By Shailagh Murray and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post staff writer
Sunday, February 21, 2010; 12:16 PM
The Senate's top Republican promised Sunday morning that he and his members will attend President Obama's health care summit on Thursday "ready to participate" but said the Democrats are being "arrogant" by refusing to scrap their legislation and start over.
"You know, they are saying, "Ignore the wishes of the American people. We know more about this than you do. And we're going to jam it down your throats no matter what," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Fox News Sunday.
Republicans have accused the president of using Thursday's summit as political theater, and had raised the prospect of not attending. McConnell dismissed the idea of a GOP boycott, saying that "we're discussing the -- sort of the makeup of the room and that sort of thing, but yeah, I intend to be there and my members will be there and ready to participate."
McConnell said, however, that his party will continue to oppose Democrats if they try to use the parliamentary tactic called "reconciliation" to pass parts of their health care agenda without 60 votes in the Senate. He acknowledged that there are "a variety of different options" that Republicans could use to try and slow that process.
"The only thing bipartisan about it would be the opposition to it, because a number of Democrats have said, "Don't do this. This is not the way to go," McConnell said.
"We believe that we think a better way to go is to, step by step, move in the direction of dealing with the cost issue, targeting things like junk lawsuits against doctors and hospitals, interstate insurance competition, small association health plans," he added. "There are a number of things you can do without having the government try to take over one-sixth of the economy."
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in response that "the upcoming meeting is an opportunity to get beyond oft repeated and completely false talking points like these. . . . The President is coming to the meeting with an open mind and he hopes the Republicans do as well."
Obama warned lawmakers on both sides of the aisle Saturday not to turn the health-care summit into "political theater," but rather "to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that's been with us for generations."
The Thursday event, scheduled to be televised live on C-SPAN, could prove a pivotal moment in the year-long struggle to overhaul the health-care system. The White House is expected to publish Obama's health-care blueprint on its Web site Monday, a proposal drawing from the two Democratic bills now stalled in Congress.
Obama has challenged Republicans to post their own proposals for lowering costs and expanding coverage to uninsured, to lay the groundwork for Thursday's discussion.
According to the White House, the summit is an effort to revive the legislative process by bringing Republicans to the table to identify areas of common ground. Some Republicans, however, have derided the event as a political ploy and have declined to say whether they will attend.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) urged Democrats Sunday to abandon their comprehensive health care efforts in favor of smaller, targeted changes. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Barbour said the bills pushed by Democrats would "drive up the cost of health insurance. We shouldn't put a huge unfunded mandate on states that would make me raise taxes $150 million in Mississippi. We shouldn't put a huge tax on small business."
But California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, urged members of his party in Congress to work with Obama and Democrats to make changes in the health care system.
"I think that Republicans should be at the table with health care reform and bring their ideas, whatever it may be," Schwarzenegger told host Terry Moran. "This is what compromise is all about. You've got to have two opposing point of views. You try to bring them together and try to find out where is the sweet spot here? And there's the also the sweet spot. If there is a will, there's a way. If you really want to serve the people and not just your party, I think you will find that sweet spot and you can get it done."
Democratic Pennsylvania Gob. Ed Rendell, also on "This Week," said the Republican response to the president during Thursday's summit could have a profound effect on the political fortunes of members of Congress, who are up for reelection this year.
"The Republican Party has a very difficult task ahead," he said. "They can't just say no on Thursday. The American people are watching and they are watching clearly. They've got to come up with some ideas, and they've got to say what you said. You take some of our ideas; we'll take some of your ideas. We may not love your ideas, but we'll take them. If they don't do that, I think this whole dynamic of this political year could turn around."
In his weekly radio address Saturday, Obama reminded lawmakers, "We know the American people want us to reform our health insurance system. We know where the broad areas of agreement are. And we know where the sources of disagreement lie."
But what the summit might produce remains uncertain. GOP lawmakers have so far expressed little interest in teaming up with Democrats to pass legislation. And while the parties agree broadly that the health-care system is broken, they have found little consensus on more detailed questions, such as how best to provide insurance to people who don't have access to affordable coverage through an employer.
In broad strokes, the plan Obama will post Monday is expected to be similar to the current legislation, by providing subsidies to people who can't afford coverage, incentives for businesses to offer insurance, and expanded Medicaid coverage for the poor. Obama also has endorsed an excise tax on high-value insurance plans, along with a series of Medicare changes, to pay for his proposal.
But the plan's publication may rile partisan tensions. Republicans have demanded that Obama scrap the existing bill as evidence he is willing to bargain in good faith to find bipartisan consensus.
McConnell noted that Obama held a similar White House summit at the outset of the current process. "Nearly one year ago, the President moderated a health-care summit that kicked off a national debate that has led us to where we are today: a partisan bill devoid of support from the American people and diminished faith in this government's capacity to listen," McConnell said in a Friday statement. "Let's not make the same mistake twice."
Obama signaled Saturday two areas where he may be willing to meet Republicans in the middle: creating rules that would allow people to buy insurance across state lines, presumably at more competitive prices, and offering incentives to encourage small-business owners to provide coverage.
"I think both of these are good ideas -- so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people," Obama said.
Other potential areas on consensus, senior Democratic aides said, include expanded coverage for kids, insurance reforms to prevent people from losing coverage, allowing young adults to remain on their parents' plans and improving Medicaid to capture more of the millions of people who are now eligible for the program but haven't enrolled.
"Next week is our chance to finally reform our health insurance system so it works for families and small businesses," Obama said. "What's being tested here is not just our ability to solve this one problem, but our ability to solve any problem."
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