In State Of The Union Speech, Obama Urges Dems Not To Give Up On Health Reform

While President Obama focused mainly on job creation during his State of the Union Address on Wednesday, he insisted that he would not give up on passing health reform legislation, the New York Times reports (Pear/Herszenhorn, New York Times, 1/28). He told Congress, "Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close," adding, "Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people" (Budoff Brown/Shiner, Politico, 1/27).

Obama continued, "Democrats, I remind you we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills" (Young, The Hill, 1/27). He also acknowledged that tackling health reform would not be easy. He said, "[B]y now it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics" (Politico, 1/27).

Obama did not offer a plan to restart the reform debate or guidance for how Democrats should reconcile differences between the House and Senate reform bills (HR 3962, HR 3590). He also did not present a timeline for an overhaul. According to Politico, Obama defended health reform legislation with many of the same arguments he has used for several months. He said an overhaul of the nation's health system would reduce the federal deficit, provide more security to U.S. residents, provide help to small-business owners and more tightly regulate the health insurance industry (Politico, 1/27).

During the address, Obama said, "If anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors and stop insurance company abuses, let me know." House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) immediately raised his hand (New York Times, 1/28). Boehner later said in a statement that it is "long past time for Democrats to start working with Republicans on common-sense solutions" to the nation's problems, including health reform ("Political Ticker," CNN, 1/27).

McDonnell Delivers GOP Response

In the GOP's response to the address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) said that all U.S. residents agree on the need for "affordable, accessible and high quality" health care, but they "do not want to turn over the best medical care system in the world to the federal government," Politico's "Live Pulse" reports (Frates, "Live Pulse," Politico, 1/27). McDonnell also mentioned that "America must always be a land where ... innocent human life is protected" (Speech text, New York Times, 1/27).


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