House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that Republicans have left their mark on the healthcare bill and should accept that the bill will go forward. "They've had plenty of opportunity to make their voices heard," she said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning.| "Bipartisanship is a two-way street. A bill can be bipartisan without bipartisan votes. Republicans have left their imprint." |
"It could even be tripartisan!"
The public option, for example, has been stripped from the bill because Republicans were so adamantly against it, she said. "They've had a field day going out and misrepresenting what the bill says," Pelosi said. "But that's what they do."
On ABC's "This Week," just a few days after the bipartisan healthcare summit, Pelosi said, "What's the point of talking about it any longer?"
In early remarks released by ABC, Pelosi was asked by "This Week" host Elizabeth Vargas "when it does finally come to vote on it in the House, you're certain that you can muster the 217 votes that you need even with the differences over abortion language?"
"Well let me say I have this in three -- just so you know how we sequence this," Pelosi said. "First we zero in on what the policy will be. And that is what we'll be doing -- following the president's summit yesterday.
"Secondly, we'll see what the Senate can do. What is the substance? And what is the Senate prepared to do? And then we'll go to the third step as to what my -- my members will vote for. But we have a very diverse party. But we all agree that the present system is unsustainable."
When asked to grade the past year, Pelosi said, "I think I get an A for effort."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday the bill can't be refigured to address Republican concerns. Starting over, he said, is the only option.
"The American people do not want this bill," he said on CNN, also arguing that it is inappropriate to use the budget reconciliation measure to pass the bill with a simple majority vote in the Senate.