Clinton: Congress should tackle healthcare

DENVER, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that she and fellow lawmakers should draft the Democratic Party's healthcare reform plan next year.

The Hill reported that the New York senator said at a union event that the healthcare policy should not be the duty of the president.

"I hope the Democrats in Congress can reach a consensus, because it is easy to make speeches about healthcare reform and, believe me, it is a lot harder to translate those words into legislative language that will actually get the votes we need to be successful," Clinton said in Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is under way.

During the Democratic primary Clinton and Barack Obama, the Democratic Party nominee, disagreed over whose healthcare plan was better. Clinton said Obama's plan was not truly universal because it does not mandate that all people obtain health coverage.

"When we talk about healthcare and health reform, we are talking about high-quality, affordable healthcare for every American -- no exceptions, no excuses, nobody left out," Clinton said at the event organized by the Service Employees International Union and the liberal healthcare activism group Families USA.