Obama urges spirit of compromise on healthcare
Author: By Steve Holland, Reuters
Obama concentrated on the healthcare debate in his weekly radio and Web
address at the end of a week dominated by foreign policy challenges in Iran
and Afghanistan and a quick trip he made to Copenhagen in a losing effort to
get the 2016 Summer Olympics for his adopted hometown, Chicago.
The Senate Finance Committee finished debate on a massive overhaul of the US
healthcare system yesterday and prepared to vote on the legislation next
week.
The bill calls for sweeping insurance market reforms and seeks to rein in
soaring medical costs and expand coverage to millions of uninsured people.
With Democrats divided and Republicans battling what they consider a
government-takeover of healthcare, Obama tried to lay down some markers for
the coming debate as he seeks to gain passage of a plan this year.
“I welcome any sincere attempts to improve legislation before it reaches my
desk. But what I will not accept are attempts to stall, or drag our feet. I
will not accept partisan efforts to block reform at any cost,” he said.
The Finance bill will be melded by Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid with
one passed earlier this year by the Senate health panel, and the combined
product is expected to hit the Senate floor by mid-October.
Whatever bill emerges from the Senate would have to be merged with legislation
that comes out of the House of Representatives.
Obama’s Democratic Party remains divided on key issues, including a
government-run insurance option, and party leaders in Congress will face a
gauntlet of competing demands from liberal and conservative Democrats.
And Republican critics of the overhaul are set on new attacks on provisions on
taxes, mandates and Medicare, the healthcare plan for seniors, that could
resonate with a wary public as the battle snakes its way through Congress.
Obama said he realized that lawmakers from both parties would want to engage
in a vigorous debate and contribute their own ideas.
“I expect us to move forward with a spirit of civility, a seriousness of
purpose, and a willingness to compromise that characterizes our democratic
process at its very best. If we do that, I am confident that we will pass
reform this year,” he said.
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