SINGLE PAYER WILL GET A FLOOR VOTE…. It’s not going to pass, and it’s largely a symbolic gesture, but for the first time, a single-payer health proposal will get a floor vote after the August recess.
Seeking to dampen liberal anger about deals cut with centrists, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said House leaders have agreed to allow a floor vote on a government-run, single-payer system.
“A lot of members on our committee want a vote on that,” said Waxman said in an interview. “I believe their wishes will be accommodated.”
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) offered a single-payer amendment in the Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday, but withdrew it after Waxman said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had promised a floor vote.
For single-payer proponents, the vote will offer a chance to not only register their support, but bring some attention to their proposal. It might also put some Democrats, who support reform but not a single-payer system, in an awkward position, knowing that the idea is popular among many in the Democratic base.
It should be an interesting vote.
