WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama brought Republicans to the negotiating table Tuesday, hoping to stem deteriorating relations between the major parties that have brought business in Washington to a standstill, left the Democratic agenda in tatters and angered voters who want lawmakers to address their concerns.
The two-hour session was part of a renewed drive by the White House to create legislation by consensus, regardless of party label.
After the meeting, the president paid a surprise visit to the White House press room to brief reporters.
He accused Republicans of indiscriminate obstruction that he said has created legislative gridlock, especially in the Senate, but he also called on Democratic leaders to “put aside matters of party for the good of the country.” Obama outlined issues that could bridge the divide, including job creation, health care reform, energy and trade. But he extracted few concrete commitments from his GOP visitors.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll suggests that the public is frustrated by the bickering and recriminations. According to the survey, 57 percent of Americans consider the loss of the Senate Democrats’ filibuster-proof supermajority a “good thing,” but few think Republicans should wield their new influence to block bills frequently. Nearly six in 10 say Republicans are not doing enough to forge compromise with Obama on important issues, while nearly half view the president as doing too little to overcome differences with the GOP.
Nearly two-thirds of voters, 63 percent, want Congress to keep trying to tackle health care reform.
A major test of whether Obama’s strategy will yield results could come when the Senate takes up a job-creation bill, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had hoped to introduce last week but that was sidetracked by a major snowstorm.
Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Charles Grassley of Iowa — senior Republicans who walked away from health care talks last year — have been heavily involved in drafting the legislation but are reluctant to sign on to the bill unless it attracts broad GOP support. After the White House meeting, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said there is “a chance” that Republicans would back the jobs measure.
Later, McConnell convened GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee for an impromptu gathering, and the senators emerged expressing some support for the overall framework.
The proposed package is expected to cost about $85 billion and would include a payroll-tax break for companies that hire new employees, extending a variety of expiring tax breaks and help for small businesses seeking loans. The measure also would extend unemployment insurance and COBRA health benefits by three months and provide a temporary adjustment in Medicare payment rates to physicians, preventing a scheduled cut.
Obama has reached out to Republicans on health care reform by inviting them to participate in a bipartisan summit Feb. 25. During the White House meeting, Obama said, he told House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, that his core goals of lowering health care costs and expanding coverage for the uninsured remain non-negotiable, but the president said he will consider GOP alternatives that accomplish the same results.
Boehner said after the session that House Republicans “would like to attend the meeting. We are interested in having these bipartisan conversations and look forward to continuing conversations with the administration. We are considering it.”
Obama told reporters he would sign what he considered to be a less-than- perfect health care bill.
“I am going to be starting from scratch in the sense that I will be open to any ideas that help promote these goals,” he said.
