“No, we don’t have them as of this morning, but we’ve been working this thing all weekend,’’ he said.
Clyburn said on NBC’s “Meet the Press’’ that he was confident the measure would pass, echoing comments from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, on Saturday.
Political strategist David Axelrod said Democrats will persuade enough lawmakers to vote “yes.’’ He conceded that it will be a struggle, taking aim at insurance industry lobbyists who “have landed on Capitol Hill like locusts’’ and Republicans who see being on the losing side of the vote as a political victory.
“I am absolutely confident that we are going to be successful. I believe that there is a sense of urgency on the part of members of Congress,’’ given recent news about insurance plan rate increases, Axelrod said. He appeared on ABC’s “This Week’’ and CNN’s “State of the Union,’’ as well as the NBC program.
The House GOP leader, Representative John Boehner of Ohio, acknowledged that Republicans alone can’t stop the measure. In an interview on CNN, he pledged to do “everything we can to make it difficult for them, if not impossible, to pass the bill.’’ Republicans believe they may get help from Democrats facing tough reelection campaigns.
The process of moving the health care legislation through the House and Senate is expected to begin today in the House Budget Committee. The goal is to put the bill on the floor for a final vote on Friday or Saturday. The bill needs 216 votes to clear the House.
Aides said the president wants to be present for the final push on the bill so he will delay his trip to Guam, Indonesia, and Australia until Sunday.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs predicted House passage before Obama’s trip. “This is the week where we will have this important vote,’’ he said.
Axelrod indicated that the White House was backing down on an attempt to get senators to rid the legislation of a number of lawmakers’ special deals.
