Democrats to Press Health Bill With Simple Majority

The New York Times reports:

Seeing no prospect of a bipartisan agreement on health care, Congressional Democrats said Friday that they would make another effort to pass sweeping health care legislation on their own.

If anything, Democrats said, their seven-hour meeting with President Obama and Republicans on Thursday confirmed their belief that it was futile to try to work with Republicans on a major health care bill because the philosophical differences between the parties were too profound.

The Democrats hope to send the bill to the President's desk by March 26, but deadlines like this have slipped many times before.

It is not clear, however, whether Democratic leaders will be able to obtain the votes necessary to pass the package, especially in the House. Supporters saw some glimmers of hope yesterday, but as the Associated Press reports, it may be an uphill climb.

On the other hand, The Hill says that the summit "has altered the political landscape" and "accomplished many of Obama's goals" by putting Democrats back on offense after the beating they took after the Masschusetts Senate election.