Game changer of the week...Obama's health care agenda hit another roadblock

July 12, 10:01 AMMaryland Grassroots Politics ExaminerJoseph Kitchen

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Vice President Biden and Health Secretary Sebelius (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

President Obama's hope to rewrite health care laws in America before the end of the summer just seems to continue to slip away. The uproar in his own party just seems to be the largest hurdle to overcome. With liberals demanding a public option and more government spending, and now moderates screaming at the high numbers and cuts to Medicare recently announced, it has turned out not to be an easy process.

Last week after House Democratic leaders prepared to announce their version of the bill and move it on a fast track in order to be passed by their August recess, 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats deflected and publicly. Saying the legislation "lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken", they joined with Republicans in calling for the process to be slowed down. They went on to demand that the eventual legislation be more aggressive in bringing down the growing costs of health care while, at the same time helping out with the Medicare cuts that impact rural providers more than urban districts.

After announcing their concern just before party leaders had planned to begin the drumbeat for their plan, the group of moderates met for hours in a quickly arranged meeting between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer. Because of the late-minute meeting it has pushed back the release of the bill until no earlier than Monday at best. This was not the first roadblock health care reform suffered since President Obama named it as his highest legislative priority after taking office.

The upper chamber of Congress, the Senate, has been spending the last three weeks marking up their version of the bill which was only originally expected to take between a week or two. However the Health Committee three weeks into their mark-up has allowed for the delay in the work still needed to be done by the Senate Finance Committee.

President Obama is set to return from his trip overseas and some in Congress are demanding that he get more involved in pushing his legislation through what has become a bogged down and stalled process. As Republican and conservative groups have taken to the airways in opposition to both bills being written in Congress, support for Mr. Obama's agenda is starting to wave with the public. While he remains personally popular many of his legislative priorities are not and are losing friends fast.