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Despite the election of Republican Scott Brown to the U. S. Senate from Massachusetts, South Carolina Congressman and House Majority Whip James Clyburn does not feel healthcare reform is dead.  Speaking with reporters at his monthly media roundtable in Columbia on Monday, Clyburn said  the American people are frustrated with the healthcare reform bill passed by the Senate in December.

"When our bill left the House, the American people approved of healthcare reform by over 60-percent," Clyburn said.  "Support plunged to less than 40-percent for what the Senate did."

Clyburn says House members voted to pay for healthcare reform with a surcharge on income over one million dollars and they did not include special considerations for any individual states that would not be enjoyed by all states.  In contrast, Clyburn says the Senate bill, which included a tax on so-called "Cadillac plan" health policies and special amendments granting Nebraska and Louisiana special provisions worth hundreds of millions of dollars, turned off most Americans.

"Healthcare reform didn't take a beating," said Clyburn. "The Senate version of healthcare reform is what took a beating."  He added, "there will not be a plan that gives Nebraska a break that no other state gets; every state will be treated the same."

Clyburn believes reform can still happen but it would best be accomplished through a series of individual bills using reconciliation for all aspects tied to the budget and a series of individual bills to deal with insurance reforms the White House and Democrats feel are necessary.

"I believe that if we use budget reconciliation and develop a simple majority plan instead of trying to get to a super-majority, I think there are 50 votes in the Senate for a plan, as passed by the House," said Clyburn.  Vice President Joe Biden would be the tie-breaking vote, if necessary.

Examples of issues Clyburn feels could be handled in individual bills include, but are not limited to, making it illegal for insurance companies to deny health coverage due to pre-existing conditions, preventing carriers from capping a person's coverage under an insurance plan and removing insurance company anti-trust exemptions that, according to Clyburn, were only meant to be in place for one year in 1946.  "That's a long year," the Congressman said. He believes Republicans would be hard pressed to vote against the individual reforms.

On the subject of President Obama's upcoming State of the Union Address on Wednesday, when asked if he expects the administration's focus to change, Clyburn said, no.  He feels President Obama layed out a plan to change things in Washington and the House made considerable progress on that agenda.  In addition to healthcare reform, Clyburn cited passage of a comprehensive energy bill, which despite bipartisan support from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and other Republicans, still cannot get a super-majority 60 votes in the Senate.  He also cited a comprehensive jobs bill House members passed that the Senate says cannot pass.

"I hope that the President in whatever he lays out that may be new, that he will renew his support for what we've done in the House and call upon the Senate to put them in law and get them to his desk," Clyburn said.

Other topics of note:

• Mid-term Elections-- Clyburn said Democrats are not worried about this year's elections but they are concerned.  He feels recent results in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia give Democrats reason for pause to do, what he calls, a "mid-term correction before the mid-term election."
• Supreme Court Decision on Corporate Campaign Spending-- When asked about the SCOTUS decision removing limits on how much money corporations can spend on political advertising, Clyburn said he does not worry about what the decision will mean to Democrats; he worries about what it will mean to the American people.  Clyburn feels there is something wrong with a decision that puts corporations on the same level as individual voters.  Comparing corporate campaign spending to free speech, Clyburn feels the Supreme Court essentially said to low and middle income people that they don't have as much right to free speech as upper income people and corporations.  "This is a very dangerous decision on the part of the Supreme Court and if the American people don't respond to this, just look out," said Clyburn.  He also said nothing in the decision limits foreign corporations from unlimited spending on U. S. political campaigns.
• Haiti Earthquake Relief-- The House and Senate passed legislation allowing taxpayers to write-off contributions to Haiti earthquake relief funds on their 2009 income tax returns instead of waiting until next year.  Clyburn said contributions made since the relief effort started through March 1, 2010 are eligible for the immediate write-off.  President Obama signed the bill last Friday.  Clyburn said Congress is also working on other bills related to Haiti including forgiving that nation's debt to the United States. 
• Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer-- When asked to comment on Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's comments comparing people on government assistance to stray animals, Clyburn said, "there are a lot of leaders in South Carolina who seem to be hell bent on saying whatever the think will prove embarrssing for our state and I don't know why that is."