WASHINGTON — President
Obama, making his final push for a health care overhaul, called Wednesday
for Congress to set aside political gamesmanship and allow an gup-or-down-voteh
on the measure, so that Democrats can pass the legislation and he can sign it
into law, after nearly a year of debate.
gI believe the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote
on health
care reform,h Mr. Obama said in a brief 15-minute speech in the East Room of
the White House. He called on Democratic leaders of both chambers to schedule a
vote in the next few weeks, adding, gFrom now until then, I will do everything
in my power to make the case for reform.h
Moments after Mr. Obama spoke, the White House announced that he would travel
to Pennsylvania and Missouri next week to talk about the health legislation.
Wednesdayfs remarks, made to a group of sympathetic medical professionals,
many of them clad in traditional white lab coats, marked Mr. Obamafs entry into
the end game of Washingtonfs long and divisive health care debate. With
Republicans unified in opposition to the measure, Mr. Obama used his appearance
to make the case to the public that while he is willing to accept Republican
ideas, starting over, as Republicans are demanding, does not make sense.
He called on Democrats to stick with him.
gThis has been a long and wrenching debate,h Mr. Obama said, adding that
while health care geasily lends itself to demagoguery and political
gamesmanship,h that is no reason gfor those of us who were sent here to lead to
just walk away.h
In the short 15-minute speech, the president avoided using the word
greconciliation,h the name for the parliamentary tactic that Democrats must now
use to avoid a Republican filibuster
of the bill. But senior advisers to the president made clear that is his plan.
gThis has been laid out in a way that provides us the maximum flexibility to
get it done,h Robert
Gibbs, the White House press secretary, told a small group of reporters who
gathered in his office before Mr. Obama spoke. But reconciliation could prove a
heavy lift on Capitol Hill. At a bipartisan health forum at Blair House last
week, Mr. Obama laid out an 11-page synopsis of his plan, without providing the
House and Senate Democratic leadership with legislative language. It will now be
up to Nancy
Pelosi, the speaker of the House, and Harry
Reid, the Senate majority leader, to produce that language, and then send it
to the Congressional
Budget Office for an analysis of how much the measure will cost. Getting
that done in several weeks, as Mr. Obama says he expects, could prove difficult.
Friday will mark one year since Mr. Obama kicked off his plans for a major
health care overhaul, with a high-profile forum at the White House that included
lawmakers, insurance industry and hospital executives, medical professionals,
representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and others with a stake in the
debate.
On Wednesday, after 12 months of legislative hearings, town hall meetings,
speeches, polls and debates, Mr. Obama made clear that he expects Democrats to
line up behind the plan, no matter how skittish they feel about their
re-election prospects in the fall.
gThe American people want to know if itfs still possible for Washington to
look out for their interests and their future,h Mr. Obama said. gThey are
waiting for us to act. They are waiting for us to lead. And as long as I hold
this office, I intend to provide that leadership. I donft know how this plays
politically, but I know itfs right. And so I ask Congress to finish its work,
and I look forward to signing this reform into law.h
Since he convened last weekfs forum at Blair House, Mr. Obama has been laying
the groundwork for the course he is now pursuing. He concluded the Blair House
meeting by saying he was open to incorporating Republican ideas, but that
Democrats would go forward on their own if he did not see any evidence of
Republican cooperation.
On Tuesday, in a letter to Congressional leaders, Mr. Obama said he was open
to pursuing four specific ideas raised by Republicans during the Blair House
forum, including establishing ghealth courtsh to resolve medical
malpractice claims and encouraging the use by individuals of medical savings
accounts that get favorable tax treatment.
But even as Mr. Obama sent the letter, his chief of staff, Rahm
Emanuel, and top health policy adviser, Nancy
Ann DeParle, went to Capitol Hill to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and prepare a final legislative package
that they would be able to pass with simple majorities in each house. The
leaders are still working on the details of that package. gWefre getting
closer,h Jim Manley, Mr. Reidfs spokesman, said shortly before the presidentfs
remarks. He did not elaborate.
With Republicans accusing Democrats and Mr. Obama of trying to ram the bill
through Congress, the president and his allies are making the case that in fact,
comprehensive health legislation has already passed both chambers, garnering a
majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate. Technically, they say,
reconciliation will be used only to pass a small package of fixes to the
original bills.
The health bill, Mr. Obama said, gdeserves the same kind of up-or-down vote
that was cast on welfare reform, the Childrenfs
Health Insurance Program, Cobra health coverage for the unemployed, and both
Bush tax cuts,h Mr. Obama said, citing other measures that have been adopted
using reconciliation.
Under their tentative plan, the House would first approve the bill that was
adopted by the Senate on Christmas Eve. Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi would also draft
a package of changes to be approved by both chambers in a separate
reconciliation bill. The reconciliation package would effectively smooth out
some of the differences between the House and Senate versions.
The whole bundle would be sent to Mr. Obama to sign into law.
But while that sounds feasible, carrying out the strategy could yet prove
tricky. Senate Republicans could try offering countless amendments as a delaying
tactic. And Ms. Pelosi could have difficulty rounding up the necessary votes to
pass the reconciliation package in the House, because it will strip out anti-abortion
language that some Democrats favor.