WASHINGTON (AP) — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised President Barack Obama's drive to overhaul the nation's health care system on Tuesday and urged fellow Republicans to join in efforts to finish the job this year.
Although Schwarzenegger stopped short of embracing a Democratic bill, his words of encouragement came on the heels of similar statements from other Republicans outside Congress, including former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist. The White House and Democrats highlighted them as evidence of momentum and division within GOP ranks. Congressional Republicans have been nearly unanimous in opposition to Democratic legislation.
Schwarzenegger, who two years ago tried but failed to pass a universal health care plan in California, said in a statement that he appreciated Obama's partnership with the states and his effort to hold down costs and improve quality. He urged lawmakers from both parties to "move forward and accomplish these vital goals for the American people."
Congressional Republicans responded that they have been calling for health care improvements for months — just not the kind that Democrats are offering.
"Americans want commonsense reform," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a speech on the Senate floor, arguing that Democratic plans would expand government control, raise taxes on the middle class and cut Medicare benefits.
Tommy Thompson, who headed the Health and Human Services Department under President George W. Bush, said Monday the Senate Finance Committee bill "is another important step toward achieving the goal of health care reform." Frist, a heart surgeon, told Time magazine he would vote for the committee bill if he were still in Congress. However, both Frist and Thompson said they thought the bill could be improved.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a political independent first elected as a Republican, said Monday that health care legislation deserves support across the political spectrum.
Questioned about the disparate Republican voices, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "I hope that Republicans in Washington hear the message of Republicans all over the country that it's time to come in off the sidelines and actively get involved in making some serious progress on health care reform this year."
A bipartisan health care solution has long been Obama's stated goal but now appears nearly out of reach. No GOP House members and only one Republican in the Senate — Olympia Snowe of Maine — are seen as a possible "yes" vote.
Snowe sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which finished work on its health overhaul bill last week and is waiting to get final figures from the Congressional Budget Office before scheduling a vote in coming days. Snowe declined to tip her hand on Tuesday, but said she still thought the bill needed more work to ensure coverage plans were made affordable to low- and middle-income families.
Those families will be getting subsidies to help them buy coverage, but Snowe and others fear they aren't generous enough. Snowe suggested that the cost of the lowest-value plan to be offered within a new purchasing exchange might have to be lowered even more.
"I'm still grappling with the question of affordability," she said.
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has a 13-10 Democratic majority on the panel so the outcome is hardly in question, though the margin may be. Baucus said he expected two liberal Democrats on the committee who have complained about the centrist-leaning bill — Sens. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Ron Wyden of Oregon — to vote with him in the end.
Senators continued to grapple with the question of whether to allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private industry. A compromise by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., that would give states menus of options to choose from to advance as alternatives to the private market was getting interest from some senators.
Finance Committee Republicans wrote to Baucus asking for the head of the Congressional Budget Office to be present to answer any questions when the committee votes on its bill.
