Obama hosts summit to salvage US health care bill
U.S. President Barack Obama has urged Democratic and Republican lawmakers to bridge their differences on health care reform, at a special televised summit aimed at reviving legislation that has stalled in Congress.
Opening the meeting Thursday, President Obama said he hoped leaders on both sides would focus on issues of agreement, and avoid what he called "political theater." But soon after the meeting began, tensions emerged.
President Obama clashed with Republican Senator Lamar Alexander over the cost of health care reforms.
Alexander argued that the president's reform proposal would increase insurance premiums. He said his party believes Congress should abandon the legislation engineered by Democrats and "start over."
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it is too late to write a new bill. She said many parts of the existing proposal came from Republicans and deserve their support.
President Obama acknowledged the two sides may not be able to reach agreement at the summit. He said officials must make an "honest assessment" of whether there is too big a divide and proceed from there.
Senator Alexander appealed to the Democratic leadership and the president to renounce the idea of pushing their proposed legislation through Congress without Republican backing. He said that would be an "outrage."
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected Alexander's call. He said Democrats could try to sidestep a Republican filibuster and get the bill passed.
Health care reform has been one of Mr. Obama's stated top priorities since he took office. He says insurance companies are denying coverage to many, and that others cannot afford coverage or medical care because of skyrocketing costs.
Thursday's debate is being televised live from Blair House, the official guest house for White House visitors. A USA Today-Gallup poll found that about 75 percent of Americans think the summit will fail to produce a deal.
Mr. Obama's Democratic Party suffered a major political defeat earlier this year when voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate seat held for decades by Democrat Edward "Ted" Kennedy. That election ended the Democrats' 60-seat supermajority, which allowed them to contain any Republican efforts to delay or block action on legislation.
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