Obama Continuing To Stump for Health Care Reform at Ohio Event
On Monday, President Obama is scheduled to appear at a recreation and senior center in Strongsville, Ohio, to discuss health reform in an event aimed at generating public support for the overhaul and encouraging lawmakers to pass a reform bill, the AP/Google reports (AP/Google, 3/15).
The event is the beginning of a week in which Obama will spend much of his time talking with Democrats who might not support health reform legislation. According to The Hill, there are at least 33 House Democrats who are planning or considering a vote against the overhaul.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama will "speak either individually with or in small groups with members that may be at this point undecided on how theyâll vote." He added that Obama will re-emphasize "why itâs important not to stop or start over [on reform], why we're dealing with dramatic spikes in health insurance right now and why we have to deal with this problem."
Obama pushed back an overseas trip scheduled to begin on March 18 to oversee final consideration of a reform bill. Gibbs said the president delayed his trip to continue discussing reform with lawmakers (Youngman, The Hill, 3/13).
Obama Wants State Projects Eliminated From Bill
Obama continues to call for the elimination of state-specific projects from the Senate reform bill (HR 3590) in order to appease House liberals, the AP/Washington Times reports. According to the Times, Obamaâs insistence is causing friction with some Senate Democrats.
James Manley, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said Senate lawmakers will keep Obamaâs call for removing the provisions "in mind as we pull together a final bill" (Fram, AP/Washington Times, 3/13).
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