By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak said Thursday it was his impression after an afternoon meeting of House Democrats that the chamber didn’t have enough votes to approve the Senate health care bill, remarks that echoed similar comments earlier in the day from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
“It appeared to me, although the final decision hasn’t been made, they’re going to take a different route,” Sestak said during a conference call with reporters.
House lawmakers approving the Senate health care bill verbatim was floated as one of the most likely ways for Democrats to pass the legislation after Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts Tuesday night took away the party’s super majority in the Senate.
The congressman, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Senate against Arlen Specter, said he thought House lawmakers will instead move parts of the bill individually. This method could allow more popular parts of the legislation to gain approval, said Sestak, who added he hoped some of the measures might gain bi-partisan support.
“I still believe strongly that a health care reform bill is absolutely required,” he said.
Sestak has been an advocate for the so-called “public option,” a part of the health care bill that attracted wide support from many Democrats but was culled from the legislation by the Senate.
The congressman blamed legislative leaders in his own party for the health care setback, saying the backroom deals they cut with lawmakers like U.S. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) angered voters. That’s what led to Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, he said.
Although he said most of the blame falls on their shoulders, he did say President Obama’s leadership on the issue could have been more forceful.
“I wish his hand had been stronger on the tiller on guiding the bill through congress,” he said.
The president has taken heat from many liberal activists in wake of the health care setback.
The congressman scheduled the conference call to announce he will push Congress so scrap its oft-criticized earmark system for one that removes politics from the grant-awarding process.
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