People keep talking about the health bill and reading the health bill

[theking]

...and I ask...what health bill? There is not a health bill...but there are multiple health bills being worked on...5-9 bills depending upon the source...and eventually parts of these bills will be combined into a single bill...or not...but until then there is not a health bill to read.

[directfiesta]

that is correct .. In fact , OBAMA does not have a " health bill " ....

[theking]

that is correct .. In fact , OBAMA does not have a " health bill " ....

And that is correct. People keep saying Obama's health bill...and he nor anyone in his administration presented a bill to Congress. The two houses of Congress are attempting to come up with some kind of consensus for a bill...but it may not be resolved...yet once again.

[seeandsee]

that is correct .. In fact , OBAMA does not have a " health bill " ....

obama to save health!

[dyna mo]

if any one wants to read healthcare bill hr3200, as it has been submitted to the house for vote, you can find the bill, in it's entirety on the official congressional website

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text

[theking]

if any one wants to read healthcare bill hr3200, as it has been submitted to the house for vote, you can find the bill, in it's entirety on the official congressional website

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text

How can it be up for a vote since the House is not in session?

[dyna mo]

The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate said Thursday the chamber won't vote on a health care reform bill until after the August recess.

[Robbie]

I find it strange that even though there isn't any plan or bill yet...All of the Dem politicians are pushing as hard as they can in favor of it, and all of the Republicans are pushing as hard as they can against it.

And none of them even know what they are fighting for or against.

My advice is to do what people used to do in these situations: Next year is an election year. Let's vote all of them out. Vote the rascals out! Put all new people in office. That's the way the country was set up to begin with anyway. Nobody was ever supposed to make a career out of political office. Even George Washington only served one term and refused another one saying he didn't want to be a "king"

Our govt. today is run by career politicians. And THAT is a big problem.

The founding fathers set up our govt. to be representative of the people. And the original vision was that we would ALL serve at one point or another in our lives. We would ALL be in city, county, state, or federal govt. at one point. Instead, everybody from judges, to dog catchers, to sheriffs, to state govt. to federal govt are in office for life.

[theking]

The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate said Thursday the chamber won't vote on a health care reform bill until after the August recess.

That is correct...so at this point in time there is not a bill...in the House or the Senate...that is up for a vote...and there will not be...until a single bill in the House and the Senate is resolved and then if at that time a single bill is passed in both the House and Senate then the House and Senate bills will have to be resolved before a bill can be sent to the President. Along way to go before any final bill.

[theking]

I find it strange that even though there isn't any plan or bill yet...All of the Dem politicians are pushing as hard as they can in favor of it, and all of the Republicans are pushing as hard as they can against it.

And none of them even know what they are fighting for or against.

My advice is to do what people used to do in these situations: Next year is an election year. Let's vote all of them out. Vote the rascals out! Put all new people in office. That's the way the country was set up to begin with anyway. Nobody was ever supposed to make a career out of political office. Even George Washington only served one term and refused another one saying he didn't want to be a "king"

Our govt. today is run by career politicians. And THAT is a big problem.

The founding fathers set up our govt. to be representative of the people. And the original vision was that we would ALL serve at one point or another in our lives. We would ALL be in city, county, state, or federal govt. at one point. Instead, everybody from judges, to dog catchers, to sheriffs, to state govt. to federal govt are in office for life.

They are only career politicians because the people make them so. Members of the House must be re-elected every two years...members of the Senate every six years and the President every four years.

[Darkland]

They are only career politicians because the people make them so. Members of the House must be re-elected every two years...members of the Senate every six years and the President every four years.

That is what he is saying captain obvious and that people need to STOP doing that.

[theking]

That is what he is saying captain obvious and that people need to STOP doing that.

It is apparent that people do not want to stop doing that...captain obvious...as people have been keeping people in office for most...if not all...of our history.

[Robbie]

That's because those politicians bring home money from the Federal govt.
And they set up sweetheart deals with companies in their home districts.

So that sets up a voter block right there. My mom worked for the Sheriffs dept. when I was a kid. And every election year, just like clockwork...we passed out flyers, went to rallys, fundraising barbecues, etc.

Basically every employee and deputy and all of their families would be working to re-elect the Sheriff (when a new one comes in they "clean house" and bring in new people)

And for U.S. congressmen and senators it's an even bigger deal. They bring in BILLIONS of federal money to their home state. And that money is always moving to the companies who can bring in the vote. Plus as a congressman or senator gets more tenure he gets more power.

