Staff Reporter
Posted August 3, 2009 9:37 AM
Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is pushing back against efforts by conservative Democrats to limit health care reform.
Rangel, the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, is supporting efforts to include a government or public option for consumers to choose from in selecting their health care. Americans are entitled to an alternative, and that's the public option," Rangel said. "I don't think there's anything for the private sector to be afraid of."
But some conservative Democrats and Republicans oppose the plan because they don't want to hurt the private insurance industry.
Rangel argued on Sunday that so-called Blue Dog Democrats have undermined efforts to control the cost of the proposed reform bill, according to Politico.com. The Harlem Democrat complained that Blue Dogs have added measures that will prevent the government insurance plan from competing effectively against private insurers.
"What the Blue Dogs have done is just increase the cost in terms of negotiating," Rangel said on "Fox News Sunday."
Rangel's concerns echo the sentiments of Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. "Even as they complain about the plan's cost, the Blue Dogs are making demands that would greatly increase that cost," Krugman wrote in his New York Times column last week.
Rangel, the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, is supporting efforts to include a government or public option for consumers to choose from in selecting their health care. Americans are entitled to an alternative, and that's the public option," Rangel said. "I don't think there's anything for the private sector to be afraid of."
But some conservative Democrats and Republicans oppose the plan because they don't want to hurt the private insurance industry.
Rangel argued on Sunday that so-called Blue Dog Democrats have undermined efforts to control the cost of the proposed reform bill, according to Politico.com. The Harlem Democrat complained that Blue Dogs have added measures that will prevent the government insurance plan from competing effectively against private insurers.
"What the Blue Dogs have done is just increase the cost in terms of negotiating," Rangel said on "Fox News Sunday."
Rangel's concerns echo the sentiments of Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. "Even as they complain about the plan's cost, the Blue Dogs are making demands that would greatly increase that cost," Krugman wrote in his New York Times column last week.
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P.S. Blue Dog, Blue Dog?
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Who are these people, and why are they getting so much airplay?
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I mean, forgive me for digressing. But, what are the "core" values of these Blue Dogs?
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The "key" to what is at stake with the globalized government man-dated health care is that the state will control people's lives literally!
The good doctor, bad doctor treatment, ring any one's bell?
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So, what's your "take" on these Blue Dogs and their espoused cause? You know.
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*Popular expressions and cliches used ad nauseam; you know!
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Who are the current Blue Dogs?
Blue Dog Leadership Team
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration
Rep. Baron Hill (IN-09), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy
Rep. Charlie Melancon (LA-03), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Blue Dog Whip
Blue Dog Members
Altmire, Jason (PA-04)
Arcuri, Mike (NY-24)
Baca, Joe (CA-43)
Barrow, John (GA-12)
Berry, Marion (AR-01)
Bishop, Sanford (GA-02)
Boren, Dan (OK-02)
Boswell, Leonard (IA-03)
Boyd, Allen (FL-02)
Bright, Bobby (AL-02)
Cardoza, Dennis (CA-18)
Carney, Christopher (PA-10)
Chandler, Ben (KY-06)
Childers, Travis (MS-01)
Cooper, Jim (TN-05)
Costa, Jim (CA-20)
Cuellar, Henry (TX-28)
Dahlkemper, Kathy (PA-03)
Davis, Lincoln (TN-04)
Donnelly, Joe (IN-02)
Ellsworth, Brad (IN-08)
Giffords, Gabrielle (AZ-08)
Gordon, Bart (TN-06)
Griffith, Parker (AL-05)
Harman, Jane (CA-36)
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie (SD)
Hill, Baron (IN-09)
Holden, Tim (PA-17)
Kratovil, Jr., Frank (MD-01)
McIntyre, Mike (NC-07)
Marshall, Jim (GA-03)
Matheson, Jim (UT-02)
Melancon, Charlie (LA-03)
Michaud, Mike (ME-02)
Minnick, Walt (ID-01)
Mitchell, Harry (AZ-05)
Moore, Dennis (KS-03)
Murphy, Patrick (PA-08)
Nye, Glenn (VA-02)
Peterson, Collin (MN-07)
Pomeroy, Earl (ND)
Ross, Mike (AR-04)
Salazar, John (CO-03)
Sanchez, Loretta (CA-47)
Schiff, Adam (CA-29)
Scott, David (GA-13)
Shuler, Heath (NC-11)
Space, Zack (OH-18)
Tanner, John (TN-08)
Taylor, Gene (MS-04)
Thompson, Mike (CA-01)
Wilson, Charles (OH-06)
http://www.house.gov/melancon/BlueDogs/Member%20Page.html
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