Will Obama Health Care Bill Pass Before Congressional Recess?

With multiple health care reform proposals winding their way through Congress, President Obama is urging legislators to reach consensus and pass a health care bill before the August recess.

On Monday, Obama told reporters gathered in the Rose Garden that "Time and again, we've heard excuses to delay and defeat reform. Time and again, the American people have suffered because people in Washington played the politics of the moment instead of putting the interests of the American people first," the Washington Post reported. "That's how we ended up with premiums rising three times faster than wages. That's how we ended up with businesses choosing between shedding benefits and shutting their doors. That's how we've been burdened with runaway costs and huge gaps in coverage. That's the status quo."

What are some of the key voices on health care saying about the chances of passing an Obama health care bill in the coming weeks?

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is doubtful about the prospects of the House agreeing on a health care bill before the August recess. He suggested that there is a divide among Democrats that may delay the health care reform bill's passage, and extending the legislative session may not speed the process of reforming the nation's health care system.

The Congressional Blue Dogs have been working with President Obama to address health care reform cost and other issues relevant to the Obama health care bill's passage. Obama and the Blue Dogs reportedly reached consensus on one key issue out of ten stalling the Obama health care bill under consideration in the House, the creation of an independent Medicare Advisory council.

Former Republican Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney

Romney pushed health care reform through the Massachusetts legislature that resulted in a dramatic increase in coverage, making him a respected voice in the national health care debate. Romney has four critical words of advice for Obama concerning passage of a health care bill: "Hit the reset button."

"Out of a desire to move very quickly, while his support is highest, he has skipped the critical steps of educating, involving, and evolving his own plans to meet the perspectives of the great majority of our citizens," Romney told Newsweek's Katie Connolly.

Ranking Republican Senate Finance Committee Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)

Senator Grassley expects to push a health care bill out of committee before the August recess but he rejects Obama's artificial deadline for passing the final health care legislation. Grassley says an extra month to finalize the bill wouldn't bother him.

"What's really important is that we do it right." Grassley said.

Chairman Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.)

Despite his absence from the Senate for health reasons, Senator Ted Kennedy is more closely associated with health care reform than any other political figure. Though not physically present in the Senate to shepherd the legislation through and negotiate its sticking points, Kennedy is there in spirit and follows the proceedings from his Cape Cod home.

Democratic and Republican senators alike contend that Kennedy's participation could make the difference as to whether a health care bill with sufficient bi-partisan support emerges. And they say on both sides of the aisle that thinking about how he would proceed if he were there is on their minds as negotiations on the Obama health care bill ensue.

Kennedy's health is a factor tipping the scales in favor of quick passage cited by other lawmakers who wish to pay Kennedy tribute by allowing him to see his lifelong work on health care reform come to fruition.

What does Kennedy say about passing the health care reform bill? As he wrote in a guest article for Newsweek with co-author Robert Shrum:

"Incremental measures won't suffice anymore. We need to succeed where Teddy Roosevelt and all others since have failed. The conditions now are better than ever. In Barack Obama, we have a president who's announced that he's determined to sign a bill into law this fall. And much of the business community, which has suffered the economic cost of inaction, is helping to shape change, not lobbying against it.... Even those most ardently opposed to reform in the past have been willing to make constructive gestures now."

"We will bring health-care reform to the Senate and House floors soon, and there will be a vote. A century-long struggle will reach its climax. We're almost there," Kennedy wrote.

The longtime champion of universal health care coverage concluded, "I believe the bill will pass, and we will end the disgrace of America as the only major industrialized nation in the world that doesn't guarantee health care for all of its people."

Sources: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/07/21/obama_on_health-care_reform_we.html?wprss=44; http://congress.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/07/21/president-blue-dogs-agree-on-medicare-advisory-council-to-defray-health-costs/; http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/07/21/romney-on-obama-s-push-for-health-reform-slow-down.aspx; http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/07/21/romney-on-obama-s-push-for-health-reform-slow-down.aspx; http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/07/21/grassley-encourages-august-delay-on-final-health-bill/.