Health Care Reform: Round Two on the Horizon
By Kevin Robinson in News on Sep 1, 2009 3:20PM
While opponents rallied and Democrats sweated, the debate over health care reform hasn't gone away. Over the weekend, Wyoming Republican Senator Michael Enzi, one of the leading GOP negotiators on the issue said that unless reform means lower medical costs without increasing the national debt, it's a nonstarter. "The bills introduced by congressional Democrats fail to meet these standards," he said. Nevertheless, congressional Democrats are readying to redouble their efforts to pass what may be the landmark social legislation of this administration. “You’ll see a groundswell once it’s here, and you’ll see we aren’t trying to ram this down anyone’s throats,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina. He told Politico that Democrats will be focusing on negotiations and compromise will be key to passing the bill. And the White House is getting into the act as well, with Vice President Joe Biden appearing in a YouTube video to explain the importance of reforming the nation's health care system.
On the local front, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois echoed that sentiment in an address at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Said Durbin:
“I’ve seen a lot of these turn into shouting matches, shoving matches. I don’t think that moves us any closer to any kind of understanding about what we can achieve. … It really isn’t conversation or good dialogue — it’s just theater,” “What I’m trying to do is bring in the professionals, the doctors, the nurses, the administrators, even the business people who are having difficulties with the current system, to see what their problems are to make sure we address them.”
Durbin elaborated on where the reform legislation stood with the passing of Ted Kennedy. "I'm not sure we can (pass this legislation). We have 59 Democratic senators with the loss of Sen. Ted Kennedy," Durbin explained. "We need 60 for big controversial issues but we're trying to work with three Republican senators to get this done. If we don't do it, our current system is unsustainable." While Durbin said that insuring more Americans, lowering insurance costs and promoting preventative medicine were top priorities, he left the controversial public option off his list. "Republicans think it's a way to eliminate other plans and just have the federal plan -- that (misinformaton is) part of the public outrage," Durbin explained.