by Randy Shannon

Sen. Bob Casey Votes to keep drug prices high

December 17, 2009

Merry Christmas from Senator Bob Casey! Yesterday the US Senate defeated 51-48 (60 votes to pass) an amendment to allow reimportation of US drugs from certain foreign countries. Senator Casey voted with the drug lobbyists against the people of his state.

Democratic Sen. Dorgan has introduced this bill repeatedly over the years. When the Democrats were in the minority and could not pass the bill, they all voted for it. Now that there are enough votes on both sides of the aisle to pass this bill, key Democrats voted against it.

Continue reading Sen. Bob Casey Votes against lower cost drugs for Pennsylvanians →

Trumka: The Senate Bill Is ‘Inadequate’
Rachel Slajda | December 17, 2009

The president of AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, said in a press release today that the Senate bill is “inadequate” and promised to fight for something closer to the House bill, which he said is “the model for genuine health care reform.” Here is the full text of the release:

The labor movement has been fighting for health care for nearly 100 years and we are not about to stop fighting now, when it really matters.

But for this health care bill to be worthy of the support of working men and women, substantial changes must be made. The AFL-CIO intends to fight on behalf of all working families to make those changes and win health care reform that is deserving of the name.

Continue reading AFL-CIO Pres. Rich Trumka: The Senate Bill Is ‘Inadequate’ →

Health-care bill wouldn’t bring real reform

by Howard Dean
Thursday, December 17, 2009; A33
The Washington Post

If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands private insurers’ monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. Real reform would insert competition into insurance markets, force insurers to cut unnecessary administrative expenses and spend health-care dollars caring for people. Real reform would significantly lower costs, improve the delivery of health care and give all Americans a meaningful choice of coverage. The current Senate bill accomplishes none of these.

Continue reading Howard Dean: Current Senate Healthcare Bill is worse than nothing →

The Next Most Underreported Health Reform Story

What will happen to SCHIP?

By Trudy Lieberman

Columbia Journalism Review

Where are the chips falling, so to speak, when it comes to the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)? The press ought to be finding out, and fast. Last week, the Children’s Defense Fund sent me an invitation for an informational call discussing SCHIP’s future: “If the Senate doesn’t take a stand for children in the next days or weeks, our worst fears could clearly come to pass.” The dire-sounding invite piqued my interest, especially since I had read in the House bill that SCHIP would be repealed. What was going on?

It turns out that the House indeed wants to repeal the program and require kids to get coverage via the insurance exchange, the government’s soon-to-be gigantic brokerage service. Their parents, of course, would be getting subsidies to help buy coverage, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat no less, touted the advantages of dumping SCHIP. One advantage: the program wouldn’t be subject to the periodic and occasionally problematic Congressional reauthorizations that threaten its existence. Dingell said kids could have the same insurance as their parents—an incentive to force parents to cover their kids. (Sometimes parents, daunted by bureaucratic red tape, don’t enroll their children even if they are eligible.)

Continue reading Altmire’s “Budget Neutral” Healthcare Reform Leaves the Children to the Ruthless Insurance Companies: No More SCHIP →

Labor Holds Emergency Meetings To Discuss Senate Bill, May Formally Oppose . . . .

12-16-09

Two of the country’s largest labor groups, the SEIU and the AFL-CIO, are each holding emergency executive meetings today to discuss whether they should support the latest round of health care compromises made by Senate Democrats.

Though there’s no official word yet, early indications based on talks with various officials are that the groups will either formally oppose the legislation or, less dramatically, just not fight very hard to ensure its passage.

Labor leaders are fuming at the concessions that Democratic leadership made in the last few days to win the support of the caucus’s most conservative members, notably Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.). A bill that already included one highly objectionable provision (a tax on so-called Cadillac insurance plans) was stripped of a provision beloved by labor: a public alternative to private insurance coverage. Frustration boiled over even further after the leadership succumbed to Lieberman’s demand to jettison even the compromise to the public option — a proposal to expand Medicare to those as young as 55.

Continue reading Labor Leaders Weigh Senate Health Insurance Reform Bill in Senate →

by Randy Shannon

The article following is an account of the sordid story of how a majority of Congress showed the sensibility of a pack of hyenas as they passed an unconstitutional bill of attainder against ACORN. At the end of the article is a link to the roll call and to District Justice Nina Gershon’s opinion ordering an injunction against an act of the US Congress, a rare event.

4th CD Congressman Jason Altmire voted for this unconstitutional bill. By so doing, he has brought shame on himself and the people of his district. Our Constitution can protect our liberty from encroachment by powerful economic interests, but only if we the people defend its principles. Altmire’s vote to undermine our freedom shows that he votes the interests of the powerful and not the people. This is reason enough to vote him out of office.

Major victory for ACORN and the Constitution
By Glenn Greenwald

In September, I interviewed Rep. Alan Grayson about the unconstitutionality of Congress’ attempt to de-fund ACORN, and a couple of weeks later, examined Supreme Court precedent — principally the 1946 case of U.S. v. Lovett — that left little doubt that the Congressional war on ACORN violated the Constitutional ban on “bills of attainder.” Yesterday, in a lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, Federal District Judge Nina Gershon of the Eastern District of New York found Congress’ de-funding of ACORN unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement. This is a major victory not only for ACORN, but also for the Constitution.

Continue reading Jason Altmire’s Shameful Vote Against our Constitution →