Senate Democrats vote to move healthcare legislation forward

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the US Senate voted on strict party lines to move Harry Reid’s proposed healthcare plan forward for debate. By a vote of 60-39, Democrats motioned to allow the 2,074 page (twenty pounds of hopefully recycled paper) to move to the Senate floor where the “kinks” can be ironed out through debate. Of course the outcome of the vote was anything but shocking. Despite putting forward a plan of their own, and despite Democrat's promise to move forward with their majority in a “bipartisan” fashion, the Republicans have been all but irrelevant in the Senate’s march toward socialized medicine. Saturday’s vote allows the bill to be debated on the Senate floor; a step Reid intends to take by the end of the month.

The bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, weighs in at a price of nearly $1 trillion over the next decade; though many estimates conducted show the number to be closer to $2 trillion when the ten year window is adjusted to begin at the bill’s actual implementation. In the first three years, the implementation of the bill would mostly raise taxes; yet this would be followed quickly by a hemorrhaging of federal funds as the spending portion of the bill climbs at an alarming rate. In the first “true-decade,” 2014 – 2024, the price tag would be $1.8 trillion. Estimates of $2.5 trillion have even surfaced as more of the bill comes under more extensive scrutiny. With our current debt having quadrupled in the last year, and no signs of government stopping the presses, the price tag seems less than fiscally responsible.

The bill would then go on to host a world of new and increased taxes. Far from being a benign government program that most people forget about, taxes would increase the cost and affordability of almost every aspect of the Healthcare industry. A 40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $8,500, a $22 billion tax increase on manufactured and imported drugs, a $54 billion tax increase on wages for Medicare, and the list goes on. Suffice it to say that if you intend on paying for your own care, or purchasing a private insurance plan, you will see a significant increase in the cost as these new taxes are passed on to the consumers and employees. Reid even has the tenacity to strip $491 billion from Medicare’s already bankrupt budget. (As a quick lesson in how Democrats expect to remain in power after such unpopular taxation, Reid has promised a $500 check to seniors in 2010. . . The same year he is up for reelection. I am sure however, that is simply a coincidence and not a bribe.) But the cost of the bill is the least of the public’s worries in the long run. (After all, it won’t be you that owes the money. It will be your grandkids and your great grandkids.)

More important than the overall debt and tax that this bill would induce, is the overt assault at liberty it represents. A monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run health plan. So reads line 11, page 122, section 1303, under “Actuarial Value of Optional Service Coverage.”  According to the bill, this premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account; and from this slush fund will come the money to pay for even elective abortions. (For those of you not concerned about abortion, this means even a devout Catholic will be forced to purchase a premium for abortion to subsidize someone else’s choice to kill their unborn child.) Basically, unless you are capable of purchasing an increasingly expensive private policy (which will be taxed at a higher rate) without a “purchasing” credit from the federal government, you will be subject to the involuntary abortion premium. Regardless of any personal opinion on the issue, the notion that individuals, and the public, be forced to subsidize government provided abortion should be an alarming diversion from personal liberty and choice.

But don’t get hung up on the cost, or the abortion premiums. While it is important to notice the outrage over the mandates, it is just as important to notice the threat to liberty that such mandates create. How much longer until the government tells Christian Hospitals that they will have to provide “certain services” in order to continue operating as a hospital? On the surface that might seem absurd, but so does the question “How long until individuals are required by law to decide between insurance and prison?”

But even on its surface the bill will fail to deliver its promises. According to the CBO, the bill will cost $196 billion per year by 2019, and still leave 24 million uninsured people in our nation. For all of its invasive regulation, new bureaucracy, and mandates, the bill will not even be able to accomplish its primary goal: Comprehensive insurance coverage. Moreover, because of the new taxes, mandates, rising costs, and augmentation of penalties for not acting how the liberals in charge want you to, employers will find it increasingly difficult to afford new employees. That sounds like a pleasant side effect when the nation is suffering from a 10.2% unemployment recession. (Please note the sarcasm.)

So how in the world did the Senate accumulate all the votes necessary to pass this “test” vote of the bill? It is easy. The Democrats have control by a 60 seat majority. Whoever says there is no difference between the two parties needs to be shown the results of this vote. While there are plenty of Republicans who abandon conservative principles for a quick political gain, there is a clear difference between the two parties on this current issue. Don’t find comfort in the “Blue Dog Democrats.” They present themselves as moderate and even fiscally conservative for the expediency of political progress rather than the honor of adhering to their values. $100 million should be too little to purchase anyone’s vote; but apparently it is enough for one Democrat from Louisiana. She vowed to vote with the Democrats after language was inserted into the bill granting funds for her state.

This bill is not about healthcare. It does not lower costs, it does not insure everyone, and it does not promise to improve the level of treatment. These three strikes should be enough to render this garbage to the trash bin of Washington. (Of course, it is in the Senate, so maybe it is already in the trash bin of Washington.) This bill is about controlling a large portion of the private market. This bill is an amalgamation of liberal dreams and programs shoved into a “reform” package that might have a slight hope at passing in one form or another. Where does your Senator stand on the issue? Have they read the bill? More importantly, have you? Click here to educate yourself.

Remember that our Government is designed to promote Liberty and freedom. So as November closes, and the debate on Healthcare echoes talking points about abortion, taxes, and spending, remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: “Postpone to the great object of Liberty every smaller motive and passion.” Political victory should not be sought at the expense of the citizenry’s freedom.

Picture of Harry Reid credited to:  AP Photo/Alex Brandon

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