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Dems tell Obama: Let’s pass healthcare reform in '09
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Feb 05, 2009 10:16pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Friday, February 6, 2009 04:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By Jeffrey Young
Posted: 02/05/09 05:47 PM [ET]
The Obama administration may lack a czar to lead its health reform campaign but two key senators are telling the president that they are ready to pass a bill this year.
In a letter sent to President Obama on Thursday, Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) assert the need to act quickly to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.
“We are writing to affirm our continuing commitment to enacting comprehensive healthcare reform this year,” wrote Kennedy and Baucus, who chair two committees that will take the lead in drafting legislation to carry out Obama’s health agenda.
The abrupt departure of Obama’s close adviser and first choice to head his administration’s health reform efforts, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), is a setback for the new administration.
Kennedy and Baucus want to maintain the momentum they have tried to build over the last several months, during which the two senators have worked with fellow lawmakers and interest groups to build the foundation to revamp the healthcare system.
In the letter, the two senators urge Obama not to take his eyes off the prize.
“As you have emphasized, we must act now,” Kennedy and Baucus wrote. “We have a moral duty to ensure that every American can get quality healthcare.… With your continued leadership and commitment, we remain certain that our goal of enacting comprehensive healthcare reform can be accomplished this year.”
The senators acknowledge the importance of the president naming a replacement for Daschle, who withdrew from his nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services amid controversy over unpaid taxes. |
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