The U.S. House on 3/19 passed and adopted the Senate's health care plan that chamber passed not so long ago. The vote was 219-212 in favor. All republicans voted no and 34 democrats voted no. The measure went to President Obama for his signature. The legislation is said to cover approximately 32 million Americans who are now uninsured.
The republican response was the same after passage. They intend to take it to court and try to get the state governments to do the same. They will continue to do all in their power to kill the bill. They will continue to work to defeat the democrats in the November elections and make sure the public knows how they voted. The cost is to great and will increase the federal deficit. Plus the other usual so called conservative mumbo jumbo.
Lets do some comparison: The republican controlled congress under President Bush passed a prescription drug benefit program that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says was financed by deficit spending by the Bush administration at a cost of $1.2 trillion over a 10 year period. That deficit spending is still being paid by the Obama administration and the American people. That benefit also gave the people the donut hole.
The Iraq war on the 7th anniversary this month cost the taxpayers $747 billion and was financed by deficit spending by the Bush administration and the Obama administration and the people are still saddled with and paying for. The cost will hit a trillion dollars if the U.S. stays till the end of 2011 as planned. That unnecessary war over WMD that did not exist took over 4400 American lives, over 30,000 wounded and no one really knows how many innocent men, women and Iraqi children have been killed who only wanted to raise a family.
The bailout of the financial industry by the Bush administration to the tune of $700 billion was financed by deficit spending and now the Obama administration and the people are paying for it until the financial industry pays it all back. When it comes to deficit spending the so called conservative republicans are the biggest hypocrites alive. They have no shame with their ditto head lies to the American people.
The health care plan that just passed the U.S. House will cost approximately $950 Billion over 10 years and reduce the federal deficit over $100 billion says the CBO. The CBO also says during the next 10 years the deficit will be reduced over $1 trillion. The plan is paid for by taxes and other means. The plan will also eliminate the donut hole in the prescription drug plan.
There is one way to measure the cost of the health care plan. That is, will the cost be reasonable compared to the status quo of increased premiums, less coverage, more uninsured, more canceled policies, more businesses going out of business and etc. If the cost is reasonable in relation to the status quo, and does accomplish what it is intended to do and does indeed reduce the federal deficit like the CBO says, then it is good legislation.
The health care issue was proper to be addressed by the Obama administration and as long as they are in power they also have the responsibility to make it come out right for the country and its people and not add to the federal deficit. Democrats should remember one of President Truman's famous statements when he said: You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one. I don't believe in little plans. I believe in plans big enough to meet a situation which we can't possible foresee now.
The democrats should act accordingly and make any adjustments necessary to insure the legislation does what it was intended to do.
