Reid on Health Care Package: 'We're Not There Yet'

President Barack Obama went to Capitol Hill on Sunday to press Democratic senators to pass a health care reform bill, but moments after his 45-minute meeting with senators, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "We're not there yet."

Applause could be heard outside of the Mansfield room on the second floor of the Capitol as the president and his team met with all 58 Democrats and two independents in the Senate. Joining the president were Vice President Joe Biden, Interior Secretary (and former senator) Ken Salazar, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, adviser David Axelrod and other administration officials.

Bill Burton, a White House spokesman, said the president "thanked senators for their hard work so far and encouraged them to continue forward on this historic opportunity." Reid said the meeting was helpful, but not conclusive.

"He pledged to work with us in any meaningful way that he can," the Majority Leader said of the meeting. "There are still a few things we have to work out in the bill and those issues are being narrowed as we speak."

Reid added, "We're working toward a consensus. We're not there yet."

Two key issues issues have have tripped up Reid and the Democrats in their effort to lock in 60 votes to pass the bill, including the question of how abortion services will be treated in the insurance exchanges created by the bill, and whether a government-run public insurance option will be created and offered on those exchanges.

On the first point, Reid confirmed that Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) will offer an amendment Monday morning similar to the Stupak amendment approved by the House, which stipulated that federal funds cannot be used to cover abortion services either directly or indirectly in the exchanges. Although the Stupak amendment ignited a firestorm of opposition among Democratic activists and is not likely to pass the Senate, Nelson, a pro-life, moderate Democrat, has said he will filibuster the bill without tougher abortion funding restrictions.

On the second issue -- whether the bill will include a public option -- Reid confirmed that he had asked five moderate Democrats and five liberal Democrats to begin to negotiate a compromise that would be palatable to both groups. But if keeping the public option in the health bill is a priority for President Obama, he did not indicate that Sunday. In fact, the president did not mention the public option at all in his meeting with senators.

"That doesn't mean it's not an issue just because the president didn't talk about it," Reid said.

As the President met with Democrats on Sunday afternoon, Reid took the unusual procedural step of leaving the Senate floor to the full control of Republicans, who used the opportunity to complain that Obama should have included them in his meeting.

"The president is less than 100 yards away, he is a former member of this body, he ought to be involving all senators," said Sen. Jon Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a doctor. "He's meeting behind closed doors, possibly cutting deals, trying to come to arrangements, twisting arms, asking people to follow his marching orders right off a cliff. I think he ought to be involving all Americans in this discussion."

"I think we're all ready to meet with him,"said John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) compared Democrats to pretzels "because of the fact that there are so many interest groups that they have to kowtow to," and suggested that perhaps a yoga instructor had joined the president and the Democratic caucus to "just kind of loosen up because they're so twisted in knots trying to undo all the pledges they made to different groups."

The president's visit to the Capitol came at the end of a lengthy and now familiar weekend Senate session debating health care reform. On Saturday, senators defeated an amendment, 53 to 41, by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) to restore cuts in payments to home health agencies.

On Sunday, the Senate voted 56 to 42 on a measure by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), 56 to 42, to limit the tax deductibility for insurance companies' executive compensation to $400,000. The amendment failed because 60 votes were required to pass it. Senators also defeated, 32 to 66, an amendment from Sen. John Ensign (D-Nev.) to limit attorneys fees for medical malpractice suits.

The Senate will gavel into session Monday morning to continue debating the health care bill, including the crucial Nelson amendment on abortion services that he says will determine how he'll vote on the entire package.