After The Storm

Morning. DC's a mushy mess of snow this AM. Getting to work wasn't as problematic as expected, but I do fear the roads and sidewalks will get icier as the week progresses. We shall see.

On the work front, the Senate completed the first of several procedural votes early this morning which will lead us towards final passage of that bill sometime late Thursday. NYT:

The roll was called shortly after 1 a.m., with Washington still snowbound after a weekend blizzard, and the Senate voted on party lines to cut off a Republican filibuster of a package of changes to the health care bill by the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada.

The vote was 60 to 40 — a tally that is expected to be repeated four times as further procedural hurdles are cleared in the days ahead, and then once more in a dramatic, if predictable, finale tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

It's good to be moving forward. The key now is to work as hard as we can to get the strongest bill possible to the President's desk, hopefully before the end of next month. What we'd like to see:

• Fair financing instead of taxation of higher cost health care plans
• True affordability
• A public insurance option to bring choice and competition to the marketplace
• Employer responsibility so people get good coverage at work, and it's coverage they can afford

That's the wish list. Here's hoping Santa's paying attention.

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst