Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (186115)	2/2/2010 6:17:16 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362187

Obama Says Health Care Needs Final Push in Congress (Update2) By Edwin Chen and Laura Litvan Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said now is the time to break the logjam in Congress over his health-care initiative and push the legislation through, as some lawmakers warned that further delay could jeopardize passage. “We’ve got to punch it through,” Obama said in response to a question at a town-hall event in Nashua, New Hampshire. He said the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate from Massachusetts last month shouldn’t prevent passage of legislation to revamp the health-care system because there is broad agreement on most aspects of the plan. Brown’s victory means Democrats will be one vote shy of a supermajority needed to overcome Republican objections. White House and congressional leadership aides were to meet today to try to find a way to advance the stalled legislation. Negotiations for a final compromise between the Democratic- controlled House and Senate were almost completed when Brown’s surprise victory caused leaders in both chambers to shift to legislation to boost the economy. The health bills passed by the House and Senate last year require that all Americans have insurance, set up new online purchasing exchanges and expand government aid to low-income people to buy coverage. They also impose new regulations on insurers including Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. and Hartford, Connecticut-based Aetna Inc. Reid, Pelosi Meet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he’ll meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later today to discuss how to pass the legislation. Reid declined to predict when the measure can be approved, saying only “we plan to move health care this year.” Some of the legislation’s supporters say action must come soon to avoid the legislation being caught up in the congressional election campaigns. All the House’s 435 seats and 36 Senate seats are on the ballot in November. “There’s a certain amount of time left,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent. He said any plan to move a health bill must also compete for time against jobs legislation that will be introduced in the Senate as early as this week, and Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget request to Congress. One architect of the Senate health legislation, Democrat Kent Conrad of North Dakota, said he isn’t sure whether a comprehensive bill will clear the Senate this year. “I just don’t know,” he said, adding that the only path may be for the House to pass the Senate bill and send it to Obama to sign. Reconciliation Measure Another idea being discussed is for the House to pass the Senate bill, then for both chambers to also approve a separate, streamlined measure through a process known as reconciliation that would resolve some objections House members have to the Senate legislation. The Senate could pass the stripped-down bill with a simple, 51-vote majority, though the measure would have to be limited to spending and tax issues. In his opening remarks in New Hampshire, Obama said he “won’t walk away” from the effort to pass the overhaul. He said it was a mistake not to televise negotiations over the legislation, as he had promised in his campaign. Republicans have been critical of the process, saying the House and Senate bills were crafted behind closed doors. “I probably should have put it on C-SPAN,” Obama said, referring to the cable channel that televises congressional proceedings. “I think it is a legitimate criticism.” To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen in Nashua, New Hampshire at echen32@bloomberg.net, Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net Last Updated: February 2, 2010 16:53 EST