The House of Representatives has voted to move up the effective date of credit card reforms that was passed in may.
The vote was 331-92 to move the deadline from February and August of 2010 to December 1 of this year.
The bill was to be phased in by 3 stages, the first in August of this year.
Now it goes to the Senate, where it will never be heard from again.
AARP Executive VP Nancy LeaMond and House Leaders
Well, today both the AMA and the AARP endorsed healthcare reform, which, I think makes the possibility of passage significantly greater.
Note that some of the constituencies in the AMA, most notably, the “American Assn. of Neurological Surgeons, the American Society of General Surgeons and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,” came out against this, but note that these are people who make their money when preventative care fails.
Notwithstanding Harry “No Balls” Reid’s statement that there may not be a bill this year, the House of Representatives is moving forward full throttle, with a vote scheduled for this Saturday.
Steve Benin also notices that the Republican opposition to the bill might not be as unified as it was for the stimulus package:
Republicans will overwhelmingly reject the Democrats’ healthcare reform measure when it is reaches the House floor, according to a key lawmaker.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), who serves as deputy GOP whip, told The Hill that the number of Republicans supporting the sweeping legislation will be “very, very close to zero.
Mr. Benin, much like I did, “assumed it was a foregone conclusion that every House Republican would vote against reform, just as every House Republican voted against the economic recovery package and against this year’s budget plan,” while this quote implies that there might be 1 or 2, or perhaps even a few more votes for the bill.
I think that this situation can be explained in 4 words, Anh “Joseph” Quang Cao, the Republican who defeated incumbent William “Dollar Bill” Jefferson in an overwhelmingly Republican district, because Jefferson was under indictment for corruption.
He knows that no matter how much support Republicans throw his way, and they won’t throw much, he’s a goner unless he actually considers his district’s needs.
Even in Louisiana, he cannot count on his opposition facing corruption charges for every election.
From, “A conservative Republican House member, speaking on the condition of anonymity,” regarding the resignation of Michelle Marston as Michelle Bachmann’s chief of staff:
“When your captain’s crazy, it’s time to find a new ship,” the lawmaker said.
Heh.
Well, I was wrong about the final election results in NY-23, the “Democrat” won for the first time in about 130 years.
Unfortunately, the Hate Amendment passed in Maine.
I’m heading off to bed, but here are the numbers from NY-23 and the Hate Amendment in Maine.
It looks like I was wrong on NY-23. Owens could win, though I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Unfortunately, I was right on Maine. The bigots won again.
88% reporting N.Y. District 23
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Owens | Dem. | 60,458 | 49.0% | |
| Doug Hoffman | Con. | 56,174 | 45.5 | |
| Dede Scozzafava | Rep. | 6,796 | 5.5 | |
It looks to me like Hoffman would need to pull in more than 60% of the remaining votes to win this, but I think that the wingnut precincts are reporting late.
76% reporting Maine: Reject Gay Marriage Law
| Answer | Party | Votes | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | — | 231,273 | 52.2% | |
| No | — | 211,634 | 47.8 | |
Reid is now saying that he may not be able to get healthcare legislation passed this year.
BTW, an assist on this clusterf%$# goes to Barack Obama, because without his inaction, he would likely have already signed something better than we are likely to get.
The Republicans did release an alternative healthcare reform plan. (230 page PDF)
I had said that they wouldn’t because it would be so awful that it would drive fence-sitters the other way.
It appears that I was right on the 2nd part though, it looks to be te suck. Main features:
Alan Grayson ha the summary weeks ago:
If you get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: die quickly. That’s right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.
My prediction record is awful, but here goes:
As a part of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Congressmen Alan Grayson, Wm. Lacy Clay, and Brad Miller have proposed the “Financial Autopsy” amendment.
