An important vote on health care reform comes off tomorrow, when the U.S. Senate will undertake a procedural vote on the recently introduced Patient Protection and Affordability Act. It is not a vote to pass the bill out of the Senate, but to move full consideration of the bill in the chamber. There are 58 Democrats, 40 Republicans and two independents who typically vote with the Dems, but perception is that a few Democrats could balk and aid plans by the GOP senators to filibuster the bill if 60 votes aren’t garnered.

That would be too bad, says U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, a Democrat who hails from nearby Vermillion, S.D. Johnson today is saying the bill deserves the opportunity to be considered on the Senate floor, and so thinks the measure should be passed along tomorrow without all the hue-and-cry. He likes that the bill is estimated to give health care coverage to 94 percent of Americans as part of the effort to stand “up to the big insurance companies on behalf of the American people.”

You can count on Republicans John Thune of South Dakota, Charles Grassley of Iowa and Mike Johanns to vote nay tomorrow, while Johnson and Tom Harkin of Iowa will vote affirmatively. That leaves Ben Nelson (above), a Nebraska Democrat as a wild card, and the National Republican Committee is pressuring Nelson to vote ‘no.’ Additionally, Nelson will come to his voting presumbly having digested the editorial by the Omaha World-Herald to scuttle the Patient Protection and Affordability Act now.

In a release two days ago,  Nelson doesn’t say how he’ll vote, but I’ll read that he’ll be a ‘yes.’ You decide what this means:

“Some who define it as a vote in front of the (Harry) Reid bill are misinformed, or are intentionally trying to mislead people. I remember that some in my party said the same thing — equating this procedural vote with a vote for a bill — when the Republicans were in charge. If your goal is to obstruct, that’s a convenient argument.

“… In reality, the meaning of the motion to proceed is very simple: It’s a motion to commence debate and an opportunity to make changes. Let me say it again: it is a motion to start debate on a bill and to try to improve it. If you don’t like the bill, then why would you block your own opportunity to amend it? Why would you stop senators from doing the job they’re elected to do — debate, consider amendments and take action on an issue affecting every American?”

It’s worth noting the Senate PPAA bill is not the same as what passed out of the House two Saturdays ago. Apparently the important 2009 federal health care reform bill votes must occur on Saturdays.

Posted on Twitpic by Somethingfishie

Federal health care reform talks have achieved critical mass, as the end of this week will be a key time to see whether reform moves forward. The U.S. House could vote on a measure Saturday, and today some local chapters of the American Association of Retired People are holding press conferences to talk about support for the House bill. That will happen in a few minutes in Des Moines with Iowa AARP talking about advocacy efforts.

On the flip side, at noon Republicans like Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann will follow through with a press event called a “house call” on the east steps of the Capitol in Washington to beat back reform. Two days ago King and other reform critics called on Americans to “fill the streets of Washington and opposed the (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi health care bill. ”

“For liberals, this legislation is the crown jewel of their socialist agenda,” King said, since it “will place bureaucrats between patients and doctors,” and raise taxes on small businesses. Bachmann pitched the “house call” with, “Nothing scares members of Congress like freedom-loving Americans.”

With equal conviction he’s right on the issue, on Tuesday a Storm Lake newspaperman gave testimony to the Senate Health, Education, Health and Pensions Committee hearing on health insurance, as invited by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Art Cullen of the Storm Lake Times spoke about how the newspaper has struggled to continue to provide health insurance to 12 employees as costs rise. He cited rates doubling (and then annually increasing by double digits) after an employee had a kidney transplant in 2005, and bemoaned an inability to change insurers because of employees with pre-existing conditions.

“The Storm Lake Times now pays nearly $50,000 per year for health insurance coverage. That’s almost as much as we pay for newsprint. Were it not for such high insurance costs we could add more employees and help to grow our local economy,” Cullen testified.

Cullen noted Buena Vista County families have an average household income of $36,000 and it costs about one-third of that amount to buy an annual private health care plan. Click here to see the 176-minute hearing, including the very last minute in which an incensed, arms-waving Cullen goes off prepared testimony to vent about  insurance companies “screwing” Americans.

At the end of this morning’s conference call with U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, all the national topics — health care reform, climate change, unemployment benefits  — had been picked over via questions from about 10 reporters. I couldn’t resist throwing out one more line of questioning, asking Harkin what advice he had for fellow Democrat Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who got himself in hot water with Iowa State Cyclone fans this week.

