Health care reform is done - Obama signs reconciliation bill
353 replies, posted
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l-GMYpzf5Q[/media]
[url]http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/30/pol.health.care/[/url]
[quote=CNN (excerpt)]President Obama sealed a final victory on his signature domestic priority Tuesday, signing a sweeping package of changes to the newly enacted health care reform law.
The so-called "fixes" bill -- approved over unanimous Republican opposition in both chambers of Congress -- significantly expands health insurance subsidies for lower- and middle-income families while watering down a tax on expensive health policies.
The measure also overhauls the national college student loan system by shifting government funding for loans away from commercial banks to new education initiatives. Until now, commercial banks have received federal subsidies to provide student loans.
The bill increases the overall cost of the health care reform legislation to $940 billion over the next 10 years, $65 billion more than the original health care bill Obama signed into law last week.
The president emphasized the student loan reforms at a signing ceremony at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Virginia.
The passage of the bill represents the end of a battle "pitting the interests of the banks [and] the financial institutions against the interests of students," Obama said.
It fixed an old "sweetheart deal" by cutting out "unnecessary middlemen" in the administration of college loans, he asserted. "We stood with America's students."
Changing the law, Obama said, will free up nearly $68 billion for both college loans and deficit reduction. As a result, the White House claimed, another $40 billion will be funneled into Pell Grants over the next decade. New borrowers taking out loans starting in July 2014 will be able to cap their student loan repayments at 10 percent of their discretionary income.
The balance of their loans will be forgiven after 20 years if they keep up with their payments over time.
Congressional Republicans bitterly criticized the Democrats' decision to attach the student loan overhaul to the health care bill, arguing in part that each measure deserved a separate debate. They have also argued the larger health care reform plan will lead to a government takeover of the private health insurance system, and charge that it will result in deep cuts in critical Medicare services while doing little to control skyrocketing medical costs.
Democrats contend that the plan, which is estimated to extend health coverage to 32 million Americans, will reduce future federal budget deficits while giving consumers greater leverage with private insurers. Obama repeatedly slammed large insurance companies in the waning days of the health care debate, framing the politically polarized dispute as a face-off between the powerful corporations and ordinary Americans.
The congressional wrangling over the plan, which included months of late-night votes and caustic floor debate, reflected the country's deep political divide over health care reform. Polls show the American public remains sharply divided over the issue. Forty-seven percent of Americans believe Congress should repeal the current reform law and replace it with new proposals, according to a March 25-28 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. Fifty percent are opposed to doing so.
Conservative activists -- including Tea Party protesters -- have continued to hold rallies against the legislation.[/quote]
A step in the right direction on a much longer road.
[img]http://i.pbase.com/o4/97/388497/1/64021719.CHPTbjAb.applause.gif[/img]
[B]Bravo America! Bravo![/B]
You're on the way to becoming a good country
[QUOTE=radioactive;21057859][IMG]http://i.pbase.com/o4/97/388497/1/64021719.CHPTbjAb.applause.gif[/IMG]
[B]Bravo America! Bravo![/B]
You're on the way to becoming a good country[/QUOTE]
Still waiting for Rush Limbaugh to leave the country. Then and only then will things change for the better.
[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;21058297]Still waiting for Rush Limbaugh to leave the country. Then and only then will things change for the better.[/QUOTE]
You're goig to have to wait untill he needs medical treatment first.
He's Rush Limbaugh. How long can it possibly take?
*sigh*
I'm agnostic when it comes to parties in politics, but I do believe that the education portion of the bill was an entirely separate issue. Now, I do like the sound of part of the education portion... I just feel that a lot of money is destined to given out without reason. I guess that is usual for the government but isn't it a bit silly when the point of the health care bill was to save everyone money?
Anyways, I guess this bill only has the courts and time standing in its way. Bravo democrats?
[QUOTE=SilentOpp;21058663]I'm agnostic when it comes to parties in politics, but I do believe that the education portion of the bill was an entirely separate issue. Now, I do like the sound of part of the education portion... I just feel that a lot of money is destined to given out without reason. I guess that is usual for the government but isn't it a bit silly when the point of the health care bill was to save everyone money?
Anyways, I guess this bill only has the courts and time standing in its way. Bravo democrats?[/QUOTE]
It's silly that the we have to pay for someone else's loans.
