Reid Blames Press For August Deadline, Baucus Hedges

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he is "cautiously optimistic" that a health care bill will make it out of the Senate Finance Committee before senators head home for their summer recess. But he accused the media of inflating the importance of an August finish.

"You folks have created the deadline," Reid chided, asserting that President Obama's original goal was simply to pass legislation by the end of the year.

Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was also cagey when asked about the progress of his high-profile committee. "We'll just keep working," he said, "We're ready when we're ready."

At a press conference with family physicians, Sens. Reid, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) discussed the legislation in language liberally laced with medical metaphors.

"America's had a check-up and the prognosis is not very promising," Reid opened.

"You've heard the diagnosis," warned Durbin, "the health care system is chronically ill."

The plan is supported by 450,000 doctors and medical practitioners, said Jim King, a family physician of Selma, Tennessee. "That's enough to fill Wrigley Field 11 times over -- imagine, 11 Wrigley Fields, full of doctors."

Joe Stubbs, president of the American College of Physicians, pressed for a timely resolution: "Debate must not be the excuse for delay." He ended on an emphatic note. "My patients will experience irreparable harm... if we leave it to a future Congress."

Reid seemed to ignore the growing fissures in his own party when he called the Republican leadership in the Senate and the House the only causes of obstruction in passing the legislation. However, he was quick to point to the inclusion of 161 Republican-authored amendments in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) bill and emphasized his admiration for Sens. Snowe (R-Maine), Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) for "hanging in."

Durbin was rather more critical of Republican stalling, and joked: "What you're hearing from the other side is light up, eat up, drink up and live it up -- that's not the way to get well."

Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[indespat]

01:07 PM on 07/31/2009

I am absolutely sickened by some Democrats in the Senate:
- Harry Reid is ineffective, weak, and listless
- Max Baucus only represents his donating constituents
- Diane Feinstein is like a rudderless ship
Far better to have 51 dedicated and representative Democratic Senators than 60 that include Baucus, Reid, Nelson, Landrieu, Feinstein, Pryor.

[Gewyne]

12:27 PM on 07/31/2009

Get rid of him, you need someone in the job who has a secure seat back home, who can twist arms and call people out to do the right thing - Reid is just to weak - if you cannot pass healthcare reform when everyone wants it, with 60 seats and 70%+ people wanting it then you must be a lame duck - sadly the bill is also watered down so much its almost useless, by the time its passed it will be so pointless as to be a waste of time.

Up and down vote - for public option or against
Put the public option to vote
Those who vote against it can then explain to their constiuents - good luck with that !

[jazz09]

12:03 PM on 07/31/2009

Harry, please sit down until you grow some...

[Grannysue]

11:11 AM on 07/31/2009

Oh Harry grow a pair and take responsibility, your milk toast we need beef in there to pound these guys, you aint' cuttin it bud.

[christopherflynn]

12:41 PM on 07/31/2009

harry 'll never grow a pair and he should be cuttin 10 or 15 buds to get some sense...

[blackmouth]

11:11 AM on 07/31/2009

Lets see, the public really wants a single payer system, but congress is reluctant to give us a strong public option and the Republicans want the status quo. How come we're the ones who always get screwed, oh yeah, we don't have the money to buy them.

[yankees]

10:45 AM on 07/31/2009

Blames everybody, Press, Republicans, Blue Dogs and the list goes on Typical of the Liberals not wanting to hear what the public really wants in a Health Care Program. The Dems are so scared over this coming recess on what they are going to hear from their constituents.

[kathy001]

11:07 AM on 07/31/2009

They've heard from the public already. Over 70% of Americans want health care reform and they want a public option. Pay attention.

[JayeSF]

11:13 AM on 07/31/2009

...and almost 50% of registered repooblicans want a public option too...

....yet, it's interesting that 0% of their representatives seem moved by this, no ?

...would you call that representing your constituents ?????

[grumbles]

10:29 AM on 07/31/2009

As far as I know Harry Reid is a practicing, devout Mormon. A very nice grandfatherly gentleman and a totally ineffectual Senate leader. The Dems need a wrangler. A tough no-nonsense arm twister, ruthless and unforgiving. Until they get it, they will remain a second party held hostage by their own members..............

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

12:54 PM on 07/31/2009

Anyone that believes that Joseph Smith found a golden book buried next to a tree in New York, and that book was written by the descendents of Jews who sailed across the ocean 3,000 yrs. ago and set a a great civilization in South and Central America and Mexico shoulded be in charge of anything.

[TJCole]

09:29 AM on 07/31/2009

Harry Reid; grew up in a town in which prostitution was the number one profession as he has said many times, so nobody is better suited to be majority leader of our U.S. Senate...!

[Cil]

09:28 AM on 07/31/2009

What really makes me angry, is how the infamous.............

BLUE DOGS DEMOCRATS ARE SABOTAGING THEIR OWN PARTY!

But at least now (thanks to the article from huff post) I know the
reason that these excuses for Democrats are doing all they can to
stall Health Care Reform...................

They are accepting bribes from lobbyists!

Thanks huff post for this article. Why is it that CNN won't expose these
BLUE DOGS for what they really are?

[rxvette]

09:22 AM on 07/31/2009

As a medical professional myself (hospital pharmacist) I think it's a tragedy that we aren't reaching our full capabilities to provide health care to people in the U.S. due to pure greed in most instances. Here's my solutions to the current health care crisis - http://bit.ly/9QLV8

[jimfl]

09:13 AM on 07/31/2009

Reid get out and let Boxer run the Senate.

[BillyPilgram57]

09:10 AM on 07/31/2009

Please Harry........................ just go away

[oldguydude]

09:02 AM on 07/31/2009

It really doesn't matter what Reid says. Nancy Pelosi is running the country now. Under her "leadership", the House has become the Mob.

[Diogenes08]

10:15 AM on 07/31/2009

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................

[kurtvb]

07:29 AM on 07/31/2009

This guy is a waste. This is leadership? I was for the August deadline before I was against it. Maybe, if Dems had any fear of the leader, things would get done. But, Reid speaks softly and carries a wet towel.

[MRb1000]

05:40 AM on 07/31/2009

Reid shut up and do your job! Grow a spine! You can and will be replaced. We need strong leader not wimps!

[PhilipTaylor]

05:46 AM on 07/31/2009

Its time to HAUL UP BAUCUS in FRONT of the Senate Ethics Committee!

In 2004 the House Ethics Committee unanimously admonished DeLay for his actions related to a 2002 energy bill.

A Committee memo stated that DeLay "created the appearance that donors were being provided with special access to Representative DeLay regarding the then-pending energy legislation."

NOW it is TIME for the SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEE to look at BAUCUS who "created the appearance that donors were being provided with special access to Senator BAUCUS regarding the NOW-pending Health Care legislation."

If Reid does NOT AGREE then his ETHICS are also in Question
___________________

BAUCUS stands out for FLY FISHING with the Industry Executives!

Like DeLay stood out for Golfing with the O1L Executives!

[kurtvb]

07:27 AM on 07/31/2009

Could not agree more. He should just change parties and we could get a real chairman in there.

[Andreams]

08:46 AM on 07/31/2009

The entire finance committee needs to be at the table, not just 3 from each party. We have a majority in the senate, a majority on the committee so why the equal number at the table?