On Saturday, Iowa went to 8-0 in winning a huge road football game at Michigan State, a 15-13 thriller in which the winning touchdown scored on the final play of the game. Culver sent out a press release of congrats to the Hawk team. Problem is, Iowa State also sent reverberations in the D-1 football world, winning at Lincoln over the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the first time since 1977. No press release of congrats from the governor, however.

Criticism of Culver followed, some from Iowa State fans, some from gleeful Republicans at another weak moment for Culver. (Yes, some were both ISU fans and Republicans.) Laughing, Harkin said he’d heard about the flack directed at Culver, whom he said had committed “one of those minor little slip-ups” at which a person looks back and says, “woops.”

I asked whether Culver, who played football at Virginia Tech in the 1980s, should just stay out of the sports congratulation arena entirely. No way, said Harkin, who said in future statements, the governor should “congratulate the winners and console the losers.” Sounds like a lot of releases regarding college football for a governor heading a state with severe budget problems and hundreds of employees about to be laid off.

Two days, two U.S. Senators from Iowa, two different outlooks on the value of including a public option to access the federal employees health plan. Yesterday U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said a public option isn’t defensible as part of federal health care reform since it will knock private health insurance companies out of the business. This morning, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, said a public option will ensure competition and make companies offer more pleasing packages.

Harkin is glad the bill being pushed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid includes a public option with an opt-out option individual states can have.  He said he’s not overly pleased with the opt-out option, but said that’s part of lawmaking — senators frequently vote for imperfect legislation that on balance is better than not acting. With the current health reform package, Harkin said, “There is too much other good stuff in the bill to sink it.”

Questioned, Harkin said he couldn’t think of a state that actually would opt-out. Additionally, he said Democrats will line up 60 votes to pass reform. That includes former Democrat, now Independent Joe Liebermann, who said Tuesday he’d try to sink the bill. For one thing, Lieberman still caucuses with Dems, Harkin noted, and “I don’t believe he wants to go down in history like that (opposing reform).”

He said there is a lot of jockeying going on for  concessions on this  bill (and perhaps other bills) by the few Democratic senators who are publicly balking, including U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. Harkin said it’s a case of senators looking for “leverage, leverage, leverage.”

Again, Harkin greatly differs from Grassley on a public option. “There is strong support for a public option in poll after poll,” he said, then added, “Iowans I talk to see this as plain common sense.”

On another high-profile issue, Harkin said it is time for the U.S. to move forward to stem global warming via the Boxer-Kerry climate change bill that some see having dim odds of passage in 2009. Harkin says he supports the bill and “hopes” it advances, since the U.S. uses the most energy and is the globe’s biggest polluter.

“We have to take the lead in the world,” and “show the rest of the world we mean business” to reduce carbon emissions, Harkin said.

(To begin, big news — this is the 1,000th blog post of Politically Speaking since a 2006 launch. Yawn away, if you must. I swear a good 200 of them have been worth reading.)

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, (above, right with Sen. Kent Conrad, D- N.D.) today said lessons he took back from the August congressional recess town hall meetings are informing his efforts as the Senate Finance Committee on which he sits works on health care reform. Grassley said the strident tone of those speaking out against reform showed Iowans don’t want a major government role that shuts out the private sector, which ties in with his insistence since March that a public health insurance option is a nonstarter that would result in his ‘nay’ vote.

In the weekly conference call with reporters, Grassley has strong doubts that a bipartisan bill will emerge. In spite of a bill including a public option going down to defeat in the finance committee yesterday on 8-15 vote, Grassley said “I don’t have confidence that we can keep a public option off the floor” of the Senate. That comes a day after Iowa’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said there would be enough Senate votes to pass a plan with a public option.

Going back to the town halls, Grassley related “I got the feeling that people did not want a government-run health plan.” Iowans felt that way, he said, “since government had done so bad” in programs regarding economic stimulus and into the functioning of auto companies.

A reporter asked Grassley if there was a disconnect on Americans wanting to beat back a bigger government role in health care at the same time so many people are happy with the federal Medicare program.  Grassley said Medicare is certainly a big part of the social fabric after so many decades, but people put the brakes on a new health care role for the feds. “They don’t want any more of it,” he said.

Grassley was quizzed on whether he was concerned that if he voted for a bipartisan health care reform bill that angry Iowa Republicans would put forth a fellow GOP person, forcing a primary for his 2010 re-election effort. “The best policy is the best politics,” was his response.

