U.S. Lawmakers Arguing Over Health Care Plan

It should come as no surprise, of course, that U.S. lawmakers are arguing. What they’re arguing about now, however, is a health care overhaul plan that is near and dear to President Obama’s heart and a major part of his campaign platform. Partisan arguments and concerns over costs were at the center of the clash and what has been referred to as an "ambitious" timetable (read: not bloody likely) is in great danger of being scrapped altogether. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began work recently on the health care overhaul bill, the first time the issue has been addressed at this level since the early 1990s, during former President Bill Clinton’s administration.

The Senate Finance Committee, on the other hand, noted that it would put off any specific action on the initiative, as senators from both parties sought to cut the costs of the plan. The initial plan called for outlays of $1.6 Trillion (yes, that’s TRILLION) over 10 years, but senators will seek to get the cost under a trillion. Democrats, for their part, have told lobbyists that they will have a voice in the process as long as their groups do not offer public campaigns against the new legislation.

Said E. Neil Trautwein, chief health care lobbyist for the National Retail Federation, "We have a lot of sweat equity in this process. We need cost relief. But if it comes to the point where we have to cut and run and build a coalition, we’ll take that step." Among Senate Republicans, the main concern regarding the legislation was, predictably, cost. Said Senator John McCain, "How can we possibly, reasonably address this bill without accounting how to pay for it?"