St. Louis, MO – Missouri's two Senators see completely different outcomes from the health care overhaul bill set to pass the Senate on Thursday.
"Compromise is not evil," said Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, calling the measure a great deal for taxpayers. She's tired of the misinformation being spread about the legislation.
"The good news is, that people are going to figure this out," she said. "The sky is not going to fall. People's insurance policies, over time, the costs are going to level out. Insurance companies are going to be brought to task for many of the things they do to mess with people when they get sick."
McCaskill said she's read the entire bill, and it's apparent that opponents haven't.
McCaskill's Republican counterpart, Kit Bond, took a much different view, saying the measure will make Christmases in the future much bleaker as the nation's debt goes up and Medicare and Medicaid benefits are cut.
Bond and the 39 other Senate Republicans are expected to oppose the measure. And he's decrying the political deals in the bill that allowed Democrats to secure all 60 votes they need.
"Comparing earmarks that go through a transparent process fully disclosed and voted on to political payoffs cuts in a back room is insulting," he said. "And I think the question should be, why are Missouri taxpayers being stuck when Nebraska, Louisiana, Michigan, Vermont, Massachusetts, are getting all kinds of sweet deals?"
Senators will vote early Thursday morning on the bill itself. They have spent the last several days on procedural maneuvers.