Move over, Monopoly. Beat it, Battleship. There’s a new game sweeping the Capitol called Health Care Reform (though it might need a catchier name, come to think of it). Today’s “Interesting Reads” considers the game’s history (it dates back to 1880s Germany), its rules (still being sorted out), the perils (“tire marks”) and potential rewards.
- “Health Reform’s Conservative Roots“: Given that the bills under debate in Congress constitute the most ambitious health reform legislation in a generation, the health care game might seem new to many lawmakers. But a Boston Globe opinion piece by Rich Barlow asserts that the game has ties to 1880s Germany, where “Otto von Bismarck instituted the world’s first compulsory health care scheme, requiring workers to get insurance from private carriers through their employers, paid for by a payroll tax” (Barlow, Boston Globe, 11/18).
“How To Pass a Health Bill Fast“: But Bismarck never had to contend with the U.S. Senate and House. Though the health care game began months ago, Senate Democrats still are setting the rules for the final rounds of play, Politico reports. Will the Senate opt to pass its legislation in a mini-conference? Will it prefer a controversial and menacing-sounding reconciliation process? Or will it take the fun route and select a potentially lengthy game of ping-pong with the House? (Frates/Budoff Brown, Politico, 11/18).
“Baucus Staff Works for the Health of It“: How do you succeed in the health care game? It pays to have a proven competitive spirit. Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who earlier this year shepherded a bill (S 1796) through his committee, once “famously tripped and fell during [an 'ultramarathon'] but chose to run the remaining miles rather than give up, crossing the finish line covered in blood,” Roll Call reports. Nor is he the only hard-fighting athlete in his Senate office: his staff includes boxers, swimmers, hikers and at least one Ironman triathlete (Brotherton, Roll Call, 11/18).
“McConnell Hits Stride on Health Reform“: Then there are those who established a keen blueprint early on to drive a strategy throughout the game. In late May, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “gave the first of what would be a series of floor speeches on health care reform” aimed at providing “his conference with a road map for combating the Democratic health care agenda,” Roll Call reports. Senate Republicans say that McConnell’s “efforts have kept them unified against the Democrats’ plans” ever since, according to Roll Call (Stanton, Roll Call, 11/18).
“Pelosi: Dem ‘Threw Me Under the Bus’“: But lest anyone forget, this is Washington, D.C. — the big leagues — and in politics, things can get pretty dirty. Just ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) who, in a recent meeting of House Democratic leaders, said, “I understand I have tire tracks on my back because” Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) “threw me under the bus,” Politico reports. The intrateam fracas continued in a meeting on Monday, according to Politico, when Pelosi questioned Becerra “[demanding] to know why seven members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus,” which Becerra once led, supported Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) controversial abortion amendment to the House reform bill (HR 3962), according to Politico (Allen, Politico, 11/17).
– by Zach Swiss, staff writer
Advertisement
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
