re: #387 Mikey_Dallas

From what I’ve read (and, I believe it was yesterday, that “there are five differing versions” business was repeated on CNN) that there are 5 differing versions, and they won’t be reconciled until after the August recess…

CNN transcript from July 29, 2009:

We begin now on Capitol Hill where the standoff pitting Democrat against Democrat may be over. The issue is health care. The Dems in question are Blue Dog conservatives who defied party leaders and held up committee work on a reform bill that the White House wanted passed this week. They now say they will let the Energy and Commerce Committee move the bill to a vote, though the full House won’t take it up until after the August recess. Here is Arkansas Blue Dog Mike Ross.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE ROSS (D), ARKANSAS: There are some people that are never going to be for health care reform, and they like the role we were playing, because it was stopping health care reform. Although I think I made it very clear from the beginning that we were never about stopping health care reform. We wanted to play a constructive role in the legislative process.

Having said that, those that don’t want to do health care reform, they will use the rhetoric and say we have caved. I think I just announced that we got significant concessions in two weeks of very long talks that lasted day and night and allows us to move this bill toward reconciling five different bills. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we will have a bill that provides health care that’s affordable and accessible for the American people while holding down costs.