Durbin Says August Recess Will Help Democrats Sell Health Bill
Dick Durbin, of Illinois, urged lawmakers to be flexible on the details so Congress can seize a “once-in-a-political- lifetime opportunity” to revamp the nations medical-care system. He predicted the Senate Finance Committee would approve a bipartisan measure when Congress returns in September.
The task of making sure “the best isnt the enemy of the good” is made more difficult by the absence of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, 77, who is battling brain cancer, Durbin said in an interview on Bloomberg Televisions “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing today. Kennedys “voice at this moment would make such a difference” by “gathering us together and moving us forward.”
On the issue of trimming health-care costs, there was some confusion over what the White House was telling Congress about whether drugmakers would have to absorb cuts beyond the $80 billion the industry agreed to earlier this year.
Durbin said Obama adviser David Axelrod told Democratic senators the agreement doesnt bar Congress from requiring further cuts, disputing a New York Times report yesterday.
Durbin aides later said the senator was mistaken in quoting Axelrod. Still, spokesman Joe Shoemaker said another Obama aide, Jim Messina, told the lawmakers the deal didnt protect the drug industry from congressionally imposed rules on negotiating prices for a Medicare drug benefit.
Dominate the News
Durbin, 64, said Congresss August break is a good time for Obama to sell the health-care overhaul to the Americans.
“Most presidents cant wait for Congress to leave town,” he said. “They own the pulpit” and can “really dominate the news.”
Lawmakers will go back to their home states and districts to discuss the issue with voters, among whom polls show a rising disapproval of the way Obama has handled health care.
“Although theres been a lot of misinformation out there, when the voters across America, all stripes, hear the basic goals of health-care reform, they come back,” Durbin said.
Durbin said he would be willing to accept compromises with Republicans to win Senate passage of legislation because “I dont want this process to stop.”
One possible compromise would be a health-insurance-buying cooperative instead of creating a public insurance company to compete with private health insurers. Durbin said he “might support” such an alternative, which is being considered in the finance committee as Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, seeks support from Republican senators.
Even though he prefers that the legislation include a more robust public insurance plan, Durbin said, “I dont want to see it die in the Senate if it isnt perfect by every senators standards.”
Durbin opposes taxing health-care benefits provided to individuals by employers. Still, he said that to help finance the plan he may support taxing insurance companies that offer expensive plans.
“The number is important in terms of what the value of the plan is,” Durbin said. “And whether it is a tax on the insurance companies, or the person being insured makes a big difference. If its on the companies and the level of the tax is one that I can live with, I think thats an appropriate way to push.”
Levy on Insurers
Durbin said he could support a levy on plans valued “a little bit higher” than $21,000, a figure being discussed in the Senate Finance Committee.
If they cant get a bipartisan agreement, Senate leaders have threatened to invoke a procedure called “reconciliation” to pass legislation with just a 51-vote margin instead of the 60 votes normally needed to move legislation in the Senate.