Progressing

A meeting between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and several key senators, including Tom Harkin, and Iowa Democrat, it appears there's enough political momentum to pass a health care reform bill via a process known as "reconciliation." That's according to Politico in a report that would the House would first have to vote on a Senate bill that passed in December that included no government-sponsored public option to provide insurance coverage to people who can't afford to buy their own. The next step, if the House votes in favor, would be to for members of the Senate and House to hash out differences, such as the public option that's was supported in the House.

President Barack Obama, meanwhile, plans to argue in a speech to be given in the White House later today that he is accepts some Republican ideas and that he wants Americans to retain control over their health care. An excerpt from his speech to be given today:

“I don’t believe we should give government bureaucrats or insurance company bureaucrats more control over health care in America. I believe it’s time to give the American people more control over their own health insurance. I don’t believe we can afford to leave life-and-death decisions about health care to the discretion of insurance company executives alone. I believe that doctors and nurses like the ones in this room should be free to decide what’s best for their patients.”

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