By Alex Roarty
Politicspa Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com
The bill isn’t perfect, but Senator Arlen Specter said Saturday that he views the health care compromise in the Senate as a positive, if flawed, step toward health care reform.
“I can understand people being disappointed … but we’re moving in the right direction,” the senator told reporters during an afternoon conference call. “Not far enough, but in the right direction.”
The Senate reportedly forged the compromise early Saturday after U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) agreed to a new version of the bill that limits insurance coverage for abortions. Previous compromises had already stripped the public option from the legislation.
Specter said he disagreed with the new abortion language and was one of the public option’s most vocal supporters. But the legislation would expand health insurance coverage to about 31 million more people, he said, while incurring roughly $300 billion in savings the next decade.
Compromise was likely the most Democrats could hope for in what the senator described as a very difficult environment to pass any legislation in.
“Ladies and gentleman, it’s like pulling bicuspids around here,” said Specter, who at other times called the legislative process “World War III” and a “macho battle” between Republicans and Democrats.
He said he expects public reaction to the bill will be positive once it is implemented. The senator acknowledged polling shows much of the public is against the reform, but he said he think the negative view is a result of misinformation.
“I think once it’s passed and it’s understood what’s in the bill … the odds are pretty good there’s going to be a shift in the public reaction,” Specter said.
Tags: Arlen Specter
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