The White House is about to kick off a bipartisan health care summit that the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats hope will be the closing chapter in their long fight to pass the legislation and prepare for the midterm elections.
The summit starts at 10 a.m. at the Blair House across Lafayette Park from the White House. There are 38 Congressional attendees, administration staffers and Cabinet secretaries.
In trying to be transparent, the White House has detailed the agenda and even the seating arrangement, and will stream the event all day at WhiteHouse.gov.
The White House says President Obama will be seated in the middle of one side of the hollow square, with Vice President Joe Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Democratic leaders seated alongside of him.
Other members of Congress will be seated by their chamber and party around the square, and aides from the Congressional Budget Office will be on hand.
The White House offers this agenda:
The President will offer brief opening comments, followed by Republican and Democratic members chosen by their colleagues. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will speak for the Democrats and Politico reported that Sen. Lamar Alexader (R-TN) will speak for the GOP.
They will then begin discussions around four themes:
1) Controlling costs – introduced by the President;
2) Insurance reforms – introduced by Secretary Sebelius;
3) Reducing the deficit – introduced by the Vice President; and
4) Expanding coverage – introduced by the President.
House Republicans yesterday accused Democrats of using a hearing about a proposed 39 percent rate increase from Anthem Blue Cross to help the summit’s agenda.
As we noted in our preview of the different party strategies, Democrats are confident Obama will take the higher ground and help be referee.
“The American people are disgusted by the food fights,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said this morning on MSNBC.
The summit will be on television and streamed online, and the Obama political machine is kicking into high gear to boost viewership.
Organizing for America sent multiple emails and text messages to Obama supporters to get them to tune in. The White House also used its own email list to preview the summit and ask Americans to watch.
Follow our live updates today here.
