Pelosi: Congress Will Pass Healthcare Reform Bill By End Of Year

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

"Last night, President Obama delivered what I believe to be one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in the congress of the United States," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday at her weekly press conference. Pelosi said she is confident that few obstacles stand in the way of healthcare reform passing.

Congressional members understand the importance of this piece of legislation and they are willing to work hard to achieve healthcare reform, Pelosi said. "We have to resolve the remaining pieces of it, that is very much within range," she said. "We will take the time it needs to do that, and when we are ready we will take our legislation to the floor."

Pelosi said it is likely Obama will pass a bill by the end of the year. "It will be legislation...that will work for the American people," she said. ""I'm confident the President will sign a bill this year."

As a steadfast advocate of a public option provision, Pelosi said last week that a healthcare reform bill would not pass without one. "A public option is the best option to lower costs, improve the quality of health care, ensure choice and expand coverage,” she said.

However, Pelosi said that the current plan is not perfect, and that she is open to suggestions on how to improve it. "I don't think you ever really go into a negotiation and say that some things are non-negotiable," she said. "So far we haven't seen a better plan, but it could be out there."

GOP Women Promote Republican Health Plan, Rail Against Obamacare

By Mariko Lamb - Talk Radio News Service

GOP Congresswomen and small business owners joined together Friday to voice alarm about the dire consequences of Congress passing the current health care reform bill.

“The Democrat way is not reforming healthcare, it’s destroying it,” said Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-Minn.).

“We are very concerned about the way it jeopardizes the doctor-patient relationship, we’re concerned about the additional debt, the trillions in spending that will add to the children and grandchildren that come after us, but worst of all, it’s going to further hurt our small business owners at a time when our economy is in trouble,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.).

“President Obama’s prescription for healthcare reform for our nation is the wrong prescription for American families. We do not believe that we should put a federal bureaucrat between the patient and the doctor,” said Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.).

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said Republicans have a plan that addresses costs, access, and insurance company accountability, but her Democratic counterparts will not listen. “We have been pushing forward our ideas, pushing forward our plans. It is unfortunate that the Democrat-led House is not wanting to make this a bipartisan goal of doing healthcare right,” she said.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) disputed President Obama’s claim that 47 million Americans lack healthcare. “There are no Americans who don’t have healthcare. Everybody in this country has access to healthcare,” she said. “We do have about 7.5 million Americans who want to purchase health insurance who can not afford it,” she said, urging Congress to adopt a new plan for health care reform that won’t “destroy what is good about healthcare in this country” and “give the government control of our lives.”

Congressional Black Caucus Urges Congress To Meet August Deadline For Health Reform

By Mariko Lamb - Talk Radio News Service

The Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday urged Congress to overcome the notion that healthcare reform would cost too much and push forward with quality healthcare reform bills immediately.

“The economy is in the Intensive Care Unit, the disease is the burgeoning cost of healthcare, and the medicine is healthcare reform,” said Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.).

“As far as I’m concerned, no cost is too great,” chimed Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.). He added that it is Congress’s responsibility to ensure that “each and every individual in our country has access to the highest quality of healthcare that we can provide.”

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said that in order to move forward with healthcare reform, “we must reject the spurious claims that the cost of reforming healthcare in America is something we can’t afford,” and added that “if we fail to act, and we fail to act now, we do so at the peril of the American people.”

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) reminded fellow Congressmen that “whatever we pass in the House, whatever they pass in the Senate, will not be the final product.” He urged both the House and Senate to get a bill passed before the Congressional recess in August and to then use August and September for the two Congressional bodies to establish a final package.

Clyburn insisted that the goal of Congress should be to have “something for the President to sign before the end of this calendar year.”

Democratic Senators Praise Progress Of Health Care Reform

By Mariko Lamb- Talk Radio News Service

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) praised the Affordable Health Choices Act that passed through the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) Wednesday.

“We’re not going to sit with the status quo. We’re moving ahead with healthcare reform,” said Senator Harkin.

“[The bill] offers to fix what is broken in our healthcare system without ruining that which works in our nation,” said Dodd. “It offers every American choice, stability, and lower costs.”

Although the bill passed through the committee with a 13-10 vote, not one Republican member voted in favor of the legislation. Regardless, Dodd praised the Republicans’ contribution to the markup of the bill, which includes 160 Republican added amendments. “I know that some of our Republican friends don’t want to admit their contribution, but they made good contributions to the bill, and we listened,” he said.

“Now is the time to rejoice on what we’ve done, but the battle must go on,” said Mikulski. HELP’s Affordable Health Choices Act is expected to be merged with a healthcare bill by the Senate Finance Committee, which is under pressure from President Obama to release its version as early as next week.

The Grassroots' Fight For Health Care

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

Organization for America is working as a relay on the local arena for President Barack Obama's agenda on health care since he got elected last November. It is holding thousands of events across the country to push for health care reform. A press conference was held today in Washington D.C. with U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) and Dan Grandone, Organizing for America’s Wisconsin State Director.

Organization for America is a project supported by the Democratic National Committee to support President Barack Obama’s agenda for change and his will to draft a legislation for health care.

Before running for Congress in 2005, U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) was a physician. “It is tough to be a doctor and prescribe something for patients that they simply can’t afford. What good is a physician if a patient can’t afford a therapy or can’t get the tests they require?” he said.

Kagen was pleased President Obama has accepted that there should be no “discrimination due to any preexisting medical condition... Putting our best foot forward is to apply our constitutional guarantees to protect us against discrimination to our health care industry,” he said.

The U.S. has “to establish a standard health benefit plan that each and every insurance company has to offer to all the citizens,” Kagen said. “Creating a competitive market place in health care insurance industries is very critical in driving down costs for everybody.”

Grandone’s organization in Wisconsin is “going broader and deeper to the heart of all kinds of community...People are very hungry to be included in this dialogue, in this process,” Grandone said.

Obama will discuss health care reform at a town hall meeting tomorrow in Green Bay, Wis.