House Republicans derided the Feb. 25 event, casting doubt on whether it would yield any bipartisan agreement to extend coverage to millions of Americans and rein in medical costs. "Are they willing to start over with a blank sheet of paper?" said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio. "We need answers before we know if the White House is more interested in partisan theater than in facilitating a productive dialogue about solutions."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was more receptive, saying he would work with the White House "to maximize the effectiveness of the meeting."
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The summit is considered a last, best attempt to revive Obama's yearlong health overhaul quest, now stalled after Democrats lost their filibuster-proof Senate majority. Yet, since Obama proposed the summit last weekend, Republicans and Democrats have voiced skepticism. Some in the GOP wondered if it would be nothing but a spectacle that could benefit the president at their expense. Democrats viewed Republicans' insistence that Obama trash existing bills and start over as evidence they weren't sincere about bipartisanship.
By presiding over a meeting with three dozen lawmakers trying to get a word in edgewise, Obama may be able to dominate the conversation and the visual images. That's what many Democrats say he did at a Jan. 29 session when he faced a roomful of GOP House members in Baltimore.
In its invitation, the White House argued that remaking health care was imperative, and Obama challenged Democrats and Republicans to come up with comprehensive bills before the event at Blair House, across the street from the White House
- legislation that would be posted online.
Citing bills passed in the House and Senate, the White House said "this is the closest our nation has been to resolving this issue in the nearly 100 years that it has been debated. The Blair House meeting is the next step."
The letter was sent to Boehner, McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The White House named 21 lawmakers the president wants to attend the summit: the top leaders in the House and Senate and of the committees with jurisdiction over the health legislation. Obama also invited the top four leaders to invite four more lawmakers each, bringing the total to 37
- 20 Democrats and 17 Republicans.
At the meeting, Obama will offer opening remarks, followed by comments from a Republican leader and a Democratic leader, according to the format detailed in Friday's letter by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Obama will then moderate a discussion on four topics: insurance reforms, cost containment, expanding coverage and the impact of health legislation on the deficit.