Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe was the only Republican Tuesday to vote for the health care overhaul favored by Senate Democrats in the Finance Committee, but GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell saw a silver lining.
Snowe explained that she had reservations about the bill, and would keep a close eye on its progress as it now faces revisions during negotiations over just what kind of legislation Democrats will bring to the floor.
She called McConnell Tuesday morning, before her vote. Snowe, said McConnell, "let me know that while she continues to have serious, substantive policy reservations with this proposal, she wanted to keep the process moving."
McConnell said he understood. "I share her concerns about the direction of this bill," he said, adding the bill "will never come before the Senate. But what we do know is that the bill written behind closed doors here in the Capitol will be another thousand-page, trillion-dollar Washington takeover."
The Senate Health committee passed its version this summer, and Senate Democratic leaders and the White House will now try to merge the two measures. The full Senate will then consider the bill, possibly later this month.
Why is it that we as a nation can spend billions of dollars on foreign aid but we can not take care of our own at home. Healthcare overall should be moral issue. We have the right wing that are anti abortion but it's okay to let some die because they can afford medical care. It's okay that the insurance companies have death panels so Wall St reaps their profits. Also that the insurance companies management get paid millions of dollars. Nobody screams about that or calls them Nazis. What has happened to the moral compass this country has it been complete taken over by greed.
Posted by: Rick S | October 14, 2009 at 05:34 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/13/help-the-steins-saddled-w_n_318192.html
Read this and tell people again why we don't need healthcare reform
Posted by: hellian | October 14, 2009 at 09:54 AM
Actually as a Republican I am thrilled at her vote for this bill. I am very disgusted with Republican attitudes towards those less fortunate who have no health insurance. My father died in 1937 and my mother was untrained. She worked every day, early morning pruning fruit trees, cleaning out chicken houses or training grapes, then she picked fruit in season and then worked a half shift in the packing plant. With 5 children and no money to pay for child care, she had little time with us but she would get us up every night when she came home after midnight to see how our day went. I had rheumatic fever 3 times and ended up with terrible heart problems. I have had heart surgery 3 time but had health insurance fr9om employment as an RN. Altogether, medical care for me has cost just about a million dollars. It was an unneeded expense all for the want of some medical care earlier in my life. This is why we need universal health care. Alas, it will save money.
Posted by: Mari Johnson | October 13, 2009 at 08:53 PM