WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama delayed next week's trip to Indonesia and Australia, a decision aides said shows a belief movement on healthcare may peak by then.
"The president will delay leaving for Indonesia and Australia -- will now leave Sunday -- the first lady and the girls will not be on the trip," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs announced Friday via Twitter.
The White House has been pressing the House of Representatives to vote on the Senate's healthcare measure by March 18, when Obama originally was scheduled to leave for a weeklong visit to Guam, Indonesia and Australia, The Washington Post reported. He now will leave March 21 without wife Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia.
Top Democratic lawmakers publicly and privately expressed doubt that they could meet the March 18 deadline, and Gibbs said Thursday the administration understood that the vote could be pushed back by a few days.
Friday's announcement is the third time Obama has delayed travel partially because of the congressional battle over healthcare, the Post said. Obama delayed his trip to China in November because of the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings and healthcare votes. He held off leaving for a vacation in Hawaii as lawmakers pushed to pass health bills before Christmas.
The legislative process on the Senate healthcare bill was expected to begin Monday in the House Budget Committee, the Post said. Congressional aides said Friday House leaders also hope to pass a reconciliation package through the House Budget Committee on Monday, sending it to the Rules Committee 72 hours later. Lawmakers simultaneously could review the package with the Senate parliamentarian to ensure that it could clear procedural challenges.
House leaders said they hoped both the Senate bill and the reconciliation package could hit the floor late next week.
"That's my hope," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Friday.
