Rep. Anthony Weiner (D NY) has withdrawn his proposed "single payer" amendment to the health care reform bill. This is somewhat disheartening, as single payer is considered by many progressives to be the true path to actual reform. One can be happy that the Dems are forming ranks to insure passage of some kind (any kind!) of reform will be enacted. The horrid-slow pace of reform though, is frustrating to so many who are in dire need of help with injurious healthcare costs.

The hope now is that, while there is still a strong Democrat majority in the houses of congress, that smaller bills may be presented, which will gradually move actual reform closer to existence.

A vote is expected this weekend. Here are some quotes, from various more-reliable progressive sources, which give an idea of the current state of the reform vote:

From the Daily Kos:

Weiner Withdraws Single Payer Amendment

by mcjoan

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 05:11:12 PM PST

Taking one for the team, Rep. Anthony Weiner has, in agreement with Speaker Pelosi, withdrawn his single payer amendment:
"I have decided not to offer a single payer alternative to the health reform bill at this time," says Weiner in a statement. "Given how fluid the negotiations are on the final push to get comprehensive health care reform that covers millions of Americans and contains costs through a public option, I became concerned that my amendment might undermine that important goal."
His decision is a tactical one, but it may nonetheless disappoint progressive activists and elected officials who, at the very least, want to put members on the record, and see single-payer given its day in the sun.
The "fluidity" of the negotiations is in large part due to the continuing push by Stupak and his abortion-foe colleagues to make the legislation even more hostile to women and reproductive rights. In the horse-trading world of rules, this can make it easier for leadership not allow any. The abortion fight is still apparently the main issue to resolve. Nice that these men are willing to hold up legislation that could benefit millions of Americans to make the political point that they want to control women's lives.
In terms of Weiner's move, the biggest tactical mistake made by Dems in this debate was not using single payer as the starting point for negotiations from the left. It made no sense in terms of politics. It made no sense in terms of policy. But there you have it. The sort of silver lining for singel payer proponents is that, while the current bill will do a lot to provide coverage to a lot more people, healthcare reform will be far from finished in this country. There will be more chances in the near future to enact more sweeping reforms. Once we get past the hurdle of doing it once, we'll just have to keep pushing for more."


From Political Wire:



November 07, 2009



Moment of Truth for Health Care Reform

The House health care reform bill "has taken more twists and turns and has zig-zagged its way through more Democratic districts than the Mississippi River," The Hill reports.

"And after a month's worth of legislative wrangling and deal-making, the bill is approaching its final destination: a vote on final passage, expected sometime before the sun rises on Sunday. Pressing toward dawn on Saturday, the Rules committee passed a rule after nearly 12 hours that would set up a vote on the health care bill at 6 p.m."

"No Congress has ever come this close to the goal - first proposed by President Theodore Roosevelt - of providing universal health insurance."


House Leaders Strike Deal Over Abortion

House Democratic leaders "have broken through the abortion impasse holding up their sweeping health care overhaul, a development leadership aides said put Democrats on track to pass the measure on Saturday," Roll Call reports.

"The deal hands a major win to abortion-rights opponents by green-lighting an up-or-down vote on a proposal by Reps. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Brad Ellsworth (D-IB) to bar plans that offer abortions from new health insurance exchanges. The ban would extend to a public insurance option that House Democrats have included in their package."

"The amendment will likely pass with support from Republicans, forcing the majority of Democrats, who support abortion rights, to swallow hard in voting for the package on final passage. Democrats on the House Rules Committee who favor abortion rights made their discomfort clear early Saturday morning as they debated allowing the amendment."


Health Care Vote May Slip

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said "that he expected the House to pass sweeping health care legislation on Saturday evening. But he acknowledged that Democrats were still trying to corral the necessary 218 votes, and that what he called Republican delaying tactics could push the vote back to Sunday or early next week," the New York Times reports.

Said Hoyer: "We will be successful in the next two or three days."

Update: Democratic House leadership aides tell First Read "there will, in fact, be a vote tomorrow on health-reform legislation -- despite reports suggesting a vote could be pushed back to Sunday or even next week... The aide, however, conceded the vote could slip later into tomorrow evening."

Update II: Congress Daily says Democrats need 10 more votes.