Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) told The Weekly Standard that House Democrats have rejected the possibility of passing the Senate’s health care bill without making any changes — which looks to be just about the only way the bill can pass now that the Senate Democratic caucus has just 59 votes.
People are disappointed, disillusioned with the way the bill came out. There are major differences like how we pay for it — the quality provisions are not in there, [the Senate bill] takes away the anti-trust exemptions. Insurance reform is not in there. You still have probably, about number four on the list, is the abortion issue. The one that has members most upset is the sweetheart deals that states received. I don’t care if you’re the most liberal Democratic member or the most conservative member. That is a non-starter. Leadership has sort of floated that balloon [of passing the Senate bill] and everyone said, ‘No way.’ So, the only thing I think they can do now is to try to come up with a less aggressive bill and try to do something like that.
