Jake Tapper
ABC News
3/17/2010
ABC News’ Sunlen Miller and Karen Travers report:
President Obama said today that he is not too worried about the controversial “deem and pass” strategy being considered on Capitol Hill, and that members should not “pretend” that a vote, in whatever form it ends up taking, is anything other than a vote for or against reform.
“I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules are in the House or Senate,” Obama said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, “What I can tell you is that the vote that’s taken in the House will be a vote for health care reform. And if people vote yes, whatever form that takes, that is going to be a vote for health care reform. And I don’t think we should pretend otherwise.”
The president said those that vote against reform will be voting for the status quo, regardless of the procedural tactics used.
“Washington gets very concerned with these procedures in Congress, this is always an issue whether Republicans are in charge or Democrats are in charge.”
Nudging Congress a bit – the president said that whatever they end up voting for he hopes it’s going to be “sometime this week.”
The article continues at ABC News
