Harry Reid: No Vote On Government Health Care Until The Fall
And for once, I find myself agreeing with Senator Reid.
Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday abandoned plans for a vote on health care before Congress’ August recess, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama’s ambitious timetable to revamp the nation’s $2.4 trillion system of medical care.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., delivered the official word on what had been expected for weeks, saying, “It’s better to have a product based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than try to jam something through.”
His words were a near-echo of Republicans who have criticized the rush to act on complex legislation that affects every American.
Reid told reporters the Senate Finance Committee will act on its portion of the bill before lawmakers’ monthlong break. Reid then will merge that bill with separate legislation passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee earlier this month.
There is perhaps no legislation on the Democrats’ agenda that could change the way we live our lives (and not for the better in my estimation) more than their plans for government health care. So if they’re going to pass something, and despite this delay the danger is still clear and present, why not pass it after intense scrutiny and debate? Why ram-rod something through?
If the Democrats are so confident that this is what Americans want, then shouldn’t engaging in the full process of our intentionally tedious legislative process work to their advantage?
