Obama: Healthcare reform bill to be passed by year end

During an Indiana speech on Wednesday, President Barack Obama said "there will be an overhaul of the health care system before the end of the year and said it doesn't have to be a bipartisan effort," according to The Associated Press. He also pledged that "successful conclusion of an ambitious health care overhaul that he has argued would stabilize the nation's fiscal health."

Interviewed afterward, Obama added that he "is not wedded" to a bill that secures Republican as well as Democrat support, but that "he is encouraged that some in the GOP are negotiating with Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee." He also "signaled impatience with protracted talks that haven't yet produced legislation." Obama said an assessment will be done in September about whether to keep trying to work with the GOP (8/5).

The Chicago Tribune's blog, The Swamp, reports more about what President Obama said while visiting "hard-hit" Elkhart, Indiana. On the topic of healthcare reform financing, Obama said, "We have not proposed a tax hike for the wealthy that would take effect in the middle of a recession.'' According to the blog, taxes for higher-income Americans are planned for after 2011 (Silva, 8/5).