On Thursday, House Democratic leaders announced plans to push health care legislation in the next three weeks, answering President Barack Obama’s call for swift action.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the Associated Press Thursday that Democrats would like to get a final vote by Congress’ Easter break, which begins March 29. However, Hoyer said that “the world doesn’t fall apart” if that timeline is not met.
Currently, House leaders have a long line of undecided members who said they will wait for the actual language of the bill before deciding how they will vote. Hoyer told the AP that the final bill and cost estimates should be presented by the Congressional Budget Office by the end of next week.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said that the health care issue needs further discussion before committing to a timeline of action.
“President Obama and Democratic leaders have decided to pass health care reform in the next two weeks, completely on their own and without bipartisan support,” Moran said. “Health care is far too important an issue to address under arbitrary timelines and without bipartisan support. History shows us that lasting change requires collective effort and shared responsibility. I am disappointed that the President and Democratic leaders appear determined to abuse the normal legislative process to simply claim a political victory.”
On Thursday afternoon more than a dozen Democrats in the House met with Obama at the White House. Among those in the group were lawmakers who voted against the legislation last year.
The cost of the legislation — nearly $1 trillion over the next 10 years — would be financed by cuts to Medicare payments and higher payroll taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples who earn more than $250,000.
“I’ve said all along that I support health care reform that reduces cost and deals with preexisting conditions, but no matter how many different outfits they dress this in, I’m simply not going to support a bill that cuts Medicare, raises taxes, and at its core is a massive expansion of government authority and intrusion into our private lives,” said U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan.
The House previously passed a sweeping overhaul of health care by a narrow 220-215 vote in November and since then, several Democrats have defected or left the House. Obama is now pressing the House to approve the Senate version of the bill, along with a package of changes to fix elements of the Senate bill, including a special Medicaid deal for Nebraska and a tax on high-value insurance plans opposed by organized labor.
The timeline announcement came on the same day when former Kansas Governor, and current Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius took top insurance company executives to task over proposed double-digit rate hikes, citing that as a primary reason why the House must quickly pass the health plan.
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
WASHINGTON —
