, we'll be here for Christmas," Democratic Senator Tom Harkin said.
Republicans said concerns about plans to revamp the $2.5 trillion healthcare system -- one-sixth of the U.S. economy -- needed a full public airing. The slow pace and lengthy debate were a tradition of the Senate, they said.
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6 comments:
I wish those in Washington would just forget which PARTY they are affiliated with and stop the bickering and blocking of everything and get something done!
This is not just happening with Healthcare legislation, it's happening on other stuff too.
Drop the damn party lines and get to work!
Then at the next elections, FIRE them ALL!!!
I certainly hope you are not in favor of Reid's health care plan.
However if you want overpriced sub par coverage and treatment with delays and denials by all means push this through.
Too bad the Republican plan is blocked by dem committee(your partisan bickering) since this would reduce the deficit and provide better coverage at a lower price.
Oh, you haven't heard of this plan? I wonder why.
Please put that part about Republicans restoring Medicaid cuts in BLOCK letters because I am so sick of liberals claiming Republicans are selfish and hate poor people!
Thank God for Republicans because they are the only ones preventing the complete destruction of our country by the Leftist Alinskyites in control of D.C.
Lets not forget that Republicans were FOR medicaid cuts before they were against it. And vice versa for dems. Proves 10:02's point. If Dems had a change of mind based on the numbers, then I'm for it. But it seems Republ. are now against it (speaking only of Medicaid cuts) solely because it's a Dem initiative.
Why not simply take the child tax credits directly from people who recieve medicaid and have it go directly towards providing healthcare, either as a payment to the medicaid fund or as enrollment in a private plan coordinated by gov.?
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