The AP (1/27, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that "Democrats retreated Tuesday from a quick push to pass President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, lacking a workable strategy to salvage the sweeping legislation." After a meeting with fellow Senate Democrats, Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) said, "There is no rush." The comments came as "centrist" Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) "said they would oppose" using reconciliation to pass the bills.
The New York Times (1/27, A17, Herszenhorn, Pear) also reports that Democratic leaders have "no clear path forward" on the healthcare overhaul, so they "effectively slammed the brakes on President Obama's top domestic priority on Tuesday, saying they no longer felt pressure to move quickly on a health bill." Sen. Reid "said he and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), were working to map out a way to complete a health care overhaul in coming months."
The Wall Street Journal (1/27, Adamy, subscription required) likewise notes the difficulties Democrats are facing on the health overhaul. A reconciliation package, according to the Journal, would probably include lower taxes on high-value health insurance plans and would remove provisions like the Nebraska Medicaid funds. In addition to Sen. Bayh and Lincoln, some House Democrats are said to be skeptical of reconciliation.
The Las Vegas Sun (1/27, Mascaro) also reports on Reid's comments, noting that while "Congress is turning its attention toward a jobs bill in advance of President Barack Obama's State of the Union Speech...talks continue between the House and Senate on a path forward for health care reform."
Hoyer says House may have votes for reconciliation-altered bill. AFP (1/27) reports that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that "Congress should know by next week how they will proceed on his embattled plan to remake US health care." He "said Democrats were united in wanting to move ahead with the historic overhaul and pass legislation but had no illusions after an early election-year defeat stripped them of their undisputed control of the Senate."
Roll Call (1/27, Dennis, Newmyer, Pierce) notes that Rep. Hoyer "outlined the idea" of using budget reconciliation Tuesday, saying "that pursuing a scaled-back version of health care reform is also being considered, and that Democrats are hoping to agree on a path forward by next week." He said that while the House does "not have the votes to pass the Senate's $871 billion measure as is," it "might be able to do so if it is 'corrected' via a reconciliation bill."
The Hill (1/27, Allen) adds that in his comments, "Hoyer took a different track than Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who said last week there was 'no rush' to figure out how to pass healthcare."
But according to Bloomberg News (1/27, Rowley, Jensen), Hoyer "cast doubt on the idea of passing a series of smaller measures as an alternative." He said, "It is difficult to take small pieces and attain the objectives you want to accomplish."
Still, "Hoyer outlined what might fit into a stripped-down health care bill, even while cautioning that Democratic leaders are not sold on the idea," CQ Today (1/27, Wayne, Epstein, subscription required) reports. Among the provisions, Hoyer "mentioned ending the antitrust exemption for health insurers," creating a "limited exchange," and creating small business purchasing pools.