Grassley said he hadn’t heard any names as the Iowa Democratic Party reportedly is seeking a senatorial candidate with more heft than the current candidates, Bob Krause of Fairfield and State Sen. Tom Fiegen of Clarence. Certainly Iowa Dems should be looking to field a salty candidate to give him the best battle, Grassley said.

On one last topic, Grassley was asked whether President Obama should be going to Copenhagen tomorrow to personally pitch for his adopted hometown of Chicago to get the 2016 Summer Olympics. Grassley said he had no problem with that — presumably Brazil’s leader will be touting Rio de Janeiro to the International Olympic Committee, so it’s OK for Obama as America’s chief executive to be doing so too. The IOC decision is due in two days.

We’re in the midst of a major news cycle after last night’s address by President Obama to a joint session of Congress, where he very pointedly took on critics of health care reform. With Congress back in town after the long recess with impassioned town hall meetings on the health care topic, Obama said “now is the season for action.”

The president added, “If you misrepresent what is in this plan, we will call you out… I will not accept the status quo as a solution.”

Of course then Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina leapt into public consciousness with his “You lie” yell at the president. Wilson apologized for his outburst when Obama said health coverage wouldn’t be accessed by illegal immigrants. Today on conservative talk radio, Wilson is being praised for his yell, in spite of his backing off with the apology.

And health care reform gets another Iowa player in U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, following his elevation yesterday to chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Harkin gave up the Ag Committee chairmanship, but remains a member. The HELP Committee position came up with the death of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.

That aside, health care reform isn’t the only major issue on the congressional plate. Energy policy will be a big one, as the House in summer passed ‘cap-and-trade’ legislation to stem carbon emissions. The bill is seen as having little chance in the Senate, but South Dakota State Rep. Dan Lederman, R-Dakota Dunes, is working to make sure U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson,  D-S.D., gets the message that the energy bill is bad policy.

Lederman is circulating an on-line petition and asking South Dakotans to join him in the message that the bill would do nothing to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. He writes to Johnson: “Reject any and all legislation that enacts new energy taxes and/or establishes a national cap and trade policy that would electricity and energy prices to increase.”

The two-hour field hearing of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee is underway here in Sioux City on the topic of biofuels development. U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, set up the hearing and invited U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. As the event began at Western Iowa Tech Community College, Harkin thanked Thune for hopping across the river to take part. He also thanked his colleague from across the partisan aisle for work on creating a new Farm Bill last year.

I went to see the two Senators appearing together, which has never happened in Siouxland to my knowledge. They’re appearing at the same site as Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King picked eight days ago in holding his city town hall meeting. The attendance is roughly one-tenth of what King saw, about 15 people in the crowd, which is about equal to the six hearing speakers, the senators and their staff members. A considerable number of media too.

Speaking of town hall meetings, prior to the hearing Harkin was asked on why he didn’t hold a town hall meeting on health care reform in the area. He said he did — one was held in Fort Dodge. (For the geographically-challenged, Fort Dodge is 120 miles east.)

“I consider that Northwest Iowa,” Harkin said. “I have a lot of other things I have to do. I wanted to be up here today to focus on biofuels. I have other responsibilities. Because of the climate change bill and a lot of other things happening, I thought it was important to have a biofuels hearing. There’s a lot of other things happening in Congress besides the health care debate.”

As said in previous posts at this blog, people are chapped he didn’t hold a bona fide town hall in the area, since his Storm Lake stop in August was a take-no-questions event at the community health center.

This makes twice in 2009 that Thune has hopped the river to appear in Iowa. He also served as a draw in a Steve King fundraiser a few months ago in Sergeant Bluff. It’s worth remembering that Thune is running for re-election in 2010, so any publicity that reaches the southeast South Dakota portion of Siouxland is a bonus.

Some Northwest Iowans contend U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin is ducking the area since the senator has not held a town hall meeting to talk health care reform. Harkin ticked the area 65 miles east in Storm Lake two weeks ago, but that wasn’t an event set up to hear out Iowans — he did that later in the day even farther east in Fort Dodge.

People I’ve seen in town halls this week say they’ve been calling Harkin’s office to see if he’ll hold a meeting in Sioux City (or nearby) before the congressional recess ends in a week and a half. They want the ability to hold forth on health care reform, like the opportunities with U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and Congressman Steve King this week. The Siouxlanders say the Harkin staffers aren’t giving firm answers on the senator’s schedule.

