Obama trying to 'force some decisions' on healthcare measure

President Obama is trying to “force some decisions” on healthcare during a critical White House negotiating session that is going into the night, according to a senior congressional aide.

The meeting was initially thought to take a few hours to get the two chambers talking at a time when the healthcare legislation is hanging in the balance. Democrats have decided to forgo a traditional conference to work out stark differences between the Senate and House bills, with Republicans cut out of the negotiations.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) arrived at 10:30 a.m. and committee chairmen joined them later for talks that were expected to conclude by 2 p.m., according to leadership aides.

But the meeting has gone longer than expected, and even though House participants left at around 3 p.m. to attend a vote, Pelosi’s office said they would return to resume discussions. Reid and his fellow senators remained behind with Obama.

While aides shed no light on the substance of the discussions, a senior House aide said the appearance of the key participants working into the night left the impression that Obama was looking to “force some decisions and that takes a lot of time.”A critical negotiating session at the White House Wednesday is going into the night and has some speculating that President Barack Obama is trying to “force some decisions” to move healthcare legislation.

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