OntheWilderSide

Reconciliation in Senate Should Not Be Used to Pass a Bad Bill

The capitol hill newspaper, Politico, reported on Wednesday that Senator Harkin (D-IA) revealed Senate leadership would use the “reconciliation” to pass the health care reform bill that has been hotly debated in America over the past year. Midge Potts, Progressive/Green candidate for US Senate in Missouri, released a statement saying that the Senate should not use the process to pass bad legislation, but should start from scratch to create a bill that would provide consumer protections and affordable access to health care for all Americans.

Potts said:

It is outrageous that Democrats so desperately want to pass a bill that has been watered down by partisan bickering. It is obvious that the millions of dollars spent on lobbying by the insurance, hospital and pharmaceutical industries is paying off. Legislation requiring mandated private insurance is much more dangerous than the often demonized single-payer not-for-profit health care system which would truly cut administrative costs while providing universal health care.

Potts has previously suggested that any health reform should be paid for by cutting US military spending and disarming America’s antiquated nuclear weapons arsenal rather than by raising taxes. She has also suggested alternative methods for changing the health care paradigm in America by subsidizing college and medical school tuition for health care professionals. 

Potts added:

If doctors did not have to start their careers with a quarter million dollars or more of debt, we would see a dramatic increase in health care providers while simultaneously lowering the industry’s base wage level.  The current legislation is equivalent to putting a band aid on a gushing wound, and should be scrapped so we can finally get to the root of the problem.

Midge Potts, co-chair of the Progressive Party of Missouri, is the party’s candidate for U.S. Senator in 2010. She and other party members are circulating petitions to get Ms. Potts and other Progressive Party candidates on the Missouri ballot this year.

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, Election 2010, grassroots democracy, Green Party, health care, Healthcare, News, politics, third party, US Politics Tagged: | midge potts, Missouri