Hoyer: ‘We have a long way to go'

Health reform passes House, faces Senate test

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by EMILY BARNES Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D), left, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) chat Monday before a news conference in Bel Alton to announce $5 million in stimulus grants awarded to University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers for programs that aim to address minority and rural health disparities. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

A sweeping health care reform initiative that continues to generate immense public controversy now faces its steepest political test in the U.S. Senate.

The bill, which has consumed Capitol Hill for months and is a signature policy initiative for President Barack Obama, narrowly cleared its first hurdle Saturday following a marathon debate in the House of Representatives. Shortly after 11 p.m., the bill received final approval by a vote of 220-215, two more votes than needed for passage.

"We have a long way to go but I think this is very historic," House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Monday following a news conference in Bel Alton to announce stimulus funding for rural health programs.

The bill aims to provide health coverage to nearly all Americans, but comes with a $1.2 trillion price tag in the next 10 years at a time when the country is still mired in recession and hundreds of thousands of military personnel are deployed overseas.

Hoyer said it represents the most significant piece of health care legislation since the creation of Medicaid in 1965. The bill would overhaul the American health care system, extending coverage to 36 million Americans, partially by establishing a controversial public health insurance option to compete with private insurers in an effort to reduce premiums. It also requires employers with more than $500,000 in annual payroll to offer health coverage or pay a penalty.

While supporters are exultant about its passage in the House, the real battle lies in the weeks ahead as the full Senate prepares to take up the bill.

Proof of that came hours after the House wrapped up its work on the proposal when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called Hoyer (D-Md., 5th). "We're going to have a really tough time in the Senate," Hoyer recalled Reid saying during the Sunday morning phone call.

Although the bill requires only a simple majority to pass, Democrats are trying to lock up at least 60 votes that would prevent procedural maneuvers to block the bill.

"It's going to be difficult to maintain that 60-vote threshold when you have so many controversial issues that are the bill, whether it is the abortion issue or the public option, both of which have gotten a lot of national attention," said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin.

A final vote wouldn't take place until sometime after Thanksgiving, he said.

The inclusion of the public option in the House bill appears to be the biggest barrier. The Senate version might not include a public option, which could cause some House Democrats to drop their support of the reform bill, jeopardizing its overall prospects once the two proposals are combined and are voted on again.

As in the House, expected fights over abortion and immigration will make for a perilous path in the Senate. Another obstacle for supporters will be convincing reluctant colleagues that the initiative will pay for itself and not add to the national deficit.

"Nobody ought to delude themselves that we don't have a long way to go," Hoyer acknowledged Monday.

If Saturday's vote is any indication of what's to come in the Senate, Democrats will likely have to get the votes they need from within their own party. Only one House Republican — Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana — broke ranks from his party to support the bill.

Meanwhile, 39 Democrats opposed the bill, including Rep. Frank M. Kratovil Jr. (D-Md., 1st), who said the proposal's unsustainable cost was chief to his decision. He also criticized the requirements it would impose on small businesses.

After months of hostile health care town hall meetings, meticulous negotiations that wound their way through three House committees before reaching the floor and intense public scrutiny, Hoyer remained optimistic that Congress would put forth a final bill for Obama to sign.

abrody@somdnews.com