House Democrats at press briefing after Republican health care reform defeat

House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard Neal of Massachusetts says hours after the Senate failed to advance a healthcare reform bill that it is not a moment for triumphalism but an argument to return to regular order as Congress wants functioned, that tax reform cannot be done with one party, that the debt ceiling and appropriations must be finished, and there is enough good will for members on both sides to find a path forward 70 years after Harry Truman talk about the need for national health insurance. House Education and the Workforce Committee ranking member Robert Scott of Virginia says to remind ourselves of the situation before the affordable care act passed, lots of progress made under the law, obviously not perfect but changes ought to be improvements such as on the cost of premiums, the number of people insured, and the quality of their insurance. Scott says the Senate problem was not with process, but the reality that every other proposal was worse, not to talk about political ramifications but to talk about coming together as there are a lot of ideas out there, some of which will work and some will not.