Capital Beat
Hagan open to “other options” on moving health care bill
Sen. Kay Hagan spoke with reporters on her weekly conference call this morning. Topic 1 was Sen. Jim Bunning ending his filibuster on the unemployment bill. (Wx Post link)
Hagan said that Bunning blocked a measure – now signed by the president – that extends unemployment insurance and COBRA health insurance extension subsidies by holding out for 100 percent of his demands.
"That is not the way our democracy is supposed to work," Hagan said. "Real people's lives were affected by this…We have got to stop playing politics with the lives of North Carolinians.”
Of course, the next opportunity for filibuster may be the massive health care reform bill. With more than one Republican opposed to that measure, Democrats are contemplating pushing it through under so-called reconciliation rules. (Wx Post link.) Those rules would allow a health care bill to pass the Senate without the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
Hagan has said before she would prefer the health bill not be done under reconciliation.
"My strong preference is to move the bill through regular order,” she said. But she added, “However, if the parties that be are going to misuse these rules, if the Republicans are misuse the rules in order to create these indefinite delays – that we’ve actually seen happen this past week – then I’m going to be open to considering other options.”
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