The summary is:
Today we will offer the “Financial Autopsy” amendment. The Grayson/Clay/Miller amendment is essential to attacking the root problem of consumer bankruptcy and foreclosure because it requires the CFPA to do a financial audit of products that have caused the highest rates of bankruptcy and foreclosure annually. Not later than March 31st of each calendar year, the CFPA will list these anti-consumer products, submit their conclusions on why these products “fail” consumers, the companies and employees that underwrote these products, and authorizes the CFPA to take action to restrict these products.
Financial Autopsy Amendment:
- Requires the CFPA conduct a “Financial Autopsy” of each state’s bankruptcies and foreclosures (a scientific sampling), and identify financial products that systematically led to a large number of bankruptcies and foreclosures.
- Requires the CFPA report to Congress annually on the top financial products (the companies and individuals that originated the products) that caused consumer bankruptcies and foreclosures.
- Requires the CFPA take corrective action to eliminate or restrict those deceptive products to prevent future bankruptcies and corrections
- The bottom line is to highlight destructive products based on if they are making people “broke”. Thank you for your consideration, we hope you will join us in supporting this amendment.
This is brilliant. As opposed to coming up with rules that some quant will be paid 6 figures to evade, simply identify bad financial products by seeing which ones make people go bankrupt.
The problem is not specific financial products, it’s the fact that there are looters out there, and they will continue to find ways to loot people.
The solution is to look for the looting, and take away tool sets as they are used to do this.
At the link above, the author, “George Washington” suggests that the reports should be updated monthly, to eliminate the delay in response, and Karl Denninger argues that it needs to prevent minor tweaks to allow for reissuance of the products, and that it should have provisions to allow the victims to claw back their money.
These are all good points, but this is an amazingly good starting point.
I guess that he is running in Congress in North Carolina, but it’s hard to tell with my eyes bleeding.
So, the House Republicans are now claiming that they will be floating out their own healthcare reform program “really soon now”:
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives plan to offer an alternative to Democrats’ massive healthcare reform bill that would not raise taxes or require people or businesses to buy health insurance, the House Republican leader said on Sunday.
It’s not gonna happen.
First, the Republicans are simply too invested in “No”, and second, their proposal will have to hew to the ideology of their caucus, which will make it so absolutely appalling that it will send Blue Dogs gibbering to demand a public option,
Not….
Gonna….
Happen….
Yeah, Rush Limbaugh is now saying that former Republican candidate in New York’s 23rd district has, committed bestiality by endorsing the Democrat in the race.
Seriously, when one inventories the number of times that Limbaugh uses a sexual metaphor to describe someone that he does not like is striking.
I’m thinking that Mr. Limbaugh has issues, but then, that has been a likely ever since he returned from the Dominican Republican with a bunch of Viagra®.
Because he is now going gung ho to gut Sarbanes-Oxley, because it’s too “onerous” on small businesses.
Maybe the idea of going public too soon and cashing out is a time that has come and gone.
If this is true, then it is very bad news, but seeing as how Ron Paul’s goal is to destroy the Fed, I’ll wait until I see a statement from someone who is less whack-a-doodle wingnuttish.
Here is what Paul said:
Paul, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said Mel Watt, a Democrat from North Carolina, has eliminated “just about everything” while preparing the legislation for formal consideration. Watt is chairman of the panel’s domestic monetary policy and technology subcommittee.
I just put a call into Representative Alan Grayson’s office, he is a co-sponsor of the bill, but there is no statement from him about this yet.
So, I told you about how the the national wingnuts had driven the Republican candidate, Dierdre “Dede” Scozzafava, who was among the more conservative members of their caucus in the New York State Assembly, out of the special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional district in favor of Conservative Party (it’s a New York thing) candidate, heavy duty wingnut Doug Hoffman..
She suspended her campaign, and now she has officially endorsed Democratic candidate Bill Owens:
I want to thank you for your support and friendship. Over the past 24 hours, I have had encouraging words sent to my family and me. Many of you have asked me whom you should support on Tuesday.
Since announcing the suspension of my campaign, I have thought long and hard about what is best for the people of this District, and how to answer your questions. This is not a decision that I have made lightly.
