Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele defended Senate Republicans’ tactic of reading a 700-plus-page amendment today to stall debate on the health care bill.
The amendment, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), calls for a single-payer system and will likely be voted down.
“You’ve had members admit they haven’t read the underlying bill, so I think it’s kind of a good idea to read the amendment to the bill you haven’t read,” Steele told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.
We should note that as RNC chair, Steele doesn’t have any power when it comes to what Congressional Republicans on the House or Senate floor. But his answer is a good example of Republican justification for delaying health care.
“But, Mr. Chairman, let’s face the fact that Bernie Sanders’ amendment … isn’t even a talking point anymore for Democrats. It’s an amendment that’s going to be voted down just as likely as Republican amendments are voted down,” Mitchell said. “So why take the time to read more than 700 pages of an amendment that’s not even germane to where this bill is going?”
“Well, it is germane. It’s germane to the debate. It’s as germane as tort reform, which is not a part of this as well. It’s as germane as HSAs, which have been gutted in this bill,” Steele responded. “But none of this has been discussed in any great length. Largely, the members don’t know what’s in the bill. Harry Reid has kept this thing in his coat closet from the very beginning. We still don’t know what it’s gonna cost, and so yeah, let’s slow this thing down.”
