Pelosi: Dems, GOP Not Seeing Eye To Eye After Summit

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) emphasized Friday that there are still many issues that Democrat and GOP members do not see eye to eye on.

Starting from scratch is an idea that was suggested numerous times by GOP leaders at the summit, but Pelosi reiterated “you just can’t do it.”

“There are certain things that, unless you do them together, it doesn’t have the impact, it doesn’t have the synergy, it doesn’t hold the insurance companies accountable,” the Speaker said during a press conference.

According to Pelosi, another issue that is not being met with support from both sides of the aisle is the denial of health coverage to patients with pre-existing medical conditions. Pelosi said this is something that “Democrats stand fully behind and Republicans don’t have it in their bill.”

Pelosi commented on the possible use of reconciliation in the Senate to pass legislation.

“What you call a complicated process is called a simple majority,” Pelosi said. “That’s what we’re asking the Senate to act upon.”

Pelosi said that there is some bipartisan support in Congress for health care reform, saying that Wednesday’s vote to remove the anti-trust exemption for insurance companies shows this.

No Solution Coming Out Of Health Care Summit, Claims Policy Analyst

By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

According to Robert Moffit, Director of Health Care Policy at the Heritage Foundation, Thursday's White House hosted health care summit did not progress the ongoing debate over health care reform.

"There was obviously no solution to the outstanding differences between [parties]," Moffit told Talk Radio News.

Moffit added that if Democrats pass a health care bill by side-stepping traditional order by resorting to reconciliation, it will not be an easy process.

"Is it possible for them to do it? Yes, I think it is," Moffit said. "You could maybe pass a bill through the budget reconciliation process but it's going to look like Swiss cheese ... because certain provisions would be [declared] out of order. Then you have a mess on your hands."

According to Moffit, Congress should work on areas that already have bipartisan support, such as providing insurance for low income working families that are not able to get coverage through their employer and allowing states to enact their own style of health care. Congress should allow for interstate commerce that would give consumers the ability to purchase their preferred insurance from another state.

"There's no reason why we can't have very significant progress in health care reform, which would significantly reduce the number of people who are uninsured and at the same time break the log jam in Washington," said Moffit.

Eliminating 'Defensive Medicine' Will Save Billions, Says Gingrich

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Nearly one quarter of all health care costs are derived from the practice of ‘defensive medicine,’ according to a recent Gallup poll.

In a press briefing Monday, a panel of experts talked with reporters about the impact of such practices on the nation’s economy.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) defined the practice as “doctors who are doing something that is not driven by medical necessity but is driven by a culture of fear because of the pervasiveness of trial lawyer...you have ads [on TV] that say, let’s find somebody that has money so that we can go sue.”

Gingrich said that the issue of reducing defensive medicine is a platform that must be considered during President Barack Obama’s health care summit this Thursday. According to the Gallup poll, $625 billion is spent annually on defensive medicine.

“If we could simply adopt modest reforms to begin to make the culture of defensive behavior go away, we save 20 percent,” Gingrich said. “That’s 105 billion a year, [and], over the ten years the President is trying to save money for health insurance reform, is over a trillion dollars.”

Speaker Pelosi: "No more just here's the money, sit on it so that your capitalization is improved."

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service


Today in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s weekly press conference the economy was still a big issue. Pelosi started off the conference by speaking about the deterioration of the economy and how President Obama is putting forth initiatives in just the four weeks he has been in office. “Yesterday the President put forth the details and guidelines for a housing initiative that he announced earlier. Under it 79 million of Americans over the next couple of years will be able to modify their loans, they will have the opportunity to modify or re-finance their homes, stay in their homes. Today Congress will pass legislation on housing and bankruptcy which will help some more.” she said.

Pelosi addressed the housing, regulatory reform recovery package, stating that she is very positive about it. “A package that cuts taxes for the middle class, 95% of the American people. A package that will create or save 3-4 million jobs over the next few years and a package that strives to bring stability to our economy.” she said. 

Today, President Obama is holding a health care summit and Pelosi said that healthcare costs are the biggest problem of the American people. “It’s about a healthier America, it’s about recognizing that health care reform is regulatory reform and it recognizes that health care is an economic issue.” 

The Speaker also said that she agreed with President Obama stating that we need to have fewer earmarks. “This whole thing about the Republican side about earmarks is so disingenuous...The idea is lower number, more transparency, total accountability.” she said. 

When it came down to talking about money, Pelosi said that distribution of the TARP funds must fulfill the purpose of why the money is given to them. “No more just here’s the money, sit on it so that your capitalization is improved.” When it came down to talk about the auto industry Pelosi concluded by saying, “Any money that we give to the auto industry must be considered a lifeline, not life support. This all has to be about viability of the auto industry to survive.”