Democrats closing in on House votes for health care
1
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders saw momentum gather behind their sweeping health care legislation Wednesday, as they picked up commitments of support in the House from Democratic quarters where defections were most feared - liberals, abortion opponents and backbenchers.
Working into the night to put the finishing touches on the legislation and nail down final cost estimated from the Congressional Budget Office, Democratic leaders shied from declaring they had the necessary votes in hand and continued to expect the final balloting to be a cliff hanger.
But a cascade of developments Wednesday buoyed supporters of the bill, which would cap Obama's signature drive for legislation to reduce the ranks of the uninsured, offer new protections for those who have medical coverage, and curb skyrocketing health care costs.
Lingering fears of defections from the Democratic left - among those who believe the bill does not go far enough to expand health care access - were allayed Wednesday when Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, became the first liberal opponent of the expansive bill approved by the House last year to announce he would support the more restrictive legislation now.
"If I can vote for this bill, there are not many others that shouldn't be able to," said Kucinich, an icon of the movement to provide universal health care by expanding the Medicare program to all Americans.
Among social conservatives, the legislation won an important new endorsement from dozens of leaders of Catholic nuns. That contrasted with the staunch opposition of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, which has argued that the bill would not adequately guard against use of federal funds for abortion.
Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., a senior anti-abortion Democrat, Wednesday issued a statement announcing his support for the bill.
The political pressure intensified in the Capitol, as the House's telephone switchboard was jammed with incoming phone calls - apparently about the health care bill. Democratic leaders pleaded with uncommitted House members - even if they were inclined to vote no - to stand ready to support the bill if their vote was decisive.
Obama continued calling and meeting with uncommitted Democrats.
"The president really convinced me that this is our last best chance to enact health care reform," said Rep. Dan Maffei of New York, a first-term Democrat who announced his support of the bill early this week after being called by chief White House lobbyist Phil Schiliro, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Obama himself. "There isn't really a next time."
Democrats' endgame strategy calls for the House to approve the version of the health care bill passed by the Senate on Christmas eve - but with significant revisions sought by the House, such as elimination of special Medicaid subsidies for Nebraska and Louisiana that have been widely denounced as favoritism. The revisions would be included in a separate measure called a budget reconciliation bill.
Senate Democrats were preparing a letter, to be signed by a majority of members, promising to approve the reconciliation bill without change - a bid to assure House Democrats nervous that the revisions they demanded would fall by the wayside.
In finalizing details of the reconciliation bill, Democratic leaders concluded that they face parliamentary obstacles to including Obama's popular idea of giving the federal government new authority to regulate premiums charged by private insurers. Questions have also arisen over proposed changes in a new tax on expensive health plans, as Democrats fine-tuned the bill to make sure it meets specified revenue targets.
Labor unions, a crucial source of support for the bill, have worked mightily to limit the scope of that tax.
The legislative home stretch will continue to be dogged by Republicans' determined effort to discredit the bill. House GOP leaders are pummeling Pelosi for planning to use a legislative gambit that would allow the House to enact key provisions of the bill without a direct vote on the Senate bill.
Critics say the procedure is being used to shield Democrats from responsibility for voting for unpopular elements of the Senate measure.
Obama, in an interview with Fox News Wednesday, dismissed those procedural complaints.
"Washington gets very concerned with these procedures in Congress, whether Republicans are in charge or Democrats are in charge," he said. "What I can tell you is that the vote that's taken in the House will be a vote for health care reform."
In the House, Democratic leaders are still fighting to hold rank-and-file members of their party who backed the bill in November - especially social conservatives like Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who say they are concerned that the Senate health care bill places too few restrictions on federal funding for abortion.
Even before the letter from Catholic nuns, however, some of Stupak's allies had been convinced to support the bill. Kildee, after meeting with his priest, decided the anti-abortion language was strong enough. The Michigan congressman, who spent six years in Catholic seminary before coming to Congress, issued a statement and sent a letter to the White House saying he would support the bill.
(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)
Kucinich faced a different quandary. He voted against the more expansive House's version of the bill and was even more critical of the Senate version because it fell far short of his vision of universal health care. He has built a loyal national following among liberals on the issue that was central to his unsuccessful 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
But Obama made a personal plea for his support for the bill when he visited Ohio Monday and gave Kucinich a ride on Air Force One. Kucinich emerged persuaded that the health care system and Obama's presidency would be irrevocably damaged if the legislation was defeated.
"I take this vote with the utmost seriousness," Kucinich said at a news conference announcing he would vote for the bill. "I know I have to make my decision not on the bill as I would like it but as it is."
(END OPTIONAL TRIM)
The key final changes that are being made in the reconciliation bill would boost subsidies in the Senate health care bill to help low- and moderate-income Americans buy health insurance and provide additional coverage to seniors on Medicare by eliminating the gap in drug coverage known as the "doughnut hole." The original Senate bill did not close the doughnut hole.
It also would eliminate a special deal that provides extra federal Medicaid funding to Nebraska, instead providing the additional aid to all states.
The package is not expected to include Obama's rate regulation proposal - to the dismay of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who championed the idea - because senior Democrats concluded that congressional budget rules prohibited them from addressing the issue in a package that is supposed to include only deficit-related matters.
---
(c) 2010, Tribune Co.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
-----
GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): HEALTHCARE
