World, Dems & Repubs, Supporters & Opponents of Health Care Reform All Mourn Sen. Ted Kennedy's Death

Washington Post, MSNBC, National Post, Newsweek---

(Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) penned this song in honor of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.)



U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history and a towering figure in the Democratic Party, died at age 77.

Here are some reactions to the news:

KENNEDY FAMILY STATEMENT -- "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him."

U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID -- "It was the thrill of my lifetime to work with Ted Kennedy. He was a friend, the model of public service and an American icon. As we mourn his loss, we rededicate ourselves to the causes for which he so dutifully dedicated his life. Senator Kennedy's legacy stands with the greatest, the most devoted, the most patriotic men and women to ever serve in these halls... The liberal lion's mighty roar may now fall silent, but his dream shall never die."

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN -- "Senator Edward Kennedy will be mourned not just in America but in every continent. He is admired around the world as the Senator of Senators. He led the world in championing children's education and health care, and believed that every single child should have the chance to realize their potential to the full."

IRISH PRIME MINISTER BRIAN COWEN -- "Ted hailed from a most famous Irish-American family, and through his own endeavors and achievement, he has added further luster to the reputation of a great family . . . In good days and bad, Ted Kennedy worked valiantly for the cause of peace on this island. He played a particularly important role in the formative days of the Northern Ireland Peace Process in the early to mid-1990s. . . . Today, America has lost a great and respected statesman and Ireland has lost a long-standing and true friend."

FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR -- "Senator Kennedy was a figure who inspired admiration, respect and devotion not just in America but around the world. He was a true public servant committed to the values of fairness, justice and opportunity."

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU -- "[Senator] Kennedy has been a friend for 30 years, a great American patriot, a great champion of a better world, a great friend of Israel. He will be sorely missed."

FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN -- "Given our political differences, people are sometimes surprised by how close Ronnie and I have been to the Kennedy family. In recent years, Ted and I found our common ground in stem cell research, and I considered him an ally and a dear friend. I will miss him."

NANCY PELOSI, DEMOCRATIC SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE -- "Rooted in his deep patriotism, his abiding faith, and his deep concern for the least among us, no one has done more than Senator Kennedy to educate our children, care for our seniors, and ensure equality for all Americans."

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, husband of Kennedy's niece Maria Shriver and a Republican -- "He was known to the world as the Lion of the Senate, a champion of social justice and a political icon... Teddy inspired our country through his dedication to health care reform, his commitment to social justice, and his devotion to a life of public service."

SENATOR ORRIN HATCH, REPUBLICAN OF UTAH -- "Today America lost a great elder statesman, a committed public servant, and leader of the Senate. And today I lost a treasured friend. Ted Kennedy was an iconic, larger than life United States senator whose influence cannot be overstated. Many have come before, and many will come after, but Ted Kennedy's name will always be remembered as someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate and the work completed within its chamber."


Both Parties Mourn Loss of Kennedy in Health-Care Debate

As Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's death suddenly quieted the national debate over health-care reform, some Democratic lawmakers suggested Wednesday that the passing of such a prominent advocate for universal health coverage may represent an opportunity to hit the reset button on that issue.

But whether that would improve the odds of passing a health-care bill was much less clear. Leading Republican senators hinted that no Democrat seemed ready to assume Kennedy's traditional role both in crafting a political compromise and in selling it to the Democratic base.

When the veteran lawmaker died Tuesday night of brain cancer, the cause he long championed stood at a dangerous crossroads. As President Obama's top domestic goal, a health-care reform bill had advanced further in Congress than any such effort in decades, only to spark a partisan brawl upon lawmakers' return home for the August recess. With every acrimonious town hall meeting, the fate of a final deal seemed to grow less certain.

With Congress's August recess nearing its end, the window is closing for opponents of a health-care overhaul to further undercut its public support before lawmakers resume working on the bill. Meanwhile, Kennedy's memorial services and burial are likely to draw more public attention to his political career, and to the issues he held dear -- including universal health insurance, which he once called "the cause of my life."

"My hope is that this will maybe cause people to take a breath, step back, and start talking with each other again, in more civil tones about what needs to be done, because that's what Teddy would do," said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who has served as temporary chairman of the Senate health committee in Kennedy's absence.

"I hope that members of Congress will take a moment to reflect on Ted Kennedy's approach to issues, where he was passionate about his beliefs but willing to work with others to get things done, for the greater good," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). "We need to renew that spirit in the current debate, not just about health care."

Three GOP senators suggested in their remembrances of Kennedy that Democrats will need more than respectful conversation to gain bipartisan support for a health-care bill. Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Judd Gregg (N.H.) lamented Kennedy's absence in the negotiations.

"I think we may have made progress on this health-care issue if he had been there," McCain told CNN. "He had this unique capability to sit people down at a table together -- and I've been there on numerous occasions -- and really negotiate, which means concessions. And so, he not only will be missed, but he has been missed."

"I believe if he had been active the last few months, we would have some sort of consensus agreement," said Gregg, a passionate advocate of Medicare reform who has sat out Senate deliberations on perhaps the most extensive revisions ever to that program.

"We would have worked it out. We would have worked it out on a bipartisan basis," Hatch, who co-authored numerous health-care bills with Kennedy over the years, said on CNN. "I'll be happy to work in a bipartisan basis any day, any time . . . but it's got to be on something that's good and not just some partisan hack job."

