The following are some details from today's Bloomberg. See the last sentence before reading about the wonderful consensus that Adolph Hussein Hitler is claiming. I find it amusing that Schwartzenegger is cited as a good example in this article. The state of California is worse than bankrupt.
Obama Says Congress Reaching ‘Historic Moment’ on Health Care
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By Kate Andersen Brower
Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said his plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system has gained momentum in Congress where lawmakers are approaching a “historic moment” in crafting the legislation.
Obama said his push for a bill was aided by the Congressional Budget Office’s report that the version being considered by the Senate Finance Committee would trim the federal deficit while insuring millions more people. He also cited endorsements of his effort by prominent current and former Republican officeholders, such as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“What’s remarkable is not that we’ve had a spirited debate about health insurance reform, but the unprecedented consensus that has come together behind it,” Obama said in his weekly address on the radio and Internet. “Now is the time to rise above the politics of the moment.”
The Senate finance panel’s $829 billion plan would cut the deficit by $81 billion over 10 years, with new taxes and savings more than offsetting the measure’s cost, the CBO said in a preliminary analysis released Oct. 7. It would continue to reduce the deficit in the subsequent decade, the CBO said, though the nonpartisan agency said it couldn’t give precise figures.
The panel’s legislation would require that millions of Americans purchase health insurance, impose new restrictions on insurers, and tax high-end insurance plans.
Supporters
Obama said revamping health care has gained broad support from leaders such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, and Republicans Schwarzenegger, Bob Dole and Bill Frist, both former Senate majority leaders, and Tommy Thompson, who was Health and Human Services secretary under President George W. Bush. Bloomberg is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg News.
“These distinguished leaders understand that health insurance reform isn’t a Democratic issue or a Republican issue, but an American issue that demands a solution,” Obama said. He said they are joining doctors and nurses and representatives of the hospital and drug industries who already have expressed their support.
The Senate Finance Committee, the last of five congressional committees working on proposals, plans to vote on its bill Oct. 13, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The legislation will be combined with a separate Senate version approved by the chamber’s health committee in July. Three House committees have also acted.
Republican Address
In the Republican address, Senator George LeMieux of Florida said the Democratic-backed health-care plans would cost at least $1.8 trillion over 10 years and will take nearly $500 billion out of Medicare funding.
“Taking money from a program already in financial trouble is not responsible; it’s not fair to our seniors who paid into the program and it’s not fair to our children and grandchildren who will be burdened with massive debt obligations,” he said.
LeMieux said the overhaul would force millions of people onto Medicaid, the state and federal insurance program for the poor. He said that will add a burden on state governments.
“Piling on additional obligations would mean even more severe cuts to roads, schools, law enforcement and other essential state services,” he said.
LeMieux said requiring all Americans to purchase health- care insurance would add “a new tax burden” for people who can’t afford it. Every adult would be charged a $750 penalty if they don’t buy health insurance, LeMieux said. That would break a promise Obama made not to raise taxes on families earning less than $250,000 a year.
“If it looks like a tax, and it’s paid like a tax, then it is a tax, plain and simple,” he said.
Democrats are working on the legislation without Republican input and are rushing toward a resolution, LeMieux said.
