Monday, March 1, 2010
11:34 AM
Ryan: Don't count House Dems out on health care vote
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan said Sunday House Democrats don't have the votes to pass the new health care reform package right now, but that could change easily once a proposal nears the floor.
"They do not now have the votes from our best count," the Janesville Republican said on Fox News Sunday. "I wouldn't count (Speaker Pelosi) out, because she is very good at muscling votes. They were down 24 on cap and trade the night before. They passed it by eight."
Ryan defended GOP proposals to reform health care, suggesting that medical malpractice is a far bigger driver of health costs than the numbers indicate, and that individual states should have well-subsidized, high-risk pools to cover those with preexisting conditions. He said those initiatives, among others, haven't been publicized because Democrats are controlling the process.
"The only time we've had bipartisan discussion, you've seen it, because it's been on TV," Ryan said. "We've been frozen out of this process all session long, and it's quite clear to us that they're really not interested in engaging in collaborating and bipartisanship. They want to jam this thing through."
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