Step 3: Committees Pass Legislation
(this step has been completed)
Because health reform legislation is so complicated, five different committees – three in the House and two in the Senate – are entitled to have some say in the legislation. Each House and Senate committee in charge of different parts of health care reform has been holding hearings and drafting legislation. Committees consider their first draft, usually called the Chairman’s mark, in a process called "mark-up." During these committee meetings, members propose changes to the Chairman’s mark (amendments) and then vote on final approval in their committee. The committees may consider hundreds on amendments in the process.
Once each committee completes its process, the two Senate committees will combine their bills and work out any differences to bring one bill to the Senate floor. The same process will be happening among the committees working in the House. The committees involved in health care reform have pledged to work together to minimize differences and make this process easier.
Where We Are Now
In the Senate, Senator Kennedy's HELP Committee has passed a health reform bill (full text [pdf]) that includes a strong public health insurance option. (Click here for Health Care for America Now's statement on the HELP bill.) The Finance Committee is moving through their markup process and is finished considering amendments. Max Baucus started the process by releasing his "chairman's mark" as a starting point for the Finance Committee to begin its work, called the America's Health Future Act of 2009 (full text [pdf]). The amendments the Finance Committee then considered are here [pdf]. The final bill, with all amendments included, is here [pdf]. The Finance Committee approved its health care bill on October 13th (info [pdf]).
Health Care for America Now has sent a letter to Majority Leader Reid [pdf] outlining our principles for health care reform and urging him to move forward in the Finance Committee with a good bill that secures majority support of the committee.
We have also sent a letter to Chairman Baucus outlining the deficiencies we see in his bill and what he would need to do to bring the bill into line with our principles. In brief, the Baucus bill must be fixed to establish employer responsibility to provide good, affordable coverage to employees, ensure good health coverage is affordable, establish a public health insurnace option to provide competition, lower costs, and keep the insurance companies accountable, provide progressive revenue sources that don't increase the cost of coverage, have the federal government pay for the cost of new Medicaid enrolees, establish a temporary catostrophic fund for early retirees, assure all residents recieve equal access to health coverage, and protect the ability of states to regulate health coverage. You can read the full letter sent to Chairman Baucus here [pdf].
Where We Are Going
Health Care for America Now has been working to fix the Baucus bill in the Finance Committee by supporting amendments that align with our principles and address our concerns. After the Finance Committee passes their bill, the two versions from Finance and HELP will be combined together to be moved to the Senate floor for amendments and a full vote. We will work to make sure our principles are represented when the bills are combined and moved to the floor as well.
In the House, the Chairmen of the three committees of juristiction - Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor - released a combined "tri-committee" bill. The bill meets all of Health Care for America Now's principles (fact sheets, changes from House draft [pdf], committee summery of the bill [pdf], Congressional Research Service anlysis [pdf]). All three committees held hearings on the bill draft in June and have marked up their version of the bill. The House Ways and Means Committee (roll call), Education and Labor Committee (roll call), and Energy and Commerce Committee (roll call) have passed the bill, HR 3200, and referred it to the full House for consideration. Like in the Senate, the committees will combine their bills into one package and take it to the House floor for amendments and a vote.
The House will vote on HR 3200 sometime in October, possibly as early as October 20th.
After both houses pass a bill, the House and Senate will resolve their differences in "conference." When they agree to one bill, it goes back to the Senate and House for final votes, then to president Obama for his signature.
What You Can Do To Help
We will need your help to encourage Members of Congress to vote for
bills and amendments that meet the Obama/Health Care for America Now
principles for reform, and dissuade Members of Congress from
compromising on core principles or voting for a bill that is
inconsistent with the Obama/Health Care for America Now vision for
health care reform. Phone calls, office visits, faxes, emails, and
demonstrations around the country are proven tools to communicate to
Members of Congress the importance we place on enacting a true
guarantee of quality, affordable health care we can all count on.
Calling your congressional representatives is by far the most important
thing you can do. Members take calls from constituents very seriously,
much more seriously than faxes or emails. Please take a moment and
call, even if your Members of Congress are already supporting our
efforts.
- Call your Members of Congress in support of reform - Ask your Members of Congress to support real health care reform, including the choice of a public health insurance option.
- Call your Senators in support of a public option - Call your Senators in support of a strong public health insurance option, not "co-ops" or other proposals that won’t do all the things a strong public option can.
- Ask your Senators about the public option - Ask your Senators where they stand on the public health insurance option and what kind of public option they stand for.
- Sign the petition for a public option - Senators Leahy, Durbin, and Schumer have created a petition you can sign in support of a public health insurance option.
- Call your Members of Congress - This is by far the most important thing you can do. Members take calls from constituents very seriously, much more seriously than faxes or emails. Please take a moment and call, even if your Members of Congress are already supporting our efforts.
- Spread the word about our campaign - When President Bill Clinton tried to pass health care reform back in 1993, he didn't have a grassroots army behind him to hold Congress' feet to the fire and fend off opponents. That critical mistake eventually doomed his efforts. This time will be different, but we need your help to recruit your friends and family. Please send a message to anyone you know who supports President Obama and his promises of health care reform and ask them to join our campaign.
- Volunteer in your state - Health Care for America Now has grassroots offices in 42 states and grassroots supporters in all 50. Get involved in the effort in your state and in your community to help us pressure Congress and win quality, affordable health care for all in 2009.
