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US health talks in overdrive, eyes on Senate vote
Source: Agencies |
January 16, 2010, Saturday
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US President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats rushed to strike final deals on health care legislation yesterday as a senior lawmaker warned that the outcome of a special Senate election to fill the seat held for decades by Edward Kennedy could sink the bill.
The race has turned into a referendum on the health care bill with the Republican candidate Scott Brown saying he will vote against the measure, which probably would take it down because Democrats just barely control a supermajority of 60 votes in the 100-member Senate. All 40 Republicans are opposed, so Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.
The United States is the only major developed nation that lacks a comprehensive national health care plan. About 50 million Americans are without insurance. With unemployment rising, many Americans are losing health care insurance when they lose their jobs because employers provide medical plans.
Obama plans a trip to Massachusetts Sunday to campaign for endangered Senate Democratic candidate Martha Coakley amid the release of a poll showing an edge for the Republican Party in the race to fill a Senate seat Democrats have held for over a half-century.
If Coakley loses, the strength of the Democratic coalition would be reduced to 59.
That scenario could make it imperative for Democrats to push the legislation that will give millions of Americans health care insurance through before the election results are certified, which could take two weeks or more. Obama wants the bill - his top domestic priority - passed in time for his State of the Union address to Congress, likely early next month.
"If Scott Brown wins, it'll kill the health bill," said Rep. Barney Frank, a prominent Massachusetts Democrat. Frank said Coakley should have campaigned harder for the seat, but he also said he thinks she will win Tuesday's contest anyway.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed suggestions the Republican would win in Massachusetts - and refused to say what might happen to the health care bill if he did.
"As you heard the president say yesterday we're going to get health care done," Gibbs said.
Frank's blunt statement captured anxieties circulating in Congress as lawmakers intensified the already frantic pace of negotiations to reconcile the numerous differences between House and Senate versions of the legislation. The goal was to send the tax and spending provisions of the package to the Congressional Budget Office later Friday for a cost estimate, a necessary step before votes are cast. It was not clear if negotiators would pull that off.
Obama and congressional negotiators have participated in marathon talks in recent days. Hours of discussion ended after 1 am local time Friday and resumed at midday Friday in the White House. Adding to the pressure, negotiators were searching both for more funding and additional cost control measures.
A deal with organized labor to weaken a proposed tax on high-cost insurance plans left the legislation short in both these areas, even if it secured critical political support. The tax was designed to nudge Americdans with generous coverage - among them many union members - into more cost-effective health plans, reducing health care spending.
Reducing the impact of the tax left a US$60-billion revenue hole in the bill. "That's part of the conversation - how you make it up," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat.
House Democrats heard yesterday from former President Bill Clinton who sought to buck them up and alluded to his own failed attempt to pass health reform in 1994. Referencing negative public views on the current bill, Clinton told them they'd have to take a tough vote but sentiment would turn around if they could explain to their constituents what the bill contains. Rep. Phil Hare, a Democrat, summed up part of Clinton's message: "If you're going to get chewed out, that goes with the turf."
The race has turned into a referendum on the health care bill with the Republican candidate Scott Brown saying he will vote against the measure, which probably would take it down because Democrats just barely control a supermajority of 60 votes in the 100-member Senate. All 40 Republicans are opposed, so Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.
The United States is the only major developed nation that lacks a comprehensive national health care plan. About 50 million Americans are without insurance. With unemployment rising, many Americans are losing health care insurance when they lose their jobs because employers provide medical plans.
Obama plans a trip to Massachusetts Sunday to campaign for endangered Senate Democratic candidate Martha Coakley amid the release of a poll showing an edge for the Republican Party in the race to fill a Senate seat Democrats have held for over a half-century.
If Coakley loses, the strength of the Democratic coalition would be reduced to 59.
That scenario could make it imperative for Democrats to push the legislation that will give millions of Americans health care insurance through before the election results are certified, which could take two weeks or more. Obama wants the bill - his top domestic priority - passed in time for his State of the Union address to Congress, likely early next month.
"If Scott Brown wins, it'll kill the health bill," said Rep. Barney Frank, a prominent Massachusetts Democrat. Frank said Coakley should have campaigned harder for the seat, but he also said he thinks she will win Tuesday's contest anyway.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed suggestions the Republican would win in Massachusetts - and refused to say what might happen to the health care bill if he did.
"As you heard the president say yesterday we're going to get health care done," Gibbs said.
Frank's blunt statement captured anxieties circulating in Congress as lawmakers intensified the already frantic pace of negotiations to reconcile the numerous differences between House and Senate versions of the legislation. The goal was to send the tax and spending provisions of the package to the Congressional Budget Office later Friday for a cost estimate, a necessary step before votes are cast. It was not clear if negotiators would pull that off.
Obama and congressional negotiators have participated in marathon talks in recent days. Hours of discussion ended after 1 am local time Friday and resumed at midday Friday in the White House. Adding to the pressure, negotiators were searching both for more funding and additional cost control measures.
A deal with organized labor to weaken a proposed tax on high-cost insurance plans left the legislation short in both these areas, even if it secured critical political support. The tax was designed to nudge Americdans with generous coverage - among them many union members - into more cost-effective health plans, reducing health care spending.
Reducing the impact of the tax left a US$60-billion revenue hole in the bill. "That's part of the conversation - how you make it up," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat.
House Democrats heard yesterday from former President Bill Clinton who sought to buck them up and alluded to his own failed attempt to pass health reform in 1994. Referencing negative public views on the current bill, Clinton told them they'd have to take a tough vote but sentiment would turn around if they could explain to their constituents what the bill contains. Rep. Phil Hare, a Democrat, summed up part of Clinton's message: "If you're going to get chewed out, that goes with the turf."
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