Friday, July 31, 2009

Late Night Strike...Approved!

The House Energy and Commerce committee just approved an amended version of health care legislation by a vote of 31-28. The bill, as you know, was changed two days ago to accommodate "concerns" from Blue Dog conservative Democrats, and was changed again to appease angry liberals. The result? A pretty darn good health care bill. It's not as strong as I would like. For example, the public option will not be paying Medicare rates to providers, which is a key component of having a robust public plan. But overall, it contains most of the components necessary for a solid bill. The final vote tally is as follows. 31 of 36 Democrats voted yes. All 23 Republicans voted no.

Yes (all Democrats):

Waxman (CA), Dingell (MI), Markey (MA), Pallone (NJ), Gordon (TN), Rush (IL), Eshoo (CA), Engel (NY), G. Green (TX), DeGette (CO), Capps (CA), Doyle (PA), Harman (CA), Schakowski (IL), Gonzalez (TX), Inslee (WA), Baldwin (WI), Weiner (NY), Butterfield (NC), Hill (IN), Matsui (CA), Christensen (Virgin Islands), Castor (FL), Sarbanes (MD), C. Murphy (CT), Space (OH), McNerney (CA), Sutton (OH), Braley (IA), and Welch (VT).

No:

Democrats: Boucher (VA), Stupak (MI), Matheson (UT), Melancon (LA) and Barrow (GA).
Republicans: Barton (TX), Hall (TX), Upton (MI), Stearns (FL), Deal (GA), Whitfield (KY), Shimkus (IL), Shaddegg (AZ), Blunt (MO), Buyer (IN), Radanovich (CA), Pitts (PA), Bono Mack (CA), Walden (OR), Terry (NE), Rogers (MI), Myrick (NC), Sullivan (OK), T. Murphy (PA), Burgess (TX), Blackburn (TN), Gingrey (GA) and Scalise (LA).

The bill has now passed all committees of jurisdiction. Once all versions are combined into a single bill, there will be a vote on the floor sometime in September.

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