By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

March 24, 2010 – The United States is going to be hard pressed to criticize the terrorist acts of fear and intimidation around the world if threats of violence continue against members of Congress.  These folks claiming to be opposed to a law created by the same Democratic process they once hailed civil and just; but not anymore?

It’s alarming to hear members of Congress were briefed on Tuesday by the Capitol Hill Police and the FBI on a number of serious threats and a plan to insure the safety of our leaders and their families.

What is happening now has little to do with policy or politics; this is personal and teeters on domestic terrorism. 

These assaults on our elected officials in recent days aren’t about health care reform.  They have been racist, homophobic and nurtured by ignorance and intolerance.  I spoke with staffers who locked their office doors on Saturday because they feared for thier safety. 

Law enforcement is not disclosing the number of threats or the specifics on at least 10 they deemed serious.  While some have been reported by the media other threats appear to cross race, gender and geographical boundaries.  

A threat against a member of Congress is a federal offence but an even greater offence is the deafening silence from more Republicans condemning the behavior.  One staffer told me, “Republicans aren’t decrying these actions.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) issued a statement, “I know many Americans are angry over this health care bill and that Washington democrats just aren’t listening.”

“ But, as I’ve said, violence and threats are unacceptable. Call your congressman. Go out and register people to vote. Go volunteer on a political campaign. Make your voice heard, but let’s do it the right way,” Boehner wrote.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told CNN Wednesday the right way to bring about calm would be with a bipartisan message to the people.  “I think the leadership of both houses — democrats and republicans, need to show unanimity on this issue, and let’s begin to work together to tamp this down.”

Clyburn organized civil rights protest in 1960’s, “I think if you do it in a bipartisan way, it will send a signal out there to those people that neither one of us will condone what they’re doing. “

I hope something will be done before someone is hurt or killed.     

Do you think these threats are related to the passage of health care reform?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

March 19, 2010 – Good news for U.S. territories; Del. Donna M. Christensen (D-Virgin Islands) announced Thursday  she and fellow territorial delegates were successful in including the territories in the health care reform bill released by the House leadership.

 “After numerous meetings over the past two weeks with members and senior staff and with the leadership in the House, Senate and with President Obama, the territories are in the bill,” Christensen said.

While Christensen is pleased with the current proposal she said the bill was not perfect but will play a “significant role in improving the health care of the American men, women and children living in the U.S. territories.”

“Not only will the U.S. Virgin Islands receive an enormous infusion of new Medicaid dollars, but we also have access to the health insurance exchange.”

 Christensen released a statement thanking, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.),  House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and her colleagues in the Congressional Tri-Caucus, which includes Latino and Asia members of Congress. 

“This whole process confirms that when ordinary people come together around common ground, extraordinary things can happen, Christensen declared.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

March 17, 2010 – As Democratic leaders in Congress work on rounding up the votes to get a health care bill passed, one Black lawmaker is working to make sure 4.5 million Americans in U.S. territories aren’t left out.

Del. Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands) is leading efforts to make sure the territories aren’t excluded in critical measure of a reform bill during negotiations.  The president is aware of a list of concerns from advocates, but the priority to maintain a proposal without adding additional costs appears to be a sticking point.  

So why has cost become the factor for this relatively small population?

According to the Pureto Rico Daily Sun, officials there have accused Obama of reneging on his word to phase out the cap on Medicaid funding and the inclusion of the territories in the insurance exchange designed to help the uninsured buy coverage with federal subsidies. 

U.S. territories are home to 4.5 million U.S. citizens. Some of Christensen’s concerns are aliens living in the States and non-citizens would be eligible for federal subsidies under the exchange; something her constituents would be denied.

Citizens in the territories under the current version of the bill would also be left out of various consumer protections including:  provisions limiting an insurance company’s ability to deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition, lifetime limits on coverage, and dropped coverage after an individual becomes sick.

As Congress works toward resolution, delegates for the territories are pressing for provisions in the bill just like those for the States.  Christensen considers this a “moral obligation” and a request for “equality” for the men, women and children who live in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. 

Do you think the U.S. territories are being treated fairly?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Poltical Analyst

March 9, 2010 – President Barack Obama brought back his winning style and formula from the campaign; he delivered the same reasons to reform health care but with a level of  intensity he hasn’t demonstrated since the 2008 campaign.  

