Obama delays Asia trip

The White House had been pressing the House of Representatives to hold a key vote on Obama's flagship health care reforms before his original departure date of March 18, but it became clear that that deadline was unrealistic.

The delay will also likely fan fresh doubts about the capacity of Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives to put together a majority of votes for the embattled effort to overhaul America's mostly private health care system.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she was “exhilarated” about the legislation's prospects, but she stopped short of saying she had the 216 votes needed for passage. She said House floor votes on the measure were expected by the end of next week, but she remained uncommitted to any precise timetable.

Obama has spent over a year trying to cajole Congress into passing the kind of sweeping health care reform that has eluded Democratic presidents for decades.

In recent days, he has escalated the fight, staking his own political credibility and authority on passing the bid to expand access to health care for millions of Americans and to cut costs and rein in insurance giants.

In a delicate piece of political choreography, Obama wants the House of Representatives to pass a Senate health care bill, then for both chambers to endorse a package of “fixes” to harmonize the final legislation.

Obama, who lived in Jakarta with his late mother Ann Dunham in the 1960s, said last year in Singapore that he was looking forward to visiting his old haunts in Indonesia.

Obama is hugely popular in Indonesia, but earlier on Friday several dozen Muslim students protested in front of the U.S. embassy in Jakarta against his visit to the world's largest Muslim-majority country.

“Just like Bush, he is a war president and an enemy of Islam,” protest coordinator Fikri Ahmad Irhamul told AFP.

1|2

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email