WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- President Obama said Thursday he would lead negotiations with Republicans to achieve a compromise on U.S. healthcare.
The president laid out a path for compromise in response to a question at a Democratic fundraiser in Washington, CNN reported. He said that once Democrats in the House and Senate have reconciled their bills, Democratic leaders should "call on our Republican friends to present their ideas."
Scott Brown, who won a special election in Massachusetts to replace longtime Sen. Edward Kennedy, was seated Thursday, giving the Republicans enough votes for a filibuster. That would allow them to block legislation from a floor vote.
"What I'd like to do is to have a meeting whereby I'm sitting with the Republicans, sitting with the Democrats, sitting with healthcare experts, and let's just go through these bills -- their ideas, our ideas -- and walk through them and in a methodical way so that the American people can see and compare," Obama said. "And then I think we've got to go ahead and move forward on a vote. We've got to move forward on a vote."
All Republican senators and most representatives have consistently voted against the healthcare bills so far. Brown has said Congress should start over.
