With 60 Democrats in the Senate, the party has enough votes to pass any bill it pleases -- but that total includes two independents that caucus with the party and leaves no room for error. The tight margin is on display once again as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) searches for enough support to both bring health care reform up for a vote and actually pass it.

While many Republicans do not support passing comprehensive reform at all, Reid is struggling to win over the centrist members of his own party on a couple sticking points: a government-run insurance option and banning federal funding for abortions.

Following House passage of its reform legislation Saturday night, President Obama expressed confidence that the Senate would follow suit. The president has done his part, meeting personally with a number of centrist Democrats to discuss reform. How successful he and Reid can be remains to be seen, but there is consensus on the fact that it will be far more difficult than passing it out of the House.

As the Senate awaits cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office this week, all eyes remain on a select group of senators whose support or opposition could alter the ultimate success of the bill. Here are Five Senators To Watch as Senate Democratic leadership looks to pass its own health care reform by the end of the month:

Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska)

As the Almanac of American Politics puts it, "He often is found in the middle of battles between the extremes of both parties." That was true in 2005, when he was part of the Gang of 14 that sought to allow President Bush's judicial nominations to move forward, and it remains true today, as Nelson continues to be at the heart of each battle over health care.

Nelson is against the public option, even with an opt-out clause, which had been the center of debate until this week. Now, since House Democrats passed a bill Saturday that bars federal dollars from being spent on abortions, Nelson says he will not support a bill that doesn't do the same thing. "If it doesn't make it clear that it does not pay for abortion then I wouldn't support it," Nelson told reporters Monday, according to Reuters.

The second term senator could introduce his own amendment that would solve the issue. House Democratic leaders were forced to include the Stupak amendment to get enough Dem votes for passage, and Senate Democratic leadership will likely be in the same boat.

Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

As a moderate Republican who has joined Democrats in previous key votes, Snowe is often mentioned in the health care debate. Her vote in the Senate Finance Committee helped move health care reform to the cusp of the Senate floor. However, she made sure to note at the time that she will not necessarily support the final bill that is introduced to the full Senate.

Snowe's voting record pits her in the middle of the Senate, and Democrats are hoping to win her support on this crucial vote. But Snowe has said she does not support a public option, even with an opt-out clause. So winning her vote does not appear likely -- as Reid announced the bill will indeed include it -- unless Democrats decide to give the public option a "trigger," which Snowe supports.

Continue reading "Five Senators To Watch On Health Care" »

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 07:30 AM | Email Author | Permalink

House Democrats were able to pass comprehensive health care reform Saturday night by a 220-215 vote, despite the defection of 39 members of the Democratic caucus. The tight margin is indicative of the divisive nature of the bill, as well as the volatile political atmosphere of the country.

Members know that each major vote cast on the floor of the House chamber could be the issue that defeats them in the following election. All but one Republican opposed the bill, and the party, down 81 seats, is already using the vote as a wedge issue for next year's midterm elections.

The National Republican Congressional Committee released the following statement shortly after the vote to media in the congressional districts of nearly 50 of the Democrats who supported the bill:

"As the country recoils against the Democrats' reckless crusade for higher spending and more government control, Dina Titus just walked off a cliff at the request of her party bosses by voting for a bill that hikes taxes, slashes Medicare, kills jobs, and puts small businesses and middle class Nevada families in an even bigger bind."

In 2008, John McCain won 49 districts that also elected a Democrat to the House. On Saturday, 31 of the 39 Democrats who opposed the bill represent districts McCain carried, including 19 where McCain won 55 percent of the vote or more. Of the 31 McCain districts, 11 are represented by freshmen.

Fifteen of the 41 Democrats elected in 2008 voted against the bill, while just two from the even larger 2006 class opposed it. Just fewer than half of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, whose votes the Democratic leadership aggressively lobbied for, voted against the bill -- the 24 Blue Dogs made up more than 60 percent of the bill's Democratic opposition.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), one of the most liberal members of Congress and whose Cleveland-based district Obama won with 59 percent, opposed the bill because it didn't go far enough. Kucinich favored a "robust" public option, which leadership eventually concluded could not win enough support to pass.

Two of the opposing votes came from Members who are running for higher office next year -- Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), who's running for governor, and Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.), who is challenging Sen. David Vitter (R-La.). McCain won at least 59 percent in both states in 2008.

Other noteworthy opposing votes came from Reps. Rick Boucher and Glenn Nye, both from Virginia, whose congressional districts were won Tuesday by Republican Bob McDonnell in the race for governor. The other two
Virginia Democrats whose districts McDonnell won, Reps. Gerry Connolly and Tom Perriello, voted in favor of the bill.

The lone Republican to support the bill was Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.), whose district leans heavily Democratic and has one of the 10 highest percentages of African American voters. Cao is widely considered the most vulnerable incumbent in the country, as his election in 2008 hinged on ethical and legal woes of incumbent Bill Jefferson (D-La.).

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 07:30 AM | Email Author | Permalink

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders today announced House Democrats' health care reform legislation, which will cost less than $900 billion over 10 years and expand coverage to 36 million currently uninsured Americans. As Pelosi has stated many times in recent weeks, the bill "will not add one dime to the deficit."

The principles of the legislation, titled, "Affordable Health Care for America Act," are "affordability for the middle class, security for our seniors, responsibility to our children," said Pelosi, who noted that the bill will include "a public option to boost competition" and "will end discrimination for a pre-existing medical condition."

Speaking at a grand ceremony on the west front of the Capitol, Pelosi promised that the bill will be online for all Americans to review, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said much of the bill has been available online for more than three months. Republicans have criticized Democrats for not allowing enough time for proper review, but Hoyer said it will be available for 72 hours before it goes up for a vote.

Congress, Hoyer said, is "one step further on a long, hard road -- a road to bring quality, affordable health care to every one of our fellow citizens."

"I told members of the press and the public over and over and over again, there is not one member of our caucus -- from every region of the country -- who did not say to us, 'We need to adopt health care reform,' " said Hoyer, indicating any argument within the House Democratic caucus has been on the details, not the overall goal.

The Congressional Budget Office will release its scoring of the bill later today, and the speaker's office says the bill will cost $894 billion over 10 years and is fully paid for.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 10:50 AM | Email Author | Permalink

When it comes to health care reform, Republicans in Congress are trusted less than their colleagues across the aisle and President Obama, according to a new Gallup survey (Oct. 16-19, 1521 A).

