The House Has Acted On Continuing Resolution - Senate Democrats Balking
Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept. 30, 2013:
Faced with a Government shutdown, Senate Democrat leader Harry Reid delays reconvening until 2 PM today.
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) calls up the modified continuing resolution (CR), H.J. Res. 59, he has the ability to hold a quick vote, since the bill is returning to the Senate as a House message. Under the rules, that means he can move to table the House amendment by a simple majority vote, concur with the House amendment, which could take 60 votes, or amend the House amendment, which could also take 60 votes.
On Friday, the Senate voted 79-19 to invoke cloture on H.J. Res. 59, and 68-30 to waive budget points of order against the bill. All Democrats then voted to strip language defunding Obamacare, while all Republicans opposed the move. The Senate then voted 54-44 to pass the modified bill and send it back to the House.
Saturday night, the House voted 248-174 to modify the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59 by repealing Obamacare’s medical device tax and 231-192 to modify the Senate amendment with a one year delay of Obamacare. The House also voted 423-0 to pass H.R. 3210, which would ensure military pay in the event of a government shutdown. The House also passed H.R. 3204 [Voice Vote] - To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to human drug compounding and drug supply chain security.
The House reconvened at 10 AM. As far as the Continuing Resolution, the House is in standby mode awaiting Senator Reid actions based on what the White House tell him to proceed. On the House floor this morning, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) challenged Democratic leaders in the Senate to listen to the American people – who don’t want a government shutdown and don’t want ObamaCare – and pass the House’s plan to delay the president’s health care law and repeal the medical device tax:“Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, as I travel around my district and around the country, the American people are worried about their job, they’re worried about their incomes rising, because they’re all under pressure. The economy's not growing. Why isn't it growing?
“One of the issues that’s standing in the way is ObamaCare. The fact that nobody knows what the rules are, employers scared to death to hire new employees, cutting the hours of many of their current employees, and for what reason?
“This law is not ready for prime time. The House has done its work. We passed a bill on Saturday night - sent it to the United States Senate - that would delay ObamaCare for one year, and would eliminate permanently the medical device tax that is costing us tens of thousands of jobs that are being shipped overseas.
“Senate decided not to work yesterday. Well my goodness, if there’s such an emergency, where are they? It's time for the Senate to listen to the American people just like the House has listened to the American people and to pass a one-year delay of ObamaCare and a permanent repeal of the medical device tax.”
While waiting on the Senate, the House is moving ahead on the following legislation today:
H.R. 3174 — "To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to obligate funds for emergency relief projects arising from damage caused by severe weather events in 2013, and for other purposes."
S. 1348 — "To reauthorize the Congressional Award Act."
The Obama administration plans to open health care exchanges set up by Obamacare tomorrow, but polling shows Americans remain concerned and deeply skeptical of the president’s health care law and news reports show bureaucracies across the country struggling to get the exchanges working in time.
NBC News reports today, “On the eve of open enrollment to buy health insurance under the law, and as Republicans threaten to defund [Obamacare], the Kaiser Family Foundation/NBC survey found an anemic level of enthusiasm about the program among ordinary people and splits among party lines. Just over half said they were worried, while slightly less said they were confused. Twenty-nine percent said they were angry about the ACA, compared to just 24 percent who described themselves as enthusiastic. ‘It's how many thousands of pages and taller than most people,’ said Lauren Cathis, 49, of Canton, Ohio, adding that she is relieved she is covered by Medicare and doesn't have to navigate the purchase of insurance in the coming months. ‘It's so complex, how can I believe any of the numbers I've been given?’ Those numbers are the source of much of the angst surrounding the biggest change in health care in years. Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed said they were very or somewhat worried that they would have to pay more for their health care or health insurance and that their income would be outpaced by rising costs.”
The poll further found that “[n]ot even half of Democrats -- 44 percent -- describe themselves as enthusiastic about Obamacare. But compare that to the Republicans: a mere 5 percent. Even among Independents, enthusiasm is scarce at 18 percent.”
Meanwhile, with the administration demanding the exchanges open tomorrow, reports continue to suggest they’re not ready for primetime. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, “Obama administration officials scrambling to get the health law's insurance marketplaces ready to open on Tuesday keep hitting technical problems, while government-funded field workers across the country say they aren't fully prepared to help Americans enroll in the program. . . . Nonprofit groups and brokers that will help enroll consumers in the marketplaces, known as exchanges, say they haven't yet had a chance to preview the systems. Technical problems have limited certification for some nonprofit workers involved. . . . The exchange software that determines whether people get the subsidies was returning accurate determinations about two-thirds of the time late Friday, up from less than 50% earlier in the week, one person familiar with the development said. . . . The people who are supposed to help enroll Americans if the computer systems don't work properly aren't fully ready either.”
