Conservative Democrats Rebel Against Communist Health Care Bill: Vote Likely To Be Delayed
Jul 17, 2009 7 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama, projecting confidence health care legislation will clear Congress, urged lawmakers strongly on Friday to write stiffer cost-cutting provisions into the bills taking shape slowly in the House and Senate.
“What we want to do is force the Congress to make sure that they are acting” on recommendations lawmakers receive to hold down Medicare and Medicaid spending, the president said, rather than allowing reports to sit unused on a shelf.
He spoke from the White House, near the end of a week of tumult for the legislation atop his domestic agenda.
A few hours earlier, two House committees approved their portions of the sweeping health care bill over Republican objections.
That left one more panel to act, but conservative Democrats were rebelling, demanding additional measures to hold down skyrocketing costs.
Given the complexities, as well as fresh calls for delay in the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opened the door to pushing off a vote past the early August timeline she and Obama laid out weeks ago.
