House Democrats are scrambling again after the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress' original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package.
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President Obama's promise that his health care plan would generally save families $2,500 runs contrary to the facts. The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the bill estimates it would cost families an additional $2,300 in premiums.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells the National Association of Counties that Congress has to pass the health care bill so we "can find out what is in it."
Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) is accusing House liberals and Rahm Emanuel of unfairly targeting him and forcing his resignation over his opposition to their health care legislation. "Massa insisted that he did not know the basis of a House ethics committee investigation into his conduct until after he announced his retirement last Wednesday, and he took Hoyer to task for going public with information related to the probe before it is completed."
"President Obama has given Democrats a March 18 deadline for the House to pass the Senate version of a healthcare reform bill before he leaves on a trip to Asia, leading to a frenzy of arm-twisting and vote tallying on Capitol Hill. [...]However, Democrats do not have a firm grip on the votes needed to pass the sweeping legislation in the House of Representatives, one House leader admitted on Sunday."
In a private meeting with House liberals yesterday, President Obama admitted what many of us have already been saying: the government-run public option is dead. Specifically, the President reportedly told attendees that despite his support for the unpopular measure, "the votes aren't there" to pass it.
President Obama's endorsement Wednesday of a risky legislative maneuver to complete health care legislation sent Democratic leaders scrambling to settle policy disputes and assemble the votes necessary for passage in the coming weeks.
The White House is expected to present its revised health care reform plan today. Despite polling indicating that the American people do not support it, Jake Tapper reports that President Obama may call on Democrats to pass the unpopular bill in the Senate using reconciliation.
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) anticipates Democrats setting up the final votes on the health care legislation prior to recess at the end of the month. The Hill reports: "Kyl argued that if Democrats let their members go home for the break without a vote, it could mean a tide of constituents prevailing against the reform package. 'If they run up to the vote and then have a recess, they go home, they're going to get an earful from their constituents,' Kyl said. 'I don't think they could pass it, then, when they got back from recess.'"
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi admits in an interview on ABC's "This Week" that she intends to help ram through the health care bill, despite its massive unpopularity and likelihood of its passage negatively impacting incumbents chances of being reelected.