Senate Democrats Move Toward Clash With House On Health Measure
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged to work with members of both chambers to send a final measure to President Barack Obama as soon as possible.
The administration is aiming for a compromise to pass around the time of Obamas State of the Union message, probably in late January, and before the budget is presented to Congress in early February, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that I can sign into law,” Obama said from the White House before leaving yesterday for a Christmas vacation in Hawaii. “Our challenge, then, is to finish the job.”
The two chambers took different paths toward covering tens of millions of uninsured Americans. And when they begin reconciling their measures next month, theyre likely to clash over issues that include whether to set up a new government-run insurance program to restricting federal funds for abortion.
Reid, of Nevada, and Pelosi, of California, are scheduled to talk next week, and aides in both chambers likely will begin working on the combined measure during the first week of January, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid.
Financing Agreement
Finding agreement on financing the legislation “may be the toughest of all,” said Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.
The House adopted a 5.4 percent income surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 and couples earning over $1 million to pay for its $1.05 trillion bill.
“I do find it hard to see how the kind of taxes they put in the House bill would get five, six, seven of our more conservative senators to vote for it,” Schumer said in an interview.
Senate Democrats would fund their $871 billion bill, which passed on a final vote of 60-39 yesterday, in part by placing a 40 percent excise tax on the costliest health-insurance policies. That provision is opposed by labor unions, which are among the partys strongest backers.
The House and Senate Democrats face some of the most complex negotiations in the history of these conferences, said James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in Washington.
“They are not going to simply split the difference on a lot of these issues,” Thurber said. “Its either yes or no.”
Because it required all 58 Senate Democrats and two independents to stick together to get the 60 votes needed to secure passage of the chambers health-care bill, Thurber said its likely the Senate will win out on most issues. “The narrow majority in the Senate makes it almost a necessity to go with the Senate position,” Thurber said.
House negotiators “will have to capitulate on most main differences,” agreed Rogan Kersh, a public policy professor at New York University.
The bills have a lot in common: They both require Americans to get insurance or pay a penalty, offering expanded government aid and online purchasing exchanges to help buy policies. They would also impose new rules on insurers, requiring them to accept customers regardless of pre-existing conditions.
Public Plan
Still, divisive issues such as whether to set up the government-run insurer stand in the way. The so-called public option is a top goal of many Democrats, and the House included one in its legislation while the Senate didnt.
Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, the last Democrat to sign onto the legislation, told reporters on Dec. 21 that his support wont hold through “any material changes to the understanding I have” with Reid. Among other things, Nelson opposed the public option.