When asked if he read the entirety of Obamacare, Harry Reid said “of course”:
“Of course I read it. I didn’t sit down on a Friday evening and read it. This legislation was drafted over a period of months and months,” he said. “I can pass a test on it, I knew the law pretty well.”
This can’t be accurate. The final version of the bill was not written until a few weeks before the Christmas-eve vote. Even if he read all of the different parts of it (I don’t believe that happened), understanding how the various parts in the final bill interconnect was essential to knowing how the bill works. I’m sure he read parts of it, but I doubt anyone in the Senate read it in its entirety before voting on it.
I suppose there is one way to resolve this–give him an ACA test!
Oh, and Reid also referred to the implementation ACA as a “trainwreck,” joining Max Baucus.
“Max said unless we implement this properly it’s going to be a train wreck and I agree with him,” Reid said, echoing a warning delivered last month by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.).
Reid warned the federal government is not spending enough money to implement the law because of Republican opposition to ObamaCare.
Update: I’m reminded on Harry Reid’s initial erroneous Christmas-eve vote in the ACA case. His exhaustion was no doubt brought on by staying up all reading the entire law. Here is the summary from my book:
On December 24, 2009, at 7:00 am, the Senate would finally vote on the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said, “Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.” Vice President Biden replied, “Is there a sufficient second?” There was. Biden, an expert at parliamentary proceedings from his three decades in the Senate, grinned beatifically. “Shall the bill pass? The clerk will call the roll.”
“The result was announced—yeas sixty, nays thirty-nine.”
All Republicans voted “no.” All Democrats and independents who caucused with the Democrats voted “aye.” Delirious after round-the-clock debates, Senator Reid inadvertently voted “no” and, after some laughter, quickly changed his vote. At 7:15, Vice President Biden announced that the Affordable Care Act had passed the Senate.