Just more than one-third (37%) of American adults have a great deal or fair amount of trust in congressional Republicans on reforming the nation's health care system, while nearly half (48%) trust congressional Dems and more than half (55%) trust the president.

Only counting those who said they have a "great deal of trust," 4% said Republicans, 10% said Democrats and 23% said Obama.

Republicans not only lag in trustworthiness among the nation as a whole, but also among members of their own party. Just 61% of Republicans nationwide trust the Republicans in Congress on health care, while 81% of Democrats trust congressional Dems and 86% of Democrats trust Obama.

As for independents, 36% trust Republicans in Congress, 39% trust Democrats and 51% trust Obama.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 02:45 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Two-thirds of the country could opt out of the public option, based on a Real Clear Politics analysis.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is promoting a federal government-run insurance option that states would be able choose whether or not to participate in. But if the decision falls to the state legislatures and governors, as indications are it would, the vast majority of states could choose to opt out.

Ten states are completely controlled by Republicans (including the state House, Senate and governor's mansion). Meanwhile, Republicans have control of at least one chamber of the state legislature or the governor's mansion in 23 states.

Potentially, any state with at least partial Republican control could choose to opt out of the public option. That would leave 33 states, totaling 200 million people, that would not be included in the most decisive, and divisive, portion of health care reform.

If only states totally controlled by Republicans were to opt out, 70 million people would be without a public option.

In Virginia, Democrats currently control the state Senate and governor's mansion, but Republican Bob McDonnell leads by more than 10 points with one week to go in the gubernatorial election. Should he become governor and the option be available, McDonnell would opt out.

"Bob McDonnell does not support nationalized heath care," said McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin. "As a result, he does not support Virginia's participation in a federal public health insurance system. As governor he would opt Virginia out of such a system."

Whether or not Reid's proposal ever goes up for a vote on the Senate floor remains in flux, however. Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) said today he was against the public option, even with an opt-out clause, and would join Republicans in withholding it from a floor vote.

Should Reid's plan make it through both chambers of Congress, the public option would likely remain in at least 17 states where Democrats have complete control and 97 million people reside.

Washington D.C. was not included in RCP's analysis. Population data was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 population estimates.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 05:30 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced today that the health care reform bill that hits the Senate floor in the coming weeks will include a public option. The decision to include or exclude government-run health insurance had been in flux, as one of the two Senate bills being merged over the past week did not include it.

"I believe that a public option can achieve the goal of bringing meaningful reform to our broken system, will protect consumers, keep insurers honest, and ensure competition," Reid said at an afternoon press conference in the Capitol. "And that's why we intend to include it in the bill that will be sent to the Senate."

Reid and senior advisers from the White House have been involved in backroom negotiations with the leaders of the two Senate committees that passed health care bills -- Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who ushered a bill through the HELP Committee, and Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). In doing so, a compromise was brokered to allow states to opt out of the public option by 2014.

"As we've gone through this process I've concluded, with the support of the White House and Senators Dodd and Baucus, that the best way to move forward is with the public option with the opt-out provision for states," said Reid, who cited recent national polling as evidence that the American public is in favor of the public option. "Under this concept states will be able to determine whether the public option works well for them and will have the ability to opt out if they so choose."

Republicans have argued that a government-run insurance plan would lead to the demise of private insurance companies, while Democrats say its purpose is to keep the insurance companies honest and protect consumers by promoting competition.

"It will be a thousand-page, trillion-dollar bill that raises premiums, raises taxes and slashes Medicare for our seniors to create new government spending programs. That's not reform," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has previously said he is against comprehensive health care reform, with or without a public option. "So, wholly aside from the debate over whether the government gets into the insurance business, the core of the proposal is a bill that the American public clearly does not like, and doesn't support."

Reid said he was disappointed that so few Republicans appear willing to negotiate on health care reform, or many other issues that have come before the Senate this year, including extending unemployment benefits, which is currently being debated on the Senate floor.

"I'm always looking for Republicans" to support legislation, Reid said. "It's just a little hard to find them. ... When I came here to the Senate, we had a lot of moderate Republicans who worked with us on everything, and we worked with them. But of course now the moderates are extremely limited. I can count them on two fingers."

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) was the only Republican on the Finance Committee to vote in favor of the Baucus bill, but she does not support a public option of any kind -- including one with an opt-out provision for states. However, Reid hopes she will eventually support the bill.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs released a statement saying President Obama is "pleased that the Senate has decided to include a public option for health coverage, in this case with an allowance for states to opt out. As he said to Congress and the nation in September, he supports the public option because it has the potential to play an essential role in holding insurance companies accountable through choice and competition."

Later this afternoon, Reid will send the Congressional Budget Office a series of proposals that includes alternative versions of a melded bill, and he'll wait to hear back on how much each version would cost. Democrats need 60 votes to pass the bill, so Reid is looking for the most cost-effective, yet comprehensive, plan to do so. While there are 60 Democratic senators, not all of them have indicated support for the bill.

"As soon as we get the bill back from CBO and people have a chance to look at it," said Reid, "I believe that we will clearly have the support of my caucus to move to this bill and begin legislating."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 04:15 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Democrats are promoting a national survey released this afternoon by CNN/Opinion Research (Oct. 16-18, 1038 A, MoE +/- 3%), which finds 61% of Americans in favor of a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private insurance companies. The poll comes as the House and Senate are each merging separate health care reform bills for an eventual vote on the chamber floors.

At a morning press conference, CNN's Dana Bash asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid whether the fact that six-in-10 Americans approve of a public option has any effect on whether it would be included in the Senate plan. Reid refused to answer, as he remains deep in negotiations with Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), whose bill does not include the option, and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who as the acting chairman of the HELP Committee included the option in his committee's bill.

The press conference was held to announce that Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy's (D-Vt.) Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009 will be introduced as an amendment to the eventual bill that reaches the Senate floor. The amendment would strip insurance companies of their antitrust exemption status, which Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) described as "an accident of American history."

Schumer said that in 40 states, two insurance companies dominate the market, allowing them to raise health care costs on consumers . "This exemption is antiquated, out of date, and doesn't belong," he said. "We can't pass effective health care reform if we don't hold health insurance companies to the same standards as other American industries."

The CNN poll found 49% favor President Obama's health care plan overall, while 49% oppose it. However, when asked which would be better for the country, passing a bill similar to Obama's plan or leaving the current system in place with no changes, 53% say Obama's plan would be better compared with 44% who say nothing should change.

