Gibbs: White House not drafting its own health bill

[ProSense]

Gibbs: White House not drafting its own health bill

By Michael O'Brien

The White House on Wednesday denied it is preparing a bill to drop into the health debate if House and Senate leaders are unable to craft legislation.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the Obama administration has not been working on a comprehensive bill to send to Congress, though Gibbs acknowledged the White House has routinely worked with lawmakers on legislative language for the health reform bills.

"We have looked at for months and helped work on legislative language, but nothing has changed about us drafting or introducing a bill," Gibbs said during his daily press briefing.

The Obama White House has long emphasized that it is leaving the specifics on health reform up to lawmakers in the House and Senate, though the president's reticence to come down on some specifics like the necessity of the public option or certain financing plans have been a source of frustration for some in Congress.

Gibbs said that the administration had simply been engaged with Congress in a routine way, and hasn't been writing sections of a bill.

"We have been asked to look at and work with different committees on different pieces of legislation and aspects of them," he explained. "That's what happens all the time."

[panader0]

1. I think the White House should have had their own bill

from the beginning. Turning the whole thing over to the Congress and Senate hasn't worked too well so far. Obama looks like he's in the background on this issue.

[ProSense]

2. Disagree, that was why Clinton's bill failed. And does this mean

"Turning the whole thing over to the Congress and Senate hasn't worked too well so far."

How hasn't it worked? Four of the five bills have a public option and are extremely similar, and support for a public option has grown in both houses of Congress.

[backscatter712]

3. Personally, I think the rumor was just sent to drop a hint to Congress.

He's telling them "Quit screwing around and get me a usable bill!"

[Cha]

4. ..

A painful process, whatever is going on behind the scenes.