Fading Focus on Health Reform Sparks Concern Among Many Democrats
Despite a previous promise to vigorously promote the new health reform law, President Obama has not held an event this month in which he publicly defended the overhaul, the Washington Post reports.
That trend is likely to continue through the rest of the month, observers say. The White House released details of Obama's public schedule for the final week of April, which does not include any planned events related to the new reform law.
On Tuesday, an unidentified White House aide said Obama remains committed to the new reform law and that the president would continue to promote it to the public. The aide also said that the administration continues to implement the law, citing Monday's Internal Revenue Service mailings to small-business owners about a tax credit.
In addition, a White House office in charge of disseminating information to regional media outlets spent much of Monday ensuring that reporters had information about the new reform law.
Last week, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer told Senate members that a senior administration official soon would be appointed to guide lawmakers on the White House's health reform message as they head into the midterm elections this fall.
According to the Post, many Democratic lawmakers are concerned that if the White House delays the process of coordinating health reform's message, they could lose control of the issue to their opponents (Shear, Washington Post, 4/20).
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