A bipartisan group of centrist and conservative senators sent a letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders on Friday urging delay in consideration of health care reform. The letter, obtained by the Huffington Post, was drafted by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and is also signed by Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.). Independent Joe Lieberman (Conn.), who caucuses with Democrats, signed on, as did Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins -- moderates heavily courted by President Obama. The organized effort to slow down the process is a blow to the reform effort. The letter, sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stresses that while the senators still want health care reform done this year, they don't feel comfortable voting for it until they've had more time to study its costs and benefits.
Time was when one could reasonably have expected leadership and action for the US Senate. I'm not certain when that time was, necessarily, but there had to have been some time when the 100 dinosaurs in the Senate could decide and act in the best interests of the American people...right? Now, even I have to wonder about this. The need for health care reform should be painfully obvious to anyone who's been blessed with the powers of observation. Nonetheless, there's a group of six Senators who are demanding that the process be delayed until they can ponder and ruminate over every aspect of President Obama's health care reform bill.
Of course, I'm not about to advocate for hasty decision-making in a misguided effort to send something- anything- to President Obama's desk. But is it too much to expect that the process be expedited, that the decks be cleared, and significant efforts be made to complete passage of a health care reform package? Apparently so.
The hypocrisy would be almost comical if it wasn't so...well, hypocritical. No less an intellect tha Paul Krugman is willing to dress them down:
What's especially galling is the hypocrisy of their claimed reason for delaying progress -- concern about the fiscal burden. After all, in the past most of them have shown no concern at all for the nation's long-term fiscal outlook.
Case in point: the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which denied Medicare the right to bargain for lower drug prices, locked in overpayments to private insurance companies, and did nothing, nothing at all, to pay for its proposed outlays. How many of these six self-proclaimed defenders of solvency voted no on the crucial procedural vote? One. (Joe Lieberman, to my surprise.)
And let's not forget that Ben Nelson, who appears to be the ringleader, has fought tooth and nail against competition from a public option -- which would almost certainly save a significant amount of money, as well as providing much-needed competition.
If the Gang of Six really does kill reform, remember their names; they will bear the responsibility for vast, unnecessary suffering over the years to come.
In reality, the opposition of the Gang of Six has little to do with fiscal responsibility. I'd suspect it's much more likely that it has everything to do with the amount of campaign donations each have received from companies that will be directly- and perhaps adversely- impacted by any sort of health care reform. I don't know this to be fact, of course, because I haven't looked closely at the donors for each of the six. Still, it's not exactly a stretch to think that money is the concern...just not for the reasons each of the Gang of Six would have you believe.
So how long do we continue to let Congress dawdle and tinker? If they keep at it long enough, Congress will eventually deliver health care reform in name only- if they deliver anything at all. We'll have a bill that will benefit insurance companies and do precious little to assist those who lack access to quality, affordable health care.
This nation has waited far too long for Congress to do the right thing by the American people. Now, a pathetic gaggle of six senators, most Democrats, are still trying to carry water for the insurance industry. It would be nice to think that each member of the Gang of Six could see their way clear to do the right thing by their constituents- you know, those who actually sent them to Washington in the first place? Then again, thousands of dollars in donations from insurance companies ought to buy something, right? It might as well be influence, eh? While the Gang of Six may talk about fiscal responsibility, I have to wonder if it's all just a smoke screen for their efforts to kill health care reform altogether.
Sure, you might call it corruption. Those making the donations probably see it as an investment...and it appears the Gang of Six are about to make their investment pay off.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
