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Health Care Negotiations Blow Up, Again

5:57 PM, Jul 29, 2009 • By JOHN MCCORMACK
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The big news on Obamacare this afternoon was Henry Waxman's "breakthrough" on a deal with the Blue Dogs to markup the health bill this afternoon and presumably report it out of committee by Friday. "I'm especially grateful that so many members, including some Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee, are working so hard to find common ground," Obama said in a statement this afternoon. "Those efforts are extraordinarily constructive in strengthening this legislation and bringing down its cost."

But Roll Call reports that liberals on the committee have objected to Waxman's deal with the Blue Dogs, forcing the chairman to give up on marking up the bill today:

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) postponed the health bill markup that he planned to hold Wednesday afternoon amid a backlash from liberals to the deal that he cut earlier with four conservative Blue Dog Democrats.

Waxman told reporters that he intended to keep meeting with committee Democrats on Wednesday night, resume the markup Thursday and still finish the bill Friday. ...

Waxman's deal with the Blue Dogs, backed by House leaders and the White House, cuts more than $100 billion from the bill, prevents a new public option from using Medicare rates to reimburse providers and exempts small businesses with a payroll of less than $500,000 from a new employer mandate, among other changes.

The weakening of the public option incensed some liberal Members, with Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairwoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) declaring she would vote against it.

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