An amendment offered by Rep. John Sullivan, R-OK., would require the HHS Secretary to eliminate duplicative government programs, reducing waste and inefficiency in the realm of government healthcare. The new Democratic healthcare proposal creates massive new federal spending programs, many of which are charged with responsibilities already assigned to pre-existing programs. This amendment does not eliminate services, but ensures that services offered under the new system are administered in a more efficient manner. According to the current language, the vast new roster of programs only add to the existing bureaucracy instead of replacing the appropriate portion. This amendment will lower administrative costs and help streamline the greatly expanded government healthcare system. For the text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment passed by a vote of 29 to 27

An amendment offered by Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-GA., would prevent government bureaucrats at the new Center for Quality Improvement from dictating to physicians what treatments they can or can't offer. In the legislation, the Center is tasked with determining what treatments and procedures are most cost effective. This manner of government sponsored research, in conjunction with the new Federal crowd-out health plan would represent the first step towards implementing a policy of bureaucrat health care rationing. This amendment will prevent this eventuality, ensuring that this new agency cannot take the next dangerous step and put a Federal bureaucrat between the American people and their doctors. For text of this amendment, click here.

 This amendment was voted down, 33 to 24.

An amendment offered by Rep. Rogers, R-MI., would prevent the Federal governments' comparative effectiveness research from being used for care rationing or limiting reimbursement levels by any government or private entity. The current legislation creates an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality(AHRQ) to conduct said research. Under the current legislation, the AHRQ, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services or any other agency could use comparative effectiveness research, including cost-effectiveness research, to make payment and coverage decisions to deny patients care. This amendment would prevent government agencies from rationing availability of life-saving drugs, therapies, and treatments based on government research, or limiting reimbursement for these services. For a copy of this amendment, click here.

This amendment was voted down, 35 to 23.

An amendment offered by Rep. Nathan Deal, R-GA., would prohibit the Federal government from taxing or withholding benefits from States whose health plans don't comply with the new arbitrary essential benefits mandates that the HHS Secretary is authorized to make under this legislation. These could include mandated coverage of abortion or Botox injections, and if States don't comply they would face an 8% tax on their employee payroll or drastic cuts in Federal grants. States are already struggling to balance their budgets. New Federal taxes on State governments or restrictions on critical grants could mean the breaking point for stretched-thin State budgets. For text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment was voted down 35 to 20.

An amendment offered by Rep. Lee Terry, R-NE., would reauthorize funding for abstinence education in our Nation's schools. Abstinence education programs teach students far more than just how to “say no”. Students learn the value of building healthy relationships, they build critical skills in decision-making and self-efficacy, and they gain medically accurate information on contraceptives and STDS.  Additionally, while achieving these objectives, these programs have not decreased condom use in sexually active teens. This amendment would not cut funding for Comprehensive Sex Education programs, which receive four times as much funding as abstinence education programs, it will only ensure that teens retain access to an invaluable perspective on their personal and sexual development. For text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment was voted down 29 to 26.

An Amendment offered by Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., would prevent the new "Center for Quality Improvement" created under this bill from developing methodologies for rationing care. Through this legislation, the Center would be charged with developing "new best practices" procedures for doctors to follow when administering care. This could place bureaucrats, not doctors and scientists, at the forefront of decision-making process for what care Americans can receive. England, which has centralized healthcare, has a similar agency called the National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence(NICE), that has been used to limit access to breast cancer drugs for terminally ill women and restrict access to lifesaving procedures like dialysis. This amendment would ensure that America doesn't take such a callous and calculating approach to its healthcare. For text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment passed by voice vote.

An amendment offered by Rep. Betty Sutton, D-OH., would authorize the HHS Secretary to issue $150 million in grants for community outreach programs that would enroll more people in public health welfare programs such as Medicaid and SCHIP. Unfortunately, the eligibility requirements for these grants were made so broad that groups like ACORN could receive these government grants, denying more qualified, health-focused groups access to these valuable funds. For text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment passed by a vote of 36 to 23.

An amendment offered by Rep. Lee Terry, R-NE, would prohibit the creation of an $35.3 billion Community Wellness Fund unless the projected budget deficit for the next fiscal year is less than $1 trillion. Under the current legislation, this money could be given out to any program that is tangentially related to community wellness. This could include building jungle gyms, bike trails, parks, or even paying people to drink diet soda instead of regular soda. This amendment would require that Congress have the budget in order before it can squander $35.3 billion in the name of community wellness. For text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment was voted down 33 to 23.

An amendment offered by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-FL., would amend the section of the bill entitled "Protecting the Choice to keep Current Coverage" to include appropriate language in keeping with this section's title. Currently, this section contains language forcing all employer health plans to comply with new mandates from the Secretary of HHS within five years of the bill's enactment, thus essentially preventing Americans from keeping their current plans. This amendment would replace these provisions with the statement "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent or limit individuals from keeping their current health coverage". This language far more closely represents the section title's intent as well as President Obama's promise to the American people. For text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment was voted down 36 to 23.

An amendment offered by Rep. Joe Pitts, R-PA., would prohibit the Federal government from mandating that any health insurance plan provide coverage for abortion(except in cases involving a danger to the mother's life, rape, or incest) . For the text of this amendment, click here.

This amendment passed by a vote of 31 to 27.

Chairman Waxman, D-CA., later called for a revote on the Pitts Amendment, voting it down by a vote of 30 to 29.  For a detailed vote tally, click here.