I just got off the phone on Friday with the office of the Senate Finance Committee. I've had many frustrating conversations with the offices of many, many members of congress, but this one laid me out flat. I was informed by the Finance Committee's office that the NUMBER ONE priority of the Finance Committee for Health Reform is "bipartisanship". Period. End of quote. End of Story. Okay, I admit it, there is more ahead ...
I just got off the phone on Friday with the office of the Senate Finance Committee. I've had many frustrating and infuriating conversations with the offices of many members of congress, but this one laid me out flat.
I asked about the chance of getting a public option given that Senator Snowe has come out and said she will not support one and Senator Grassley has said the same in the last few days. (I didn't know then that Baucus may be walking back towards a public option).
In response, I was informed by the Finance Committee's office that their NUMBER ONE priority for Health Reform is "bipartisanship". Period. End of quote. End of story.
I pressed the issue multiple times from multiple angles and this is what it comes down to. For the Finance Committee's Gang of Six, bipartisanship (as defined by them) is more important than:
- Passing a bill that brings about real, meaningful and lasting reform.
The bipartisan desire of 80% of the American people who desperately want the choice of a public option.
The clear voice of the people who voted overwhelmingly for Obama and a Congress who promised health reform we can believe in.
Keeping 1,000,000 people a year out of bankruptcy caused by health care expenses.
Saving the lives of the 18,000 people a year who die from lack of health care reform.
Something has to give. What I'm afraid of is that a lousy bill will pass, and millions of people like me will go to bed that night still without insurance or still afraid that we will lose our insurance, still left fighting daily battles for the care we've paid our premiums for, still knowing that our budgets won't continue to allow for the spiraling cost of insurance premiums, still fearing future bankruptcy or poverty from unexpected health bills that our insurance won't pay for.
Hearing that the Finanace Committee will feel they've succeeded if their number one goal of bipartisanship is met, even if a bill that serves the will and the needs of the vast majority of the American people is left in the dust, has left me feeling ill and shaking with anger and despair.
Think about it. Being able to say the bill is bipartisan is more important to them than saving the lives every year of almost six times as many people as the number that died in the attack on 9/11. Pardon me, but that is just plain insane.
I try to keep believing that Obama and the Democrats will come through. It sounds like they are beginning to get their act together. In the meantime, it has never been more important to keep knocking on those doors, refuting the lies and the fear mongering, making those phone calls, and attending those meetings. And, of course, shouting from the rooftops that without meaningful reform as the outcome, bipartisanship is just another word for letting the Republican ideologues win at the expense of the American people. Obama and the politicians can only carry us so far. If we’re going to make it, it’s up to all of us to make it happen.