How D's Are Negotiating Health Care

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) issued a blunt, angry statement on Wednesday, accusing the Senate of conducting negotiations with the House while holding "a gun to our head."

"The House has shown deference to the Senate in this process. But I am tired of hearing how hard it was to get 60 votes in the Senate — getting 218 votes to pass our healthcare bill in the House wasn’t easy," said Weiner, who has taken an increasingly prominent role during the healthcare debate.

"We don’t like negotiating with a gun to our head," he added.

Democratic leaders are working to reconcile the House and Senate bills, particularly a handful of issues — including a tax on "Cadillac plans" and restrictions on abortion funding — that have the two chambers at loggerheads.

"The House healthcare bill is better for the American people," Weiner said. "It includes a public option that provides choice and competition and lower costs, Medicaid relief to all states — not just one — and doesn’t tax healthcare plans that many middle-class Americans have."

Andrew Zimmermann