The 61% of Americans in favor of the public option is up 5 points since late August.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 03:30 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The Congressional Budget Office said today that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's (D-Mont.) health care bill would cost $829 billion and reduce the federal government's annual deficit by $81 billion during the years 2010 to 2019. By 2015, 94 percent of Americans would have health insurance, according to CBO's preliminary analysis (large .pdf).

The CBO score appears to be the "clean bill of health" Baucus had been hoping for, and the Finance Committee could vote on the plan as early as tomorrow. Should the committee pass the bill, a conference will gather to mesh the plan with the one passed in July by the HELP Committee.

The report also indicated that states would take on an additional $33 billion in Medicaid costs from 2010-2019, something that governors around the country are worried about.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 05:10 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Here is my story today on the Democrats' efforts to pressure Republicans to support comprehensive health care reform:

While the Senate Finance Committee awaits a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office on Chairman Max Baucus's (D-Mont.) health care bill, Democrats are ramping up their efforts to build support among the American people and pressure Republicans to eventually back comprehensive reform.

In a briefing with reporters Thursday, Senate Democratic leadership focused solely on what they referred to as the Republicans' obstructionist efforts on reform.

...

In pressuring Republicans, Democrats have also utilized recent quotes from prominent Republicans around the country who have stated a desire for Congress to work in a bipartisan fashion to pass reform this year.

Read the rest here.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 02:35 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The Senate Finance Committee is awaiting a cost estimate, or "score," from the Congressional Budget Office, and Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said today he's unsure when it will come.

"I'm hopeful it's tomorrow, but I can't guarantee it," Baucus said after emerging from the Senate Democrats' weekly luncheon.

Movement on his health care bill has stalled so senators on the committee, especially Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), can cast their vote knowing how much the bill will cost. As for when a vote will take place, Baucus said it all depends what the CBO score looks like.

"If it's a clean bill of health," the vote will take place sooner, said Baucus.

Asked if he had spoken with CBO during the process and what he expected in the score, Baucus smiled and said, "I'm not discouraged."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 03:15 PM | Email Author | Permalink

While Republicans have repeated the phrase, "Where are the jobs?" all year as a criticism of the Democrats' economic stimulus package, Democrats continue to request a Republican alternative to health insurance reform.

"I think it's important to spend a little bit of time on the Republicans' plan," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said this afternoon at the weekly Democratic leadership briefing with reporters. "It's very clear what that is -- and that is to keep things the way they are, the status quo."

Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) conceded that as the "loyal opposition," it's no surprise that Republicans have been critical of the Democrats' proposals. Still, he said, he'd like to see how they would tackle the imminent problem of the rising costs of health care.

"At the end of the day they don't have anything to offer the American people," said Durbin. "The Grand Ol' Party's coffers are empty when it comes to health care reform."

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered a financial metaphor as well in criticizing the GOP.

"All you have to do is sit at the Finance Committee and you realize the bankruptcy of the Republican Party," said Schumer. "The number of positive amendments, even if you disagreed with them, was small. Almost every amendment was negative, aimed at some kind of message and doing nothing to move health care forward. They have nothing to say. They have nothing to offer."

Schumer went on to say that the GOP's strategy may have worked in 1980, "when the American people were feeling good about themselves and feeling everything was fine -- they don't need government anymore," but not in 2009.

Following the briefing, Schumer told a scrum of reporters that he's spoken with "almost all of the moderate Democratic Senators and they are open to" the public option. That includes Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), whose bill does not include the option and who voted against the amendments introduced by Schumer and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) that would have added the option to his bill.

Baucus told Schumer he was not ideologically against the public option -- he just doesn't think Democrats can get 60 votes if it's included in the bill.

"I said, give us a chance to show you," said Schumer. "And he said, fine. So that's what we're trying to do."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 02:30 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Consumer Reports is throwing its hat in the health care reform ring, calling on Congress to pass legislation this year. For the first time ever, the organization is airing a TV ad to get across its message on behalf of consumers.

"We believe that so much attention has been focused on the politics of health care that we're losing sight of the core problems," said Jim Guest, president of Consumers Union and publisher of Consumer Reports. "Health costs are skyrocketing, which affects all of us, and if you get seriously sick, having insurance is no guarantee that you'll get the care you need."

CR is a decades-old magazine and has one of the 10 highest circulations in the country. Its mission is to fight for a fair marketplace for consumers. The TV ad will air in the D.C. metro area for the next two weeks.

"For 73 years, Consumer Reports has been a trusted source of information for consumers who want to make the best decisions," Guest says in the ad. "Today health care costs too much. Many Americans are one pink slip or one major illness away from losing their coverage. We at Consumers Union say this problem must be fixed this year for everyone's sake. Washington, the time for health care reform is now."

In a statement, Guest maintained CR's independence from any political party or group.

"We don't endorse candidates," he said. "And we don't care who gets the credit for fixing the problems with health care -- we just need them fixed."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 12:10 PM | Email Author | Permalink

From the AP:

The Senate Finance Committee has voted against creating a new government health insurance plan to compete with the private market.

The 15-to-8 vote could forecast the fate of the public option in the Senate as a whole. The outcome was expected but still a defeat for liberals who view government-sponsored insurance for the middle class as a key component of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Five committee Democrats, including Chairman Max Baucus, joined with all 10 committee Republicans to defeat the measure by Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) also has an amendment that includes a public option up for a vote today, though the Rockefeller amendment vote result makes Schumer's proposal a long-shot, even though it is less progressive than Rockefeller's.

You can follow along on the New York Times' excellent live-blog of the committee proceedings.

UPDATED 3:51 p.m.: The committee just voted down Schumer's amendment on a 10-13 vote.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 03:15 PM | Email Author | Permalink

House Democrats are still waiting for Republicans to introduce their own health care proposal, which Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), chairman of the GOP's health care working group, guaranteed in June they would do. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's (D-Md.) office released a timeline today to illustrate the point, and the DCCC sent out a reminder Thursday night that Friday marked 100 days since Blunt's promise.

DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that night on MSNBC that the GOP hasn't introduced it's own proposal "because they're afraid that people will realize that the plan they're putting forward won't do the job."

Since June, party leaders have gone back and forth in remarks to reporters on whether a bill would indeed come forth from their side of the aisle, though they've maintained that whether they have a complete bill or not, the party has presented alternatives to President Obama's plan.

