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I've been asking members of Congress if they would forego their August recess to make sure health care won't get left behind. Why shouldn't republicans and democrats work instead of taking a holiday? Since I asked President Obama if he should demand that Congress stay in DC to work on health care in August the media has picked it up too and now we're getting statements from Congress saying they would work instead of taking a holiday.
I asked Blue America's Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR) if he would give up the August recess to make sure legislation gets done. Here's his reply:
"I'm committed to passing health care reform and I'm extremely concerned that the window of opportunity is starting to close. Anything that can speed up Senate deliberation is valuable. And if keeping the Senate in session in August can move the bill forward, I'm absolutely committed to being here."
Sen. Merkley is committed to reforming health care and he now joins the list of members who have said they will work in August. Thanks so much Senator.
♫♪Vacation, all I ever wanted...Vacation, had to get away♫♪ I'm sure that there is some wistful whistling in the halls of Congress, however we're going to be amping up the pressure--bolstered by Nancy Pelosi and James Clyburn--to demand that Congress forgo their August recess to keep working on health care reform. Health care reform will be one of the topics of discussion this Sunday morning. Unfortunately, another topic will clearly be Henry Louis Gates' arrest, because the media will never pass up a shiny distraction in lieu of what really matters, like honest discussion of health care reform.
Instead, we'll have Mitch "Luntz's BFF" McConnell providing a lying counterpoint to Nancy Pelosi on State of the Union, and Sen. Jim "Hissy Fit" DeMint shouting over Sen. Kent Conrad on This Week. If that doesn't strike your fancy, David "Can't Carry Cronkite's Jockstrap" Gregory will be interviewing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about her recent travels to India and Thailand, but you know he won't be able to keep himself from asking about some imagined insurrection by Clinton against Obama. Oh look, David, another bright shiny thing to distract you instead of the real life issues Americans deserve to know about.
ABC's "This Week" - Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Jim DeMint, R-S.C.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - David Axelrod, White House senior adviser; Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.; Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Howard Fineman, Michele Norris, Michael Duffy, Ceci Connolly. Topics: Was President Obama right to enter the fray over the Professor Gates arrest? What does the Libby pardon debate say about the Bush-Cheney relationship? Meter Questions: Will a handful of Senate Republicans vote for the final health care bill?
YES: 11 NO: 1; Will Obama sign a health care reform law this year? YES: 12 NO: 0.
CNN's "State of the Union/Reliable Sources" - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Axelrod.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Trouble brewing in Iran: President Ahmadinejad defies the Supreme Leader in an unprecedented act, and Moussavi -- the candidate who might have actually won the June presidential elections -- announces he will create a large-scale social movement to oppose the government in power. Fareed has the rare opportunity to speak with someone on the ground in Tehran about what is really happening there.
"Fox News Sunday" - White House press secretary Robert Gibbs; Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
(Majority) Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told colleagues during a "contentious" closed-door session Thursday that they should postpone the August break until they pass a sweeping health care reform bill.
The Democratic whip says he told his colleagues they will be criticized in the press for leaving town without passing a bill. "I think it will affect our standing with the American people if we don't do this as a party," Clyburn said afterward.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) were both in attendance during the 90-minute session, but Clyburn would not say what their reactions were. The South Carolina Democrat thinks his colleagues will have more opportunities to work through disputes than they will if they leave town.
We salute Clyburn for taking the correct steps in trying to work this thing out and not be afraid what all Americans are thing. Recess, recess?
As Mr. Obama took questions from his audience in Shaker Heights, he was asked whether he intended to call on Democratic leaders in Congress to cancel their August recess to try to reach a compromise on health care. For now, he said, he had no plans to do so.
Keep up the heat. The more Americans put pressure on their precious month long play time the more willing they will be to get the legislation done.
We've just started making this a priority so the list has just begun.
Senator Wyden
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Rep. James Clyburn
The negotiations between House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and seven conservative Democrats on his panel fell apart Friday afternoon after the chairman told reporters he could move the bill to the floor without a committee vote.
Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross, the top negotiator for conservative Democrats in the Blue Dog Coalition, told reporters Friday that the negotiations "pretty much fell apart this afternoon."
In a meeting with Blue Dogs Friday, Waxman rescinded two previous concessions to help cut health care costs over time and ensure the government-sponsored health care won't impede on the private market. Asked how this leaves the negotiations, Ross said it "leaves the chairman with not enough votes to get it out of committee."
