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McCaul hammers absence of GOP members from health-care negotiations; Doggett critiques GOP proposal
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Austin joined Republican House colleagues from Texas this morning in reminding reporters that GOP members—in the minority in the House and Senate—have been left out of the Democratic leadership’s search for a plan broadening access to health coverage.
“When you don’t have a seat at the table, it’s hard to negotiate,” McCaul said during a Washington press conference that I joined by telephone.
McCaul noted too that the secretive way Democratic plans are getting hammered out has strayed from how then-Sen. Barack Obama said last year he expected to proceed.
At an August town hall, Obama said:
I’m going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We’ll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they’ll get a seat at the table, they just won’t be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we’ll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process.
Didn’t happen—with the result amounting to a broken campaign promise, according to this fact check.
Separately this week, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, questioned House Republicans lately spelling out what they’d prefer in a health-care plan:
After months of delay in offering any proposal, Republicans have been as revealing as a hospital gown regarding why we lack a bipartisan health insurance plan—they have speeches, but no real solutions to offer our families. Sadly, Republican obstructionism is a recurrent pre-existing condition to any meaningful change. Masquerading as reform, their new bill authorizes insurers to continue denying coverage to Americans with ‘pre-existing health conditions,’ such as acne, a C-section, or any other prior medical treatment. The GOP Leadership again sides with insurance monopolies over struggling middle-class families. Under their proposal, competition does not increase and health insurance coverage remains little more than a receipt for premiums paid and likely denial of coverage when families need it the most.
I asked the GOP House members today—including Reps. John Culberson, Kevin Brady and Louie Gohmert—if Texas members of Congress have played substantive roles in the simmering health-care debate. They singled out Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, who serves on a pivotal committee, and Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, the only Texan among conservative-leaning Blue Dog Democrats.
In other words, basically nope. Still, I hope to continue exploring the impact of Texas members on the debate. Fire at me if you have a suggestion, wgselby@statesman.com .
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Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment Categories: Democratic politics, Republican politics, U.S. Congress
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By ROBERT DAVIS
November 18, 2009 3:41 PM | Link to this
LLOYD DOGGETT VOTING TO TAKE BILLIONS AWAY FROM SENIORS WHO HAVE PAID SS TAXES FOR YEARS SO THEY CAN PANDER FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT VOTES BY GIVING THEM FREE HELATH CARE SHOWS THAT DUMOCRATS ARE FAR MOREINTERESTED IN THEIR SOCIAL ENGINEERING SOCIALISM THAN WHAT IS GOOD FOR AMERICANS. VOTE THIS IDIOT OUT BEFORE HE SCREWS ANY MORE PEOPLE IN HIS DISTRICT LIKE HE HAS REALLY SCREWED SENIORS.
By James Cargill
November 6, 2009 3:35 PM | Link to this
Mr. Doggett, This bill is not about health care. If it were it would not wait until 2013 to be implemented. It is a power grab and if it passes the goverment will have it hands in every facet of our lives. You really disappoint me.
By ROBERT DAVIS
November 5, 2009 6:16 AM | Link to this
Lloyd Doggett has spent your kids future away and as a former plaintiff attorney is protecting those who are stealing up to 30% of your healthcare bill. This Obama is the most dishonest president in American history and Doggett is his lap dog screwing Seniors out of billions in medicare funds so they can pander for illegal aliens votes and make the citizens. You would not have to have a good brain to vote Dumocratic these days for sure.
By Texan
November 4, 2009 10:26 PM | Link to this
Let me get this straight. The Democrats are shutting Texas almost entirely out of the health care debate. They’re planning to overhaul or take over one-sixth of the country’s economy, without any real input from the 2nd largest state ? That’s a broken promise, all right, and it goes against any reasonable person’s idea of fairness or common sense.
By Larry
November 4, 2009 12:41 PM | Link to this
Isn’t Lloyd the one who said he didn’t care what his constituents wanted, he was going to vote for the Democratic plan even though we still don’t know what it will contain?? That type of remark got the teabag rallies going, which is understandable when you say you don’t care about their views. Lloyd has been nasty every since. My theory is he is getting old and making a last attempt to climb the leadership ladder. I realize Lloyd is an attorney too but wouldn’t it lower costs if we get tort reform? Why has that been taken off the table?? I realize that would be taking on those trial lawyers who have made billions(costing us billions) and can buy any of these politicos with their money. Heck O’Quinn the lawyer who just died paid one Demo candidate $3 million. You could buy any politico for $3 million bucks.
By YayGovernmentTakeover
November 4, 2009 11:53 AM | Link to this
Most Texas Congressmen can’t have an impact since the Democrats won’t let them have a seat at the table. Republicans introduced their own bill (a respectable 219 pages) but that won’t get any kind of consideration. Why? Because it doesn’t include a government takeover of healthcare, it lowers premiums, it lets people buy across state lines, and so on.