Hoyer: We’re Not Talking About Dropping The Public Option

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 1:18PM
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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) stated Tuesday that House Democrats have no intention of striking the public option from the final draft of the health care reform legislation.

“We’re not talking about dropping the public option,” Hoyer said during a pen and pad session with reporters. “One way you bring down costs substantially is to have a public option that provides competition.”

Hoyer’s statement comes after a noticeable divide has opened up between the Majority Leader and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over how committed Congress should be to a public option, with the latter taking a much more aggressive stance in favor of the provision.

The Majority Leader announced that he will be speaking with congressional Republicans in an attempt to find common ground on health care reform, noting that a few Republicans have stated they are behind 80 percent of the proposed health care bills.

“I want to find out what that 80 percent is. If we have 80 percent, then we ought to work very strongly on the remaining 20 percent. It will be my intention to invite them to do so.”

Hoyer also touched upon Medicare’s sustainable growth rate, a formula that determines the level at which medicare physicians are paid. While there was initially going to be a 21 percent decrease in payments made to physicians, the Senate Finance Committee provided a one-year fix that would instead offer a .5 percent increase in payment. While the Majority Leader backs the committee’s fix, he also expressed his desire to see a more permanent solution.

Hoyer said that he would back Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, in passing regulatory reform. The Majority leader added that existing regulatory measures should be bolstered in addition to creating new oversight methods.

The Majority Leader also responded to calls from congressional Republicans to have General Stanley McChrystal, who commands U.S. forces in Afghanistan, testify before Congress. The Majority Leader said his testimony would be “useful.”

Article originally appeared on Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media (http://www.talkradionews.com/).