Senate Passes 9/11 First Responders Health Care Bill

[spike]

Update 2:31 p.m.: By voice vote, the Senate passed the newly-trimmed 9/11 first responders bill. It now goes to the House for expedited passage.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has dropped his objections to the 9/11 first responders bill, allowing Dems to circumvent procedural roadblocks and pass it quickly this afternoon.

Dems rounded up the votes they needed to break Coburn's filibuster earlier this week, and spent much of the morning and early afternoon negotiating with him to prevent him from delaying passage of the legislation by several days.

Coburn's price: a reduction of the price tag from $6.2 billion to $4.2 billion.

The legislation would provide first responders with five years of health care coverage and give them fresh access to a compensation fund for people who became ill because of exposure to harmful inhalants at ground zero.

The House is in session today and primed to pass that and other last-minute legislation, before gaveling the 111th Congress to a close.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/911-bill-to-pass-unencumbered.php?ref=fpa

Shit...finally.

 

[ResearchMonkey]

....before gaveling the 111th Congress to a close

Shit...finally.

I agree. This shit canned goofball congress shouldn't be doing jack. It's time for the historically elected 112th to do the people will.

...Let see if they do.

 

[Gonz]

Reparations are wrong.

 

[spike]

I agree. This shit canned goofball congress shouldn't be doing jack.

They should be doing what's right and they are making historical progress. The republicans have been shitting on the first responder heroes for too long. Glad we got them taken care of.

 

[catocom]

They could have done what was right a loooong time ago.
All they had to do was pass it without all the pork, like they finally did because of Coburn.

form 9b to 4.5b? now that's the way to do it.

 

[spike]

Cutting off the benefits after 5 years instead of 10 equals "cutting out the pork"?

 

[ResearchMonkey]

They should be doing what's right and they are making historical progress. The republicans have been shitting on the first responder heroes for too long. Glad we got them taken care of.

It was never the heros that was the problem, it was the bullshit xtras demoncraps put into the bill.

Historical, yes. One of the most destructive sessions of congress ever just ended.

Time for the new historically elected congress to do what America overwhelmingly elected them to do.

 

[catocom]

Cutting off the benefits after 5 years instead of 10 equals "cutting out the pork"?

yep
It can be revisited then, if there's a need.

 

[jimpeel]

Hey! They could have taken as long to do this as they did for the victims of Agent Orange.

 

[spike]

It was never the heros that was the problem, it was the bullshit xtras demoncraps put into the bill.

For example?

Historical, yes. One of the most destructive sessions of congress ever just ended.

Historically productive. Would buy again A++++;

 

[spike]

yep
It can be revisited then, if there's a need.

No, that does not fit the definition of pork.

 

[spike]

Hey! They could have taken as long to do this as they did for the victims of Agent Orange.

That was bullshit too.

 

[catocom]

No, that does not fit the definition of pork.

oh, I didn't know that was just a rhetorical question.

Did you have a Real point?

 

[Gonz]

Would buy again A++++;

Fool.

http://www.usdebtclock.org

 

[spike]

oh, I didn't know that was just a rhetorical question.

Did you have a Real point?

I was just waiting for you to point out the pork you were referring to.

 

[spike]

http://www.usdebtclock.org

I know right? What kind of crazy people would fight for tax cuts for the rich and be against taking care of national heroes? Sickening.

 

[ResearchMonkey]

For example?

I guess you forgot about the prior debate, you were too busy with John Stewart and reading mediamatters for your news.

Historically productive. Would buy again A++++;

I'm sure your eBay mentality would. Commie boy.

unprecedented

 

[catocom]

I was just waiting for you to point out the pork you were referring to.

I think it was posted on Coburn's site.
I'll see if I can find the 'list'.

 

[Gonz]

I know right? What kind of crazy people would fight for tax cuts for the rich and be against taking care of national heroes? Sickening.

A)What tax cut? I think the rich (and the not-so-rich) do desreve one. I just don't see one. We're simply fighting fo rthe same tax rate we've used for a decade.

B)National heroes. What those people did was heroic & selfless. However, that does not entitle them to a single dime.

Cut spending. Reduce entitlements. Shrink the size of non-Constitutional government. Problem will be solved.

 

[catocom]

Taking care of Hometown Heros, used to be taken care of by the Hometown.

We need to restore the states rights Fully, and cut the National.