You know me, and throughout my career, I have been always been an independent voice for the people I represent. I have stood for our honest principles, and a truthful discussion of the issues, even when it cost me personally and politically. Since beginning my campaign, I have told you that this election is not about me; it’s about the people of this District.
It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same.
It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh’s lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress. John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support to Drum Country just as John did during his tenure in Congress.
In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York. Bill understands this district and its people, and when he represents us in Congress he will put our interests first.
Please join me in voting for Bill Owens on Tuesday. To address the tough challenges ahead, we must rise above partisanship and politics and work together. There’s too much at stake in this election to do otherwise.
Dede
I have no clue how this will effect the race, and I agree with people who say that Owens is, at best, a Liebercrat.
I’m not that concerned about the effect of changing the party what would of the least senior congressman for the next year and a half, but the sound of wing-nut heads exploding is sweet.
(On edit)
Frank Rich wrote about it, and it’s titled, “The G.O.P. Stalinists Invade Upstate New York.”
Heh.
As Atrios notes, the idea that some “moderate Democrats” are pushing for, a Bipartisan commission to propose spending cuts and tax hikes, is really, really, Really, REALLY stupid.
First, there are no Republicans on the national level who will support any new taxes, and second, look at the “Democrats” who are supporting this.
According to the article, a “group of 10 senators — nine moderate Democrats and an independent,” so and so the article definitively fingers the following people:
MY comment, if you are serious about cutting the deficit, place a Tobin Tax on financial transactions, you raise money, reduce the deficit, reduce speculation for its own sake, and punish the banks.
That’s a win-win-win-win scenario.
In California, it looks like it will be Jerry Brown running as the Dem for Governor, because Gavin Newsome has quit the race, because of weak support and poor fund-raising.
Additionally, in the very odd special election for New York’s 23rd Congressional district, Republican Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign, after coming up short on money and placing 3rd in recent polls.
The numbers were about 35% for Doug Hoffman, the Club for Growth approved Neanderthal, 35% for Bill Owens, the Democratic candidate about whom I know nothing, and about 25% for Scozzafava.
Her name will remain on the ballot, which is, I think a message to Hoffman that he should go Cheney himself, but I’m an engineer, not a psychologist, dammit!*
I think that this puts Hoffman the live dead girl/live boy† favorite in the overwhelmingly Republican district now, though I think that there are a number of people who will vote for Scozzafava anyway, because they do not want to vote for Hoffman, who is a carpetbagger with absolutely no interest in the real issues of the district, but cannot bring themselves to pull the “D” lever.
*I LOVE IT when I get to go all Doctor McCoy!!!
†Edwin Edwards, when discovering that he would be facing David Duke in the Louisiana governor’s race, said that the the only way that he would lose were if he were, “caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy”.
Stewart is more about the wankitude of the pundits and the political process, particularly Joe Lieberman, who gets absolutely savaged.
Colbert, on the other hand, goes more into the nuts and bolts of insurance, and describes getting screwed by insurance company execs as, “A pre-existing condition.”
PDF link to house bill. (1990 pages)
I don’t read that fast, but here is a my summary based on reading the Wonk Room’s summaries:
It’s better than anything likely to come out of the Senate.
Listening on CSPAN.
Pelosi is giving her House leadership is giving their press conference on the steps of the Capitol.
Pelosi:
10: 38 am — Will close “Doughnut Hole” on prescription drugs.
10: 39 am — Will have public option and end preexisting condition exclusion.
Hoyer:
10: 39 am — No specifics
Other folks:
10: 46 am — Carole Shea Porter brings out the “Petting Zoo”: a medicare recipient from New Hampshire to talk about Doughnut hole.
10: 49 am — Doughnut hole will be phased out between 2010 through 2019.
10: 52 am — More “petting zoo” with a small business owner.
James Clyburn:
10: 56 am — Just introduces Mary Joe Kilroy, who has MS.
10: 52 am — Changes on caps, pre-existing conditions, etc.
11:03 am — More petting zoo.
11:11 am — We’re just into soundbites now, bye.