The banter with the audience at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania sounded more like a pep rally than a policy speech.  “How many people would like a proposal that holds insurance companies more accountable? How many people would like to give Americans the same insurance choices that members of Congress get?  And how many would like a proposal that brings down costs for everyone? That’s our proposal.  And it is paid for, and it’s a proposal whose time has come,” the president said.

He took shots at the insurance companies, his Republican critics and the Washington political climate charging every decision being hampered by the priority of folks to be re-elected. Admitting health reform won’t be easy; the president said that can’t be a deterrent.  “It is hard.  That’s because health care is complicated.  Health care is a hard issue.  It’s easily misrepresented.  It’s easily misunderstood,” he insisted.

Another effective tool the president used during his campaign was mobilizing the youth, Black voters and women. He called on those wanting to see change to join in and help spread the word. “It’s time to make a decision.  The time for talk is over.  We need to see where people stand.  And we need all of you to help us win that vote.  So I need you to knock on doors.  Talk to your neighbors.  Pick up the phone.  When you hear an argument by the water cooler and somebody is saying this or that about it, say, no, no, no, no, hold on a second.  And we need you to make your voices heard all the way in Washington, D.C.”

This could be the rally cry the president needed but hadn’t exercised.  It also could be the first indication the he’s ready to take on the 2010 midterm election skeptic who fear health care reform could torpedo their chance for  re-election.  

But if re-election is a concern, it looks like Black vote will be showing up at the polls in November.  A recent poll by the nonpartisan Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found Black voters were watching midterm elections closely and 74 – 80 percent surveyed said they were “very likely to vote” in the upcoming elections.

The poll sampled 500 Blacks in Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas and South Carolina, states which have Senates races in the fall.  David Bositis, a expert on Black voter turnout and researcher at the Joint Center said there is still a great deal of enthusiasm surrounding Obama’s presidency. “I think the Obama election and the fact that there is an African-American president is something of a game-changer,” he said.

Bositis is right, Black voters have invested in Obama’s success and if they are called to action, they will respond.  The president’s speech Monday could bring the folks at the grass roots level to the forefront of this policy issue that has suffered several stops-and-starts in recent months. 

Obama warned his detractors. “So let me remind everybody: Those of us in public office were not sent to Washington to do what’s easy.  We weren’t sent there because of the big fancy title.”  Adding, “We weren’t sent there just so everybody can say how wonderful we are.  We were sent there to do what was hard. We were sent there to take on the tough issues.  We were sent there to solve the big challenges.  And that’s why we’re there.” 

 Sounds like he’s fired up and ready to go!

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Poltical Analyst

March 4, 2010—Presdent Barack Obama held meetings Wednesday with several stake holders in complicated process in hopes of moving heath care reform from the halls of Congress to Pennsylvania Avenue and to his desk for signature.  

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president wants to reach out to those who might still have concerns or questions. “I think the president will spend a considerable amount of time with lawmakers and the public, explaining the benefits of the legislation that will be considered, why it’s important to do, and why we can’t walk away now from health care reform.”

Member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) were among those who met with the president face-to-face to discuss where they go from here. 

Following the meeting Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said, “In my comments to the president, I reiterated the CBC’s priorities to ensure the inclusion of provisions to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.  I also raised my longstanding support for a single-payer system, and discussed a public option and Medicare expansion as important and realistic alternatives to controlling costs and extending health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

Black lawmakers have been staunch supporters of a public option – but the provision wasn’t included in the Senate bill and the president has said as long as his primary objections of access to care, cost control and competition are met he would forgo the public option. 

 “The meeting was productive, and we remain committed to working together to moving a health care reform bill the president can sign this year,” Lee said.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Feb. 24, 2010 – Liberal Democrats had hoped to hold out and revive the fading future of the public option as part of overhauling health care reform; but it’s become more evident in recent weeks the public option is no longer viable.

In the summer of 2009, the debate at town hall meetings all but eroded the support among moderate Democrats and sealed the objections of Republicans. During the Senate negotiations, while crafting their version of the bill, the public option was not included, leaving it only in the House bill.

