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SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D), MICHIGAN: Hi, Lawrence.
O"DONNELL: I"m sorry. I"m getting mixed up on deem and pass every
time I try to pass through it.
Let me start with the question about House Democrats. We know what
their plan is. They"re trying to get this things passed by the end of the
week.
STABENOW: Right.
O"DONNELL: What is the plan of action in the Senate if this passes
the House? What would be the schedule of action in the Senate?
STABENOW: Well, Lawrence, we"ll--we will take it up as soon as the
House passes it, sometime next week is what we are assuming right now.
And so, we"re--we are anxious to get this taken care of. We know
what this means in terms of families and small businesses and manufactures.
Frankly, it"s as much a jobs bill as anything else--certainly, in my
state, where we"re losing jobs because of rising health care costs. So, we
are anxious to get it done.
O"DONNELL: Not to get too technical, but is there any committee
action contemplated before taking it to the floor in the Senate or will it
go from the House of Representatives straight down to the will of the
Senate?
STABENOW: Well, as I understand it now, as we"ve been talking about
it, it would go directly to the floor.
O"DONNELL: And are you surprised that House Democrats think that the
bill you voted for in the Senate is so bad they don"t want their
fingerprints on it in any way. They want to be able to deny they voted for
it.
STABENOW: Well, I--you know, I appreciate the concerns that came up
about certain special provisions.
But, Lawrence, I have to say that we have a bill that makes sure that
costs go down for families and small businesses. I"m very proud to have
authored an immediate tax cut for small businesses this year, as soon as we
pass it, up to a 35 percent tax cut. All the provisions like eliminating
preexisting conditions for children would happen immediately. For adults,
we set up a special fund. If they can"t find insurance, they can buy into
it.
Another provision I"m very proud to have co-authored with Senator
Kerry is a provision to help early retirees, people 55 and older, to be
able to get help right now--this year--to bring their costs down.
We have 17 different provisions that will take effect right now this
year that are in the Senate bill.
And I think that what we have done is a good bill. And I appreciate
the differences between the House and the Senate, but I think people will
find that this really does help them. It brings down costs. It creates
more access. It holds insurance companies accountable and it"s important
to move it forward.
O"DONNELL: Now, Senator, it must be fun for you, people in the
Senate, to watch all the pressure on the House for a change. They had a
fairly--
STABENOW: Right.
O"DONNELL: -- relatively easy time passing the bill in last year
compared to the Senate.
STABENOW: Right.
O"DONNELL: But can you guarantee the House that if they do pass this,
that the Senate will be able to get it through reconciliation intact? That
the Senate parliamentarian will accept everything sent over by the House
and that you actually do have the 50 votes plus the vice president in the
Senate to pass that?
STABENOW: I have absolutely no reason to believe that the votes
aren"t there. Everything I hear from colleagues, everything that we
discuss together indicates to me and it gives me confidence that the votes
are there. And we certainly are willing to demonstrate that to the House
before they move ahead. We"re going to be working with them on
reconciliation.
And, you know, reconciliation is really just a majority vote, as you
know. This is really about just letting democracy work. And the
provisions in this 51-vote corrections bill actually make the bill better.
There are things that I would have liked to have done in the Senate that we
didn"t get done that I think actually make it more affordable for families,
address the excise tax which I believe needs to be addressed, tackles what
was Nebraska only help, now to reach out and make sure every state is
treated fairly in Medicaid.
So, there are things that I think should have been done anyway.
O"DONNELL: Senator, before we go, quickly, I just have to ask what it
was like having the tea partiers in the hallways today. Did they flood
your office? Did they try to slow you down on the way to votes? Was there
were there any problems at all?
STABENOW: Well, I"ve seen folks--you know, folks who are in the
halls and coming to our office. I mean, we are willing to sit down with
people, talk about what is really in the bill and not in the bill.
I think, most importantly, Lawrence, I have to say before leaving
tonight that with all the protesting from Senator McConnell and the
Republicans about how bad this would be for Democrats, you would think
they"d be rushing to the floor to help us pass it. And the old saying,
"Thou dost protest too much," I think comes to mind, because the reality
is, if this was so bad for us, they would let us pass it immediately.
They know that when you provide a tax cuts to small business, when you
lower the cost for families, you hold insurance companies accountable, and
you help people be able to afford insurance that that"s a good thing.
O"DONNELL: Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan--thank you
for your perspective tonight.
STABENOW: Thanks.
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