Summit, jobs and Toyota

Scott Brown’s election and record snowstorms derailed much of the congressional agenda for the past month. 

But Democratic leaders this week are ready to take their fingers off the pause button.

There is a bipartisan health summit at the White House, a Senate floor debate on a jobs bill and a possible breakthrough on financial regulatory reform between Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).

Now that reconciliation is back on the table for health reform, liberals in Congress are trying to resurrect the public option. 

{mosads}Internal bickering among Democrats over the public option is partially to blame for why reform stalled in 2009. And despite the fact that Democrats can pass health reform in the Senate under reconciliation with only 50 votes, they still don’t have enough votes for a public option.

President Barack Obama acknowledged as much when he didn’t call for a public option in the 11-page health proposal he released on Monday.

It remains to be seen if Democrats have 50 votes for a reconciliation measure that would amend the bill already passed by the Senate. 

On Friday, Senate Republicans put out a release stating that 18 Senate Democrats oppose reconciliation. As The Hill reported, that claim is exaggerated. But there could be 10 Democrats who would reject the use of the partisan tactic, especially if the public option is revived.

The push by some Democrats may just be a way to placate their base. That’s fine, but the left must face facts: Healthcare reform is not dead, but the public option is.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on jobs legislation and financial regulatory reform. 

Under pressure from liberals, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) killed a bipartisan jobs bill before the Presidents Day recess. One of his goals this week is to move jobs legislation on the Senate floor.

On Wednesday, Toyota’s chief executive will attract headlines around the world when he testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The hearing will focus on the problems with Toyota’s gas pedals that forced the company to recall numerous models. 

Dodd and Corker, who started talks before the recess on regulatory reform, were also talking during the recess. The Foreign Relations Committee members last week traveled together to Central America on a trip scheduled awhile back. In between meetings with foreign leaders, the duo indicated that they made headway on a regulatory reform plan. 

Player of the week: Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)