Most recently, though, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said the party's most imminent goal is stopping the Democrats' bill. "The problem right now is they're in this big rush to pass this bill, and the American people want us to do everything we can to stop it," he said Sept. 9, the day Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 12:05 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Vice President Joe Biden sought to reassure seniors about health care reform today, promising that Medicare will remain strong while rebutting scare tactics he said opponents are responsible for.

Biden, speaking at the Leisure World retirement community in suburban Washington, said he saw the power of the talking points of his foes on a recent visit with his mother in Delaware.

"I walk in, give her a kiss. She says, 'Joey, what about these death panels?' And I said, 'Mom, I'm trying to kill you,'" Biden related. "She said, 'I'm serious, Joey. What about these death panels?' I said, 'Mom, it's hokum. It's a bunch of malarkey."

Speaking to the audience, he argued that "no one in the government, nobody anywhere, no panel is going to sit down and tell your doctor anything about how to care for you." Common sense should dictate that such a claim -- made often by his former vice presidential foe, Sarah Palin -- is false, Biden thought. "But my mother, it got through."

Biden, who called himself "a simple guy from Delaware who speaks plane old English," spent more time countering Republican warnings that the Democratic plan would weaken Medicare. An interesting claim, Biden said, coming from a party that once opposed creating the program in the first place.

Continue reading "Biden: Even My Mother Worried About Death Panels" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 01:14 PM | Email Author | Permalink

In a statement released to the press this afternoon, Speaker Nancy Pelosi compares the proposals that came out of the three House committees working on health care reform to the plan released today by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.):

"We are pleased that Senator Baucus' plan mirrors some key provisions in the House proposal, including sweeping insurance reforms and consumer protections. The House bill clearly does more to make coverage affordable for more Americans and provides more competition to drive insurance companies to charge lower premiums and improve coverage. The House bill also does more to help seniors afford prescription coverage, closing the donut hole completely, while the Baucus proposal simply reduces the cost of brand name drugs in the donut hole.

"As this proposal evolves, we hope to see modifications that result in the Senate bill better reflecting the work of the House to make health care more affordable for all Americans and promote competition that is key to keeping costs lower. I believe the public option is the best way to achieve that goal."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 01:20 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Certainly there is no pleasing everyone. But will the Baucus bill please anyone?

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will reveal his long-awaited health care proposal today, despite no Republicans immediately jumping on board. The committee will begin marking up the $856 billion bill next week.

The committee is the last of five to bring forth a bill, largely because of Baucus's efforts toward a bipartisan plan. However, one centrist Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and a liberal Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), both said they won't vote for the bill in committee.

When it was still unclear yesterday which way Snowe was leaning, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said he hoped any plan brought forth by Democrats was truly bipartisan. "Let me put it this way," he said. "I'm looking for more from us than one person."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a statement today in opposition to the plan, the only of the five House and Senate committee bills not to include a public option.

"This partisan proposal cuts Medicare by nearly a half-trillion dollars, and puts massive new tax burdens on families and small businesses, to create yet another thousand-page, trillion-dollar government program," said McConnell. "Only in Washington would anyone think that makes sense, especially in this economy."

Asked if he could round up enough votes to support a bill that didn't include a public option, Senate Majority Whip Richard Dubrin (D-Ill.) said, "I don't know. I'll find out." To get to 60 votes though, he said, some Republicans will need to "be part of this conversation."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters yesterday that he hopes that "in the next few days some brave Republicans will come forward in support of the health care bill."

Baucus will step before the cameras later today to discuss the proposal, the full text of which can be found here.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 11:15 AM | Email Author | Permalink

Two new surveys released this morning find an increase in support for President Obama and comprehensive health care reform.

A CBS News poll reports a 12-point leap in approval of Obama's handling of health care since last week. Forty percent of adults interviewed last week (Aug. 27-31) said they approved, while 47 percent disapproved. When the same sample was surveyed the day after Obama's speech (Sept. 10, 648 A, MoE +/- 4%), 52% now approve of the president's handling of health care while 38% disapprove, which CBS reports is "the best marks of his presidency."

Also, more people now say that Obama has explained his health care reform than did last week. Just 33% felt the president had explained his proposals last week; 42% now say he has, though 43% still say he has not.

A Rasmussen survey (Sept. 9-10, 1000 LV, MoE +/- 3%) finds support for the Democrats' health care reform proposal at 46% -- up 2 points since the two days prior to Obama's speech. The speech appears to have had more of an impact on Democrats, though, as Rasmussen reports that the boost comes "entirely from those in the president's own party."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 10:50 AM | Email Author | Permalink

It's hard to figure how many Republicans in the House and Senate the president will be able to reach tonight as he delivers the second address to Congress of his still young presidential term. Many, including the minority leaders of the House and Senate, are simply against a comprehensive health care reform bill -- with or without a public option.

"What I hope I won't hear tonight is that we have to do a massive, comprehensive bill or nothing," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking at a joint press conference this afternoon with House Minority Leader John Boehner. "That strikes us as not the way to move forward."

Boehner is hoping the president says he wants to start over on a reform bill, something few expect the president to say. The American people, Boehner said, simply "want the current system to work better; they don't want to replace it with a big, government-run plan."

Neither side of the aisle feels there's been much bipartisan cooperation on the issue of health care reform, though McConnell outlined certain fundamentals of reform Republicans would be open to working with Democrats on: strengthen the care and insurance people have, making insurance more accessible to the uninsured and lower costs for all. "Those are the kinds of principles around which we could rally, I think, a broad bipartisan agreement," McConnell said.

McConnell wants Congress to "skinny" the bill down and target issues such as "junk lawsuits" and insurance reform -- passing smaller, more focused bills.

"We're all interested in what he has to say," said Boehner. "But I hope he's been listening to the American people, because I think over the course of August they've made their voices loud and clear that they don't want this massive government takeover of our health care system. But it appears the president is going to double down tonight, and try to put lipstick on this pig and call it something else."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 01:30 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Appearing with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the White House after a meeting with President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi had this to say regarding the inclusion of a public health insurance option in a reform bill, per our White House reporter Mike Memoli: "I believe that the public option will be essential to our passing a bill in the House of Representatives."

