The House will vote on the Department of Human Services appropriation, including the private option, on Tuesday, according to House Speaker Davy Carter. The appropriation includes amendments pushed by conservatives that will likely pick up a few Republican votes, but have angered many Democrats. Carter said he had no intention of waiting on the Senate and said negotiations were over and it was time to vote: 

That bill will be on the floor on Tuesday. For all practical purposes, that’s the bill. 


I think we’re going to pass the bill off the House floor. It’s my intention to send the bill to the Senate. I still stand by what I said yesterday. As far as I am personally concerned, once that happens, the negotiations are over. We’ve negotiated with everybody that wanted to negotiate. We’re not negotiating it further.

We’ve got nine people in the Senate — I don’t know what they want. If the answer’s they don’t want anything, then that’s not a good answer. That’s where we are.

This is what it is. My Democrat friends don’t like the amendments, but that’s where we are. And the reality is, the bill that we’re going to see on Tuesday — that’s the bill. There isn’t any sending it back. It’s that or nothing. 

This has been on the table for a year now. … There’s just no more negotiation. My goal is to send it down there. They’re either going to pass it or they’re not going to pass the Human Services budget. They may not like that, but those are the only two choices. That’s not a threat, that’s just reality. That’s where we are.

Carter had originally hoped to bring the bill to the floor tomorrow but said that he had e-mailed members earlier in the week that they would have Friday off, and a number made plans to be in their district. Monday is a state holiday. 

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