What this means for the fate of Obama's health care initiative we can't say. As has been reported, these health care negotiations are very secret. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the meetings are designed "to bridge the differences" in the House and the Senate health care bills passed last year. Those include such familiar topics as a publicly funded insurance option, whether abortion should be covered, and whether new taxes should be levied on the wealthy or on so-called Cadillac insurance plans. "They're working through these issues," Gibbs said. "The key to making progress is the talks that are going on right now." Today's congressional delegation to the White House was significant because it included both House and Senate members, including leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. A full guest list: Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader Senator Dick Durbin, Majority Whip Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Speaker Nancy Pelosi Representative Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader Representative James Clyburn, Majority Whip Representative Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Representative Charles Rangel, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Representative George Miller, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee Original Article |
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