The Democrats in the Senate and House claim President Obama's timetable is too aggressive. Except

[AlinPA]

for the time needed for the CBO to score his proposal (the components have been scored before because the same components are in the senate and house bills), getting a vote should be quick, so they must be looking for an excuse not to act before the election.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/health/policy/04health.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

"On Capitol Hill, the strategy could prove a heavy lift for the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, who are now under intense pressure from the White House to translate Mr. Obama’s wishes for a final bill into legislative language. Both leaders issued statements Wednesday praising Mr. Obama and vowing to press ahead. But, noticeably, neither publicly committed to Mr. Obama’s timetable.

Privately, Senate leadership aides said Mr. Obama’s deadline could be difficult to meet. The tentative plan is for the House to adopt the bill passed by the Senate, and for both chambers to use reconciliation to pass a package of changes that would bridge gaps between the initial House and Senate versions.

But the final language must still be sent to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office for evaluation, a process that takes time. Many aspects of the legislation remain unresolved, and rank-and-file Democrats in the House remain deeply uneasy over both the substance of the bill and the process by which it would be adopted.

Ms. Pelosi does not yet have the votes she needs to pass the legislation. She faces complex negotiations with both the moderate and liberal wings of her party to come up with a package that can pass the House without deviating so much from the existing Senate version that Mr. Reid would have trouble assembling a majority for the final vote in the Senate. "

[rurallib]

1. Dr. Dean, Dr. Dean! Spine transplant in Senate Chamber, stat