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Key vote on US health care reforms
(UKPA) – 1 hour ago

Health care reform - US President Barack Obama's top domestic policy priority - is poised for a critical but far-from-final vote.

Opposition Republicans are nearly unanimous in fighting the overhaul plans drawn up at Mr Obama's request by Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Republicans believe the Democrats' reform measure will unduly increase the national debt and wrongly intrude on the private sector.

Some members of the opposition see it as a chance to score political points by sinking a measure at the core of Mr Obama's presidency.

Most controversial among those issues is the establishment of a government programme in competition with the private insurance industry.

That, for now, has been written out of the Senate Finance Committee plan that is going to a vote among members of the panel.

Mr Obama has promised to reform the health care system, insisting that all Americans are entitled to insurance coverage, that costs have to be cut significantly to reduce the soaring national debt and that private insurers must be prevented from denying coverage or dropping it when a person becomes seriously ill.

The huge obstacles to the passage of legislation that would deliver on those pledges are forcing Mr Obama to spend heavily from his store of political capital, battling hard to prevent a congressional rebuke that could seriously weaken his standing after only nine months in office.

If the Democratic-controlled Senate Finance Committee passes the proposal, as expected, the 10-year, £525bn health care overhaul would go for debate among all 100 senators.

But Republicans, while a minority in the Senate, hold sufficient votes to stall passage through a procedure known as a filibuster. That expected move would require majority Democrats to muster all 60 of their votes, not a simple majority of 51, to end debate and bring a Bill to a final vote.

If yer tired enough of this yet, the Democrats can go ahead and capitulate now... but it's okay, if yer not done freaking about those evil Republicans it'll still help convince the world that America isn't ready for a sensible healthcare system, and eventually you'll be worn out, give up, the polls will show they can just go ahead with the mandatory insurance bill and call it good. Obama will still be a rock star and the insurance giants will be giants among giants. War is peace. Fascism is plenty. Hooray! Chocolate rations have been lowered! More for everybody!