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American Morning
Senate Due to Debate Radical Treatment for Medicare Program
Aired November 24, 2003 - 08:14 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: About 90 minutes from now, the Senate is due to debate some radical treatment for the 38-year-old Medicare program first enacted back in 1965. Senators, as expected, bitterly divided and some Democrats plan to do everything in their power to block a potential vote today.
Jonathan Karl back where the action is after a heavy weekend there -- good morning.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, Republicans are so close to giving the president a major legislative and political victory that they can taste it here. Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson talked about just how close they are on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: This is the one thing that both political parties have been arguing for, campaigning for for well over eight years. It's now on the three yard line. We have an opportunity to score a touchdown, give our seniors all across America prescription drug coverage, preventive health measures, a physical, as well as many other things that are going to benefit them to improve their quality of health.
This is a very good bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: To continue with that football analogy for just a moment, Senator Ted Kennedy and other prominent Democrats are going to mount an aggressive goal line defense to try to keep this bill from getting finally passed. The Democrats, including Kennedy and Daschle and others, including the presidential candidates who are in the Senate like John Edwards, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, who have canceled campaign events to come here for the final round, are promising they will try to do everything in their power to defeat this bill.
So can they do it? Well, it's considered doubtful. At 12:30, we're going to have a test vote on this. There'll be a vote on whether or not the Republicans can block a Democratic filibuster. They will need 60 votes to do so. That's at 12:30 Eastern time today. The smart money here is there will be more than enough votes to defeat that effort and that this bill will get passed, if not by today, by tomorrow. Now, what's interesting, one more thing here, Bill, is that when you see the final tally of votes on this, you will see more than a dozen Democrats, it is expected, voting in favor of this bill. And you will also see some prominent conservative Republicans voting against it. Those conservatives, people like Senator Don Nickles, think this bill is simply too expensive and reforms Medicare too little -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jonathan, thanks.
Jonathan Karl, a busy morning expected.
Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Program>
Aired November 24, 2003 - 08:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: About 90 minutes from now, the Senate is due to debate some radical treatment for the 38-year-old Medicare program first enacted back in 1965. Senators, as expected, bitterly divided and some Democrats plan to do everything in their power to block a potential vote today.
Jonathan Karl back where the action is after a heavy weekend there -- good morning.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, Republicans are so close to giving the president a major legislative and political victory that they can taste it here. Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson talked about just how close they are on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: This is the one thing that both political parties have been arguing for, campaigning for for well over eight years. It's now on the three yard line. We have an opportunity to score a touchdown, give our seniors all across America prescription drug coverage, preventive health measures, a physical, as well as many other things that are going to benefit them to improve their quality of health.
This is a very good bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: To continue with that football analogy for just a moment, Senator Ted Kennedy and other prominent Democrats are going to mount an aggressive goal line defense to try to keep this bill from getting finally passed. The Democrats, including Kennedy and Daschle and others, including the presidential candidates who are in the Senate like John Edwards, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, who have canceled campaign events to come here for the final round, are promising they will try to do everything in their power to defeat this bill.
So can they do it? Well, it's considered doubtful. At 12:30, we're going to have a test vote on this. There'll be a vote on whether or not the Republicans can block a Democratic filibuster. They will need 60 votes to do so. That's at 12:30 Eastern time today. The smart money here is there will be more than enough votes to defeat that effort and that this bill will get passed, if not by today, by tomorrow. Now, what's interesting, one more thing here, Bill, is that when you see the final tally of votes on this, you will see more than a dozen Democrats, it is expected, voting in favor of this bill. And you will also see some prominent conservative Republicans voting against it. Those conservatives, people like Senator Don Nickles, think this bill is simply too expensive and reforms Medicare too little -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jonathan, thanks.
Jonathan Karl, a busy morning expected.
Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Program>