The Hill newspaper is reporting the Senate only has the support of 25 members, a far cry from the 50 votes needed.  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed for reporters during Tuesday’s briefing the president wasn’t including it because it doesn’t have the votes.   

“We have seen, obviously, that though there are some that are supportive of this, there isn’t enough political support in a majority to get this through,” Gibbs said.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been staunch supporters of the public option.  Last year members sent a letter to the president and have continued to push for the inclusion of the public option.

“We must have a public health plan along with the private ones. Without a robust public plan, there is no guarantee of change, no guarantee of lower rates and no inclusion for all,” Del. Donna Christensen, (D-Virgin Islands) said in September 2009.

Christensen, a practicing physician and the caucus’ health care policy chair, has told me on several occasions without a public option there is no reform.  “We are determined to see that our health care system is not just reformed, but transformed,” she has said throughout the debate.

I will be checking to see how Black lawmakers respond to the plan the president presents to open discussion on Thursday that will not include a public option.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer
Dec. 20, 2009 – It looks like the Democrats in the Senate will muster the 60 votes needed to get the health care reform bill through the Senate, but at what cost?   The key word used during the Sunday talk shows on health care reform was “compromise”; and it appears that’s what gained the support of the last Democratic hold out Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson.

Nelson appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” program, and said, that if he will only support a final bill from House-Senate negotiations that does not include a public option.  The public option has been the litmus test for this reform bill and has been the key issue keeping Republicans from signing on.  So it will be interesting to see if the public option is dropped and if any other moderate Republican’s like Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)and Susan Collins (R-Maine) will support the bill.

The White House will need to defend the health care legislation without the public option to the liberal members of Congress who have vowed not support to bill without it.  Senior presidential adviser David Axelrod maintains the legislation Dems are working toward matches the goals that Obama has set even without the government insurance plan.  Axelrod told “Meet the Press,” it includes affordable choices for people without health insurance and more protections for people who already have coverage.

Compromise is the key to getting any bill passed, and now that the Dems are all on board, as well as two Senate independents, Republicans continue to fight the measure, even though they Senate has the 60 votes to move the legislation forward.

The president may get an additional item under the tree on Christmas Eve.  Health care reform is the president’s top legislative priority, and it’s predicted to win final congressional passage this week.  Vice President Joe Bide wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times, “While it is not perfect, the bill pending in the Senate today is not just good enough — it is very good.”

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Dec. 7, 2009 – The Democrats must be getting close to reaching an agreement on health care reform if recent attacks on Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are any indication. 

Reid has been pushing hard and increasing pressure on the Republicans who are opposed to health care reform only for the sake of being “opposed.”  On Monday Reid hit back – and hit back hard, he liken their objections to reform and sticking with the status quo to lawmakers who opposed ending slavery.

 “Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, ‘Slow down, stop everything, let’s start over,’ Reid said.

Republican called the attacked harsh – and want an apology from the usually mild mannered soft spoken Senate majority leader.  I’m not sure why he should apologize or to whom.

Republicans called on their African-American mouthpiece Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to rebut Reid’s comments. That poses a bit of irony since Steele’s election to that position was to give the GOP an African-American spokesman to oppose the first African-American president at every turn.

Steele said, “To suggest that passing this horrible bill is anything akin to ridding our country of slavery is terribly offensive and calls into question Mr. Reid’s suitability to lead.”  Steele called Reid’s comments “absurd and offensive.”

I disagree with Steele, Reid is leading.  He’s leading a fight for those who can’t.  Reid was simply saying Republican are acting like and displaying the same mindset of the folks who defended slavery because they were opposed to changing a system that created an economic stronghold for a privileged at the expense of those who were not.

“When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said, ‘Slow down, it’s too early, things aren’t bad enough,’”  Reid said.

I get the comparison.  

Now Republicans are lining up to express their outrage over the comments; but what about their outrage over the 40 million Americans without health care?  

In a statement, Reid’s spokesman Jim Manley said, “Today’s feigned outrage is nothing but a ploy to distract from the fact they have no plan to lower the cost of healthcare, stop insurance-company abuses or protect Medicare.”

“And for those who are counting, Republicans have now held one press conference on manufactured anger and have issued one manual on how to grind the Senate to a halt — but have held zero press conferences and issued zero plans on how to help Americans afford to live a healthy life,” Manley pointed out.

