Emanuel Tests Boundaries Of His Persuasion In Health-care Overhaul
Kindler was upset that the House measure would require pharmaceutical companies to forgo $140 billion in revenue over 10 years, said a person familiar with the discussion. He wanted assurance from Emanuel that the White House would honor an agreement to limit the drugmakers cost to $80 billion. The deal held.
While President Barack Obama has kept his distance from the legislative maneuvering over health care, his chief of staff has been nudging the process at critical points, corralling powerful interests and coaxing members of Congress, said lobbyists, labor leaders, lawmakers and congressional staff. Kindler and Emanuel declined to comment.
“All of these machinations and activities that have taken place all year really have been orchestrated by him,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois who is a close friend of Emanuels. “We wouldnt be where we are in health care if it wasnt for Rahm. We really wouldnt.”
Year-End Deadline
The test of Emanuels abilities will come as the Senate approaches an end-of-year deadline Obama set for each chamber to pass health-care legislation. Sixty votes are needed to cut off debate in the Senate. The president cant count on support from any of the chambers 40 Republicans, so the votes of all 58 Senate Democrats and the chambers two independents are critical.
When Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said on CBSs “Face the Nation” on Dec. 13 that he couldnt support an expansion of Medicare, Emanuel rushed to the Capitol to meet with him and other senators. The result: Senate leaders scrapped that idea, and Lieberman agreed to support the bill. Now negotiations are under way with the sole Democratic holdout, Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who wants stronger anti-abortion language.
Though its not unique for a White House chief of staff to negotiate with Congress, Emanuel, 50, whose father and older brother are doctors, has been unusually engaged, said William Galston, a former domestic policy adviser in the Clinton Administration who is now a scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Inside, Outside
As he plays the inside game, Obama plays the outside game: Setting broad principles, building support beyond Washington, and applying pressure before important votes, as Obama did Dec. 15 in a meeting with Senate Democrats. This way, Emanuel can keep Obama in reserve to help close the deal.
Critics complain Emanuel has accommodated powerful interests to remove obstacles to passing a bill. One group, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, is set to run television spots criticizing him in coming days in Chicago, his hometown.
“His principle is the ruthlessly pragmatic principle of what works,” Galston said. “Im reasonably sure Rahms strategy is to just keep the process going, and dont try to game it all out like a chess game.”
Now, under Obama, he is at the center of the debate.
Lot of Calls
In the run-up to a five-vote victory for the health bill on the House floor Nov. 7, Emanuel was hard at work. “He made a lot of calls,” said Representative Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat. “He nailed some members. He blistered others. He cajoled some. He sweet-talked one or two, but thats not his strength.”
With the focus now on the Senate, Emanuel is in daily touch with Majority Leader Harry Reid, said an aide to the Nevada Democrat. His advice on the public message: Market the bill as a cost-cutter.
Hes courted potential Republican converts, such as Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Though shes shown few signs so far of supporting the bill, Emanuel hasnt given up: Hes maintained an ongoing e-mail exchange with her, Collins said.
The White House strategy on health care that Emanuel helped formulate has combined early alliances with important players and tactical flexibility on specific measures, Galston said.
Willing to Compromise