Now that the push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.
Health on the Hill will feature news links that should help you keep track of the reform debate and get to the meat of the issue. Enjoy!
Today’s Updates – 9/30/09:
Yesterday both amendments for a public option to be included in the Senate Finance Committee’s version of a health care reform bill were rejected. All Republican committee members and Democratic members such as Senators Conrad (North Dakota), Lincoln (Arkansas) and Baucus (Montana) voted against both pleas to offer a government-run public insurance option. Despite strong support for a public option from Americans, the White House, and the Senate HELP and three House committees that voted to include the public option in their versions of the bill, the Senate Finance Committee has failed to recognize the need for this key component in the health care reform debate. This does not mean, however, that the public option is dead. It can still be included when the bills are combined during conference. Meanwhile, young people are pushing to make their voices heard in this debate that will directly affect us, especially with the release of the ” Young Invincibles” plan – presented by Senator Baucus- which provides a crappy solution to lowering our costs.
After an intense debate that captured the essence of the national struggle over health care, a pivotal Senate committee on Tuesday rejected two Democratic proposals to create a government insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
President Barack Obama got an early look at the depth of the Democratic divide on the government insurance option Tuesday..Now, squabbling Democrats are looking to the president to be the final arbiter of whether they include the public option in the version of the bill that goes to the Senate floor — and later, whether it will emerge in compromise legislation from a House-Senate conference.
The policy decisions currently being made will have major consequences for young people. Much, for example, has been made these past few weeks about the public option, whether it should be in any final health care reform package (it should) and whether it has the political legs to make it across the finish line (it must). It matters because it will create an immediately affordable choice for the 80% of young people making less than $40,000 per year. The public option is young America’s coverage plan.
Now that the push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.
Health on the Hill will feature news links that should help you keep track of the reform debate and get to the meat of the issue. Enjoy!
Today’s Updates – 9/29/09:
It seems the public option, that key component in the health care debate thus far, is not dead after all. Throughout the August recess, the media and word around the town halls made it sound like the public option was close to being dead and buried. But a combination of key Democratic senators fighting to include the public option and increased support from Americans in September has brought the public option back to life. Today Senators Schumer ( D-NY) and Rockefeller (D-WV) will put forth an amendment to include the public option in the reform bill being debated in the Senate Finance Committee.
Two members of the Senate Finance Committee plan to put their Democratic colleagues on the spot on Tuesday by offering amendments on whether to give uninsured Americans the opportunity to join a government insurance program.
The public option limped out of August, battered and left to die in the Senate. But its supporters are working hard this week to bring it back, against the odds, with a series of high-profile votes in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
The September Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that public support for health reform ended its summer slide, reversed course and moved modestly upwards in September.
Campus Progress is working with partners like the US Students Association and the PIRGs to mobilize students across the country for the Raising Pell Week of Action, October 6th – 8th.
Students are taking action to ensure that their Senators support President Obama’s plan to stop funding government subsidies to banks, and instead increase the Federal Pell Grant.
There have been some great pieces to come out this week about the political debate about Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) on that vast series of tubes we call the worldwide web. SAFRA would eliminate a government program (Federal Family Education Loan Program – FFELP) that involves large, wasteful federal subsidies to student loan companies, and use the $87 billion in savings to raise Pell grants, improve access and completion rates, invest in minority serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities, and more.
It should come as no surprise that when Student Loan Analytics explored the topic of student opinion on SAFRA, they found many student newspapers in support of the legislation, and none opposed to it. In fact, when they searched Google for “students who support FFELP,” they got a very familiar message:
No results found for ”students who support FFELP”
And why should students support FFELP? As the same blog has pointed out before, FFELP offers students little to nothing in terms of choice, despite lender claims to the contrary. Billions in additional need-based grant funding for low and middle income students seems, obviously, more valuable to both students and taxpayers than preserving subsidies for lenders. (more…)
Even if students go bankrupt, private lenders still make them pay up
“What is so different about discharging student loans that is different from everything else that is dischargeable?” asked Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) at Wednesday’s hearing about private (“alternative”) student loans and bankruptcy. “This isn’t a gambling debt, this isn’t something against the common good.” The hearing was held to reconsider a law that allows private lenders to prevent loans from being discharged if a student declares bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, only 4 out of 14 other committee members attended, but the majority of senators and witnesses echoed Conyers’ sentiments. The harsh and unforgiving treatment of private student loan debt is the exception to the rule for most noncriminal consumer debt. The current policy protects private lenders and puts borrowers in dire financial straits. Although federal student loans are also not dischargeable, they have numerous consumer protections, repayment options, and loan forgivness programs in place– private lenders do not.
