James Clyburn: We Don't Have The Votes To Pass Health Care, But We Will

James Clyburn: We Don't Have The Votes To Pass Health Care, But We Will

Perhaps the most critical lawmaker at this juncture of heath care reform is Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the man entrusted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ill.) to produce the votes for the bill's passage.

As Majority Whip, the South Carolina Democrat has been dispatched to persuade skeptical lawmakers that they shouldn't walk away from the legislation. But on Sunday, he acknowledged that the votes weren't there for reform -- yet.

"No we don't have them as of this morning," Clyburn said during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." "But we have been working this thing all weekend. We will be working it going into the week. I also am very confident that we will get this done. I have been talking to members for a long time on this. And they have the will to do it. They have been looking for us to create a way to do it. I think we have gotten to a place where we do have a way to do it. And I think the members are going to vote for this."

Clyburn pointed to a "historic distrust" between the House and the Senate as one of the obstacles that was giving fence-sitting lawmakers some pause. Though he remarked that leadership in both chambers along with the White House had gotten to a "comfort level with each other" whereby they were convinced that reconciliation fixes to the Senate bill would pass both chambers.

Asked on the same program if that was the case, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) the majority whip in the Senate, remarked: "We are in the process of contacting every single Democratic Senator when Nancy Pelosi goes to the floor... it will be with a solid assurance that when reconciliation comes over to the senate side we are going to pass it."

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