The message was certainly different, if not opposite, of the one given this morning by House Democrats' No. 2, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. He said a reform bill that did not include the public option could still be "very good" and that he would support it, though his preference would be to include the option -- which he called "an alternative that people ought to have."

"If the public option weren't in there, I still could support a bill because I think there is a lot in there that is good," he said.

Hoyer discussed the August break, saying that during his nearly three decades in Congress he hasn't seen a time when "more people have gotten more engaged in an issue than this one."

"Some 82 percent of the American public believes that changes are required," said Hoyer. "There is not a consensus, as you've seen, on exactly what those changes should be. But there is no doubt that there is consensus among the American people that change is needed."

At an off-camera briefing with reporters this afternoon, Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Ways and Means ranking member Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said employers in this economic climate would dump their employees from their health insurance rolls if a public option were available. "The government competes with the private sector the way an alligator competes with a duck," Pence said.

They said Obama and congressional Democrats should listen to the American people, who "don't want a government-run health care plan."

Obama will speak to a joint session of Congress tomorrow night, and both Republicans said they were open to hearing what the president has to say. But, Pence said, Americans "don't want another health care speech, they want another health care plan."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 04:25 PM | Email Author | Permalink

To those who say that August was a lost month for President Obama, the White House, surprisingly, does not agree.

"Not at all," press secretary Robert Gibbs said today. In fact, he continued to argue, the administration is closer to getting health care reform passed than any other in history. "That was true the end of July. It was true throughout the month of August. It may be more true now in September," he said.

Despite the public reaction seen in town halls last month -- sometimes strongly and passionately against government action -- Gibbs said he has taken special notice of Republican members of Congress who "talked to their constituents and they understand we have to do something."

"I think that's a great recognition that this is a problem that has been on the radar screens of the American people for a long, long time, and that they demand something be done about it. And I can assure you the president aims to be the person that does something about it," he said.

Continue reading "Gibbs: No August Setbacks Here" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 03:32 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Vice President Biden offered a bit of a preview of President Obama's message to a joint session of Congress next week, saying Americans can expect to hear "specifically" and in "understandable, clear terms what our administration wants to happen." He also sounded extremely confident that a reform bill will pass, while noting that similar legislation of this magnitude also passed only narrowly.

"We're going to get something substantial. There's going to be an awful lot of screaming and hollering before we get there. But I believe we're going to get there," he said.

Biden headed to the Brookings Institution to give what was billed as a major speech on the Recovery Act at the 200-day mark. When asked at the end of the event to comment on the status of health care reform, Biden was sheepish at first. "I do foreign policy. I don't do health care," he said. "The reason I choose foreign policy - it's a lot easier than health care. And a lot less complicated."

After assuring the crowd he was joking, he said he didn't want to step on Obama's "major" speech next Wednesday. He did discuss investments made in modernizing medical records through the Recovery Act to transform an "absolutely archaic" system. "If we modernize health care record-keeping, we will save tens of billions of dollars," he said. "That's what I meant by you've got to spend some money to save a lot more money."

Continue reading "Biden: Prospects For Health Care Deal "Very High"" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 12:15 PM | Email Author | Permalink

President Obama's September schedule includes two big appearances before union audiences. After his Camp David retreat this weekend, he and Vice President Joe Biden will spend Labor Day, appropriately, at the AFL-CIO's annual picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio. A week later, the president will speak at that organization's annual convention in Pittsburgh.

Reports today indicate that the White House is (again?) ramping up its health care offensive, but perhaps ditching the public option as it seeks to make progress. If true, how will that message play before union crowds? AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka once again espoused the virtue of a public option on MSNBC this hour.

"If you're looking at health insurance reform, right now insurance companies have a stranglehold on the market," he said. "Prices are never gonna go down and quality's never gonna go up as long as insurance companies have that stranglehold. The public option will force them to compete."

Asked what the union would do if there's no public option, Trumka said he's "not going to go there," saying he's confident there will be, though he said he had no assurance from the White House. "It's the difference between coming up with a bill that you call reform, and actually hav[ing] health insurance reform."

Trumka, who takes over as the AFL-CIO's president, then reiterated his political threat on the issue.

"We're going to try to get every one of them to vote for it, and do our best to pass a bill that really will break the stranglehold that insurance companies have over the health care industry," he said. "Those that don't, we'll tell our members. ... Both parties promised in this election that they would give us health insurance reform. We take them at their word. And if they don't, I think the voters will understand that and vote accordingly.

Posted by Mike Memoli at 01:37 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The Republican National Committee is launching a new television ad on health care that targets senior citizens. The ad, airing nationally on cable stations as well as on other channels in Florida, features Chairman Michael Steele advocating for a "Seniors Bill of Rights."

"Join us in supporting a new Seniors' Bill of Rights. Let's agree in both parties that Congress should only consider health reform proposals that protect senior citizens," Steele says in the ad. "Oh and President Obama, it's not too late to change your mind. Stand with us and stand with senior citizens. After all, they've earned it."

The Democratic National Committee responded to the ad this morning. "Michael Steele and the Republicans are unbelievable," said DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse. "After failing to stop the President on the Recovery Act, the budget, equal pay for women and children's health care, Republicans have decided that they have no other choice when it comes to blocking health insurance reform than to lie to the American people and try to scare seniors."

Here is the ad:

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 11:00 AM | Email Author | Permalink

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs seemed to lay the groundwork for a Democratic go-it-alone strategy today by seizing on what he said were "unfortunate" comments from Republican senators who had been part of health care talks. In particular, he cited the Republican weekly address delivered by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), who had been part of the Finance Committee team working on a bill.

"It doesn't help to have Republicans who say they're for bipartisanship and say they're at the table to try to find a solution repeating Republican Party talking points about what they know is not true in the bill," he said. "It's tremendously unfortunate that it looks like Republicans are stepping away from seeking a bipartisan solution. I think it's bad for this town but it's much worse for this country."

If the White House can successfully portray the Republicans as having been first to abandon a bipartisan bill, it could pave the way for President Obama to come in after months of Congressional sausage-making and push for a bill tailored more to his party's liking. But for now, Obama thinks a bipartisan outcome is still possible, Gibbs said.

"It appears that, at least in Senator Enzi's case, he doesn't believe there's a pathway to get bipartisan support. The president thinks that's wrong," he said. "I think that Senator Enzi's clearly turned over his cards on bipartisanship and decided that it's time to walk away from the table. I think that what somebody has to ask Senator Enzi and ask others, every member of Congress, is: are you satisfied with the way the system is working right now?"

