U.S. Rep. John B. Larson of East Hartford predicted on MSNBC on Monday night that the House of Representatives will be passing the controversial health care bill later this week.
“This is a great moment to be in Congress,” Larson told Chris Matthews on “Hardball.”
When asked by Matthews if the House will vote on the Senate bill or a rule that would avoid a direct vote on the Senate measure, Larson said, “Self-enacting rules have been used since 1948. I don’t think the public cares much about the options we take. They want to see us act.”
Larson said the Democrats will make necessary improvements in health care, saying he will be enacting policies that he hears about when he eats at Augie and Ray’s in his hometown of East Hartford.
One of the biggest problems facing the country, he said, is that Americans lost $17 trillion in wealth from 2007 through 2009.
“The kind of revolt the American people are looking forward to is when they can throw off the yoke of insurance companies,” Larson said.
Prompted by Matthews, Larson said he preferred the days of the moderate New England Republicans – who disappeared from the U.S. House with the 2008 loss of Rep. Christopher Shays of Bridgeport.
“I think it’s sad for the country,” Larson said of the GOP. “The Grand Old Party has become the party of ‘no’ and obstructionism.”