Senate Timetable Slips Further Behind

In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee yesterday, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf really did not say anything that he has not already said before, but he still managed to make headlines, including on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. In response to a question from Chairman Kent Conrad, he said, “In the legislation that has been reported, we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount.” This was the subject of our last blog post.

That Dr. Elmendorf’s comments made headlines is mainly a reflection of the enormous strains that have emerged within Congress—even among Democrats in Congress—over the direction of healthcare reform. President Obama started the week by pushing Congressional leaders to move forward on healthcare legislation. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus continues to search for bipartisan support, but the result so far has been a stalemate. With the push from President Obama, Senator Baucus was again saying that a bill would emerge this week. Once again, however, the week ended without a bill from the Senate Finance Committee and with renewed pledges to produce a bill the following week. If, in further negotiation, Mr. Baucus is able to forge a compromise that has the backing of Senator Check Grassley, the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee, it will have been worth the wait. As time goes by, however, divisions seem only to be deepening, and the chances of the Senate passing a bill before the August recess seem to be slipping away.