House Democrat says healthcare deal "very close"
Bonnary Lek, a manager at Discovery Communications headquarters, is examined by Discovery Wellness Center Medical Director Liz Sequeira during an appointment at the clinic in Silver Spring, Maryland December 3, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Jim Bourg
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats are "very close" to reaching final agreement on healthcare reform legislation and could have a deal in days, House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer said on Friday.
"I would certainly hope that within the next 24, 48, 72 hours, that we have a general agreement between the Senate and the House," Hoyer said in an interview with U.S. cable network CNBC.
Reform of the $2.5 trillion healthcare sector is the top legislative priority for President Barack Obama. The House and Senate versions of the overhaul must be melded into one bill and passed again by each chamber before Obama can sign it.
Hoyer, who attended a White House meeting on reform that lasted into the early hours of Friday, declined to speculate on whether an announcement could come as early as the Democratic leadership's press conference at noon EST on Friday.
"My expectation is that we will be getting very close today. Now, whether it's at noon time or later, I don't want to speculate," he said.
Hoyer said Democrats need to ensure that any agreement will pay for itself and reduce the federal deficit. "We need to make sure that those representations are correct in terms of whatever agreements we make," he said.
(Reporting by David Morgan, editing by Matthew Bigg and Vicki Allen)
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I’m guessing some sort of deal has been made on the taxing of “Cadillac” medical plans, and you’re complaining about that. If that’s the case, you should be complaining about the tax, not some union exemption from it. I’m not a union member, and my benefits are likely to be taxed. I’m also 2 years from Medicare and the Medicare cuts will hurt me. I say if the unions won an exception for their plans, that’s good. Unions are the foundation of the middle class in this country. They help to provide a floor for compensation in white collar as well as blue collar fields, but they’ve been systematically weakened since 1980. We need to strengthen them. The Congressional landslide in 2008 was supposed to give them card-check, but they’ve been double crossed on that. You’re whining about some crumb they got. Where’s your outrage over CEO salaries and the windfall to insurance companies? Are you some sort of class warrior? If so, Warren Buffett says your class is winning.
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