By Douglas V. Gibbs
The Associated Press is reporting that health care legislation passed its first hurdle past midnight, early Monday morning, with a 60-40 vote.
The vote follows Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson's announcement that he had been bought by Reid, and decided to support the bill.
The vote also guarantees that the health insurance takeover by the Democrat Party led government will become a key issue during the campaigns by Republicans for the 2010 midterm elections.
It's not over yet, however. Democrats must post 60 votes twice more, and Republicans have already prepared delay tactics that will hopefull stop the final passage of the monstrosity of a bill until Christmas - though unless one of the Democrats is convinced to vote against it, will not prevent its passage.
The House has already passed their own legislation, but the House bill differs from the Senate bill in a number of ways, and compromise will need to be reached for the House to be willing to vote in the Senate's version of health care legislation.
Conservatives argue that the attempt by Congressional Democrats to insert more government control over the health insurance industry is unconstitutional. No where in the 7 Articles or 27 Amendments of the U.S. Constitution is the authority given to the federal government to oversee or regulate the health care industry in any capacity. The U.S. Senate just voted, however, to expand the reach of the federal government to do just that.
Health Care legislation is a clear violation of Amendment X. The powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
In other words, if the states wish to have state run health insurance programs (free of federal funding), they are allowed to do so. The federal government, however, cannot intrude on the issue. This Senate bill, however, not only inserts the federal government into the industry, but mandates that Americans have health insurance under the threat of the penalty of law, which includes the possibility of fines, and jail time.
And don't hold your breath for the United States Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional. Their willingness to act unconstitutionally is a glaring problem as well, best characterized by the 1972 Roe v Wade decision where the SCOTUS unconstitutionally made law while overturning a state law on an issue that the federal government had no authority over.
The Democrats in Congress don't care about the U.S. Constitution, though. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi said when asked about the constitutionality of health care legislation: "Are you serious? Are you serious?"
The disastrous socialized medical scheme will increase the national debt, destroy the private industry, damage the quality of health care, and stifle medical advancements. We will be paying higher taxes for four years before the so-called benefits even take effect! Additionally, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), under the Democrats' plan, the cost of health care will go up, while the quality of care will go down.
Polls show that over 60% of Americans do not want this devastating health care takeover by the government. Despite the voice of the people, the Democrat Congressional leaders are pushing their agenda, essentially thumbing their noses at us, using hundreds of millions of tax dollars to bribe Democrat legislators into voting for the health care legislative monstrosity.
As Americans, we need to make our voices heard. We are against this horrendous attempt to socialize American Medicine.
To be better informed about what the bill is all about, here are five facts about Senate Health Care Bill (HR 3590):
1. Medicare will be cut by $500 billion, and millions of seniors would lose access to Medicare Advantage plans which utilize an element of choice.
2. Health Insurance Premiums will go higher as confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Specifically, the bill would result in non-group premium increases of $300 per year for individuals and $2,500 per year for families.
3. Healthcare Costs will increase.
4. Lost Coverage, as confirmed by the CBO, will include up to 10 million people losing their employer-provided healthcare coverage.
5. More and More Spending. Actually, $2.5 trillion worth, in its first 10 years of implementation, increasing our national debt even more.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Health Care bill clears key Senate test - Associated Press
Five Facts About The Current Senate Health Care Bill (HR 3590) - MichNews
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