[editline]10:15AM[/editline]
The problem with the government is that it's just a giant hole where money goes in and out of. It never goes in to a reservoir, and it is always spent, and never saved. Companies on the other hand, when you pay, you are still paying for other people, but you are also paying for yourself, and it goes in to a reservoir for the company to use.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058686]It's silly that the we have to pay for someone else's education.[/QUOTE]
I didn't know 13 year olds had to pay taxes.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058686]It's silly that the we have to pay for someone else's education.[/QUOTE]
That's how we prevent aristocracies from forming.
Do you want to live in a feudal society?
[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;21058753]I didn't know 13 year olds had to pay taxes.[/QUOTE]
Sorry I tend to speak for other people in political situations because I currently cannot experience them myself.
[editline]10:17AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=TH89;21058757]That's how we prevent aristocracies from forming.
Do you want to live in a feudal society?[/QUOTE]
We form charities instead.
In before communism.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058686]It's silly that the we have to pay for someone else's education.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't say that's my problem, because in all actuality these are students loans, they pay them back with interest. My problem is the $2.55 billion set aside for historically black schools. That doesn't sound like much because there are a lot of colleges and universities out there, but when you realize the specific wording applies to only about 100 schools, you kinda wonder why we are giving only 100 schools $25 million.
I'm probably wrong or confused somewhere, I just can't find any good information because the internet is flooded with health care bullshit at the moment.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058770]We form charities instead.[/QUOTE]
Charities don't work.
[QUOTE=SilentOpp;21058787]I wouldn't say that's my problem, because in all actuality these are students loans, they pay them back with interest. My problem is the $2.55 billion set aside for historically black schools. That doesn't sound like much because there are a lot of colleges and universities out there, but when you realize the specific wording applies to only about 100 schools, you kinda wonder why we are giving only 100 schools $25 million.
I'm probably wrong or confused somewhere, I just can't find any good information because the internet is flooded with health care bullshit at the moment.[/QUOTE]
And because the bill is too long, unlike the Republican's bill.
Oh, I'm not talking to every single European, but please stop speaking out of your ass and thinking you know American politics. You know who you are.
Guess you could say Karma is a bitch.
[QUOTE=TH89;21058798]Charities don't work.[/QUOTE]
St. Jude's Children's Hospital is working fine.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058770]Sorry I tend to speak for other people in political situations because I currently cannot experience them myself.[/QUOTE]
Here's a good graph for you :
[img]http://whyareyousofat.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/life-expectancy1.jpg?w=500&h=332[/img]
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058830]St. Jude's Children's Hospital is working fine.[/QUOTE]
For a few people.
[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;21058835]Here's a good graph for you :
[img]http://whyareyousofat.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/life-expectancy1.jpg?w=500&h=332[/img][/QUOTE]
Yea, did I say our healthcare system was good?
[editline]10:22AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=TH89;21058843]For a few people.[/QUOTE]
For about a few hundred, and their research is distributed freely.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058770]
We form charities instead.[/QUOTE]
It's a good thing right-wingers have never criticized a political ideal under the argument that benevolent behavior from people is not a factor the can be reliably factored in.
Our healthcare was never good.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058845]Yea, did I say our healthcare system was good?[/QUOTE]
Did you look at the graph? Like, even a cursory glance?
[QUOTE=Mingebox;21058876]It's a good thing right-wingers have never criticized a political ideal under the argument that benevolent behavior from people is not a factor the can be reliably factored in.[/QUOTE]
I'm fine with regulation of the system to make healthcare cheaper, but I don't want a government takeover of 1/3 of the economy.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058845]For about a few hundred, and their research is distributed freely.[/QUOTE]
A few hundred out of 300 million.
Charities don't work.
[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;21058899]Did you look at the graph? Like, even a cursory glance?[/QUOTE]
Are you saying that you think I'm saying that our current healthcare is good? If so, you are wrong. It is currently unorganized and the Republican's bill looks a lot better.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058770]
We form charities instead.[/QUOTE]
Don't we already do that? You get scholarships from different organizations and charities, but not all of us are the smartest kid in class who gets all the money so the government gives us money so we can at least have a fighting chance with college
[QUOTE=TH89;21058924]A few hundred out of 300 million.
Charities don't work.[/QUOTE]
Goodwill.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;21058915]I'm fine with regulation of the system to make healthcare cheaper, but I don't want a government takeover of 1/3 of the economy.[/QUOTE]
This isn't even close to a "government takeover". That would be single-payer socialized healthcare that puts any and all health insurance companies out of business. And it's actually about 1/6 of the economy.
Stop listening to Fox.
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