Healthcare reform: Do House Democrats have the votes to pass it?
Both Democrats and Republicans are digging in for a week that may 鈥� or may not 鈥� produce a vote in the US House on healthcare reform.
For the House to approve the legislation, 216 lawmakers must vote 鈥測ea.鈥�
鈥淚 think we will have the votes,鈥� David Axelrod, President Obama鈥檚 senior adviser, said Sunday on 鈥淚t鈥檚 a struggle, but I believe we鈥檙e moving in the right direction.鈥�
But later during the CNN program, House Republican leader John Boehner said there was 鈥渂ipartisan opposition鈥� to efforts to pass healthcare reform. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing everything I can to prevent this bill from becoming law,鈥� he said.
Democrats 鈥渄on鈥檛 have the votes,鈥� Representative Boehner also said 鈥� an assessment that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed, .
To lobby lawmakers, Mr. Obama will stay close at hand. He postponed a trip to Guam, Indonesia, and Australia that was supposed to begin this coming Thursday.
The key sticking point for some Democratic lawmakers: The bill under consideration is the one already passed by the Senate 鈥� and parts of the bill, many lawmakers agree, need to be fixed. But the process of fixing it could come only after passage of the bill, and the effort would be complicated and risky.
The House , but a number of those lawmakers are certain to vote against the bill. In a , 34 Democrats are judged to be a 鈥渇irm no,鈥� 鈥渓eaning no,鈥� or 鈥渓ikely no.鈥� An additional 73 Democrats are categorized as 鈥渦ndecided.鈥�
RealClearPolitics has adopted a different way of projecting the votes. It鈥檚 looked back at the House vote last November, when 219 Democrats (and one Republican) approved another version of healthcare reform. Of those 219 lawmakers, , 19 have suggested that they might now vote 鈥渘ay.鈥� And eight more might choose 鈥渘o鈥� because of concerns about how abortion is handled in the legislation. Also in this analysis: Six Democrats who voted no in November are now 鈥減ersuadable.鈥�
It鈥檚 unlikely any Republicans will end up in the 鈥測es鈥� column. But Ray LaHood, secretary of Transportation who previously served as a Republican lawmaker in the House, is urging GOP lawmakers to support the bill. 鈥淸M]ost people wouldn't expect me to be an advocate for comprehensive health care reform,鈥� he wrote in a piece published Sunday . 鈥淏ut the truth is, I believe there is no bigger issue to solve and no better chance to solve it than now.鈥�
Republican Scott Brown, whose election to the Senate earlier this year weakened Democrats鈥� power in that chamber, criticized the healthcare effort on Saturday. 鈥淔or more than a year now, we have seen a bitter, destructive, and endless drive to completely transform America鈥檚 healthcare system,鈥� in the weekly Republican address. 鈥淣othing has distracted the attention and energy of the nation鈥檚 capital more than this disastrous detour.鈥�
Although Obama won鈥檛 be making an overseas trip this week, he will be leaving Washington on Monday, when he is scheduled to speak on healthcare in Strongsville, Ohio.
