Democrats and Republicans Hash Out Healthcare At Summit
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Obama led a healthcare summit Thursday in an effort
to open a dialogue between Democrats and Republicans.
(Creative Commons)
Obama attempted to reconcile Democrat and Republican opinions over the healthcare bill at his healthcare summit in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
The public can watch the debate live on C-SPAN and other cable news networks.
The summit covers healthcare costs, insurance reforms, deficit reduction and extending coverage. Although some topics are predetermined, Obama said he hopes participants can abandon talking points for real discussion of the issues.
"Let's talk about the substance: How we might help the American people deal with costs, coverage, insurance, these other issues. And we might surprise ourselves and find out that we agree more than disagree," Obama said.
Despite efforts by both parties to remain calm, there were some tense moments.
Republican Sen. John McCain recalled the mood of campaign days past when he admonished Obama and the Democrats for producing the bill "behind closed doors" despite Obama's promise of complete public access throughout the process.
Obama tried to redirect partisan conflicts to discussion of the bill's substance, but not before biting back at McCain, telling him "John, we're not campaigning anymore, the election is over."
Obama's current proposal will help more than 31 million uninsured Americans get coverage and includes the largest middle class tax cut for healthcare in American history.
The bill no longer includes a public option, but it does include insurance exchanges that will provide options for small businesses, the self-employed, and the unemployed to get cheaper coverage.
Republicans are skeptical of the cost of federally regulating the new national insurance standards, among other issues, and favor scrapping the bill for a complete rewrite.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there is no time to start from scratch because many Americans "are at the end of the line."
