Top Ten Reasons House Democrats Don’t Want to Vote for Senate Democrats’ Health Care Bill Plus Warning Shot Video by Senators

Senators Thune (SD), Coburn (OK), DeMint (SC), and Wicker (MS) have fired a warning at the House Democrats with this You Tube Video on Reconciliation. All four are former House members and know how the House works. These four Senators are telling Democrat House members straight out that you cannot depend on the Senate to get your changes passed for several reasons:

1. The minute the House passes anything to do with Reconciliation, there will be a Court case filed by the Senate because it will be against the law. Only after a bill is signed into law can there be Reconciliation.

2. The Republicans in the Senate will use every means necessary to stop this bill for the American people. The pro-life Senators in the Senate will vote against the Stupak amendment so the House is on notice there will be no changes.

3. Once the House signs off on the Senate Bill, the Senate can get Obama to sign the bill and never do Reconciliation.

Bottom line is the Democrat House Members cannot trust the Senate Democrats!

After this video, the House Democrats better be thinking long and hard why they should not vote for this Senate bill. Senate Republican Policy Committee has compiled the Top Ten Reasons why Democrat House Members should not to vote for the Senate Bill. We would hope that there are enough 'Common Sense' Democrats in the House to understand what a pork laden bill this Senate Healthcare bill has become and help Republicans defeat the Senate bill in the House. Only time will tell how many House Democrats are going to stand with Republicans to defeat this bill in the House or will some at the last minute cave to Pelosi?

Healthcare does need fixed but the Senate bill needs scrapped along with other Democrat lengthy healthcare bills. A 'Restart' button needs pushed to fashion a bill with bi-partisan support that is short and easy to understand with no pork. Some Democrats are on board in the House for a 'Restart' but only time will tell if enough House Democrats have spines to stand up to the full court press they are getting by Speaker Pelosi and leadership cracking their whips to get them in line.

Top Ten Reasons House Democrats Don’t Want to Vote for Senate Democrats’ Health Care Bill

Recent press reports indicate that Speaker Pelosi and House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter have attempted a procedural ploy—the "Slaughter Solution"—to shield wary House Democrats from having to take an up-or-down vote on the widely unpopular health legislation that passed the Senate in December.i While press reports about potential parliamentary obstacles have raised newfound questions about this strategy, the RPC has compiled a list of reasons why House Democrats want to avoid voting on controversial provisions in the Senate bill that did NOT appear in the House-passed measure (H.R. 3962):

1. "Cornhusker Kickback." Section 10201(c)(4)—entitled "Equitable Support for Certain States" (page 2129)—provides that the state of Nebraska—and only Nebraska—will see its full Medicaid costs paid in perpetuity by taxpayers in other states.

2. Federal Funding of Abortion. Section 10404 of H.R. 3590 (pages 2070-2086) would permit federal funds to subsidize plans covering abortion, would permit a multi-state health plan to offer abortion coverage, and would require citizens in states that have opted-out of elective abortion coverage in their own exchange to fund federal subsidies for plans that cover elective abortion in other states. In addition, Section 10503(b) of the bill (page 2356) includes $7 billion in new mandatory spending on community health centers—funding that is NOT subject to any restrictions prohibiting federal dollars from funding elective abortions.

3. "Cadillac Tax" on Health Plans. Section 9001 (page 1941) imposes a tax on "Cadillac" health plans. The vast majority of the tax would be imposed on individuals with incomes under $250,000,ii thus breaking one of the central promises of then-Senator Obama’s presidential campaign and infuriating Democrats’ "Big Labor" backers.iii

4. The "Louisiana Purchase." Section 2006 (page 428) provides an extra $300 million in Medicaid funding to Louisiana.iv

5. Tax on Hiring Low-Income Workers. While the House bill imposes an across-the-board payroll tax on firms that cannot afford health coverage for their workers, Section 1513(a) of the Senate bill (page 345) singles out employees who rely on health insurance subsidies for its new "tax on jobs" in the form of a penalty of up to $3,000 per low-wage hire, thus discouraging firms from hiring these workers.

6. "Gator Aid." Section 3201(g) of the bill (page 878) shields 800,000 Florida residents from Medicare Advantage cuts. In December, 57 Senate Democrats voted not to extend this special deal to all Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.v

7. Raid on Social Security and Related Entitlements. The Congressional Budget Office recently confirmed that the 10-year deficit savings under the Senate bill ($118 billion) will be exceeded by the new revenue generated by Social Security ($52 billion) and a new long-term care entitlement ($70.2 billion). Since this $122.2 billion in new revenue will eventually be paid back out in Social Security and related claims costs, the Senate bill either raises the deficit or raids the Social Security Trust Fund in order to pay for the bill’s new health care entitlements.

8. Construction Firms Singled Out for Higher Taxes. Section 10106(f)(2) of the bill
(page 2107) provides that, while firms with fewer than 50 workers in every other industry would be exempt from the Senate bill’s "tax on jobs," construction firms with as few as five workers would be subject to the bill’s harsh tax penalties. These onerous provisions focused on one industry could further undermine a construction sector currently suffering from a 27.1% unemployment rate.vi

9. New Board of Bureaucrats to Constrain Medicare Spending. Section 3403 of the bill (page 982) establishes a new board of unelected bureaucrats empowered to make binding recommendations on cost reductions in Medicare. Many may be concerned that the bill could insert bureaucrats between patients and doctors, particularly given President Obama’s comments that there needs to be a "difficult democratic conversation" about what the President views as excessive spending on end-of-life care.vii

10. Backroom Deal for Insurer Proposing 56 Percent Rate Increase. Section 10905(c) of the bill (page 2394) includes language exempting Michigan Blue Cross/Blue Shield from the new tax on health insurers, despite an Administration report highlighting the insurance carrier’s proposed 56% rate increase in 2009.viii

The "Slaughter Solution" would attempt to bypass all these unpopular provisions by having the House enact the Senate bill into law without ever actually voting on the Senate bill—which would put House Democrats at odds with President Obama’s call for an "up-or-down" vote on health care legislation.ix Given the backroom deals and controversial provisions included in the Senate-passed bill, it is not surprising that House Democrats maintain their reluctance to vote for a bill widely rejected by the American people—with nothing more than a promise from Senate Democrats to try to "fix" the bill through the uncertain reconciliation process or at some later time.

i “Slaughter Preps Rule to Avoid Direct Vote on Senate Bill,” CongressDailyAM March 10, 2010, available at http://gopleader.gov/UploadedFiles/CD_03-10-10_Slaughter_Preps_Rule_To_Avoid_Direct_Vote_On_Senate_Bill.pdf.
ii The Joint Committee on Taxation found that in 2019, 84 percent of the revenue from the “Cadillac” tax would come from families making under $200,000 annually. JCT document #D-09-24, analyzing the Reid substitute for H.R. 3590, November 19, 2009, p. 4.
iii Presidential campaign speech in Dover, NH, September 12, 2008, relevant excerpt available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8erePM8V5U.
iv “Dems Protect Backroom Deals,” Politico February 4, 2010, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32499.html.
v Senate Record Vote 370 on McCain motion to commit, http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00370.
vi Bureau of Labor Statistics, “The Employment Situation—February 2010,” March 5, 2010, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf, Table A-14, p. 26.
vii David Leonhardt, “After the Great Recession,” New York Times May 3, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03Obama-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print.
viii White House Office of Health Reform, report on insurance company practices, February 2010, http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/insuranceprospers/insuranceprofits.pdf.

ix President’s Remarks on Health Care Reform, March 3, 2010, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-health-care-reform.