Monday evening Reid didn’t let up.  The Nevada senator released a statement calling his opponents out again. “As we have seen again and again, these Republicans like to pretend America’s health care crisis isn’t a problem.  They choose to ignore the fact that unfair and unchecked insurance company policies are forcing the very people these Senators represent to lose their homes, file for bankruptcy and even die. “ 

It looks like Reid isn’t letting up on his colleague across the aisle.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Sept. 11, 2009 – When America has a cold, African Americans have the flu.  And with health care reform the number one issue now driving economic policy the old adages is taking on a whole new meaning for Black families.

Do I need to remind you Black communities represent a disproportionate number of the unemployed, underinsured and uninsured? 

On Thursday I spoke with the president’s top White House advisor to hear firsthand what the president’s reform could  mean for African Americans.  Nancy Ann DeParle, the health care czar praised the president’s address to the joint session of Congress, “It was a great speech and the president is determined to get this done,” she said.

DeParle, the former administrator for the agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid told me African Americans could benefit from the president’s plan because of health disparities that exist in the community.  [Blacks suffer higher rates of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease compared to their White counter parts.]  “If they have insurance they’ll have stability and security and protection they haven’t had before,” she said.

And the uninsured will have access to affordable insurance options that offer choice, she said.   When I asked if the president was backing away from the public option, DeParle maintained that there are “different types of public option plans” with various payment rates, but all work toward the same goal: creating “affordable options.”

DeParle echoed the president’s support for the public option.  The administration maintains it will keep the insurance companies honest and the not-for-profit insurer would help keep cost down for everyone who wants to purchase health insurance.  “When there is no competition people don’t often get treated right,” DeParle said.

It’s still debateable how large of an olive branch Obama extended across the aisle Wednesday, but DeParle pointed to suggestions from Republicans already included in the president’s plan.  She noted Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) suggestion to create a high risk pool for very sick individuals as one.  “There are Republican ideas in the plan the president talked about last night,” she said.

Moving  forward the goals continues to be creating affordable health care, keeping cost deficit natural, and slowing overall  cost growth.   DeParle noted, for this to happen they [Congress]  just need to “find a sweet spot” where everyone can come together.

That may be the tough part.

By Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)

Sept. 11, 2009 — The President hit a home run [Wednesday] last night.

President Obama said exactly what proponents of meaningful health care reform — including myself — needed, expected, and wanted him to say. The time for bickering, myths, and flat out lies by those who want to block reform is over. We will move forward with health care reform and get it done this year.

What most impressed me about the President was his demeanor. He came there as Barack Obama the educator, explaining clearly both the need for health care reform and the specifics of our proposal. He presented a strong case for reform, and he spoke directly to the American people, outlining the benefits of health care reform both for those who are currently covered and those who are uninsured.

He stood there — amid cheers from most of us and unfortunately also unprecedented jeering and outright disrespect from some on the opposite side of the aisle — to reaffirm core principles, to debunk rumors, to reclaim the debate, and to spur us to act once and for all to fix America’s broken health care system.

I have been outspoken about the need for credible health care reform that covers all Americans, maintains quality, lowers costs, and holds insurance companies accountable. And I believe the best way to accomplish those goals is through a government run public option that will compete with the private insurance companies, the operative word here being option.

My vision for meaningful health care reform is also shared by the President and many of my colleagues in Congress. Though the President stopped short of saying that the public option was essential to achieve health care reform last night, he did reiterate his support for it and his belief that it is a means to an end.

The public option will help us achieve the kind of health care reform that will cover the uninsured, lower costs for the insured, and bring more security and stability to American families and businesses.

Republicans have rejected President Obama’s repeated offers to come to the table and negotiate in good faith. They have continued to say “No” throughout this process, just like they said “No” to the economic recovery package, to energy and climate change legislation, and to providing health care to uninsured children.

The President, despite his best efforts, is not going to get the support of the Republicans on health care reform. They are determined to play politics instead of helping the people they serve and prefer to defeat reform in order to wound the President.

I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that politics does not trump public policy. We cannot allow health care reform that will benefit all Americans to be derailed. Reform will make us healthier and our economy stronger.

As I have said before, if we fight for what we believe in, if we fight for our principles, we can win. Most importantly, it will be a win for the American people.