‘Top Line’ — Does Health Care Deadline Matter?

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: The White House and Democratic leadership in Congress are in a bit of a tussle over the deadline for action on health care reform. The Obama administration wants the House to act on the Senate bill by March 18, while House leaders are saying that action by March 26 — before Congress’ scheduled Easter break — is their objective. Legislative bodies have a tendency to act only where there’s a deadline — whether that’s a program expiring or running out of money, a demand from the executive branch, or a looming vacation. But with so many broken deadlines in the past (health care was supposed to be done last July, and later by Thanksgiving, Christmas, the 2010 State of the Union…), do deadlines mean anything in the health care debate anymore? That was our “Top Line” question of the day today, put out to our Twitter followers. Responded @cmlrun: “Honestly, the deadlines are going nowhere. It's like the boss is trying to scare the union into cowering under the pressure.” We chatted about it on today’s “Top Line” with Ana Marie Cox, Washington correspondent for GQ magazine: “I don’t know why they put a deadline on it, especially since we just don’t believe them anymore, right? I mean, it’s the White House that cried deadline. And I don’t believe them, Congress doesn’t believe them, and also Congress tends to just do what it’ll do. … Congress will simply do what it does at its own pace.” We also chatted about the fallout of Eric Massa’s resignation from Congress — and got Cox’s thoughts on White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s lobbying style. Watch that “Top Line” segment HERE.