Reporting from Oregon today, The New York Times< writes, “Rocky King, the executive director of Oregon’s new health insurance exchange, has done everything in his power to tamp down expectations for its opening on Tuesday. He rejected the idea of a flashy downtown news conference that morning. He postponed a series of ads meant to drive customers to its Web site, coveroregon.com. In fact, Mr. King is not even allowing people to sign up for health coverage online without assistance at first; they will have to go through an insurance agent or a community group until at least mid-October. Tuesday is the long-awaited kickoff of President Obama’s signature health care law, when millions of Americans can start signing up for new insurance options. Yet across the country, officials are issuing warnings that despite fevered efforts, their new insurance exchanges . . . will not be fully operational for weeks or even months. . . . ‘I have no idea what this thing’s going to look like on Oct. 1,’ Mr. King said one afternoon last week as dozens of tense-looking programmers, scattered through the exchange offices outside Portland, rushed to finish testing and fix problems. ‘We could crash and burn and have to close it down.’”
The Times reminds readers, “Last week, the District of Columbia’s exchange announced that it would not immediately be able to determine online whether people qualify for Medicaid, which about half the states are expanding under the law, or for a federal subsidy to help cover the cost of private coverage. In Colorado, for the first month, people who want to know if they are eligible for a subsidy will have to call a customer service line. In Nevada, home to a large Hispanic population, a Spanish-language version of the exchange Web site will not be ready until mid-November. And in Maryland, small businesses will not be able to buy insurance for their employees through the state exchange until January. Federally run exchanges are having similar problems.”
As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday, “[A]s Senator Moynihan used to tell us, data is the plural of anecdote. There are just too many stories about the impact of Obamacare – far too many to be dismissed with the wave of a hand. Ironically, the same day the President was painting more rosy scenarios in Maryland, the Administration announced yet another delay in this law’s implementation. . . . You might be able to take any one of the many Obamacare problems in isolation and explain it away, say it doesn’t matter, call it just an ‘anecdote.’ But what we’re getting here is a constant drip-drip, paired with the effects we’re seeing on jobs and health care and the economy. And it all adds up to one thing: a law in trouble. A law that needs to be repealed. That’s the goal of every member on this side. We’re united on the need to repeal Obamacare. We want to replace it with sensible, bipartisan reforms that will actually work. . . . The problem here is that we can’t get that done unless some of our friends on the other side are prepared to step up and work with us on this issue. That doesn’t mean we’ll give up the fight if they don’t. We won’t. . . . So I’m calling for Democrat Senators to put the middle class ahead of the President’s pride. I’m calling for them to help us pass a delay for everyone. We’ve already filed legislation that would do just that. A bipartisan majority of the House supports it. Let’s work together to do it. Then, once we get that done, let’s keep working to get rid of this law and replace it with real reforms.”
Tags: Continuing Resolution, US House, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Faced with a Government shutdown, Senate Democrat leader Harry Reid delays reconvening until 2 PM today.
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) calls up the modified continuing resolution (CR), H.J. Res. 59, he has the ability to hold a quick vote, since the bill is returning to the Senate as a House message. Under the rules, that means he can move to table the House amendment by a simple majority vote, concur with the House amendment, which could take 60 votes, or amend the House amendment, which could also take 60 votes.
On Friday, the Senate voted 79-19 to invoke cloture on H.J. Res. 59, and 68-30 to waive budget points of order against the bill. All Democrats then voted to strip language defunding Obamacare, while all Republicans opposed the move. The Senate then voted 54-44 to pass the modified bill and send it back to the House.
Saturday night, the House voted 248-174 to modify the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59 by repealing Obamacare’s medical device tax and 231-192 to modify the Senate amendment with a one year delay of Obamacare. The House also voted 423-0 to pass H.R. 3210, which would ensure military pay in the event of a government shutdown. The House also passed H.R. 3204 [Voice Vote] - To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to human drug compounding and drug supply chain security.
The House reconvened at 10 AM. As far as the Continuing Resolution, the House is in standby mode awaiting Senator Reid actions based on what the White House tell him to proceed. On the House floor this morning, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) challenged Democratic leaders in the Senate to listen to the American people – who don’t want a government shutdown and don’t want ObamaCare – and pass the House’s plan to delay the president’s health care law and repeal the medical device tax:
“One of the issues that’s standing in the way is ObamaCare. The fact that nobody knows what the rules are, employers scared to death to hire new employees, cutting the hours of many of their current employees, and for what reason?
“This law is not ready for prime time. The House has done its work. We passed a bill on Saturday night - sent it to the United States Senate - that would delay ObamaCare for one year, and would eliminate permanently the medical device tax that is costing us tens of thousands of jobs that are being shipped overseas.
“Senate decided not to work yesterday. Well my goodness, if there’s such an emergency, where are they? It's time for the Senate to listen to the American people just like the House has listened to the American people and to pass a one-year delay of ObamaCare and a permanent repeal of the medical device tax.”
While waiting on the Senate, the House is moving ahead on the following legislation today:
H.R. 3174 — "To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to obligate funds for emergency relief projects arising from damage caused by severe weather events in 2013, and for other purposes."
