ABC News interviewed President Barack Obama, who said: "The Senate certainly shouldn't try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated. People in Massachusetts spoke. He's got to be part of that process. ... I think point number two is that it is very important to look at the substance of this package and for the American people to understand that a lot of the fear mongering around this bill isn't true. I would advise that we try to move quickly to coalesce around those elements of the package that people agree on" (Stephanopoulos, 1/20).
Democrats are "giving serious consideration to abandoning the comprehensive approach in favor of incremental steps that might salvage key elements of the package," the Los Angeles Times reports. Without a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, Democrats are focusing their efforts on winning GOP support for different parts, perhaps approached piecemeal, of health reform including "restrictions on insurance companies and new initiatives to restrain costs" (Levey and Hook, 1/21).
The Associated Press reports that "(b)y all accounts, Democrats have made no final decision on their options, which included breaking the health legislation into several smaller bills." In an attempt to attract Republican support, there's some talk of adding key elements. "These included allowing insurance companies to sell policies across state lines, according to Rep. Timothy Walz, D-Minn."
AP adds that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., "said a slimmer bill would be a 'reasonable alternative' that could appeal to the public even with continued Republican opposition" (Fram ,1/21).