Pelosi again says House doesn't have votes to pass Senate health bill

Responding to pressure from some Democrats on the other side of the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday once again said there are not enough votes in the House to pass the Senate healthcare bill.

After a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Pelosi stated, "As I have said, at this time and in this form, there aren't the votes in the House -- not anywhere near -- to pass the Senate bill. Now, some kind of package that we can put together may produce that result and we had a good, constructive meeting to that end."

Pelosi made a similar comment after Republican Scott Brown scored his stunning win in Massachusetts last week.

Since then, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) publicly challenged Pelosi's claim, saying, "She should work it harder."

Landrieu added, "The Senate bill is not dead. The Senate bill will ultimately be accepted by the House and sent to the president for his signature ... because it is the only path open for healthcare reform."

Pelosi said Tuesday that she and Reid discussed using reconciliation rules in order to pass health reform. One option being considered is passing the Senate bill and amending it through reconciliation, which require only 51 votes for passage. 

Asked if she could get 218 votes for a companion package, she responded, “It depends on what the fixes are.”

“As long as people know that the Senate bill is not acceptable, we can’t pass it, and that they’re focusing on what we can do working together,” she continued.  “We like our bill, they like their bill.  We have to find our common ground.”