Some good things may come from Browns win...
like..HC for the poor and assuring coverage for people with existing medical conditions, might be broken out into a separate bill...
How my SD reps are thinking now...
Herseth Sandlin (D)voted against a health care reform bill approved earlier by the House. She continues to say more must be done in cost control, improved Medicare provisions and other areas to win her support. It would be inappropriate to take up the health care issue again before Brown is sworn in, she said.
Federal lawmakers must change the way they operate on such issues, she said.
"Congress must govern in a way that is more open, fair and responsible than what we've seen with the legislative process over the past many years, regardless of what political party was in control," Herseth Sandlin said.
Thune also called for more transparency and cooperation in the way health care reform efforts are handled. He criticized Democrats for a "partisan, back-room approach" to writing a health care bill.
"It is now time to start over on a bipartisan approach and find solutions to lowering costs and improving care," he said.
The Democrats have other options for moving legislation in the Senate, even without 60 votes. If the House, which has the Democratic votes needed to pass measures, were to accept the Senate version of the legislation, it could send it on to the president for his signature. There also is a reconciliation process allowing measures to be approved with 51 votes, but it has some limitations.
"In my opinion, it's still an unlikely course," Herseth Sandlin said of the simple-majority option in the Senate.
And Johnson said it's possible that key parts of reform, including health care options for the poor and assuring coverage for people with existing medical conditions, might be broken out and considered separately.
"Incremental change is always a possibility," he said.
like..HC for the poor and assuring coverage for people with existing medical conditions, might be broken out into a separate bill...
How my SD reps are thinking now...
Herseth Sandlin (D)voted against a health care reform bill approved earlier by the House. She continues to say more must be done in cost control, improved Medicare provisions and other areas to win her support. It would be inappropriate to take up the health care issue again before Brown is sworn in, she said.
Federal lawmakers must change the way they operate on such issues, she said.
"Congress must govern in a way that is more open, fair and responsible than what we've seen with the legislative process over the past many years, regardless of what political party was in control," Herseth Sandlin said.
Thune also called for more transparency and cooperation in the way health care reform efforts are handled. He criticized Democrats for a "partisan, back-room approach" to writing a health care bill.
"It is now time to start over on a bipartisan approach and find solutions to lowering costs and improving care," he said.
The Democrats have other options for moving legislation in the Senate, even without 60 votes. If the House, which has the Democratic votes needed to pass measures, were to accept the Senate version of the legislation, it could send it on to the president for his signature. There also is a reconciliation process allowing measures to be approved with 51 votes, but it has some limitations.
"In my opinion, it's still an unlikely course," Herseth Sandlin said of the simple-majority option in the Senate.
And Johnson said it's possible that key parts of reform, including health care options for the poor and assuring coverage for people with existing medical conditions, might be broken out and considered separately.
"Incremental change is always a possibility," he said.
