Democrats set to go on offense when they return to Washington

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Congress will return Tuesday from a hot August recess to a politically steamy September, when lawmakers will resume grappling with crafting a comprehensive health-care bill as Democrats try to mend rifts within their ranks over its scope and cost.

After enduring a month of often-confrontational questions at town-hall meetings in their districts and fearful of suffering losses in next year’s midterm elections, Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate are hoping that returning to work will help them regain control of the health-care debate.

“Having gone through the aborted 1994 health-care campaign, I fully expected what happened to us in August happening,” Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said of the testy town-hall sessions. “Now we have to go on the offensive.”

That will begin quickly. President Barack Obama will meet Tuesday afternoon with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Caucuses of Democratic lawmakers are expected to meet privately Tuesday and Wednesday. Last, Obama will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, and White House aides say he’ll try to take command of the debate by specifying more of what he wants.

Rep. Xavier Becerra of California, the House Democratic Caucus vice chairman, recently spoke with Obama, and said that the president emphasized two goals: reducing the cost of insurance for those who have it and increasing the number of insured people.

But Obama didn’t specify then what he’d support.

“He just said, ‘Get it done,’” Becerra said.

That’s easier said than done. House Democrats, who control 256 of the chamber’s 435 seats, remain as divided as they were before the recess.

Liberal Democrats such as Engel say that a bill must include a “public option,” which would create a government-run program to compete with private insurers to drive down the price of insurance.

However, the 52 members of the conservative Blue Dog Democratic caucus, who generally face tough re-election fights, balk at the sweeping legislation that three House committees have passed so far. They especially question the price tag, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has assessed at about $1 trillion over 10 years.

At the same time, some 80 liberal House Democrats have threatened to oppose any legislation that doesn’t include a public option.

“It’s a delicate balance,” Engel said. “Where do you get the Blue Dog votes without losing the progressives?”

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., assistant to Pelosi, said that everyone had to compromise. The tax increases, he said, are “the least bad of bad choices” and would raise taxes on people “who got a big break during the Bush administration.”

Pelosi intends for the House to approve legislation this month.