Work Continues On Reg Reform,Jobs,Health Care

Taking their cue from President Obama, who urged lawmakers to bring the year-long health care debate to a close, Democratic leaders in Congress began this week moving toward final health care votes later this month.

Obama said this week that Congress should vote up or down on health care reform legislation in the "next few weeks."

In remarks in the East Room of the White House, Obama said the "long and wrenching" debate on health care reform has shown some common ground between Democrats and Republicans, but has also made clear basic disagreements.

"I do not see how another year of negotiations would help," Obama said, adding the two parties differ on how aggressively the health insurance industry should be regulated.

Last week, Obama offered a revised health care bill that is similar to a bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve. It would cost $950 billion over a decade and lead to health insurance coverage for more than 30 million Americans who now don't have it.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the plan is for the House to pass this and for both chambers to pass a reconciliation bill that makes corrections to the Senate package.

The president said Congress should vote on health care through the budget reconciliation procedure that requires only majority votes in the House and Senate.

Congressional Republican leaders continue to call on the president to scuttle the bills that Congress has approved and start the debate over.

SOURCE: iMarket News

Dems Race to Pass Health Care Bill as Tea Partiers Plan Town Hall Wave

Democrats are racing the clock to pass health care reform ahead of a wave of Tea Party-driven town hall meetings planned for the spring recess -- the kind of gatherings that nearly derailed the package last August.

But there's a big difference this time around. Last summer, Democrats were encouraged to hold the town hall meetings, and they were blindsided by the backlash, which was recorded and promoted in countless YouTube clips. This time around, they have a good idea of what's coming -- and they're lying low, in case work on health care carries over into the recess.

"There's not been the same push as there was in August to encourage members to do town halls," said Stephanie Lundberg, spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

But that isn't stopping Tea Party groups, as well as former House Republican Leader Dick Armey's outfit, FreedomWorks, from holding their own meetings and trying to coax lawmakers into attending.

"We're about to ratchet it up," said Debbie Dooley, a Tea Party Patriots organizer and FreedomWorks volunteer outside Atlanta. "You're about to see the passion that we saw during the August recess."

Conservative activists across the country are planning to sponsor town hall meetings, rallies, debates and visits to district offices to voice their objections to the health care reform bill, starting as early as next week. The big push will come during the two-week congressional recess that starts March 29.

SOURCE: Fox News