As word began to spread that the former Senate Democratic leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, had been tapped as the next secretary of health and human services, a powerful corps of senators gathered in Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s new office just outside the Senate chamber to begin planning for a major push on national health care reform in the next Congress.
The gathering, convened by Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Finance Committee, and Mr. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Health, Education and Labor Committee, coupled with President-elect Obama’s selection of Mr. Daschle, sent the clearest signal yet that Democrats will press ahead on health care reform despite a bad economy.
“All are dedicated toward getting Meaningful health care reform enacted in this next year,” Mr. Baucus said after the meeting. He said lawmakers intended to “hit the ground running in January.”
“I think we have to move very quickly,” he said. “We have to seize the opportunity, build momentum, because it’s difficult to anticipate what else is going to come up next year.”
Among those in attendance were Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia, Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, and Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut who is chairman of the banking committee.
Mr. Baucus addressed a group of reporters after the meeting joined by his Republican counterpart, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa.
Both Mr. Baucus and Mr. Grassley praised the election of Mr. Daschle.
“I am elated,” Mr. Baucus said. “Senator Daschle knows clearly, the Congress, and specifically he knows the Senate. He knows the rhythms of this outfit. He knows the players. I think he is an excellent choice.”
And Mr. Grassley suggested that Mr. Daschle would not face much of a rough road in confirmation hearings. “Senator Daschle knows the Senate and he knows senators,” Mr. Grassley said. “He may not know all the senators since he has been out for a while but he knows how the Senate work and, boy, that’s a very important first step because in the present administration we have had a lot of cabinet people that haven’t understood how the Senate works, so I think it’s a big step forward.
He added: “I always reserve judgment on am I going to vote to confirm or not,
based upon the hearings, but based upon what I know of Senator Daschle as a
colleague, I receive that name very favorably.”
Mr. Grassley said the meeting was a crucial first step and that Republicans and Democrats began to put all issues on the table. “This was a very positive meeting,” he said. “And it sets out a procedure. There wasn’t a lot of substance talked about, in other words what should be in a bill, but a process that would bring us to a bill and that process is very important and nothing is going to get done in the Senate if it’s not bipartisan. So it’s very important that this meeting takes place.”