Pelosi: No Health Care Bill Without Public Option
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reminded everyone yesterday why it's important to still be watching what the House will do as well, especially if the Senate passes a version of the health care bill that does not include the public option or other provisions supported by liberal members of Congress.
In a news conference in San Francisco, Bloomberg reports, Pelosi made clear that a health care bill in the chamber must include a government-sponsored health insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
"There's no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option," she said.
As debate raged this week over whether the administration had abandoned the public option, which President Obama denied yesterday, liberal members of Congress have been clear that they will draw a line in the sand over its inclusion in a final bill.
The statements by Pelosi and others foreshadow the coming Fall battle between moderate and more liberal Democrats. How that battle is resolved will determine what a final health care reform bill will look like, and whether that bill can then pass Congress and become law.