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Snowe: Senate Finance Committee Bill Won't Have Public Option
Rachel Slajda | August 21, 2009, 2:17PM
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
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Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), one of the "gang of six" Finance Committee members negotiating a health care reform bill, said today that the committee's bill will not include a public option.
"We have not had the public option on the table," Snowe told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. "It's been co-ops, and addressing the availability and affordability of plans through the exchange."
Snowe's comments affirm weeks of speculation and hints that the committee would not incorporate the public option into its bill.
When asked later about her statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said only, "The president has said over and over that his goal is to offer more choices to bring costs down ... and the best way to do that is a public option." But if there are better ideas out there, Burton said, President Obama is open to them.
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rbeats
August 21, 2009 2:56 PM
Its pretty simple. If there is no public option then there is no bill worth passing.
Stop negotiating with people who support health insurance death panels.
The time for bipartisanship is long past.
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agio
August 21, 2009 2:59 PM
It doesn't really matter at this point what the Finance Committee bill looks like, imo. The bill the President signs will be a hybrid of the House bills and the Kennedy bill.
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CareyInLA
August 21, 2009 3:08 PM
Snowe's comments do not indicate how she would vote on a bill that includes a public option, only that the "Gang of Six" haven't considered it.
We already knew that.
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Kathleen Hussein in Maine
August 21, 2009 3:21 PM
Surprise, surprise, shazam.
Olympia might be one of the few who actually tries to represent her constituents. Kent Conrad is representing his obsession with co-ops, and Baucus is covering his backside with his funders.
The Finance Committee is weakening their own position by creating a bill no one wants -- not the Republicans, not the Democrats.
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JadeZ
August 21, 2009 3:21 PM
what a mess.
the democrats cant even get the truth out to the public and are content to be the party that cant do anything no matter their numbers.
so why should anyone vote for them?
people dont mind a loss when you fight all out, but when you dont seem to even be trying, they will vote you out just on principle.
maybe they are to corrupt to do the right thing.
the country is very angry and its going to get worse.
anything can happen.
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IndyEllen
August 21, 2009 4:46 PM
I hope Olympia remembers that there are a lot of low-income constituents in Maine, and that the current Dirigo health care plan hasn't worked very well for those same people.
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