One Battle in the War for Reform

September 30, 2009

Yesterday, we fought a battle for the public health insurance option. Though we didn't win it, we came away with a strong showing that put us in a better position for the coming war.

For AFSCME members in particular, President McEntee points out, “the bottom line for us is when there is little or no competition, our costs go up, and this is why we need a public plan option.”

In a long debate on the amendments to add a public health insurance option to the Baucus Bill in the Senate Finance Committee, Senators spoke out vigorously in favor of the idea. The intellectual and moral case for the public health insurance option was clear.

The Finance Committee then voted on two public health insurance option amendments offered by Senators Rockefeller and Schumer.

In the end, 10 out of 13 Democrats on the committee - John Rockefeller (WV), Jeff Bingaman (NM), John Kerry (MA), Ron Wyden (OR), Charles Schumer (NY), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Maria Cantwell (WA), Bill Nelson (FL), Robert Menendez (NJ), and Tom Carper (DE) - voted for a public health insurance option.

Three Democrats - Max Baucus (MT), Kent Conrad (ND), and Blanche Lincoln (AR) - sided with the Republicans to defeat these amendments. The final roll call was 10-13.

In the most conservative committee in the Senate, which is itself the most conservative house of Congress, a public health insurance option got the support of an overwhelming majority of the governing party. And there were some surprises - we picked up more votes than we had originally expected.

So what's next?

A public health insurance option has been passed by four out of five committees in Congress dealing with health care, and received a huge amount of support in the Senate Finance Committee. The next time the public health insurance option will come up for consideration is when Majority Leader Harry Reid merges the Finance bill with the HELP bill.

Yesterday was the first step in building momentum for a public health insurance option in the Senate. Clearly, the idea has weight - even self-described moderates such as Bill Nelson and Tom Carper voted for it. As we move to the floor and into conference, with Schumer, Rockefeller, and other champions pledging support and whipping their colleagues, those numbers can and will continue to grow.

We remain confident a public option will be in the final bill that lands on President Obama’s desk. But it won’t happen without the continued actions and involvement of AFSCME’s membership, which has been unprecedented these past few months.