Obama Delays Asia Trip as Dems Wrangle Health Care Votes
Democrats scramble amid "dramatic" developments to gather votes for health care.
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2010— -- Speaking volumes about how Democrats lack the votes to pass overhauling health care legislation, President Obama has delayed next week's trip to Indonesia and Australia.
The president was scheduled to leave Thursday, which is the deadline the White House gave Congress to finish negotiations and pass a bill.
But the White House has confirmed that Obama will leave for Asia three days later, on Sunday, March 21, and without his wife and daughters, as originally planned.
White House officials and congressional Democratic sources expressed confidence that the compromise House-Senate legislation would ultimately pass, but as of now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., does not have the votes.
"We'll take whatever time is required for us to pass the legislation," Pelosi told reporters today.
She needs 216 votes -- a majority of the House's 431 members -- to pass the Senate bill and changes to it. Anti-abortion Democrats, led by Rep. Bart Stupak, D- Mich., have said they would not support the Senate bill because it has less restrictive language on abortion than the House bill.
Democratic congressional leaders had asked the president to delay his trip until after the health care overhaul vote so he could make a personal appeal to House Democrats to vote for legislation that has consumed so much of his presidency.
"I'm delighted the president will be here for the passage of the bill," Pelosi said. "It's going to be historic."
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a key figure in the ongoing negotiations, is facing a personal health care crisis of his own.
Reid's wife and daughter are recovering from a car accident Thursday that left the women hospitalized in serious condition.
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