The Senate will not vote on health care legislation before leaving for its summer recess on Aug. 8, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said on Thursday, finally acknowledging publicly the inescapable political reality that has been clear for several days.
Mr. Reid, speaking at a weekly news conference, said he expected a bipartisan deal on health care legislation to emerge from the Senate Finance Committee before the summer recess begins, and that he would spend the break merging that bill with legislation previously approved by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
The acknowledgment that the Senate would miss the deadline that President Obama set months ago to complete the health care legislation was a stunning about-face for Mr. Reid. He had insisted repeatedly that the Senate would complete the bill, as well as confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court, before the recess.
But at the news conference on Thursday, Mr. Reid shrugged at a question about the timetable and told reporters that it should come as no surprise to anyone that the health care legislation would not be ready, though he also tried to put the blame for the delay on Republicans – saying that they had asked for time.
“Working with the Republicans, one of the things that they asked for was to have more time,” Mr. Reid said. “A decision was made to give them more time for the Finance Committee.” He added: “I don’t think it’s unreasonable. This is a complex, difficult issue.”
There is a small chance Pelosi might force something , but even this appears unlikely. It appears the presidents disaster last night took the wind out of their sails, well get ready for round two.
“I thought the President was making the right points last night. We do need a deficit neutral bill that bends the cost curve in the right direction. We also need a bill that works and works for every American so the President stressed the right points. I hope that congressional leadership will listen,” said Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) on ABC News’ “Top Line.”
“Well she may be a better counter than I am but I don’t see them,” Cooper said when asked about Speaker Pelosi’s assertion that she has the votes.
Rep. Cooper also suggested that the health care reform effort is moving out of the fast lane. “This is the early stage of a debate. It’s early and I’m glad for all the media interest in it, but we are months away from a resolution of this problem,” he said.
ABC News’ Jonathan Karl reports that Senate majority leader Harry Reid seems to agree with that sentiment. Sen. Reid announced this afternoon that the only deadline in the Senate is to get a bill out of the Finance Committee before the August recess, kicking the president’s deadline for the full Senate vote until after the August break.
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