Snyder Scolds Senators For Failing To Vote On Medicaid
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday berated his fellow Republicans — telling them to do their jobs.
Snyder admonished the GOP-led Senate for deciding to adjourn without voting on Medicaid expansion.
"Take a vote, not a vacation," an uncharacteristically angry Snyder said during a late afternoon news conference at the Capitol. "This is not about politics, this is about doing right ... Please come do your job."
Snyder cut his trade trip to Israel short to be back in Lansing and lobby for Medicaid expansion, but the Senate didn't act and won't return for two months after adjourning later in the day.
WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick said Snyder arrived at the office at around 11 a.m. and then spent the day systematically bringing in Republican senators, asking them to vote "yes" on this plan.
The governor wants the expansion before provisions of the so called Obamacare act take effect. Snyder warns that emergency rooms will be flooded with working poor if the legislature doesn't act.
"The clock is ticking," said Snyder. "... How are you gonna feel if we do nothing and you walk in there (the ER) and you see chair after chair of working poor people, hardworking people, sitting in those chairs knowing that's their health care system — knowing we could have given them a better answer."
"... Isn't it better to say we're gonna try a solution, instead of simply saying 'no'? And I'm passionate about this," said Snyder, "because this represents the difference between the Michigan of old — the broken Michigan — and Michigan's future."
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said in a statement that the debate "is not over." He said the legislation will be referred to a committee and a legislative work group will spend the summer reviewing the current legislation and proposals.
"Members of my caucus have been working hard to improve upon something that was hoisted upon us by a federal government that had very little consideration for the impact of this program on the taxpayers of Michigan," Richardville said. "We owe it to our neighbors and communities to thoroughly review this issue and consider alternatives to the current proposal."
Snyder's problem is his fellow Republicans make up two-thirds of the Senate, and the GOP is more resistant to expanding the Medicaid program under the federal health care law.
Hospitals, insurers, small businesses and the poor are pushing the Senate to act, while conservative groups are pressuring senators to stand firm.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
