5 More Ways That This Is Not 1994

by Tim Foley

categories: Obama and Congress, Public Plan

Published March 10, 2009 @ 10:19PM PT

Today Sen. Max Baucus convened the Finance Committee to begin to “think creatively about proposals that will both improve quality and reduce the growth of health care costs in the ten‐year budget window.”  Elsewhere, Rep. Henry Waxman was explaining how health care reform would happen in the House.  Since the White House summit on health care reform, Congress has begun to shift into the next gear to begin building the legislative framework for health care for all in 2009.  Here are 5 more reasons to be optimistic and hope that 2009 is very different from 1994.

1.)    Congress clearly feels the urgency to get it done this year.  Baucus today spoke of getting a comprehensive bill done and on the president’s desk by the fourth of July.  Waxman, not knowing Baucus’ timeline, was quoted saying he thought it was likely by the August recess.  These would be ambitious dates for just building the bill in their committees, given the whole host of issues to consider – let alone getting a final bill to the White House.

2.)    Waxman was giving his speech before the American Medical Association, who had done their best to destroy health care reform under Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy, had done their best to prevent Medicare under Johnson, had been lukewarm at best for Clinton, and who had practically coined the phrase “socialized medicine.”  Waxman gave a no-nonsense defense of the public competitor, which is shaping up to be a real point of tension with Republicans, and slammed those who would label the approach “socialized medicine.”  For this, he was interrupted again and again… with applause.

3.)    In 1993-1994, it wasn’t clear who the Congressional point-people were, aside from the committee chairs – and some of them like Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, seemed indifferent at best to health care reform.  In this Congress, people are falling over each other to be the one making definitive statements, from Sen. Baucus trying to be the de facto Congressional face of reform while Ted Kennedy is undergoing treatment, to Waxman making himself more and more prominent on the House side despite suspicions he might let Rep. John Dingell run the show.  Today, Waxman was not only speaking for his own Energy and Commerce Committee, but also for Ways and Means, and Education and Labor, promising a unified bill from all three committees.

4.)    Wait… is this… a hint of bipartisanship?  Not from Sen. Mitch McConnell, and likely not from House Republicans, but Sen. Chuck Grassley’s statement at the Senate Finance Committee sounded more like a partner than opposition.  “I feel positive about how we are starting this process…  At this point, I haven’t heard from any Republican Senators that we shouldn’t be working on health care reform this year.  We haven’t had to make any difficult decisions yet, but not one Senator has said to me that we shouldn’t be trying to pass health care reforms.”  So much for the famous 90s advice, “oppose it, sight unseen.”

5.)    Baucus and Grassley took turns urging OMB Director Peter Orszag to give more details on what President Obama is thinking and what his plans are.  Neither Obama not Orsag is taking the bait – Congress is clearly writing this bill with behind-the-scenes guidance from the White House.  There will be no “President’s plan” and no meticulously drafted 1,000 page document air-dropped on Congress.  There’s also no giving them an out on the tough questions, or a scapegoat for part they disagree with.  The houses of Congress will own this piece of legislation, for better or worse, and that will likely increase the chances of passage.

That makes the public statements of Congressional leaders like Waxman and Baucus all the more intriguing.  As Grassley said, no heavy lifting has been done yet and there’s plenty of time for ill will.  But clearly, 2009 is a very different year.

(Photo credit:  Public Citizen on Flickr.)