S. 1348 — "To reauthorize the Congressional Award Act."
The Obama administration plans to open health care exchanges set up by Obamacare tomorrow, but polling shows Americans remain concerned and deeply skeptical of the president’s health care law and news reports show bureaucracies across the country struggling to get the exchanges working in time.
NBC News reports today, “On the eve of open enrollment to buy health insurance under the law, and as Republicans threaten to defund [Obamacare], the Kaiser Family Foundation/NBC survey found an anemic level of enthusiasm about the program among ordinary people and splits among party lines. Just over half said they were worried, while slightly less said they were confused. Twenty-nine percent said they were angry about the ACA, compared to just 24 percent who described themselves as enthusiastic. ‘It's how many thousands of pages and taller than most people,’ said Lauren Cathis, 49, of Canton, Ohio, adding that she is relieved she is covered by Medicare and doesn't have to navigate the purchase of insurance in the coming months. ‘It's so complex, how can I believe any of the numbers I've been given?’ Those numbers are the source of much of the angst surrounding the biggest change in health care in years. Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed said they were very or somewhat worried that they would have to pay more for their health care or health insurance and that their income would be outpaced by rising costs.”
The poll further found that “[n]ot even half of Democrats -- 44 percent -- describe themselves as enthusiastic about Obamacare. But compare that to the Republicans: a mere 5 percent. Even among Independents, enthusiasm is scarce at 18 percent.”
Meanwhile, with the administration demanding the exchanges open tomorrow, reports continue to suggest they’re not ready for primetime. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, “Obama administration officials scrambling to get the health law's insurance marketplaces ready to open on Tuesday keep hitting technical problems, while government-funded field workers across the country say they aren't fully prepared to help Americans enroll in the program. . . . Nonprofit groups and brokers that will help enroll consumers in the marketplaces, known as exchanges, say they haven't yet had a chance to preview the systems. Technical problems have limited certification for some nonprofit workers involved. . . . The exchange software that determines whether people get the subsidies was returning accurate determinations about two-thirds of the time late Friday, up from less than 50% earlier in the week, one person familiar with the development said. . . . The people who are supposed to help enroll Americans if the computer systems don't work properly aren't fully ready either.”
Reporting from Oregon today, The New York Times< writes, “Rocky King, the executive director of Oregon’s new health insurance exchange, has done everything in his power to tamp down expectations for its opening on Tuesday. He rejected the idea of a flashy downtown news conference that morning. He postponed a series of ads meant to drive customers to its Web site, coveroregon.com. In fact, Mr. King is not even allowing people to sign up for health coverage online without assistance at first; they will have to go through an insurance agent or a community group until at least mid-October. Tuesday is the long-awaited kickoff of President Obama’s signature health care law, when millions of Americans can start signing up for new insurance options. Yet across the country, officials are issuing warnings that despite fevered efforts, their new insurance exchanges . . . will not be fully operational for weeks or even months. . . . ‘I have no idea what this thing’s going to look like on Oct. 1,’ Mr. King said one afternoon last week as dozens of tense-looking programmers, scattered through the exchange offices outside Portland, rushed to finish testing and fix problems. ‘We could crash and burn and have to close it down.’”
The Times reminds readers, “Last week, the District of Columbia’s exchange announced that it would not immediately be able to determine online whether people qualify for Medicaid, which about half the states are expanding under the law, or for a federal subsidy to help cover the cost of private coverage. In Colorado, for the first month, people who want to know if they are eligible for a subsidy will have to call a customer service line. In Nevada, home to a large Hispanic population, a Spanish-language version of the exchange Web site will not be ready until mid-November. And in Maryland, small businesses will not be able to buy insurance for their employees through the state exchange until January. Federally run exchanges are having similar problems.”
As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday, “[A]s Senator Moynihan used to tell us, data is the plural of anecdote. There are just too many stories about the impact of Obamacare – far too many to be dismissed with the wave of a hand. Ironically, the same day the President was painting more rosy scenarios in Maryland, the Administration announced yet another delay in this law’s implementation. . . . You might be able to take any one of the many Obamacare problems in isolation and explain it away, say it doesn’t matter, call it just an ‘anecdote.’ But what we’re getting here is a constant drip-drip, paired with the effects we’re seeing on jobs and health care and the economy. And it all adds up to one thing: a law in trouble. A law that needs to be repealed. That’s the goal of every member on this side. We’re united on the need to repeal Obamacare. We want to replace it with sensible, bipartisan reforms that will actually work. . . . The problem here is that we can’t get that done unless some of our friends on the other side are prepared to step up and work with us on this issue. That doesn’t mean we’ll give up the fight if they don’t. We won’t. . . . So I’m calling for Democrat Senators to put the middle class ahead of the President’s pride. I’m calling for them to help us pass a delay for everyone. We’ve already filed legislation that would do just that. A bipartisan majority of the House supports it. Let’s work together to do it. Then, once we get that done, let’s keep working to get rid of this law and replace it with real reforms.”
Tags: Continuing Resolution, US House, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
1 Comments:
NO, Harry Reid balked.
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