The governor and Assembly speaker begin new talks on health care
Tom Chorneau
San Francisco Chronicle
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez opened a new round of closed-door meetings Thursday on plans to overhaul the state's troubled health care system to offer coverage to a record 6.8 million Californians without health insurance.
The move came after Núñez, D-Los Angeles, withdrew his threat to put the governor's health care plan before the lower house for a vote Thursday, knowing that it would not get much support from Democratic or Republican lawmakers.
Both sides characterized Thursday's talks as productive, but there was no sign of a breakthrough.
"I'm not going to embarrass the governor," said Núñez. "I think the governor understands at this point the votes are not there. That was my message all along. He now got the message.
"The governor in his heart of hearts believed firmly that he was going to get Republican votes for his health plans and he now knows if we put his plan up for a vote today the votes are not there," Núñez said. "In fact, I was going to try to get as many courtesy votes as possible from Democrats but it turns out not many Democrats want to vote for the governor's plan."
Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor, said the meeting was "very positive" but Schwarzenegger remains committed to his proposal.
August 31, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Blog Reactions
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