Sebelius: Bid For GOP Support Delayed Health Care
WASHINGTON – Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says health care reform would have been “dead on arrival” if the White House had sent a finished proposal to Congress last year.
The secretary also blames delays in passing the measure on President Barack Obama’s having to spend “far too much time talking about what’s not in the bill” and trying to counter “wild accusations” by Republicans.
She says it’s realistic to expect the administration to keep at it even if the House doesn’t act by March 18 – when Obama leaves on an Asian trip.
Sebelius says “conversations will continue” if necessary to overcome the objections of a key House Democrat, Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, over abortion funding.
Sebelius appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
WASHINGTON – Here’s what President Barack Obama is telling House Democrats in private pitches about health care legislation: He’ll persuade Congress to pass it even if he has to ask deeply distrustful lawmakers to trust him on a promise the White House doesn’t have the power to keep.
In fact, Obama can even joke that the political battle has contributed to the recent rise in his cholesterol.
Democratic Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin was one of several Democrats who met with Obama at the White House last week. Kind says Obama made the case that a lot of hard work has been spent on health care over the past year and that now is the time for action.
