Well the House has released its "new", and final, version of the proposed Healthcare Reform Bill. Apparently, the House has decided to take the version of the bill that passed recently in the Senate (Oct. 2009 timeframe) and modify this existing bill, instead of pushing forward with their own independent version of a Healthcare Reform Bill.
I guess, Nancy Pelosi and crew feel that have a better chance of getting the votes that they need this way? ... vs. a new and independent bill, as they had originally hoped for... Then again, maybe our Representatives actually decided that they would heed the will of 'We the People' ... So, JOB WELL DONE to all of you who took the time to call or write to your U.S. House Representative!!!! We made a difference ... doesn't that feel good?
The unbiased Office of Management & Budget analysis reports that over the course of the next 10 years, this proposed bill would potentially save ?$100 Million dollars?, roughly an average of $10 Million dollars per year ... which is really insignificant ... like penniers ... compared to the interest (in Trillions of dollars) paid on the already staggering National Debt each year (approx. 1.4 Trillion in interest each year ... I believe ... and the reason that the United States may loose its 3-star credit rating) ... but at least we are no longer looking at a major addition to the already soaring National Debt. Or are we?
The OMB has yet to complete its study with regards to the impact of this legislation on 'discretionary' spending .... And the estimated price tag for this piece of Healthcare legislation: a whopping $940 Billion!?!! So, where would the money to pay for the proposed programs come from then? Most likely, the revenue would come from cuts in services availability and existing programs (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid) and from new tax revenues ($$$ from you and me!) ... tax revenues that would equate to about 1/2 Trillion dollars.
The Healthcare reform bill that passed in the Senate is a 2,000+ page document that is supposedly available on-line ... for anyone to read (I'll let you know if I find it). The House version of this Healthcare reform bill is 150 page document of amendments and changes to the original Senate version of the bill ... also supposedly available on-line.
Fox news has a speed reader going through both of the above bills. His most interesting comment so far? That he found legislation regarding Student Loans and Pell grants embedded within the bill -- not sure if he was referring to the original Senate Bill or the Amended House Bill? And I wonder what other non-healthcare related legislation will find its way into this bill?
I found this link ... posted just 6 hours ago and I think this link contains the orignal Senate Healthcare Reform Bill (2,000+ pages) text as well as the 150+ pages of House Amendments. This site is an independent monitoring agency, which also tracks voting records of congresspersons.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/show
Here is another independent monitoring agency ...
http://www.govtrackinsider.com/articles/2010-03-15/bills-on-floor
Here is another link to the official legislative archive for the U.S. House of Representatives ... although I have not yet identified the exact document here myself ....
http://www.house.gov/house/Legproc.shtml
The current predicted VOTE count is: 240 FOR the 'House' Healthcare Reform Bill and 217 AGAINST ... thus, at the present time, the Democrats DO NOT have enough votes to pass this legislation. An initial VOTE on the Healthcare Reform Bill is currently scheduled for this Sunday, March 21, 2010.
