As members of the U.S. House prepare to mark up a health care bill this week Washington, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., told NMPolitics.net that Congress is behind were he hoped to be — as far as the timing goes for health care insurance reform.
Bingaman said he expects the House to pass a measure in the next 10 days. The Senate, he said “is still trying to determine the precise provisions” in its bill, but he expects it will be discussed on the Senate floor soon.
“I think (health care reform) is a very complex subject, and there’s a lot of differences of opinions, and a lot of issues that need to be resolved,” Bingaman said. “So, we’re trying to do it right and take the time necessary to get it right.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who’s trying to sell House Democrats on the legislation, said on Sunday that she doesn’t mind taking a lot of heat from critics of the reform bill.
“I don’t pay too much attention to it. I find that one of the reasons they do it is to try to get me to get my eye off the ball,” Pelosi told ABC News.
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is still threatening a filibuster over the measure, says the problem he has with the bill is the public option.
“There is actually a lot of misunderstanding about the public option,” Lieberman said. “I think a lot of people think that the public option is going to provide free or really low cost insurance. It’s not.”
On Saturday, House Republican John Boehner used his party’s weekly message to lay out the Republican plan for health care reform. He said the Democrats’ proposal to overhaul health care is far too complicated, intrusive and expensive.