Posted on 12/22/2009 4:09:15 PM PST by mdittmar
WASHINGTON — It may be the only bipartisan agreement that Congress reaches this year on overhauling health care.
Republicans, under pressure not to wreck Christmas for lawmakers and their staffs, agreed Tuesday that Senate passage of the Democrats' controversial bill seemed inevitable and scaled back procedural-delay mechanisms to allow a vote by the morning of Christmas Eve.
Had the full debate continued, the Senate would have voted at around 9 p.m. Thursday, too late for many lawmakers and their staff members to get home in time for the holiday. Instead, the vote is set for 8 a.m.
President Barack Obama had announced that he'd delay his own departure for his family vacation in Hawaii until the vote was over.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had said that he'd been willing to stay late into Christmas Eve because, "It's important that we take the time to analyze it in every way that we can before the final votes are taken in the Senate."
However, Democrats as well as Republicans expressed concern about missing Christmas — since many live in places where planes can't get them home in time — and others were concerned about an ice storm that's threatening the Midwest.
McConnell also said, "The final vote in the Senate is not the final vote. There are substantial differences between the House and Senate bills. This debate is not over."
If the Senate's version passes as expected, it will be considered by a House of Representatives-Senate conference, or negotiating, committee, which typically operates largely in secrecy.
"The American people are still going to have another month or so, I would guess, to weigh in and express their concerns about this package to each of their representatives," McConnell said.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
The lefty family members will greet the sane relatives with a warm smile and an admonition, “Now, no politics, Uncle George! We’re just going to have a nice, cozy family Christmas this year!”
Let’s hope this year when the lefty kids notice Uncle George is withdrawn, Aunt Gladys tells them he is worried sick about how he is going to take care of her under ObamaCare.
Worse than all the Democratic Senators. Worse than Carter. Worse than Obama.
Yeah...you're real helpful. Blaming those who don't have the votes to do spit for what Democrats have done is just great. That will encourage people. Maybe next year Democrats will have a 2/3rds majority.
No guts, no glory. Although there are a few with some guts and some smarts, most of them - far too many - are invertebrate fools.
I also meant to say that I’m at least glad to see them united and that they’re there to resoundingly vote no. Olympia Snowe though is another matter. She voted yes to let the bill out of committee. If I’m not mistaken, she could have stopped that.
Were I uncle George and Aunt Gladys, I would turn around and go home if my ids or nephew/niece/grandkid said that to me, but elderly people don’t do that. They want to see family and the youngsters, so they put up with it and general disrespect, sad to say.
In the end, the demoRAT will get exactly the socialist piece of crap that they were aiming for all along.
We continue to get screwed in every aspect of this hellish POS bill getting passed. From the demoRATs stealing elections (Frankenstein), Spector switching over to the demoRATs, Repubs failing to delay the bill somehow till after Christmas due to Kay Bailey Hutchinson allowing the defense bill to be quickly passed without filibuster, and thereby ensuring the Health care piece of crap would make 0bozo's & Reid's Christmas Eve deadline. We are so screwed.
Happy New Year (I hope).
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