Rodham Clinton Calls for Action From Democrats on Health Care Reform

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Monday called for a "cease-fire" among Democrats and said that the party must work to expand access to health care and address other issues, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Thomma, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/26). Rodham Clinton, who spoke at the Democratic Leadership Council annual meeting with other potential candidates for the 2008 presidential election, was named to lead the DLC "American Dream Initiative," which will develop an agenda for the 2006 and 2008 elections (Brownstein, Los Angeles Times, 7/26).

In her speech, Rodham Clinton cited the need for health care reform as U.S. residents spend more income "on health care than any other nation, with no end in sight" (Bishop, New York Post, 7/26). In addition, Rodham Clinton called on Democrats to support abortion rights and promote family planning and fewer restrictions on adoptions to help prevent unplanned pregnancies and abortions (Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/26).

"After four years of Republican control, our country has not only gone off track, it has reversed course. Let's start by uniting against the hard-right ideology," Rodham Clinton said (Glover, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 7/25). At the meeting, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D), who became DLC chair earlier this month; Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), the previous DLC chair; and Virginia Gov. Mike Warner (D) also "delivered campaign-style speeches that blended criticism of the Bush administration with calls for Democrats to pursue centrist policies," the Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 7/26).