Continue reading "The Beginning Of The End Of Bipartisanship?" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 03:10 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Here is my story on state models for federal health care reform, published over the weekend:

Facing budget deficits and Medicaid costs already on the rise along with unemployment, governors around the country are wary of what federal health care reform could mean for the economic welfare of states. As Congress works to put forth and approve a bill, governors are hoping the legislative body looks to the states for models of success.

...

So far, though, only about a third of states have either enacted or are moving toward comprehensive health care reform. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan health care think tank, as of last month three states have enacted and begun to implement a health care reform plan that aims to cover nearly all of their residents.

These states are all located in New England: Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont. All three ranked in the top 10 of the Commonwealth Fund's health system performance scorecard, which looks at "access, quality, avoidable hospital use and costs, equity, and healthy lives," according to the report.

You can read the rest here.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 08:30 AM | Email Author | Permalink

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Montana Sen. Max Baucus (D) has held up movement on a health care reform bill, and a new poll in Montana finds a majority of Democrats disapproving of his actions.

A Daily Kos poll (Aug. 17-19, 600 LV, MoE +/- 4%), conducted by Research 2000, found more Republicans (49%) than Democrats (34%) approving of his actions on health care. Baucus hasn't said whether he'll push for a public option to be included in the Senate bill, though 78% of Montana Democrats are in favor of it. Overall, 47% of Montanans favor a public option and 43% oppose it.

If Baucus comes out against a public option, 36% of Democrats said they would be less likely to vote for him; 12% would be more likely and 52% said it would have no effect. For Republicans, 23% said they'd be more likely to vote for him if he opposed it, with 69% saying it would have no effect.

The liberal DailyKos queried respondents on how they'd vote if Baucus joined Republicans to help filibuster a health care bill that included a public option (44% of Democrats would be less likely to vote for him); also noted was that he'd received nearly $4 million in campaign donations from the health care industry (73% of Democrats said it hurt his judgement when voting on a health care bill).

Of course, the 67-year-old Baucus isn't up for re-election for another five years. In 2008, he was re-elected with 73% of the vote. Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) was re-elected with 65%, and Rep. Denny Rehberg (R), the state's lone congressman, was re-elected to a fifth term with 64%.

John McCain carried the state by 3 points last year, and President Obama now has a negative favorability rating -- 44% view him favorably and 52% unfavorably.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 12:00 PM | Email Author | Permalink

As liberals worry that President Obama may be resigned to signing a health care reform bill without a public option, Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement this afternoon calling a public option the "best option":

"As the President stated in March, 'The thinking on the public option has been that it gives consumers more choices and it helps keep the private sector honest, because there's some competition out there.'

"We agree with the President that a public option will keep insurance companies honest and increase competition.

"There is strong support in the House for a public option. In the House, all three of our bills contain a public option, as does the bill from the Senate HELP Committee.

"A public option is the best option to lower costs, improve the quality of health care, ensure choice and expand coverage.

"The public option brings real reform to lower costs over the 10-year period of the bill."

A second press release minutes later took aim at the media for repeating "a myth opponents of health insurance reform have been spreading: that people would be 'forced' to choose a public health insurance option." Pelosi's office cited AP, ABC's Jake Tapper, FOX News's Chris Wallace and NBC's David Gregory.

The public option "simply provides...a choice between various private plans and a public plan," the Speaker's office wrote.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 04:10 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Wishful thinking or smart strategy? On MSNBC this morning, former DNC chair Howard Dean seemed unfazed by the talk that the Obama administration is ready to drop the public option. He said that this is simply "politics," and that even if a public option is temporarily removed it might find it's way back into final legislation.

"The president knows very well that you aren't really going to have health care reform without a public option. But he also knows he has to get this out of the Senate," Dean said on "Morning Joe." "He's got a very important member of the Finance Committee, Kent Conrad, who doesn't want to vote for this bill if it's got a public option in it. And he knows he's not going to get any Republican votes, of any kind. So at the end of this day, this bill is going to be written by Democrats. It's got to get out of the Senate. And you only need a few Democrats to take out take out the public option."

He added that with Republicans unlikely to support any version of health care legislation, he had no doubt that the final reform bill would be passed with the help of reconciliation, which means Democrats need only to muster 50 votes in the Senate rather than the usual 60.

Dean told RCP earlier this year that a health care reform bill without a strong public option was pointless. "If it doesn't, all we have is the same old stuff, and I don't think it's worth spending $634 billion on what we've already got," he said.

Posted by Mike Memoli at 10:30 AM | Email Author | Permalink

Leading Republican governors seemed to downplay the statements from Sarah Palin while embracing to an extent the passion of town hall participants who have been vocal in their opposition to health care reform.

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.), chair of the Republican Governors Association, told reporters this afternoon that one reason people are reacting so strongly around the country is because they think the White House is moving far too quickly on an issue of tremendous concern.

"The Obamas took six months to pick a dog. How come they [had] to pass a health care bill before the August recess?" he said. "Everything has been, 'We gotta do it right now.' The American people realize this is too much, too far, too fast, too many trillions of dollars."

Gov. Sonny Perdue (R-Ga.) took a swipe at Democratic leaders for diminishing the voice of ordinary Americans, saying the town hall meetings are "democracy in action."

"For some Democratic members of Congress to call that anti-democratic is just ludicrous," he said, no doubt referring to the op-ed today from Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. "They want to blame things on Astroturf, [but] these are citizens that are very concerned, very fearful for their jobs, and their family, and their future health needs."

Continue reading "Barbour Criticizes Obama's Health Care Haste" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 03:30 PM | Email Author | Permalink

It was a Canadian reporter, believe it or not, who injected the debate over health care in the United States into a press conference following the trilateral summit of North American leaders today.

The reason? The fact that the Canadian system has been used as a "political football" in that domestic debate, as the reporter described it. And as the White House launches an offensive to counter what they say has been a flood of misinformation about the Democratic health care plan, President Obama offered a measured tone.

"We are having a vigorous debate in the United States, and I think that's a healthy thing," he said in Guadalajara today, while also praising the progress that's been made. He later added: "I suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation that's being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge. And we're going to get this passed.

He said that the Canadian model "would not work for the United States" because of how the two nations' systems have evolved -- with the U.S. having an employer based system. "We've got to develop a uniquely American approach to this problem," he said.

