Reid: "There is no reason why we can’t .... still send a bill to the President by Christmas."

Timeline 'unchanged'
Reid's office clarifies health goal
By CAROL E. LEE | 11/03/09 6:41 PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office is clarifying Reid's Tuesday remarks that seemed to suggest health care reform might not be passed until 2010.

"Our goals remain unchanged. We want to get health insurance reform done this year, and we have unprecedented momentum to achieve that," Reid spokesman Jim Manley emailed. "There is no reason why we can’t have a transparent and thorough debate in the Senate and still send a bill to the President by Christmas."

Earlier, Reid answered reporters' questions about the end-of-year deadline for health care legislation by declaring: "We're not going to be bound by any timelines. We need to do the best job we can for the American people. We want quality legislation, and we're going to do that."

The Senate has eight weeks until Christmas break and has yet to begin its floor debate, as it waits for the Congressional Budget Office to complete a final analysis of a merged bill.

Reid told reporters: "We're going to do this legislation as expeditiously as we can, but we're going to do it as fairly as we can, also."

Asked about Reid’s comments, White House spokesman Reid Cherlin emailed: “We’re moving on the same timeline. The House plans to vote on the health reform bill within days, and as Senator Reid said today, he shares the White House’s commitment to passing meaningful reform by Christmas and will be moving swiftly once the Senate hears back from CBO.”

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