Ross: Health bill will get ‘done this year’

Leading Blue Dog Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) said Thursday that healthcare reform legislation will be completed this year, fueling continued speculation that negotiations on the bill may last well beyond September.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday predicted that Congress would vote on the bill between late September and mid October.

“I am absolutely convinced we are gonna get healthcare reform done this year,” Ross told KTHV in Little Rock, Ark. “I think putting any kind of deadline on it is a mistake because the American people don’t want us to rush this,” he added.

Markup of the bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where Ross sits, broke down after centrist Blue Dogs pushed back against House leadership because of the bill’s high cost.

President Barack Obama’s original August deadline also irked Ross and the Blue Dogs. “I believe it was a mistake,” Ross said.

Ross tweeted a link to the video of his comments.

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room