Continue reading "Obama Calls "Vigorous" Health Care Debate "A Healthy Thing"" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 01:55 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The ongoing debate over the tenor of the town hall meetings continues.

House Minority Leader John Boehner is now reacting to the USA Today op-ed this morning from Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. The Democratic leaders criticized the vocal opposition who are disrupting town hall meetings, saying their effort to drown out "opposing views is simply un-American."

In a statement, Boehner accuses the Democratic leaders themselves of working "to silence any opposing views." "Every poll taken in the last month shows that a majority of Americans are concerned about, if not outright opposed to, the Democrats' plan because of the cost and consequences it would mean for their own health care," the Ohioan says. "Each public forum should give every participant the opportunity to express their views, but to label Americans who are expressing vocal opposition to the Democrats' plan 'un-American' is outrageous and reprehensible."

The statement concludes that when Congress returns from recess, "Democrats should scrap their costly plan and finally work on bipartisan reforms that give Americans what they are seeking: better access to affordable care."

Posted by Mike Memoli at 01:13 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has entered the second phase in its "Health Care ER" advertising offensive, today launching automated calls in 10 GOP districts. The DCCC is targeting "Republicans who are trying to block health insurance reform for America's families," according to a press release.

"This August, we are holding Republicans accountable," said DCCC executive director Jon Vogel.

The phone calls are heading to the following districts: Brian Bilbray (CA-50), Ken Calvert (CA-44), David Dreier (CA-26), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-09), Mike McCaul (TX-10), Frank Wolf (VA-10), Bill Young (FL-10), Judy Biggert (IL-13), Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), and Pete Sessions (TX-32).

Radio ads began airing Monday in another eight districts. In all, the ad offensive will reach the districts of more than two dozen Republican members of Congress.

Here is the script of an automated call going out to Sessions's Texas district:

I have an important message about your health care. Insurance companies are posting record profits while health bills skyrocket. Now they are lining up to stop health care reforms and protect profits. Congressman Pete Sessions took almost four hundred thousand dollars from the insurance industry and now he's trying to block reform... like reducing costs by forcing insurance companies to compete and preventing them from denying you coverage. Call Congressman Sessions today. Ask him to stop standing up for insurance companies and start standing up for us.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 01:40 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Senate Democrats left a White House meeting singing President Obama's praises while echoing the latest party talking points by portraying rowdy town hall meetings as the result of an astroturf campaign by the leading opponents of health care reform.

"In spite of the loud, shrill voices trying to interrupt town hall meetings to throw a monkey wrench into everything, we're going to continue to be positive and work hard," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters after a luncheon with the president today.

"The American people do not like partisanship. But the American people also don't like groups of people trying to kill something that should be done," Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) listed potential positive outcomes from health care reform, then added: "We'll match that against their message of negativity."

Continue reading "Democrats Target "Orchestrated" Town Hall Opposition" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 04:02 PM | Email Author | Permalink

At one of his recent town hall meetings, President Obama said he would gladly welcome members of Congress to the White House to read through health care legislation "line-by-line."

Today, however, Robert Gibbs was less than clear on whether Obama would in fact read through a final bill in its entirety on his own.

"I assume the president will study the details of the proposal," the press secretary said. "He's a highly-informed individual."

He also joked that he didn't know what the president's "vacation plans are." After moving to take another question he -- perhaps realizing the potential pitfall -- backtracked quickly to challenge the reporter if he planned to read the entire bill, as well.

Posted by Mike Memoli at 03:09 PM | Email Author | Permalink

President Obama, on his 48th birthday, invited the Senate Democratic Caucus over for lunch to discuss various topics -- the most pressing one being health care. Following the event, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released the following statement:

"We had a productive meeting this afternoon and greatly appreciate the President's time and graciousness. Both the President and the Senate have said from the start that we are committed to getting health insurance reform done this year and we will.

"We share the same goals as the President in achieving reform in a bipartisan manner and we hope our Republican colleagues want to work together. This debate over health insurance reform is too important to be overtaken by those who want to mislead, misrepresent the truth and spread misinformation all for the sake of standing in the way of reform.

"We are closer to real health insurance reform than ever before and while it's easy to focus on the areas where we still need to find agreement, it's important to be mindful of the common ground already shared by all parties involved.

"Democrats stand united with hospitals, doctors, nurse and businesses - we all recognize the gravity of this moment and the significance of this effort. We remain committed to achieving reform."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 02:40 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Organizing for America is welcoming some potentially vulnerable Democrat members of Congress back to their districts with a new radio ad praising their votes on health care -- both the SCHIP extension and a reform proposal still working its way through Congress. Here's the list, per the DNC:

"These members have been part of one of the most ambitious, historic and successful opening months of a Congressional session in our nation's history," OFA Director Mitch Stewart says in a statement.

You can read a sample script after the jump. 

Continue reading "OFA Radio Ad Boosts Swing District Dems On Health Care" »

Posted by Mike Memoli at 01:03 PM | Email Author | Permalink

During his town hall meeting at AARP headquarters, President Obama mainly worked to build support for the overall reform effort by warning seniors that inaction could threaten the Medicare program.

"We all know that right now, we've got a problem that threatens Medicare and our entire health care system, and that is the spiraling cost of health care in America today," he said. "As costs balloon, so does Medicare's budget. And unless we act, within a decade -- within a decade -- the Medicare trust fund will be in the red."

But Obama also again argued in favor of a public option, as the Senate Finance Committee is reportedly ready to dump it.

"This is controversial, and I understand some people are worried about this," he conceded. But, "we do think that it makes sense to have a public option alongside the private option. ... I think that helps keep the insurance companies honest because now they have somebody to compete with." He also denied that it would be a Canada-style, "socialized" plan.

And yet, at today's White House press briefing Robert Gibbs seemed reluctant to weigh in as to whether a plan for health care co-ops in lieu of a public option would be acceptable to the White House.

"I know the president's test is, do we have adequate choice and competition for private insurance?" he said, later adding: "Without having seen the finance committee bill, it's hard for us to come down and fully evaluate it."

Gibbs did deny the notion that Obama would be happy to sign any reform bill at this point, saying "that could not be farther from the truth."

Posted by Mike Memoli at 05:45 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The ladies of the House GOP will hold a press conference tomorrow morning at the Capitol "to highlight the consequences of Democrats' health care legislation," according to a press release from the House Republican Conference.

