Pelosi, Hoyer cool on Obama's health plan

House Democratic leaders seem less than enthusiastic about the healthcare proposal President Obama unveiled this morning.

Both Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) released statements on the president's plan that were notably muted.

Pelosi said merely that the new plan contains some "positive elements" from the House and Senate bills.

"I look forward to reviewing it with House Members and then joining the President and the Republican leadership at the Blair House meeting on Thursday," Pelosi said, referring to the televised healthcare summit.

Hoyer, meanwhile, was almost entirely neutral on the proposal.

"In combining elements of the House and Senate-passed bills, the President has drawn a blueprint of ideas that have been thoroughly debated and publicly examined," Hoyer said.

Absent from either statement is a strong endorsement of the President's plan, which would soften the impact of the excise tax and removes the "Cornhusker Kickback" secured by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)

Read both statements after the jump.

Washington, D.C – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Obama’s health insurance reform proposal, which was released this morning in advance of Thursday’s bipartisan meeting on health reform:

"The President today made available to all Americans the Administration's health insurance reform proposal, which contains positive elements from the House and Senate-passed bills. I look forward to reviewing it with House Members and then joining the President and the Republican leadership at the Blair House meeting on Thursday.  This discussion will continue a year-long historic level of transparency and open debate of this crucial reform effort.

“Our nation is closer than ever to guaranteeing affordable health care to America’s middle class and small businesses, lowering costs and strengthening Medicare for seniors, holding insurance companies accountable, and reducing our deficit.  The cost of inaction is too great for our nation and for every family facing the heartbreaking reality of skyrocketing health care costs and denied care or coverage.

“We must pass comprehensive, affordable health insurance reform, and I am hopeful that Thursday’s meeting will help us achieve this goal.”

WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement on the President’s health insurance reform proposal released today in advance of Thursday’s bipartisan meeting:
 
“Over the course of the last year, the House and Senate thoroughly and publicly debated how best to make health care more affordable and accessible. The resulting bills are comprehensive solutions that would provide greater security in cost, access and quality to all Americans.
 
“Now is the time to move forward, and that is why the President has convened an open, bipartisan meeting and laid out an Administration proposal that will serve as a framework for that discussion. In combining elements of the House and Senate-passed bills, the President has drawn a blueprint of ideas that have been thoroughly debated and publicly examined.
 
“Thursday’s meeting will provide the opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to continue an open and transparent discussion of health care reform and hopefully find areas of agreement that will strengthen the final product and help move the process forward. That is what the American people have asked of us – to work together to find compromise and solve the common problems we face.”