MINUTES AFTER the election, Congress was already astir with the possibilities of healthcare reform. As well they should be. The voters made it perfectly clear that healthcare is an issue they don't want swept by the wayside this time, failing economy or not.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee – one of the most influential committees in Congress – issued an immediate call for “can do” spirits. “My door will be open throughout the (healthcare) debate,” he said. “And I believe that Americans cannot wait any longer.”
In sync with his Democratic Congress, just days after the election, President-elect Barack Obama selected Rep. Rahm Emmanuel (D-Ill.) to be his chief of staff. The job of chief of staff is somewhat loosely defined, ranging from keeping the president's schedule to motivating and moving Congress to pass legislation backed by the president.
Emmanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, was in the thick of negotiations last year to get a State Children's Health Insurance Program funding law through a deadlocked Congress.
Many Democrats on Capitol Hill are fairly sure Emmanuel will help to create “can do” spirits, while some Republicans think he could be abrasive and harm the negotiation process.
The Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said the nation will be well-served by Emmanuel's designation. “He is extraordinarily talented (and) one of the most effective members of Congress,” she said. “He knows the policy (and) he understands the politics.”
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, falls in line as another leader ready for “can do” politics. Dingell, along with his father John Dingell, Sr., who represented the same district in Michigan from 1933-1955, have pushed for universal healthcare for most of the last century and well into this one. The younger Dingell said in a November 11 letter to Obama that he is pleased the president-elect's transition team has wasted no time in starting to work with him on the issue.
Yet, no matter how “can do” the new president may be, he will still have to face daunting obstacles. David Chin, MD, leader of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute, said Obama is going to face some early tests when it comes to squeezing funding from Congress, including SCHIP expansion, healthcare for veterans, physician payment and stem cell research, to name a few.