SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio (CNN) – President Barack Obama said Thursday that he is willing to accept a temporary delay in the passage of health care reform legislation if Congress ultimately approves a satisfactory bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated earlier in the day that the full Senate will not vote on health care reform legislation before the August congressional recess.
Obama had been pushing for both the House and Senate to pass health care legislation before going on their summer break - a goal that has appeared increasingly unlikely due to fierce Republican opposition and cost concerns cited by fiscally conservative Democrats.
"My attitude is I want to get it right, but I also want to get it done promptly," Obama told a packed town hall audience in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Obama said he could accept a longer timeline "as long as I see folks working diligently and consistently."
If legislators "are legitimately working out tough problems ... I have no problem," he said. But "I don't want a delay just because of politics ... (or) delay for the sake of delay."
From CNN Politics
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Yea now its OK because the Senate said no vote,till later.Why are the Democrats rushing this bill before the American Tax PAyer can read it and comment on it,before they vote on it? what are the Democrats hiding?...How come the Congressional Budget office said the health care bill will cost jobs and harm the Economy,while Obama claims it will not raise the deficit?
Americans who have health insurance now probably won't have it in the future. With rising medical costs growing by leaps and bounds, only the exclusive with mounds of $$$ will beable to afford it. Heathcare will be a thing of the past for most Americans, thanks to the GOP and their propaganda.
Wow. President Obama's Obamabots have been criticizing alot of people for saying the same thing. Get it right, even if that means September rather than August. At least now the Obamabots will be talking about getting it right and working diligently, and not just rush everything through, no matter what it says.
DUH–but it will NEVER be right because we are going to have to pay through the nose and elsewhere for it with higher taxes and poorer health care!
Obama you seriously need to stop attacking success in this country.
Every time you open your mouth you are demonizing a group of people.
Wall street, car companies, insurance companies, Doctors, lobbyist, Rich people.
Enough is enough. I had it.
How much hate can someone have?
Your so called healthcare report increases cost and still doesn’t ensure everyone.
At its best it will be like Canada and people always fly to US to get treated for better care.
Stop lying to us president.
What bothers me is that this will just give those out to destroy health care reform, and the media who supports them, more time to spew their lies, scare tactics etc and allow the lobbyists to give them
even more money.
There are many who have put campaign funding, personal goals, interests and big business over the welfare of the American people.
We must let them know this is not acceptable, we will no longer accept party first, politics as usual and demand they represent
the American people.
Something about President Obama just gives me immense confidence he's not going to make the kinds of mistakes that were made in the past eight years.
Funny, this guy gets dealt a major blow to his ego and finds a way to make it look like a positive.
I feel sorry for the steadfast Obama supporters who continue to buy this nonsense without thought of their own.
That's called retreat, folks, in case you don't recognize it.
It is hard to believe that in America, you will hear someone with a microphone ask President Obama, "Will you let me keep my current health care?" They should at least then grovel and say "Oh thank you very much, I really appreciate it", Daddy.
When the dust settles on the Health Care Legislation, we will be able to prove, that some proposals are UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Roe v Wade was decided, based on Privacy Issues. Thank God we live in America, where freedom rings!
Take a close look at this man, especially his stance on 'The Professor VS the Police' President Obama (dba Barak Hussein O'Marx)
I don't think he is rushing it through, I do think he wants congress to be working as hard as they could for the American people who put them in office. The are so many Americans without health care that it is very important that congress think about the people instead of politics. Thank Mr. President for your leadership.
The only way to get healthcare right is to not socialize it, like the Prez wants. We would do better to eliminate punitive tort lawsuits and stop providing free healthcare to illegals (any hospital that receives even $1 from the feds is prohibited from even asking if a person is a legal resident/citizen).
Then, make it clearly illegal for any pharmaceutical company or rep to offer "spiffs", "gifts" or any bonus to a doctor for prescribing their company's drugs. Then, make it illegal for doctors to give each other "referral fees."
Social security, medicaire, taxes...everything the government touches turns into a mess.
I like his approach to health care reform. He set a goal, but is flexible enough not to force a vote when they still need time to work out the details. We should all want them to get it right!
You know the GOP is a bunch of you know what. They want to question the President remark regarding the comment on Gates situation, yet they kept there hypocritcal mouth shout on the scandals of Ensign and Sanford, especially Sanford who lied to his staff and wife, and was out of touch for days with no reply, nothing.. I mean what nerve.
And the same people complaining about President Obama moving to fast on healthcare, calling the President names, those are the same nut cases that will benefit from the health reform likely, and to you haters of President Obama, your nasty behavior is very disrepectful to the President.
Delay it until the economy is in better shape when we can afford it. This will be obcenely expensive and a drag on economic recovery. As if it doesn't already have enough to work against now, with the $100 million/ day in interest to pay for the jobs jobs jobs ( where are they??? ) spending bill.
Someday Obama will realize he's only the President.
He is not a dictator (yet) and can only ASK congress for something.
I loved listening to his speech today explaining what will happen if the bill gets passed.
I found it interesting since a lot of what he spoke about is all hypothetical, yet he speaks to it as if it were a fact.
I got to admit he knows how to play politics just like clinton did. always run a pole to see where the people stand before you do anything so at least you always have the public on your side.
If anyone thinks this is a sign of a great leader, someone who doesn't do the right thing but the popular thing, then I guess you will vote for him again.
Me, I would rather my president do the right thing. Guess I'll have to wait another 3 1/2 years.
Ok, now that it is clear that congress won't pass a bill before August Obama says it is important to get it right. He tries to sound sensible when he fails to get his way and has no choice. Still wants to look like he is the MAN. If he had stressed quality over speed to began with, he could still look like he was in charge and leading. He's a fool.
Translation....................my people I had in a trance are starting to wake up
Wow. I am glad the President may be developing some common sense before spending another 1Trillion. The stimilus was a wasted political payoff (well maybe not fro the DNC) and he will be smart if he does not ask for a mulligan.
He's right about getting it done properly and quickly, and he was also right to criticize the cop. What really bugs Rethugs is not the criticism, per se, but the fact that the President used an adverb correctly!
One of the few things I don't agree with Obama on. A delay is NOT ok because we all know that the Republicans will be working on scaring people away for the whole month they're off, and THEN it will take until at least December while they drag their feet.
The plan should be for those who are going to pay their way. For those who plan on living off of the government all of their lives the plan should be ....... well, let's just say the plan should be for them to join the working class and pay their own way. If the plan (as many people suspect) of Obama is to pay back those African Americans who do not work, but yet went to the polls to vote for what they call a black man (actually a 1/2 truth) then the plan will not work in the long run.
You folks realize what this means? It means Congress will be HOME. We, the people, can see them face-to-face and tell them we don't want government starting a new program when it can't even run the ones it has – Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Social Security, Border Security (now there's an oxymoron!)
Fix what we've got. and no new taxes!
This thing is a great big snowball rolling downhill.
You are inviting the destruction of the Health Care insurance industry.
It may take a few years, but it will happen. Companies and States will say, why cover when Big Brother has a plan for free. As it happens the price of individual and group coverage will become so expensive that switching to the government plan becomes inevitable. How many people will be laid off because of lfewer policy holders.
If you worked for 35 years to retire on a pension that included health care coverage, do you really think you will be allowed to keep that coverage ? Do you think you will be reimbursed for its loss from your retirement plan ?