There is a grave need to change this strange and dangerous policy. Witness Lauren Asher, President of the Institute for College Access and Success, spoke about the desperate situations of student borrowers today. College costs have outpaced family incomes, and financially trapped students must have honest lenders who will not prey on their need or ignorance. But Asher cited some highly disturbing examples of the predatory lending epidemic raging across our nation’s campuses.
Students, faculty, and staff at University of California system schools engaged in a massive walk out today to counter massive budget cuts to higher education, a 45% tuition hike, pay cuts and mandatory furloughs, and more.
Now that Congress is back and in full swing, and the push for health care reform will be moving fast and furiously, I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.
Health on the Hill will feature news links that should help you keep track of the reform debate and get to the meat of the issue. Enjoy!
Today’s Updates – 9/22/09:
Today the Senate Finance Committee will begin marking up its health care reform bill. The mark-up, which will include voting on amendments proposed to the bill (there have been about 500 amendments proposed thus far) is expected to last until the end of the week. Let’s hope the amendments focus on re-instating the public option and making coverage more affordable, rather than amendments that simply benefit the health industry, like those that Senator Grassley has proposed. Also, we take a look at the new Census data and how the majority of the uninsured live in congressional districts represented by Republicans and conservative Democrats – two groups that, for the most part, have been trying their best to block health care reform.
The health-care sausage-making goes public today as the Senate Finance Committee meets to mark up the overhaul bill put together by Chairman Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat.
On Capitol Hill right now, the Senate Finance Committee has begun its “mark-up” of Chairman Max Baucus’ version of an overhaul of the nation’s health care system. C-SPAN.org is streaming the hearing here..
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that 17 percent of Americans under age 65 now go without health insurance. And of the 100 congressional districts with the highest uninsured rates, 53 are represented either by Republican lawmakers — who are fighting the Obama administration’s attempt to overhaul the health care system — or by Blue Dog Democrats — conservative Democrats who have slowed down and diluted the overhaul proposals.
If that sounds a bit boring, then you haven’t been paying attention. Private student loans, which contain few borrower protections and high interest rates, became nearly impossible to discharge under bankruptcy because of legislation passed in 2005. This has made private student loans more dangerous for students and more lucrative banks.
The bottom line: students have been singled out for less protection. What does this say about our country’s priorities?
Other than a handful of pro-life and pro-costume protesters on the sidelines, the thousands of people lining up to listen to the President speak on health care reform all seemed to be supporters. We were happy to see so many University students turning out for the rally and pledging their support for Obama’s health care plan by signing our pledge sheet while standing in line. Several of our students, including Emma Sandoe, an uninsured student who volunteered with us and interns at the Center for American Progress, were able to express their concerns with the health care system. Emma speaks of her support for reform in this PBS segment on young people and health care.
It was a significant day for young people in the health care debate, because it was one of the first times the President directly addressed the impact our broken health care system has on our generation and spoke directly to us, instead of leaving us out while addressing our grandparents about Medicare concerns.
The President spoke about components in his plan that would directly benefit young people, such as eligibility to remain on our parents’ coverage until the age of 26, or receiving tax subsidies if we cannot afford coverage, or no longer being denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
A young woman, who is a student at the University of Maryland, spoke just before the President took the stage. She courageously shared her story of battling cancer at such a young age. She spoke of her good fortune of making it through her medical struggles only because she had health insurance coverage from her parents due to her status as a student. What if her parents had lost their jobs in this economy and therefore lost coverage during her chemotherapy? They could have purchased a plan from the private market but she would have been denied coverage based on her existing illness or charged an exorbitant amount because or her pre-existing condition. This is the sad truth of our health care system and it shows that not all of us are as invincible as we care to believe.
President Obama spoke of this reality and stressed once again the importance of health care reform, for our generation and for all Americans. He ended his rally with some familiar campaign stories and the arena erupted in cheers as he shouted “Fired Up!” and “Ready to Go!”.
He reminded us that this generation help put him in office and now that it’s time to pass health care reform, “We need the voice of the young people to transform this nation.”
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for September, 2009.
Now that the push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.
Now that the push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.
Now that Congress is back and in full swing, and the push for health care reform will be moving fast and furiously, I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.
