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40 senators have spoken out so far — including Harry Reid
Name Status
Sen. Daniel Akaka HI Statement
Sen. Max Baucus MT Unknown
Sen. Evan Bayh IN Unknown
Sen. Mark Begich AK Unknown
Sen. Michael Bennet CO Letter
Sen. Jeff Bingaman NM Statement
Sen. Barbara Boxer CA Letter
Sen. Sherrod Brown OH Letter
Sen. Roland Burris IL Letter
Sen. Robert Byrd WV Unknown
Sen. Maria Cantwell WA Statement
Sen. Benjamin Cardin MD Statement
Sen. Thomas Carper DE Unknown
Sen. Robert Casey PA Statement
Sen. Kent Conrad ND Unknown
Sen. Christopher Dodd CT Statement
Sen. Byron Dorgan ND Statement
Sen. Richard Durbin IL Statement
Sen. Russell Feingold WI Statement
Sen. Dianne Feinstein CA Letter
Sen. Al Franken MN Letter
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand NY Letter
Sen. Kay Hagan NC Unknown
Sen. Tom Harkin IA Unknown
Sen. Daniel Inouye HI Letter
Sen. Tim Johnson SD Letter
Sen. Ted Kaufman DE Statement
Sen. John Kerry MA Letter
Sen. Amy Klobuchar MN Statement
Sen. Herb Kohl WI Unknown
Sen. Mary Landrieu LA Unknown
Sen. Frank Lautenberg NJ Letter
Sen. Patrick Leahy VT Letter
Sen. Carl Levin MI Letter
Sen. Blanche Lincoln AR Unknown
Sen. Claire McCaskill MO Unknown
Sen. Robert Menendez NJ Letter
Sen. Jeff Merkley OR Letter
Sen. Barbara Mikulski MD Letter
Sen. Patty Murray WA Statement
Sen. Bill Nelson FL Unknown
Sen. Ben Nelson NE Unknown
Sen. Mark Pryor AR Unknown
Sen. Jack Reed RI Letter
Sen. Harry Reid NV Statement
Sen. John Rockefeller WV Unknown
Sen. Bernie Sanders VT Letter
Sen. Charles Schumer NY Letter
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen NH Letter
Sen. Arlen Specter PA Letter
Sen. Debbie Stabenow MI Letter
Sen. Jon Tester MT Statement
Sen. Mark Udall CO Statement
Sen. Tom Udall NM Letter
Sen. Mark Warner VA Unknown
Sen. Jim Webb VA Unknown
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse RI Letter
Sen. Ron Wyden OR Statement

Statements are only counted if they make clear that the senator will vote yes if the House version of the public option (or stronger) is brought up for a vote in reconciliation

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More generally, there seems to be a sort of arm's-race on both sides of the debate to conduct crappy, manipulative polls on health care reform, and the public option in particular. This poll belongs in the 'crap' pile, as do most of the others. Defenders of the public option, however, should have little to fret about: the most neutrally and accurately-worded polls on the public option -- these are the ones from Quinnipiac and Time/SRBI -- suggest that their position is in the majority, with 56-62 percent of the public supporting the public option and 33-36 percent opposed.

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Congressman Alan Grayson, (D-Orlando), today introduced a bill (H.R. 4789) which would give the option to buy into Medicare to every citizen of the United States. The “Public Option Act,” also known as the “Medicare You Can Buy Into Act,” would open up the Medicare network to anyone who can pay for it.

Congressman Grayson said, “Obviously, America wants and needs more competition in health coverage, and a public option offers that. But it’s just as important that we offer people not just another choice, but another kind of choice. A lot of people don’t want to be at the mercy of greedy insurance companies that will make money by denying them the care that they need to stay healthy, or to stay alive. We deserve to have a real alternative.”

The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish enrollment periods, coverage guidelines, and premiums for the program. Because premiums would be equal to cost, the program would pay for itself.

“The government spent billions of dollars creating a Medicare network of providers that is only open to one-eighth of the population. That’s like saying, ‘Only people 65 and over can use federal highways.’ It is a waste of a very valuable resource and it is not fair. This idea is simple, it makes sense, and it deserves an up-or-down vote,” Congressman Grayson said.

In keeping with the “Grayson style,” the bill is clear and concise. It is only four pages.

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