The Colorado Independent

Posts Tagged public option

Bennet wins Reid’s support for public option push

By | 02.19.10 | 4:46 pm

Greg Sargent has the scoop:

“Senator Harry Reid’s office says that if a final decision is made to pass health reform via reconciliation, the Majority Leader would support holding a reconciliation vote on the public option.”

The actual statement from…

Poll: Bennet right on the public option; Norton wrong

By | 02.17.10 | 4:16 pm

U.S. Senate candidate Jane Norton railed against Sen. Michael Bennet this week for a letter he wrote in favor of passing health reform legislation that includes a public insurance option. She believes Coloradans don’t want a public…

Bennet dismisses Romanoff campaign finance challenge

By | 02.17.10 | 11:14 am

DENVER– U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and his Democratic primary rival Andrew Romanoff met for a debate in Denver last night. There wasn’t much debate. The main area of disagreement came when Romanoff challenged Bennet to decline to accept Political Action Committee, or special interest, campaign money. The challenge was expected. Romanoff, who has lagged seriously behind Bennet in fundraising for half a year, announced in January that he was eschewing PAC money. The campaign had returned PAC money it received in the fall. Bennet dismissed the challenge on stage and he dismissed it more fully in comments he made to the Colorado Independent after the debate ended. He characterized the challenge as not fully considered and opportunistic. He also said it was unrealistic, given the price tag of a political race where Republican rivals were unlikely to voluntarily limit their fundraising abilities.

Poll: Public health-insurance option a winner with Colorado voters

By | 02.04.10 | 12:38 pm

The Wall Street Journal Wednesday painted a bleak picture of Capitol Hill Democrats wandering about without a map on health reform in the wake of the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts, as if the blow of recognition that an…

The Polis public-option letter and its supporters

By | 02.03.10 | 5:36 pm

Colorado U.S. Rep. Jared Polis drafted a letter with fellow Democratic freshman Chellie Pingree, urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to revisit the Senate version of the legislation in order to add a public option and then pass the…

Bold Polis strategy to pass a public option gains momentum

By | 02.03.10 | 5:34 pm

Colorado Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis’s bold move to pass health reform legislation that would include a public health insurance option has gained significant support in the week since he first began circulating among lawmakers and on the web a letter that he co-authored with Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree outlining the idea. Polis sent the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today with the signatures of 120 Representatives attached.

Udall sees opportunity for bipartisan ‘reset’ after speech

By | 01.27.10 | 11:46 pm

Colorado Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Udall said he shared in the willingness Pres. Obama expressed in his State of the Union address tonight to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans to lift health care reform legislation over the last hurdles and make sure it passes into law. Udall told the Colorado Independent that he saw positive signs in the House chamber during the speech that suggested there is willingness on the part of Democrats and Republicans to work together.

Senate passes historic, if diluted, health reform bill

By | 12.24.09 | 9:12 am

WASHINGTON– Senate Democrats on Thursday approved the best health care reform bill they could manage: a sweeping $871 billion proposal designed to extend coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and slow the growth of runaway costs. It was at once a monumental achievement, which if signed into law would represent the most expansive overhaul of the nation’s dysfunctional health care system in generations, and a disappointment to many liberals who’d hoped the reforms would go further to rein in the medical-services industries most responsible for the skyrocketing expenses.

The hard bargains and steep costs of passing health reform

By | 12.21.09 | 9:36 am

Unveiling a modified health reform bill on Saturday, Senate Democratic leaders appear to have cobbled together the 60 votes they’ll need to pass the most expansive overhaul to the nation’s health care system in generations. But winning that support comes at a steep cost.

Health-industry contributions match Udall, Bennet stances on public option

By | 10.13.09 | 12:48 pm

The Washington Independent last week reported on a letter signed by 30 U.S. Senate Democrats urging Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to include a public insurance option in any bill the Democrats bring to the chamber floor in the…