The Blue Dogs aren’t the only House Democrats who can derail a health care bill. This afternoon, several members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus held a press conference to complain about all the concessions Democrats have made to the Blue Dogs — and threatened to vote against the House bill if it doesn’t have a stronger government-run health plan option.
“Many of us favor a single-payer system. We have compromised,” caucus co-chair Lynn Woolsey of California said to applause from health care activists. “We can compromise no more.”
The caucus has released a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and the chairmen of the three House health care committees — signed by 57 liberal House Democrats — threatening to vote against a bill that includes the changes to the “public option” that Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman of California made to win the support of four of his committee’s seven Blue Dogs.
The liberals are upset that Waxman — among other concessions they don’t like — agreed to require the public plan to negotiate reimbursement rates with doctors and hospitals, rather than basing the formula on Medicare reimbursement rates. Some Blue Dogs say Medicare rates are unfair to rural providers, but the progressives think the public plan will only provide enough competition to hold down health care costs if it’s linked to Medicare rates.
“We find what has happened in the Energy and Commerce Committee unacceptable,” said Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona, the other Progressive Caucus co-chair. “We’re not here to divide our embarrass our party. We’re here to remind our party that we have some basic values.”
Still to be seen, though, is whether the Obama administration will see the liberals as a serious threat to the passage of a House health care bill in September.
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel joined the talks between top Democrats and the Blue Dogs, but so far, Grijalva said the progressives haven’t heard from him. “I think after today, and some other stuff, they’re going to have to accept our seriousness and deal with us whether they like it or not,” Grijalva said.
Luckily for Grijalva and the other progressives, White House officials probably didn’t see the sideshow that marred the outdoor press conference: the protesters who repeatedly drowned out the speakers by yelling, “Single payer now!” Maybe they thought disrupting the press conference was the best way to help lawmakers who agree with them.
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Comments
It's about time the progressives spoke up! I and others like me will just go fishing at the next election if the "public option" or "single payer plan" is not a part of the final health care plan.
Rahm Emanuel is not President. He is not the candidate who promised us real change in health care. His proffered Clintonian compromises with the right wing did not work in the Clinton administration and they will not work in the Obama administration.
The real "Third Way" in Washington would be to keep campaign promises and lead your followers in the direction that got you elected in the first place.
Posted by: DC Dave
| July 31, 2009 9:05 AM
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