Last night, the House of Representatives passed a Health Care Reform bill by 220-215 votes. During the vote, Geraldo Rivera, on Fox News, asked Republican Chairman Michael Steele where was the Republican alternative to the now passed bill. Consistent with his past history, Mr. Steele ignored the vote on the Republican alternative earlier in the day which lost 258- 176 to say that the “Pelosi Congress” rammed through a bill which ignored the will of the American people.
As usual, Mr. Steele got it wrong. The Republican alternative would have loosened regulations on private insurers to reduce costs for those who currently have insurance, in some cases by as much as 10 percent. But the congressional budget analysts said the plan would not make a dent in the ranks of the uninsured which the passed bill does. What is most striking is that EVERY Democrat voted against the Republican plan and 38 of those same Democrats voted against the Democratic plan. What does that mean? It means 38 members thought neither bill was good enough for passage. No Democrat thought the Republican plan went far enough. And 175 Republicans weren’t going to vote for any Democratic bill regardless of what it contained. Of note is the fact that the passed bill doesn’t cover abortion or healthcare for illegal immigrants, all of the things to which Republicans previously objected.
No, Mr. Steele got it wrong. The American people wanted healthcare reform and told their Congressmen so. Only one Republican, Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana, thought they deserved it and he was under tremendous legislative pressure from his home district. Bottom line is tonight, half the legislative process worked. The next step is the Senate, then conference, then a bill for President Obama’s signature.