Labor and Education Committee Passes Reform Bill
"The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee on Friday became the second of three House committees to approve broad-spanning health-care overhaul legislation, after a marathon session Thursday night that stretched well into Friday morning," Dow Jones Newswires/NASDAQ reports.
The 26-to-22 vote came just days after legislation was introduced by the House and on the same day the House Ways and Means Committee approved its portion of the health bill. Two notable amendments to the Education and Labor Committee's bill -- one expands the size of small businesses that could purchase health insurance through an exchange; the other "speeds up the enactment of a provision that would prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions" (Yoest, 7/17).
The Hill: "Democratic Reps. Jared Polis (Colo.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Jason Altimire (Pa.), voted against the bill. "John Kline (Minn.), the ranking Republican on the Education and Labor Committee, blasted the Democrats for moving the bill, which exceeds 1,000 pages, through the committees just days after its introduction," while noting "the quick pace was occurring despite a warning Thursday from Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf that the legislation would increase long-term federal spending on healthcare" (O'Brien, 7/17).
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