That’s the case because Harkin’s schedule for Iowa events by early September is not firmed. That will change shortly, and I’m told western Iowa is on his list of places to visit. What remains to be seen is how many area stops the Democratic senator will make and if the format will be town hall meeting.

Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King has a longstanding practice of giving lengthy weekly interviews with Sioux City radio host Randy Renshaw of KSCJ. This morning Republican King used that venue to confirm he wouldn’t run for governor in 2010. The guess here had been that King would not pursue the state’s executive position, although he’s had an eye on it for many years.

Three days ago in his town hall meeting at Western Iowa Tech Community College, a supporter asked King to please use the opportunity to announce he’d run for governor. King laughingly declined. And now he’s more officially put the nail in that gubernatorial coffin. For 2010, that is.

If the large field of Republican challengers don’t advance a candidate who can take out Democratic Gov. Chet Culver in 15 months, King might see a better opportunity in 2014, when Terry Branstad wouldn’t be in the field and Culver might move onto other elective office. Perhaps U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin won’t run for re-election in that year and Culver will get an itch for D.C.

ADD AT 9:40 A.M. — King now has a release on his decision not to run for Iowa governor. Long story short, the federal government is worse off than the state of Iowa. Here’s the release in entirety:

“Iowa is drowning in a pool of nearly a billion dollars of red ink.  Seven activist supreme court judges have defied the will of Iowans while our state’s taxes and regulations swallow so much production Iowa is at a competitive disadvantage in the Midwest and nationally.  We are a rich state with poor leadership.  Iowa needs a competent governor who will stick to principle and put us back on a prosperous and family friendly path.

Our nation is in even worse condition.  Seven hundred billion in TARP funding, $787 billion in stimulus spending, the nationalization of three large investment banks, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Chrysler and General Motors all swallow up part of the free market system.  All of which I have opposed and all of which could be reversed by the signature of the next president.  (more…)

Associated Press photo

The next seven to 10 days presents several opportunities to express thoughts regarding pending health care reform with two of the three federal lawmakers representing Northwest Iowa. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley will be in Le Mars, Cherokee and Ida Grove (Aug. 26), and then Estherville, Spirit Lake, Sibley, George, Spencer, Primghar and Orange City the following two days , while a week from today Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King will hold town halls in Sioux City, Rock Rapids and Spencer. This morning King announced he’s moved his Aug. 24 10 a.m. Sioux City stop to a larger venue in a Western Iowa Tech Community College lecture hall, no doubt in anticipation of a big number of people wanting to weigh in on the health care topic.

By weigh in, I mean give impassioned comments on whether health care reform in any form is defensible and whether the current recipes are supportable. Of course the yelling and jostling at town hall meetings during the congressional recess is the big August media obession. Some of the best coverage on Grassley’s initial town hall meetings last week came from Radio Iowa’s Kay Henderson, click here to read her blog.

Checking in with the third federal lawmaker serving Northwest Iowa, some people are upset over the format for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s event in Storm Lake on Aug. 12. Harkin made a major swing through Iowa, ticking our area with one stop. His press release noted Harkin’s event would be for a ribboncutting at the new community health center and that the topic of health care would be addressed.

Some were expecting more of a town hall event at the Storm Lake public meeting, and were upset  Harkin didn’t take questions from attendees. This morning I spoke with a rural Woodbury County woman who said she’d never considered attending the town hall meeting of any federal lawmaker, but after massive stimulus spending packages and the proposed health reform, she felt moved to go.

Another man, Bill Zabel of Sioux City, went to Storm Lake and noted that while Harkin didn’t take questions, he spent plenty of time “schmoozing” at the health center and could have fit in some Q&A with the audience.  “He’s  just chicken. He had plenty of time,” Zabel said.

Zabel’s chief beef is that lawmakers “want to ram” health reform through, before the public has time to digest particulars. Harkin’s Storm Lake event was followed by one in Fort Dodge, where he moved to a larger venue to accommodate a bigger crowd, like those he’d seen for days to talk/yell about health care.

The new strand to health care reform over the weekend is speculation that President Obama and some lawmakers could back away from a public option, which is seen as a way to move a bill to acceptance, but which has inflamed the Democratic liberal wing. This morning Howard Dean, 2004 presidential candidate and former Democratic National Committee chairman, said the public option is vitally needed.