Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has set a time of 1am Monday morning for the first key vote leading to final passage of the Obama/Reid/Pelosi bill to impose a government takeover of the U.S. health care system. This vote, called "cloture," will cut off debate on a nearly 400 page amendment Reid introduced Saturday morning to the 2,000 page bill the Senate has been debating. Reid has disdained Christmas, a pledge to post amendments for 72 hours before voting on them and what's left of Senate decorum in a mad rush to pass this bill by Christmas Day even though the programs do not start until the year 2014.
This may be the final chance to let your Senators know of your opposition to this bill. There will be two more votes to cut off debate on Tuesday and Wednesday, but they will have the same vote results as the first vote. Each vote to cut off debate requires 60 Senators present and voting "YES."
CONTACT YOUR SENATORS NOW AND ASK THEM TO VOTE "NO" ON CLOTURE FOR THE REID AMENDMENT TO THE HEALTH CARE BILL.
Call: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841 Sen. Barbara Boxer (202) 224-3553
This new version of the bill is the result of backroom deals cooked up by Reid and New York Senator Chuck Schumer behind closed doors. In many respects it is worse than the original bill. The new version increases taxes by a higher amount than the old version. This includes the Medicare payroll tax and the tax on medical devices. It allows labor unions to escape some of the effects of the tax on high value insurance plans and it would allow federal funding of abortions for the first time.
NEBRASKA NELSON'S DEAL
Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson negotiated with Reid and Schumer all night and emerged to say he had given in and will vote for the bill. It was later revealed that part of his price was to exempt Nebraska from the costs of Medicaid for all time. If you are not from Nebraska, that's your state's tough luck. This was similar to a corrupt deal engineered by Florida Senator Bill Nelson that exempts some Florida counties from the cuts to Medicare Advantage programs.
ACT NOW! THIS MAY BE YOUR LAST CHANCE TO TELL YOUR SENATORS TO OPPOSE THE OBAMA/REID PELOSI HEALTH CARE BILL
Call: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841Sen. Barbara Boxer (202) 224-3553
The heart of this bill allows for a federal takeover of one sixth of the American economy. It mandates that every man, woman and child purchase health insurance approved by the federal government. It transfers vast powers from the Congress to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to its advisory panels. It raises taxes in 2010, four years before any "benefits" start in 2014. It creates a new entitlement program, the "CLASS ACT" that the Democratic Chairman of the Budget Committee, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, called a "Ponzi scheme" that will leave taxpayers on the hook-and now he says he will vote for it. It cuts $450 billion from Medicare to fund other programs while the Medicare trust fund is scheduled to go bankrupt in seven years.
Your active opposition to this bill has helped turn the American people against this government takeover of health care. It's time to weigh in one last time in the Senate
CONTACT YOUR SENATORS NOW AND URGE THEM TO VOTE "NO" ON CLOTURE FOR THE REID AMENDMENT TO THE HEALTH CARE BILL
Call: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841Sen. Barbara Boxer (202) 224-3553
The American Conservative Union thanks you for all you do to advance conservative, free-market principles.