Other Republicans played down prospects that opponents of reform would reconsider their position. "Certainly people honor Sen. Ted Kennedy for all of his work," Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) told CNBC. "But at the end of the day, this is a democracy, and I think the voice of the people have been heard quite loudly in the month of August."

The senior Senate Democrat, Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.), called for passage of health-care reform in Kennedy's honor. "As a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name-calling and have a civilized debate on health-care reform, which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name," he said.

Byrd's call drew jeers from conservative commentators. Michelle Malkin called the idea "crass," and Sean Hannity said that Kennedy's death "is not added reason to push for passage" and that "Obama-care deserves to be judged on its merits."

But liberal activist groups were quick to join Byrd in his call. MoveOn.org urged its supporters "to re-commit ourselves to achieving the thing that mattered most" to Kennedy, and Democrats.com called for lawmakers to pass "real health reform -- including a strong public option."

Kennedy's credibility with such groups tended to overcome their resistance to compromise as capitulation, and his skill as an expert dealmaker was such that when he worked with President George W. Bush to pass the No Child Left Behind education bill, he persuaded stalwart Democrats to vote with him on the controversial legislation.

"He brought to the table the absolute confidence of the liberal end of the spectrum, and so when he reached an agreement, there wasn't any sort of second-guessing of him," Gregg said.

Persuading the Democratic base to bend on provisions otherwise held as fundamental may be the single most important challenge for party leaders in the weeks ahead.

Sources: Washington Post, MSNBC, Newsweek, National Post, Photobucket

Congressional Dems May Use Reconciliation To Pass HC Reform Bill This Year...GOP Attacks Won't Hinder Progress

NY Times----



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U.S. Senate Democrats said Sunday that they were fleshing out plans to pass health legislation, particularly the option of a new government-run insurance program, with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes that would ordinarily be needed to overcome a filibuster.

After consulting experts in Senate rules and procedure, the Democrats said they were increasingly confident that they could legislate creation of a public plan in a way that would withstand challenges expected from Republicans.

Appearing Sunday on the NBC News program “Meet the Press,” Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said a public insurance plan was “essential to getting the costs down, which is our No. 1 problem.”

Proponents of a public plan say it would drive down costs because it would not have a profit motive and would have lower overhead costs and lower executive salaries than private insurance companies.

In Colorado on Aug. 15, President Obama said people had become “fixated” on the public plan option, which he described as “just one sliver” of efforts to overhaul the health care system.

Mr. Schumer said it was “looking less and less likely” that Republicans would support Democratic proposals to subsidize coverage for tens of millions of the uninsured. And Senate Democratic leaders said they had little hope that the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, would be able to forge a bipartisan compromise.

In the last week, Democrats have begun to talk openly of using a procedure known as budget reconciliation to pass a health bill in the Senate with a simple majority, assuming no Republican support. To do that, under Senate rules, they would probably need to show that the public plan changed federal spending or revenues and that the effects were not “merely incidental” to the changes in health policy.

Democrats believe they could clear this hurdle by demonstrating that the public plan would save money or cost money.

“If a public plan is shown to have a cost to the government that affects outlays or revenues, it could be included in a health care bill using reconciliation procedures,” said Martin P. Paone, a former Senate aide who has been consulted by Senate Democrats.

Republicans object to both the idea of a new government plan and the use of expedited procedures to push it through the Senate on a simple majority vote.

Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, said that using the budget reconciliation procedure to pass a health bill would be “an abuse of the process,” which was meant to focus on spending and tax policy. Moreover, Mr. Hatch said, “every Republican says that they will not be for a public option.”

Mr. Hatch said a new public insurance program could “bankrupt the country.” He said it made no sense to “throw out a system that works for 85 percent” of the population so Congress could take care of the 15 percent who were uninsured.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said Mr. Obama should take a more gradual approach. “We morally, every one of us, would like to cover every American with health insurance,” Mr. Lieberman said on “State of the Union” on CNN. But, he noted, “that’s where you spend most of the $1 trillion” in expected costs over 10 years.

“We’ve got to think about putting a lot of that off until the economy’s out of recession,” he added. “There’s no reason we have to do it all now, but we do have to get started. And I think the place to start is cost, health delivery reform and insurance market reforms.”

The administration continued on Sunday to wrestle with questions about planning for medical care at the end of life.

Senator Arlen Specter, Democrat of Pennsylvania, called for hearings to investigate a guide used by the government to counsel veterans with critical or terminal illnesses.

On “Fox News Sunday,” H. James Towey, the director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under President George W. Bush, said the guide seemed to encourage people to “hurry up and die.”

The booklet, “Your Life, Your Choices,” asks people to consider whether life would be worth living if, for example, they were in severe pain, relied on a feeding tube or a breathing machine, lived in a nursing home or imposed “a severe financial burden” on family members.

In addition, the booklet asks, “Have you ever heard anyone say, ‘If I’m a vegetable, pull the plug’?” It then explains that people have different ideas of what it means to be a vegetable or to “pull the plug.”

In a bulletin last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs recommended the booklet as a tool to help veterans with “advance care planning.”

Tammy Duckworth, an assistant secretary of veterans affairs, said it was being revised.

But Mr. Towey said, “The document is so fundamentally flawed that the V.A. ought to throw it out.”


Sources: NY Times, Huffington Post, MSNBC