Sunday shows: Health summit, Part 2

Fallout from Thursday’s bipartisan healthcare summit will dominate the Sunday shows this weekend.

Ten out of the 11 lawmakers scheduled to appear on the Sunday talk shows attended the Blair House meeting with President Barack Obama.

{mosads}Myriad questions still loom over the healthcare debate. Will House Democrats be able to marshal enough votes to pass the Senate’s healthcare bill? Will the Senate pass the president’s fixes to the healthcare bill using the controversial budget reconciliation process?

What will Obama’s suggested way forward on healthcare look like when he unveils it next week?

Some heavy-hitting lawmakers will be on your television to answer those questions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will appear on CNN’s “State of the Union” and ABC’s “This Week” to provide insight on what the House plans to do with regards to the Senate’s healthcare bill.

Doubts crept up this week that the Democrats will be able to muster enough votes to pass the bill. At different points in the debate, both liberal and centrist Democrats have complained about elements of the upper chamber’s proposal.

The president’s proposal released on Monday seemed to assuage the worries of some potential holdouts. But others, such as Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), remain uncommitted to supporting the proposal.

Stupak, who amended to the House bill strict prohibitions against federal funding for abortions, objects to the White House proposal’s adherence to the Senate’s abortion language. He said this week that 15-20 Democrats are holding out for that and other reasons.

Still, Democratic leaders remained optimistic that they will be able to push forward after the White House summit.

House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will appear on CBS’ “Face the Nation” to discuss the House Democrats’ position.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who played a pivotal role in ushering the Senate bill toward passage, will also appear on “Face the Nation.”

Conrad could provide insight into whether or not Reid will use the reconciliation process to pass the president’s fixes. Under reconciliation, only a simple majority of senators is needed to pass legislation.

This would allow Democrats to skirt a GOP filibuster of the bill that was put up when Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) was seated this month.

Republicans, though, have complained that using reconciliation would thwart a tide of public opinion against the bill.

To give that perspective, three Senate Republican leaders will give their take on Sunday.

“State of the Union” will seat Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) across from Pelosi, Minority Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.) will go on “Fox News Sunday” and Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) will counter Pelosi on “This Week.”

Both House and Senate Republicans have called on Democrats to scrap the current effort and start over, passing smaller reform bills that enjoy bipartisan support.

But Democrats have said that Republican proposals lack the teeth to affect the insurance market and achieve real reform.

Several other Republican stalwarts will debate that point. House Budget Committee Ranking Member Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), perhaps the House GOP’s foremost policy wonk, will go on “Fox News Sunday.”

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a physician who delivered the Republicans’ weekly address, will appear on “Face the Nation” along with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who attended the summit.

Obama’s 2008 campaign opponent, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), will be the sole guest on NBCs “Meet the Press.”

McCain repeatedly sparred with Obama during the summit. At one point, Obama tried to cut off McCain, but the veteran senator barreled through his attempt.

Afterward, Obama said, “Let me just make this point, John, because we’re not campaigning anymore. The election is over…We can spend the remainder of the time with our respective talking points going back and forth. We were supposed to be talking about insurance.”

The only Sunday show guest not to attend the summit, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), will go on “Fox News Sunday.”

Menendez could speak about how the process will affect this year’s midterm elections .

The New Jersey senator has also been bullish in pressuring Reid to reintroduce the public health insurance option to the Senate bill.