"The press conference will also be attended by working mothers who will share personal stories about how the Democrats' health care legislation will hurt women and affect their day-to-day lives," the release states.

Senate Democrats brought in "real" people today to a press conference on health care to explain why the Democrats' reform plan is necessary, and yesterday House Dems included doctors and other health care industry workers at a press conference hosted by Members who work in health care in their other lives.

Attending tomorrow's GOP event: Conference vice chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mary Fallin (R-OK), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Kay Granger (R-TX), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Candice Miller (R-MI), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Jean Schmidt (R-OH).

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 04:40 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The Democratic National Committee will begin airing a TV ad tomorrow promoting the need for health care reform and slamming Republicans for attempting to block progress.

"What's the cost of not reforming health care? Premiums rising faster than your paycheck," the announcer says. "But some leading Republicans, playing politics, have vowed to kill reform. Tell Republicans the cost of doing nothing on health care is just too high."

The ad comes as Democrats appear unlikely to get bills passed in either chamber of Congress before leaving town for a month. Speaker Pelosi indicated today that she's "not afraid of" waiting until after the August recess to complete a bill, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that's exactly what the Senate will do.

The 30-second ad will air on national and D.C. cable stations for the next two-and-a-half weeks.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 03:30 PM | Email Author | Permalink

At a midday press conference, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "Something has to get done," and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, "This is our chance." At an afternoon press conference, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said, "The present situation is unsustainable" and "we don't have the luxury of not getting it," and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, "The current costs [of health care] cannot be sustained."

However, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said today, the urgency to pass a health care reform bill is not great enough to rush a bill before the Senate recesses in two weeks.

"It's better to have a product based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than try to jam something through," he told reporters today. "The decision [to not rush a bill to the floor] was made to give the Finance Committee more time to get a bipartisan bill."

"All this is no big surprise to anyone," Reid continued. "The president wants something done by the end of the year."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 03:00 PM | Email Author | Permalink

President Obama spent an hour meeting with Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, talks a key conservative Democrat called productive, though no final decisions on a key concern -- cost containment.

"There's a number of potential cost-cutting measures which I think the American people expect before we consider any kind of new revenue," Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), head of the Blue Dog Democrats' health care task force, told reporters after the meeting today. "They want us to squeeze every ounce of savings we can out of the current system. That's what we're demanding."

Ross said the entire meeting focused "specifically on cost containment," and said there are "a lot of ideas out there." But he and his colleagues want to see another CBO score that factors in projected savings before agreeing to any specific terms.

Energy and Commerce Committee chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said that Obama "expressed to us his great, strong, firm commitment that the legislation that he signed will have to be deficit neutral and will hold down the cost in the future."

Meanwhile, the White House hinted today that it may be open to taxing a portion of health insurance benefits, on so-called "Cadillac" plans. Press secretary Robert Gibbs echoed comments the president made last night in an interview with Jim Lehrer, differentiating Obama's opposition to ending the deductibility of health insurance benefits altogether with such a limited exclusion being lifted on the most expensive plans.

"He doesn't support what Senator McCain proposed in the campaign, which, as you know, wasn't a tax on a certain level of the exclusion but instead to remove the entire tax deductibility," Gibbs said.

Posted by Mike Memoli at 05:20 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The Democratic National Committee released a web video today accusing Republicans of "playing politics" with health care reform. The video highlights a oft-cited quote by Sen. Jim DeMint, who said recently that health care reform could be President Obama's "waterloo" if the GOP "is able to stop him on this."

Obama has responded to the DeMint quote, which has also been cited today by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen.

"While President Obama and House Democrats are offering solutions to fix America's broken health care system, Congressional Republicans are offering nothing more than the same old Washington finger-pointing and their just-say-no defense of the status quo," Van Hollen said in a press release that called out Republicans for "playing politics."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 05:10 PM | Email Author | Permalink

After a politically charged statement Monday, President Obama shifted tone today as he sought to highlight what he said was "substantial common ground" that has been reached on health care.

Speaking in the Rose Garden, he did still criticize those who have "openly declared their intention to block reform," reading from a "familiar Washington script." But he said there "are many others who are working hard" to tackle the "crisis" of rising health care costs.

"There is a tendency in Washington to accentuate the differences instead of underscoring common ground," he said. "But make no mistake: we are closer than ever before to the reform that the American people need, and we're going to get the job done."

He outlined common principles in the bills working through Congress, and said the collaboration goes beyond Congress, including stakeholders like pharmaceutical companies, doctors and nurses. And the American people as well "understand that the status quo is unacceptable."

"They don't care who's up or who's down politically in Washington," he said. "They don't care about the latest line of political attack. They care about whether their families will be crushed by rising premiums."

Yesterday, it was White House trying to focus the country on the Republicans' line of attack -- Sen. Jim DeMint's "Waterloo" comment especially. But today, the president said that ultimately, when a reform plan is passed, history will focus not on the political fight but instead "the hard work done" to get it through.

Obama opened his remarks by praising the Senate for rejecting an appropriation for F-22 jets, which he called an "inexcusable waste" of taxpayer money. Among those he praised for leading the charge against them was John McCain.

Posted by Mike Memoli at 01:22 PM | Email Author | Permalink

The nation's governors have sent a letter to Congress urging them not to impose "unfunded federal mandates and reforms that simply shift costs to states" as they consider health care reform. A House proposal would provide permanent funding for Medicaid expansions, which the governors support.

Writing on behalf of the National Governors Association, chairman Jim Douglas (R) of Vermont says:

Any unfunded expansions would be particularly troubling given that states face budget shortfalls of over $200 billion over the next three years. This gap persists even after the Recovery Act's temporary increases in the federal share of Medicaid, which was essential for avoiding dramatic cuts to critical state services and was greatly appreciated by governors.

Governors welcome the opportunity to share and expand upon the innovative reforms we have instituted in our states to expand coverage, reduce cost and improve the quality of health care. These reforms should inform congressional efforts and must be preserved and encouraged as part of any national reform.

We appreciate your willingness to work with us to pursue financing options that are sustainable at both the federal and state levels.

Obama relied on the support of governors, particularly Republicans like Douglas and Florida's Charlie Crist, to sell his stimulus plan. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the former Kansas governor, was dispatched to this weekend's NGA conference to hear the state executives' concerns.

Posted by Mike Memoli at 12:15 PM | Email Author | Permalink