White House rejects GOP leaders' calls to start over on healthcare

The White House rejected calls by House Republican leaders to start over on healthcare reform.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that while President Barack Obama looks forward to hearing GOP ideas during a meeting tomorrow, he would not accede to demands by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to ditch the health bill.

"The president looks forward to reviewing Republican proposals that meet the goals he laid out at the beginning of this process, and as recently as the State of the Union Address," Gibbs said. "He’s open to including any good ideas that stand up to objective scrutiny. What he will not do, however, is walk away from reform and the millions of American families and small business counting on it."

Boehner and Cantor had written White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to question Obama's sincerity ahead of his meeting with congressional Republicans. If the president were sincere, the pair wrote, he would be willing to start over on healthcare and reject the budget reconciliation process, which would sidestep Senate filibuster rules.

Gibbs reiterated administration arguments that Obama had worked with Republicans throughout the year, and said that the president is "adamant" that lawmakers finish their work on health reform. 

Gibbs said:

The President is adamant that we seize this historic moment to pass meaningful health insurance reform legislation. He began this process by inviting Republican and Democratic leaders to the White House on March 5 of last year, and he’s continued to work with both parties in crafting the best possible bill. He’s been very clear about his support for the House and Senate bills because of what they achieve for the American people: putting a stop to insurance company abuses, extending coverage to millions of hardworking Americans, getting control of rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reducing the deficit.

The White House first released its statement via Twitter.