Obama challenges GOP critics on health care
US President Barack Obama attends a meeting with health care
providers at the Children’s National Medical Center in
Washington July 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed
|
President Barack Obama pushed back hard against Republican critics of
his health care overhaul plan Monday, dismissing the 'politics of the
moment' marked by GOP comparisons of his efforts to socialism.
Struggling to revamp the nation's $2.4 trillion health care system,
the president gave ground on his tight timetable for passage of sweeping
legislation.
Obama's strong words came just hours after Republicans ratcheted up
their criticism of the president and congressional Democrats. Michael
Steele, Chairman of the Republican Party, likened Obama's plans to
socialism and argued that the President, House Speaker Nancy Pelosiand
key congressional committee chairmen are part of a 'cabal' that wants to
implement Government-run health care.
Health care slipping
The White House also faced troubling news in the latest polling, with
approval of Obama's handling of health care slipping. "We can't afford
the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care," Obama
said after meeting with doctors, nurses and other health care workers at
Children's National Medical Center. Not this time. Not now. There are
too many lives and livelihoods at stake.
Without mentioning his critic by name, the President recounted South
Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint's comment that stopping Obama's bid
for health care overhaul could be the President's "Waterloo", a
reference to the site of Napoleon's bitter defeat in 1815.
"This isn't about me", Obama responded. This isn't about politics.
This is about a health care system that is breaking America's families,
breaking America's businesses and breaking America's economy.
Striking a more populist tone than in past remarks, the president
complained that "health insurance companies and their executives have
reaped windfall profits from a broken system."
"Let's fight our way through the politics of the moment," Obama said.
Let's pass reform by the end of this year. That reflects a shift in a
timetable he has stressed repeatedly. Obama had said previously that he
wanted the House and Senate to vote on legislation before lawmakers
leave town for their August recess, with a comprehensive bill for him to
sign in October.
"I want this done now. Now, if there are no deadlines, nothing gets
done in this town," Obama told PBS's "The NewsHour." "If somebody comes
to me and says 'It's basically done, it's going to spill over by a few
days or a week,' you know, that's different."
He said too much of the focus has been on what has not been
accomplished instead of on a coalition of health companies,
professionals and constituents. Later in the day, aides organized a
conference call for Obama to speak with liberal bloggers and rally them
behind the White House's broad outline for overhaul.
"One of the things that I know the blogs are best at is debunking
myths that can slip through a lot of the traditional media outlets and a
lot of the conventional wisdom," he said, according to audio of the call
posted on Web sites. And that is why you are going to play such an
important role in our success in the weeks to come.
Steele accused Obama of conducting a risky experiment that will hurt
the economy and force millions to drop their current coverage. "Obama-Pelosi
want to start building a colossal, closed health care system where
Washington decides. Republicans want and support an open health care
system where patients and doctors make the decisions," Steele said in a
speech at the National Press Club.
Asked whether Obama's health care plan represented socialism, Steele
responded: "Yes. Next question." Obama has said he does not favor a
Government-run health care system. Legislation taking shape in the House
envisions private insurance companies selling coverage in competition
with the Government.
Struggling to advance
The President is struggling to advance his trademark health care
proposal after a period of evident progress. Two of three House
committees have approved their portions of the bill, while one of two
Senate panels have acted. A Washington Post-ABC News survey released
Monday shows approval of Obama's handling of health care overhaul
slipping below 50 percent for the first time.
The President, who spent most of last week making his plea for health
care overhaul, was pressing his case hard again this week, first at the
children's hospital, and later this week in a prime-time news conference
Wednesday and a town hall in Ohio on Thursday. On Tuesday he planned to
meet with Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the one
House committee that hasn't yet acted on the bill.
Energy and Commerce members worked into the night Monday, but besides
numerous objections raised by Republicans the committee has a bloc of
conservative Democrats who've raised objections to some elements of the
legislation. However, there were signs Monday that some of their
concerns were being addressed. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who with other
anti-abortion Democrats had threatened to oppose the bill over concerns
it would fund abortions, said a compromise was being worked out.
As the Energy and Commerce meeting wrapped up after midnight Monday,
the panel chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., announced it would not
reconvene until Wednesday. He didn't mention the White House appointment
but said he'd been having good discussions with panel members that he
wanted to pursue.
Meanwhile Pelosi is floating an idea that could make proposed tax
increases more palatable to fiscally conservative Democrats. She would
like to limit income tax increases to couples making more than $1
million a year and individuals making more than $500,000, Pelosi
spokesman Brendan Daly said Monday. The bill passed by the House Ways
and Means Committee last week would increase taxes on couples making as
little as $350,000 a year and individuals annually making as little as
$280,000.
In the Senate, negotiators seeking a bipartisan compromise reported
progress Monday. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said
there's tentative agreement on four big policy issues out of a list of
about one dozen. He would not elaborate.
Separately, senators are discussing a variation on the idea of taxing
high-cost health insurance benefits. The proposal would not raise taxes
on individuals and families. Instead, insurers and employers who offer
the benefits would pay the tax. Advocates say such a tax would encourage
people to be thriftier consumers of health care.
Obama and Democratic leaders face a new batch of ads. Republican
officials said they were supplementing Steele's speech with a round of
television advertising designed to oppose government-run health care.
Grand Experiment
The 30-second commercial, titled "Grand Experiment," criticizes
recent Government aid to the auto industry and banks as "the biggest
spending spree in our history" and warns similarly of "a risky
experiment with our health care."
The US Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business group,
planned to announce ads of its own Tuesday criticizing the
Government-run insurance proposal, saying it would threaten
employer-provided coverage.
R. Bruce Josten, the group's top lobbyist, said the campaign would
begin with a $2 million budget and include newspaper and Internet ads,
as well as efforts to drum up public support across the country. The ads
will appear in Capitol Hill newspapers beginning Tuesday, then in coming
days in newspapers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Nebraska and other
states where lawmakers are wavering.
Push back
Citing liberal and labor groups that have run ads criticizing
Democrats who have not endorsed the health care effort, Josten said,
"It's time to push back a little bit."
Separately, the insurance industry, which challenged then-President
Bill Clinton's health care effort in the early 1990s, launched a $1.4
million ad campaign, its first TV ads of this year's health care fight.
The multimillion-dollar campaign, being aired nationally on cable
stations, restates the industry's support for an overhaul that provides
universal coverage and its offer to cover people who are already sick.
The ad campaign does not mention the insurers' strong opposition to
creating a Government-run insurance option. An official disclosed the
cost of the campaign on condition of anonymity, as the numbers have not
been made public.
DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer
|