Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Senate Battles Over Medicare Bill
Aired November 24, 2003 - 14:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: It's a dramatic day in the Senate as a $400 billion Medicare prescription drug package winds its way through Congress. Just a short while ago, Senate Democrats lost a chance to talk the bill into oblivion, or so they had hoped.
Dollars to doughnuts there will be a showdown some time this afternoon, 4 p.m. Eastern, it looks like. And CNN congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl will be there every step of the way.
And no deductible for you, right?
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all.
Miles, you know, Yogi Berra said it's not over until it's over. And it is not over here in the United States Senate.
Republicans cleared a major procedural hurdle, got 70 votes to end a Democratic filibuster. They only needed 60.
But now there is another wrinkle that has emerged. Democrats still think they have a chance to defeat this bill on a technicality. They are going to raise what is called here in the jargon a budget point of order.
And right now, both sides say it's unclear how this vote will come down. Republicans again will need 60 votes. And now they're not quite so sure they've got those votes.
A short while ago the secretary of health and human services, Tommy Thompson, was up here with the Republicans and some of the Democrats that are supporting them, urging Congress to get, make that last final move, to finally passing this bill.
But he acknowledged there is one more significant hurdle they have to overcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE SECRETARY: The administration is very thankful. Thankful to the House of Representatives on Friday evening. But today, very thankful to the senators on a bipartisan basis for passing this proposal down to the 1-yard line. We are right there for a touchdown for our seniors all across America. And the hang-up is a technicality that should not prevent this memorable piece of legislation to pass at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KARL: Now the technicality is that the bill actually spends too much money. More money in the first year than the Congress had agreed to earlier in the year. So that's the technicality. They will need 60 points to overcome that.
Meanwhile, some conservative Republicans are also unhappy with this bill, because they believe it is simply too costly and doesn't reform Medicare enough.
One of those conservative Republicans who will vote no at the end of the day is Senator Judd Gregg, chairman of the health committee in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JUDD GREGG (R-NH), CHAIRMAN, SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: And it shouldn't be sugarcoated. It is a massive tax increase being placed on working young Americans and Americans who haven't yet been born, in order to support a drug benefit for retired Americans and Americans who are about to retire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: So this procedural vote is expected to happen at about 3:30 Eastern time. And again, Republicans will need 60 votes. Right now they're not sure they're going to have the 60 votes. So stay tuned, Mile.
O'BRIEN: All right, we'll do that. CNN's Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 24, 2003 - 14:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: It's a dramatic day in the Senate as a $400 billion Medicare prescription drug package winds its way through Congress. Just a short while ago, Senate Democrats lost a chance to talk the bill into oblivion, or so they had hoped.
Dollars to doughnuts there will be a showdown some time this afternoon, 4 p.m. Eastern, it looks like. And CNN congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl will be there every step of the way.
And no deductible for you, right?
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all.
Miles, you know, Yogi Berra said it's not over until it's over. And it is not over here in the United States Senate.
Republicans cleared a major procedural hurdle, got 70 votes to end a Democratic filibuster. They only needed 60.
But now there is another wrinkle that has emerged. Democrats still think they have a chance to defeat this bill on a technicality. They are going to raise what is called here in the jargon a budget point of order.
And right now, both sides say it's unclear how this vote will come down. Republicans again will need 60 votes. And now they're not quite so sure they've got those votes.
A short while ago the secretary of health and human services, Tommy Thompson, was up here with the Republicans and some of the Democrats that are supporting them, urging Congress to get, make that last final move, to finally passing this bill.
But he acknowledged there is one more significant hurdle they have to overcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE SECRETARY: The administration is very thankful. Thankful to the House of Representatives on Friday evening. But today, very thankful to the senators on a bipartisan basis for passing this proposal down to the 1-yard line. We are right there for a touchdown for our seniors all across America. And the hang-up is a technicality that should not prevent this memorable piece of legislation to pass at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KARL: Now the technicality is that the bill actually spends too much money. More money in the first year than the Congress had agreed to earlier in the year. So that's the technicality. They will need 60 points to overcome that.
Meanwhile, some conservative Republicans are also unhappy with this bill, because they believe it is simply too costly and doesn't reform Medicare enough.
One of those conservative Republicans who will vote no at the end of the day is Senator Judd Gregg, chairman of the health committee in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JUDD GREGG (R-NH), CHAIRMAN, SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: And it shouldn't be sugarcoated. It is a massive tax increase being placed on working young Americans and Americans who haven't yet been born, in order to support a drug benefit for retired Americans and Americans who are about to retire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: So this procedural vote is expected to happen at about 3:30 Eastern time. And again, Republicans will need 60 votes. Right now they're not sure they're going to have the 60 votes. So stay tuned, Mile.
O'BRIEN: All right, we'll do that. CNN's Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
