US President Barack Obama warned on Monday that the US’ fast-worsening economic plight meant his government simply could not afford to fail in the politically perilous task of reforming health care.
As he nominated Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his new health secretary, Obama said relieving families and businesses of the soaring costs of health care payments was key to solving the crisis.
He made latest bid to advance an ambitious political agenda on another miserable day for the economy, as stocks plunged to levels last seen in 1997 and insurer AIG needed a new government bailout — worth US$30 billion.
PHOTO: AFP
“We cannot fail to act yet again,” Obama said, vowing to make good on a campaign promise to offer “quality, affordable health care” to every American.
“Fixing what’s wrong with our health care system is no longer just a moral imperative, but a fiscal imperative,” he said. “The crushing cost of health care causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds, and by the end of this year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes.”
Sebelius, 60, requires Senate confirmation as the secretary of health and human services (HHS).
“We can’t fix the economy without fixing health care,” Sebelius said. “The work won’t be easy, but bringing about real change rarely is.”
Obama also picked health expert Nancy-Ann DeParle as his counselor to coordinate White House efforts on health care reform.
The appointments replaced that of former senator Tom Daschle, who was nominated to serve as HHS secretary and White House health czar but was forced to pull out after a storm over unpaid taxes.
Obama shone a spotlight on health care after he placed the issue, a political gamble that has dogged previous Democratic presidents, at the center of his budget last week.
The president asked Congress for US$634 billion over 10 years as a “down payment” on refashioning a largely private system that offers some of the world’s best care, but leaves nearly 46 million Americans uninsured, according to the National Coalition on Health Care, an umbrella reform group.
His insistence on pushing the legislation confounds critics who say Obama needs to curtail his political wish list because of the economic turmoil.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain on Monday launched a broadside against Obama, arguing he failed to live up to his commitment to change Washington by backing a US$410 billion spending bill stuffed with lawmakers’ pet projects.
Officials have said Obama would likely sign the spending bill because it was wrapping up business left over from the previous administration but necessary to fund government operations through Sept. 30.
McCain said the projects, known as “earmarks,” broke Obama’s vow to get tough on spending.
“In his pledge last September, President Obama said: ‘We need earmark reform and when I’m president I will go line by line to make sure we’re not spending money unwisely,’” McCain said on the Senate floor. “So what’s brought to the floor today? Nine thousand earmarks, billions and billions of dollars of unneeded and wasteful spending,” he said.
McCain has tried for years to eliminate earmarks, which represent a small fraction of US spending. On the campaign trail he frequently criticized Obama for seeking earmarks during his early years as a senator.
“If it sounds like I’m angry ... it’s because I am,” McCain said. “The American people want the Congress to act in a fiscally responsible manner.”
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