Pelosi As Honest on Health Care as Waterboarding

With increasing opposition and the call to delay becoming stronger by the day its now wonder she put on a brave face and claimed to have the votes. By the way this is the same person who lost the first TARP vote and only got Cap and Trade through at the last minute. Anyway if she does get a bill through it will be just like cap and trade, no one will no whats in it but enough goodies and pork will be handed out to get a handful of votes. The GOP would be wise to vote en mass against anything they try and cram down the countries throat.

“We’re waiting to see what the Senate will do,” she added. “We’re hoping that in the next day or so that we will see. But we are going in a forward direction. We are on course. We are pleased with the progress that is being made. We believe that the American people have waited long enough.”

Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who is chairman of the Finance Committee, has been struggling for weeks to forge a bipartisan proposal that would rein in health costs and provide insurance to tens of millions of people.

Asked if he was feeling any pressure from President Obama, Mr. Baucus said Wednesday: “No, no, no, no. He is rebutting a lot of the negative comments that some in the Republican Party have been saying against health care reform.”

But a senior Democratic aide on Capitol Hill said party leaders now believed that it was essential for Mr. Obama to be more specific about what he wanted in a health care bill — not just to exhort Congress to pass one.

“The president needs to step in more forcefully and start making some decisions,” said the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be publicly identified as criticizing Mr. Obama. “Everyone appreciates the fact that Obama has devoted so much time to health care. The bully pulpit is powerful. But in view of the deadlines Congress has missed, we would like to hear more from the president about what he wants in this bill.”

Even as Ms. Pelosi insisted that Congress was closer than ever to achieving a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s health care system, Representative Mike Ross of Arkansas, a leader of the Blue Dogs, a conservative faction of Democrats, issued a statement saying that a deal was still a long way off:

The Blue Dog Coalition holds a potentially decisive seven seats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the only one of three House committees working on the health care legislation that has yet to approve a bill.

She is a liar. Anyway its clear there is no agreement as key democrats in the house are also calling for a slowdown:

Over on the House side, fiscally conservative Democrats known as Blue Dogs are seeking changes to the bill introduced last week. The House version includes a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the surcharge will raise the federal deficit over the next 10 years.

The Blue Dog Democrats comprise enough votes to defeat the health care bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. One of the Blue Dogs' top concerns is ensuring that any change to the health care system does not add to the federal deficit.

"We are making progress; however, we have a long way to go," Rep. Mike Ross, D-Arkansas, a leader of the fiscally conservative "Blue Dog Coalition," said in a written statement.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking at a news conference with advocates for health care reform, said she shares the group's desire to minimize tax increases and reduce the costs of any bill.

In other news Durbin has faced reality on Obama's time line.
Via HA:

“We’re going to take a little longer to get it right,” Durbin told The Hill when asked about the oft-stated goal of a vote on or before Aug. 7, when a monthlong Senate recess begins. “Initially we had hoped for a full vote by then, but I don’t think it’s going to be possible.”

Delaying the vote until after Labor Day would all but erase hopes of getting a bill to President Obama by mid-October, since the House and Senate versions would have to be reconciled in conference negotiations — assuming they pass their chambers.Durbin said the bill was still largely on track, however, denying that momentum has stalled.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “This is a complex challenge, and we’re taking a reasonable approach with it. It would be better if some Republicans joined us instead of just criticizing.”