WASHINGTON (AP) _ House Democrats acknowledged they don't yet have
the votes to pass a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care
system, and signaled they may push back the vote until Sunday or
early next week.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters in a conference
call Friday that the make-or-break vote on President Barack Obama's
push to make health coverage part of the social safety net could face
delay. Democrats were originally hoping to pass the bill on Saturday.
The apparent problem: Democrats have yet to resolve intraparty
disputes over abortion funding and illegal immigrants' access to
health care. They cleared one hurdle Friday when liberals supporting
a government-run Medicare-for-all system withdrew their demand for a
floor vote.
Hoyer sought to pin the blame for any possible slippage on delaying
tactics expected from Republicans, who unanimously oppose the health
care remake.
"Nice try Rep. Hoyer, but you can't blame Republicans when the fact
is you just don't have the votes,'' said Antonia Ferrier, spokeswoman
for House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio. Republicans could
stall the bill by demanding roll-call votes on parliamentary matters.
Hoyer acknowledged that Democrats are still short of the 218 votes
they need to pass the bill. "There are many people who are still
trying to get a comfort level that this is the right thing to do,''
he said. "We're very close.''
While Hoyer said he still expects a vote Saturday evening, he said
he has put lawmakers on notice they may be called to the House floor
Sunday afternoon, or even Monday or Tuesday.
The White House issued a formal endorsement of the House bill
Friday, and said Obama plans to go to Capitol Hill on Saturday to
rally Democrats. House passage of the 10-year, $1.2 trillion
legislation that extends health coverage to tens of millions of
uninsured Americans and puts tough new restrictions on insurance
companies would be a breakthrough for his agenda.
A moderate Democrat, South Dakota Rep. Herseth Sandlin, announced
Friday she would not vote for the House bill _ but held out the
possibility she could support final passage of the legislation, after
compromises with the Senate. Sandlin said she fears the House bill
could diminish access to health care in her state.
Action on health legislation was slowed as senators waited for the
Congressional Budget Office to weigh in on a bill written by Majority
Leader Harry Reid in consultation with the White House and key
committee chairmen. Senate votes could slip until next year, but in
the House Democratic leaders pressed forward.
They expressed optimism that when it came time to vote, they'd have
the majority needed to prevail in the 435-seat House.
Asked Thursday if she had the votes, Speaker Nancy Pelosi replied:
"We will.''
Pelosi and other Democratic leaders were finalizing language to bar
federal funding of abortion and resolving a flare-up over the
treatment of illegal immigrants in the legislation that had Hispanic
lawmakers up in arms.
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus object to a provision
in the Senate legislation _ backed by the White House _ that bars
illegal immigrants from buying health insurance within a proposed new
marketplace, or exchange, even if they use their own money to buy
from private companies.
Illegal immigrants can buy private health insurance now, so some
lawmakers say the White House position goes too far.
Democrats were trying to toughen prohibitions in the bill against
federal funding for abortions in a way that would satisfy enough
anti-abortion Democrats. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was
involved in the talks, but the issue was still unresolved Friday
morning.
Federal law now bars government funds from being used to pay for
abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the
mother. The health care bill would create a new stream of federal
money to subsidize medical insurance premiums, and the dispute is
over how to apply the abortion restrictions to those funds.
Abortion opponents say language now in the bill is inadequate to
ensure that only private dollars _ not federal funds _ can be used to
pay for the procedure. Abortion rights supporters say if the bill
gets much more restrictive, it would deny women access to a procedure
now covered by many private insurance plans.
Hoyer said Democratic leaders want the health care bill "to keep the
situation neutral,'' not shift the government's policy on abortion
funding in one direction or another. But activists on both sides of
the issue disagree on what it would take to meet that goal.
The House effort picked up two major endorsements Thursday, from the
powerful seniors' lobby AARP and the American Medical Association.
The bill would cover 96 percent of Americans, providing government
subsidies beginning in 2013 to extend coverage to millions who now
lack it. Self-employed people and small businesses could buy coverage
through the new exchanges, either from a private insurer or a new
government plan that would compete. All the plans sold through the
exchange would have to follow basic consumer protection rules.
For the first time, almost all individuals would be required to
purchase insurance or pay a fine, and employers would be required to
insure their employees. Insurance companies would be barred from
denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions or
charging much higher rates to older people.
