Today in Washington D. C. - July 27, 2009

Senate will reconvene at 2 PM today and begin consideration of H.R. 3183, the fiscal year 2010 Energy and Water appropriations bill. The $34.3 billion bill provides money to the Energy Department, including $10 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration, and water infrastructure projects around the country. No votes are scheduled for today. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears to have had enough with the health care debate in committees and is seeking to press for a floor vote in the House this week. With all the negative press and many Democrats in revolt, Pelosi is desperate to rush the bill through and is threatening to bypass the Energy and Commerce Committee where a group of Democrats are still raising objections. It appears that this new fast-track strategy was an idea of Rahm Emanuel who met with Democratic leaders and issued the marching orders for the House to pass the bill this week. Well the real question is will it be Pelosi or the American people have the most influence on their elected representatives this week. On the other hand, the news today is reporting that it doesn't look good for Pelosi.

Two key themes in the health care debate are apparent in the news today and from this past weekend. First, President Obama is making promises and representations about his reform ideas that are not panning out. Second, though the White House and Democrat leaders have attempted to pin the blame on Republicans, it is Democrats in Congress who are the key obstacles to a government-run health reform.

Though President Obama had touted the savings potential of a group that Democrat health reform plans would have empowered to recommend Medicare cuts, the CBO announced Saturday that it “would actually save almost no money over 10 years,” according to Politico. The CBO said that the proposal, “touted by the White House as crucial to paying for the bill,” Politico reports, “would only save about $2 billion over 10 years- a drop in the bucket compared to the bill’s $1 trillion price tag.”

On another front, Roll Call reports today, “President Barack Obama and his aides have repeatedly suggested that major health organizations are with them on health care reform, but an analysis of these groups’ positions suggests few are completely on board and several may oppose the president in the end.” According to the article, “Obama and his aides frequently associate [health providers like hospitals and drugmakers] with their reform effort, creating an unmistakable impression that the health organizations that could sink the health care overhaul will not oppose Obama’s plans.” Yet it’s not clear that any or all of these groups are completely on board for the Democrats’ health plans. Despite that, Roll Call notes, “The White House has . . . carefully staged events with health care providers, reinforcing the impression that everyone is on the same team.” Several weeks ago, The Washington Post pointed out that these events were “managed for maximum public relations exposure” and any savings the groups offered on health spending were “unclear,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Robert J. Samuelson is apparently fed up with Obama’s health care rhetoric. In his must-read Washington Post column today Samuelson writes, “If you listen to President Obama, his ‘reform’ will satisfy almost everyone. It will insure the uninsured, control runaway health spending, subdue future budget deficits, preserve choice for patients and improve quality of care. These claims are self-serving exaggerations and political fantasies. They have destroyed what should be a serious national discussion of health care.”

Meanwhile, the administration and Democrat leaders continue to struggle to secure Democrat votes on their health reform bills. Reuters points out today, “Obama’s hopes for passing an initial version of healthcare reform by August are dead in the Senate and on life support in the House of Representatives -- and his fellow Democrats played a big role in their demise.” Sen. Kent Conrad, the Democrat Budget Committee chairman said Sunday, “Look, there are not the votes for Democrats to do this just on our side of the aisle.” As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell pointed out yesterday, “The only thing bipartisan about the measures so far, is the opposition to them.”

Among the problems facing Democrats, according to The Washington Post, “some lawmakers -- particularly the roughly 80 House Democrats elected in the past three years -- are suffering from political fatigue. ‘I think the people are shellshocked,’ said Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y.), linking the recent passage of the $700 billion financial bailout, the $787 billion economic recovery package, climate change and other major bills approved this year. ‘So much is happening so quickly that what is happening is people are blending it all together,’ said Arcuri, who was elected in 2006.”

With Democrats unable to sell their proposals to their own members, and illusory promises of savings and industry support from the White House, perhaps it’s time to start over on health care reform. In his CNN appearance, Sen. McConnell said, “I think starting over would be a good idea. I mean, we’ve basically been negotiating off a set of Democrat-preferred options, shall I say. Now, we’d like to start over with a genuine bipartisan approach.” Such an approach, he explained, could include reigning in junk lawsuits, allowing companies to incentivize their employees to be healthy, and equalizing the tax code to allow individuals to benefit from the same health insurance deductions as businesses. Unfortunately, Democrats have shown little, if any, interest in these ideas to date.

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