At the same time, Pelosi told House liberals that the public option was still among the items under consideration by House, Senate and White House policy staff working on merging the two bills.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a member of the House Progressive Caucus, said she came away with the assurance that the public option was “still part of the discussion.”
“For a number of people, it was important to have the public option discussed,” Schakowsky said after calling in from her Congressional office in Washington. “There’s a sense of satisfaction that the things we worked so hard for in the House bill are still part of the discussion.”
Schakowsky said there were no ultimatums offered on the public option or other issues.
She and other Democrats described the tone of the call as patient, probative and cordial – a stark departure from where House Democrats were a month-and-a-half ago.
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