Dem Unafraid to Risk Seats for Health Care

By: David Morgan
Topics: Health Care

(AP)

When asked today if Democrats are willing to push forward a contentious health care reform bill, even at the risk of losing control in Congress, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that voters overwhelmingly back key parts of the bill, even as Republicans attack it as lacking public support.

"When you go to the individual elements in our bill and ask people, 'Do you think there ought to be extended coverage? Do you think we ought to prevent pre-existing conditions . . . stopping you getting insurance?' the public overwhelmingly answers 'Yes,'" Hoyer, D-Md., said on CBS' "The Early Show" this morning.

"As a matter of fact, most of the things in our bill — efficiencies, extension of competition, open and transparent free markets to get your insurance — most people on the individual items say, 'Yes, we're for that. We think that's good policy.'

"If we pass this bill, we're prepared to go to the American public because we believe they support the individual elements in the bill."

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When asked by"Early Show" anchor Harry Smith what he thought was the most important selling point for the bill, Hoyer said, "Certainly the single best selling point is what I think Senator McCain and Senator Obama both agreed upon in the debate just shortly before the election: We needed to provide access to affordable health care for all Americans and all families.

"That is the single best selling point, because if we don't do that, the system is more expensive, less efficient, our nation is less healthy, and all Americans who have insurance are paying about $1,000 extra in their policies to accomplish that objective."

"Some of your 'Blue Dog' Democrat friends say there's not enough cost containment in it," Smith said. "Warren Buffett, who sort of likes it in principle, said there is not enough cost containment. The Republicans say 'Let's go back to square one.' Is there any chance this moves back a little bit, that there's more agreement, before this thing moves forward?"

"Well, Harry, we're working on agreement," replied Hoyer, "and as you saw last Thursday, the president convened 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, House and Senate, to discuss it. I thought it was a very civil, positive discussion, and there were great areas of agreement. So the answer to that question is yes.

"In terms of cost containment, clearly as you know the Congressional Budget Office says our bills save about $132 billion over the next ten years and $1 trillion over the next 20 years. That's very substantial dollars."

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David Morgan
David Morgan is a senior editor at CBSNews.com and cbssundaymorning.com.

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by peregrine3 March 2, 2010 12:29 PM EST: They should be afraid; afraid of doing nothing which democrats and republicans excell at. Can you not vote on something because you believe in it, rather than whether your gong to be popular for it. If this congress continues to be so reticent to do anything there will be wholesale changes on both sides of the aisle; you will fall like a forest in a microburst. I hope when your looking for a new job there will be a senator that blocks your retraining benefits. Oh, but what am I saying, your benefactors will take care of you; its the code.; Reply to this comment


by PDavis38 March 2, 2010 8:34 AM EST: I just seen the Senator from Kentucky on the news saying he will not apporve the extention to unemployment until the democrats come up with a way to pay for it. I do not indorse either the Dem's or the Rep's. I as an American look to see who is going to screw us over the least and vote that way. I have a suggestion to this person, our elected leaders, the people who is suppose to be for Americans. Let's start repaying this so called debt by taking away his salary. That is a start, but lets also include congress/senate person who voted against any type of unemployment extention. I guess if the American people were banks, if they were a country that was hit by an earthquake, our washington officals could not run fast enough to give us money to surive on. I think the thing to do for anyone who has lost there job and relys on unemployment to pay the bills and put food on the table is to find out which congress person and senator voted against this unemployment extention and start farming out bills out to them to pay for us. Oh yeah and we have not forgot about the pay raise they voted for and the exclusion of themselves from any health reform on the table. I will conclude by saying to our officals in Washington. "Way to go you screwed us again". But that is what we have come to expect from our government. Congress and the Senate need to have a flushing.; Reply to this comment