Page 7 - Macarthur Amendment News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> i'm not part of the whip team and i'm not part of leadership, so i do not know and i would defer to speaker ryan on that matter. but certainly, i think first and foremost, we have to fund the government, and that is a hard deadline this weekend. >> so, congressman tom macarthur, a fellow republican and also a fellow republican from new jersey, he's been kind of spearheading some of the negotiations for this new amendment. here is how he describes what they're working on this morning. listen to this. >> well, my goal has been to try to get everyone who was struggling with this bill to get to...

Been showing up for negotiations. the reason we need an extension in the first place is because democrats are dragging their feet. even if get an agreement in 10 minutes, we simply can't process the paperwork that long and we have a three day rule. people need to be able to read the bill. inevitably, under any scenario in circumstance, it requires a short-term extension and i'm confident we'll be able to pass a short-term extension. i'd be shocked if the democrats would want to create a government shutdown because they have been dragging their feet. [inaudible question] >> it's his amendment. ...

Healthcare and government funding extension. >> bill: a lot to cover. jury is still out then clearly on the fate for how moderates feel about the healthcare deal. tom macarthur has his own amendment out there. we'll talk to him live in about 25 minutes here on "america's newsroom." stay tuned for that. an amazing thing how quickly this has come back. we'll see whether or not there is a possibility. the president said might be this week, next week, doesn't matter. in the end it does matter. >> shannon: they're saying it could move quickly and have a procedural rule. they could get a vote on sat...

Because conservatives engaged in this debate and the macarthur amendment would say that states have the option of getting out of those key regulations driving up premiums so premiums can come down in those states that seek the waiver option and get approval. >> shannon: critics of those waivers are raising concerns and red flags. nancy pelosi said you're getting basic medical benefits and make coverage more expensive. there are others even within the republican realm who worry that you're giving away pre-existing coverage, which all along what we've been told that would never happen. clarify f...

If you have a health care problem and you have health insurance, you can't be denied health care costs. if a switch to another plan, the same protections apply, even if your state gets a waiver. the more important point is why this amendment i think is a step in the right direction, we believe the smarter way to go on getting premiums down and protecting people with pre-existing conditions is to have federal and state support for people who are sick. support that catastrophic illness with greater subsidies so that everybody else doesn't have to bear those costs and their insurance pools. 1% of...