Obama, Democrats Consider Bypassing Republicans On Health Care
The options include passing a bill with just a few Republican votes or passing a bill using the so-called reconciliation process, which would require only 51 votes, said Schumer, a Democrat. The president and his advisers have started devising a strategy to pass a measure by relying only on the Democratic majority in each house [...]
Obama May Abandon Effort to Reach Health Bargain With Republicans
The president and his advisers have started devising a strategy to pass a measure by relying only on the Democratic majority in each house of Congress, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a separate interview, former Senate Democratic [...]
Pelosi Says No Way Health Policy Can Pass Without Public Option
“Theres no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option,” the California Democrat said at a press conference in San Francisco yesterday.
Pelosi drew a line in the sand on one of the most contentious [...]
Democrats Urge Obama to Keep Government-run Health-plan Option
“There is strong support in the House for a public option,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said yesterday. “A public option is the best option to lower costs, improve the quality of health care, ensure choice and expand coverage.”
Other Democrats [...]
Obama Visit Puts Focus On Senator For Rural State
The presidents Friday town hall in a conservative suburb of Bozeman allowed him to speak directly to Baucus constituents – the same people who are already giving the senator an angry earful during the congressional August recess.
It also allowed the two Democrats to show solidarity, even as significant policy differences remain.
The White House supports Baucus [...]
Alan Frumin May Surge From Obscurity to Craft Senate Health Bill
Its a role the obscure official could assume if the Senate fails to reach a bipartisan deal on a health-care bill. Democratic leaders and President Barack Obama say they would prefer such an accord. If they cant get it, they have signaled they will turn to the so-called reconciliation procedure to short-circuit Republican opposition. [...]
Obama Urges Public to Ignore Scare Strategies In Health Debate
Obama traveled to a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, yesterday in a bid to counter critics and soothe the discord marking home-state forums conducted by fellow Democrats during Congresss August recess. Lawmakers have encountered protesters predicting a “government takeover” of health care and leaflets claiming the health-care overhaul would let bureaucrats “pull the [...]
Obama Open to Creation Of Health Cooperatives, Deparle Says
“We would be interested in that” if those conditions are met, Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, said in an interview with Bloomberg Televisions “Conversations with Judy Woodruff” airing today.
DeParle said she expected Congress to pass [...]
Democrats May Bypass Republicans On Health Plan, Schumer Says
Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus set a Sept. 15 deadline for getting a bipartisan agreement among six senators on the panel who are negotiating a deal.
“If we cannot produce a bipartisan solution by then, [...]
Obama Pushes Senate as Health-care Focus Turns to Finance Panel
The Senate Finance Committee, which is seeking a bipartisan compromise, has failed to reach an agreement even as two House committees and a Senate panel cleared their versions of the legislation with only Democratic approval. Chairman Max Baucus said a deal will come this week at the earliest, a month after he had planned to [...]