As the Senate prepares to take on health care reform Saturday, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) says that he hopes to convince a few moderate Democrats to join the GOP in voting against the bill. (0:27)
Travis Martinez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Claiming that Democrats are pulling ‘gimmicks’ on the American public, Senate Republicans on Friday blasted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) health reform bill, which the Congressional Budget Office says will cost nearly $2.5 trillion after all the provisions have been enacted.
“In the words of the great Yogi Berra, ‘this is deja vu all over again’,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). “They [Democrats] assume savings on the [Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act], which Sen. Conrad has described as a ponzi scheme of the first order…something that Bernie Madoff would be proud of.”
The CLASS Act, S.697, sponsored by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), would amend the Public Health Service Act to create a national, voluntary disability insurance program under which all employees are automatically enrolled, but are allowed to waive enrollment. Establishing this new program is contingent upon Reid’s big bill passing.
Thune his Republican colleagues were flanked by massive charts displaying the nation’s current debt as well as potential debt increases that they argued would be caused by H.R. 3590, otherwise known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” With a major vote to determine whether or not the bill will proceed to the floor expected to take place Saturday night, GOP leaders are looking to convince a few moderate Democrats to join them.
“It would be our hope that our more moderate colleagues on the Democratic side would respect the wished of the constituents, rather than doing the bidding of Harry Reid,” said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.). ”At the end of the day, this health care legislation will impact every American in extraordinary ways. We believe in a very negative way. We hope the views of the American people will be respected.”
Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) describes the Democrats’ health care bill as a great ponzi scheme; “One that would make Bernie Madoff proud. (0:49)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says Democrats are using tricky tactics to pass healthcare reform legislation that will cost less than $900 billion. (0:51)
By Marianna Levyash – Talk Radio News Service
In a phone interview with Talk Radio News Service Thursday, Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Research Fellow Brian W. Walsh said that language used in the federal cyber-bullying bill, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), is overly broad.
“The terms [in the bill]…don’t have a precise, clear, accepted, generally agreed upon definition in federal law,” said Walsh.
Sanchez drafted the “The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act” in response to the death of Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl from Missouri who committed suicide in 2006 after being cyber-bullied on the social networking site MySpace by a woman named Lori Drew, the mother of one of Meier’s classmates. Drew was indicted and convicted on charges stemming from the incident in 2008, but was later acquitted in 2009.
The bill has received mixed reviews from a handful of members of Congress who have argued that it uses vague terms and would cause potential violations of free speech rights.
“We need to be extremely careful before heading down this path,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) during a House subcommittee hearing on the legislation back in September.
The bill would amend the federal criminal code to allow criminal penalties to be levied upon anyone that “transmits in interstate or foreign commerce a communication intended to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, by using electronic means.”
“We are going to end up criminalizing conduct that shouldn’t be criminal in the first place…it’s easy to draft an overbroad criminal law,” said Walsh.
Travis Martinez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
As the Senate prepares for a Saturday vote on whether or not to bring its health care bill to the floor, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says he will be working feverishly to try to muster up 60 votes, including at least one from the other side of the aisle.
“It would be a real break if we get one Republican to join us and say yes, this is an issue worth debating,” said Durbin. “I’m not assuming a thing, we’re working hard to bring all 60 Democrat votes together to proceed with this historic debate.”
Durbin refused to divulge any information about the status of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), a moderate who has remained quiet as to how she will vote on Saturday night.
“She’s told Senator Reid,” said Durbin.”You’ll have to ask Senator Reid.”
Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) urges House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to remove raising of the national debt ceiling language from the Defense spending bill. Lance said he’d like the Speaker to allow for a separate vote on the issue. (1:02)
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) reminds the public that it is his duty as a legislator “to help [his] constituency despite all the obstacles thrown in [their] path.” (0:37)
Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) shows his support for the Senate health care bill, saying “Our aim here is very simple: To recreate America as a wellness society, to get away from sick care to true health care.” (0:56)
Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) confidently says, “This Congress, this Presidency, are going to sign into law a national health care program for all Americans.” (0:15)
