Pelosi denies Snowe in control
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 2:08 PM by firstread
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Congress, Luke Russert
from NBC's Luke Russert and Ali Weinberg
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back on, but did not outright deny, the idea that Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has more influence in the health care debate than the Speaker does. Snowe’s vote in favor of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill is thought by some to have opened the door to the future votes of Democrats from conservative voting districts.
When asked by a reporter today whether Sen. Snowe had more sway than herself, Speaker Pelosi said, "If I may say, a strange question. It is not about who has what kind of influence, it's a question of what is the best approach for America's middle class."
Pelosi also seemed to try to assuage the concerns of labor unions today, saying that all efforts to enact health care reform have the middle class's best interest at heart.
Labor unions like the AFL-CIO and AFSCME have criticized the Senate Finance Committee's health reform bill for its tax on high-end insurance plans which, the unions argue, would also end up affecting middle class union workers with generous health benefits.
Pelosi said, "I want to send our company to the table with the most muscle for America's middle class. It is about going into that room and coming out with the best coverage and lowest cost for America's families."
Addressing another concern of labor unions, many of which advocate a public insurance option, Pelosi said, "a need for a public option is very clear and as I have said, our House bill will have a public option."
