HERE'S WHERE WE NEED THEM TO FILIBUSTER:

Deal 'in Principle' for Medicare Plan to Cover Drug Costs (ROBERT PEAR, 11/15/03, NY Times)

The top Republicans in Congress and two Democratic senators announced Saturday that they had reached an "agreement in principle" on a bill to help millions of elderly people buy prescription drugs. It would be the biggest expansion of Medicare since the program was created in 1965.

The White House said it would join Republican leaders in an all-out effort to push the bill through Congress, where it faces opposition from some conservatives and from many Democrats.

Besides adding drug benefits to Medicare, the bill would inject competition and market forces into Medicare and establish a new mechanism to help hold down Medicare costs. It would also offer tens of billions of dollars in subsidies and other aid to employers to encourage them to continue providing health benefits, including drug coverage, to retirees. [...]

Senator Max Baucus of Montana, one of the two Democrats in the talks, said, "When the final agreement becomes public and the details are announced, it will get more votes in the House and the Senate than some might think."

The other Democrat, Senator John B. Breaux of Louisiana, said, "The only thing that can prevent this from being passed is unnecessary political partisanship."

Like any government program, this one will never be more popular than it is before it takes effect. Thus, Democrats run considerable risk bottling it up in the Senate and letting the GOP run against obstructionism next year.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 16, 2003 10:21 AM