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American Morning

Next Stop For Patients' Bill of Rights: Conference Committee

Aired August 03, 2001 - 11:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Next stop for a patients' bill of rights: conference committee. House and Senate negotiators will have to iron out differences in competing bills. The differences are really just substantial over just where you can sue an HMO and just how much you might be able to collect.

CNN White House correspondent Major Garrett joins us this morning this after House approval for the bill.

Hello, Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Linda.

The House was up all night last night working on version of patients' bill of rights President Bush has made very clear he can sign. What that means is, millions of Americans are closer than they've ever been before to new rights dealing with HMOs.

But it's not over. As you said, a conference committee has to reconcile differences, but President Bush last night did release a statement, saying today's action brings us to important step closer to ensuring patients get the care they need and that HMOs are held accountable.

But on the lips of everyone in Washington this morning is this question: Will this new president detective get his way or have to buckle and compromise more with legislative warhorses like Ted Kennedy, Democrat from Massachusetts who yesterday at the White House before the House acted said there was a more work that has to be done on this bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Now we have a Democratic leadership committed to making sure that it doesn't die in conference. This bill isn't going to die in conference; it's going to come back again and again and again and again, until we get a good bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: Let me translate that for you, at least from the White House perspective. When Senator Kennedy says come back again and again and again, what the White House hears is, the Democrats in the Senate are not willing to compromise at all, that they will stick with their original position, that meaning the president will not get a bill out of conference, or one come out he would be forced to veto, that again and again and again reference might be an indication that Senate Democrats want to force the president to veto it repeatedly, in hopes that he'll take a political beating. The White House doesn't think that's going to be the case. They believe that now the House has embraced the president's position. Their in a position to defend themselves on this issue and turn the blame back on Senate Democrats if nothing gets done.

As for the rest of the day, we'll have six months of the Bush presidency. Everyone in Washington is getting ready for an extended August recess, the president among them. The White House is engaged in a little bit of compare and contrast today. They say the president has accomplished more in his first six months than President's Bush, 41, President, Clinton, President Reagan or President carter.

Linda, back to you.

STOUFFER: Major Garrett at the White House, thank you.

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