So you go to the polls and let's say your states congressman or senator has been there for 40 years. He is the head of all kinds of powerful committees. Now you deal with human nature. We all want bragging rights that "our guy" is powerful.

So if you put a new guy in he's a "junior" and some other state with a long term politician gets to take over that committee and all the money that would flow back to the state.

It's all about money and power. Which is exactly what the founding fathers tried to avoid.

Thomas Jefferson would find a tree and start hanging half of Washington D.C. if he were to be brought into present times.

[kane]

That's because those politicians bring home money from the Federal govt.
And they set up sweetheart deals with companies in their home districts.

So that sets up a voter block right there. My mom worked for the Sheriffs dept. when I was a kid. And every election year, just like clockwork...we passed out flyers, went to rallys, fundraising barbecues, etc.

Basically every employee and deputy and all of their families would be working to re-elect the Sheriff (when a new one comes in they "clean house" and bring in new people)

And for U.S. congressmen and senators it's an even bigger deal. They bring in BILLIONS of federal money to their home state. And that money is always moving to the companies who can bring in the vote. Plus as a congressman or senator gets more tenure he gets more power.

So you go to the polls and let's say your states congressman or senator has been there for 40 years. He is the head of all kinds of powerful committees. Now you deal with human nature. We all want bragging rights that "our guy" is powerful.

So if you put a new guy in he's a "junior" and some other state with a long term politician gets to take over that committee and all the money that would flow back to the state.

It's all about money and power. Which is exactly what the founding fathers tried to avoid.

Thomas Jefferson would find a tree and start hanging half of Washington D.C. if he were to be brought into present times.

Very true. I have always said that when an election comes around people take inventory of their lives and they use that to determine how they vote. If they have a decent job, house, car etc and they are reasonably happy with their lives they tend to vote for the person that is less likely to change that even if that person will do other things that are not good. I used to work for a big tech company and every election they had our state rep and senator come in an speak and walk around to meet people. These people brought tons of money and government contracts to this company and they were not shy about letting you know it. Basically it was, "If you vote these people out we will lose some huge contracts and you will be out of a job."

[theking]

That's because those politicians bring home money from the Federal govt.
And they set up sweetheart deals with companies in their home districts.

So that sets up a voter block right there. My mom worked for the Sheriffs dept. when I was a kid. And every election year, just like clockwork...we passed out flyers, went to rallys, fundraising barbecues, etc.

Basically every employee and deputy and all of their families would be working to re-elect the Sheriff (when a new one comes in they "clean house" and bring in new people)

And for U.S. congressmen and senators it's an even bigger deal. They bring in BILLIONS of federal money to their home state. And that money is always moving to the companies who can bring in the vote. Plus as a congressman or senator gets more tenure he gets more power.

So you go to the polls and let's say your states congressman or senator has been there for 40 years. He is the head of all kinds of powerful committees. Now you deal with human nature. We all want bragging rights that "our guy" is powerful.

So if you put a new guy in he's a "junior" and some other state with a long term politician gets to take over that committee and all the money that would flow back to the state.

It's all about money and power. Which is exactly what the founding fathers tried to avoid.

Thomas Jefferson would find a tree and start hanging half of Washington D.C. if he were to be brought into present times.

To the best of my knowledge it has always been about money and power...and is it not the duty of the Representatives of the House and the Senators of the Senate to represent the best interests of their Districts and States? Is this not the reason that the people elected them. There has never really been anything different in the world of politics in the history of our country...just varying degrees from time to time.

[dyna mo]

That is correct...so at this point in time there is not a bill...in the House or the Senate...that is up for a vote...and there will not be...until a single bill in the House and the Senate is resolved and then if at that time a single bill is passed in both the House and Senate then the House and Senate bills will have to be resolved before a bill can be sent to the President. Along way to go before any final bill.

How a Bill Becomes Law

Legislation is Introduced - Any member can introduce a piece of legislation

House - Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper.

Senate - Members must gain recognition of the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senator objects, the introduction of the bill is postponed until the next day.

* The bill is assigned a number. (e.g. HR 1 or S 1)
* The bill is labeled with the sponsor's name.
* The bill is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) and copies are made.
* Senate bills can be jointly sponsored.
* Members can cosponsor the piece of Legislation.

the health reform legislation is bill hr3200.

[theking]

the health reform legislation is bill hr3200.

That is not the only bill in the house and hr3200 is far from being resolved...and has not yet been put up for a vote.

[theking]

There are at least 3 bills in the House and 2 in the Senate all of which have to be resolved into a single bill.