Re: Status of S. 1360

[James Love <love@Essential.ORG>]

  I talked this morning with Kristin from Kassebaum's office about the 
  status of S. 1360.  According to Kristin, the Senate is expected to act 
  today or tomorrow on S. 1028, the Kassebaum-Kennedy health insurance 
  bill.  The House version of this is HR 3103.  Once the two bills are 
  passed, a conference committee will be appointed.  The Bennett bill (S. 
  1360) will not be offered as an amendment from the floor to S. 1028.  
  There may or may not be attempts to include S. 1360 in the Conference on 
  the health insurance bill at a later date, but this remains to be seen.  
  If S. 1360 is perceived to be controversial, then this would tend to work 
  against it being included in the health insurance legislation.
  
  Meanwhile, on Wed, the 24th, the Senate Labor Committee is supposed to 
  mark-up S. 1360.  The bill was released to some people by CDT last 
  friday.  I told Kristin that it seemed to me that most groups that 
  opposed the orginial Bennett bill were not that impressed with the modest 
  improvements in the bill.  Certainly our group, CPT, continues to oppose 
  S. 1360, even with the new draft, because it failed to address most of 
  our stated concerns.
  
  Kristin said that even if the Committee moves the new S. 1360 out of 
  Committee, there will be many opportunities to seek changes, either 
  before it is offered in the health insurance conference as a substitute 
  for the existing privacy sections of that legislation, or as a standalone 
  bill.  
  
  
  jamie
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  James Love / love@tap.org / P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
  Voice: 202/387-8030; Fa 202/234-5176
  Center for Study of Responsive Law
     Consumer Project on Technology; http://www.essential.org/cpt
     Taxpayer Assets Project; http://www.tap.org
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