House Dems pushing ahead on healthcare

The House’s health reform bill will not be dependent on what legislation the Senate is able to move forward, one House liberal emphasized Monday.

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), a vocal supporter of healthcare reform within the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), said that the House is “coming to terms” with the idea that the House will likely have to move its own legislation.

“We have our own work to do in the House of Representatives to move a bill forward,” she said Monday morning during an appearance on CNBC. “And it is not, frankly, dependent on what or when the Senate moves.”

“And I think we’re coming to terms with that,” she added.

House liberals, including Edwards, continue to clamor for the inclusion of the public (or “government-run”) option in the House health reform bill despite signs that the Senate may not have sufficient votes to pass a bill with a public option.

She said that the House would likely move forward with the public plan, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said is essential to mustering a majority of votes in the house.

The Maryland Democrat, who’s been serving in Congress for just over a year after beating Rep. Albert Wynn in a primary last July, did say she is feeling better about the prospects for health reform than she had during the height of the August congressional recess.

“I feel absolutely better. I think people have had a chance to try and digest what we’re trying to accomplish on healthcare reform,” she said. “I think they have heard from the president, and settled down.”