People do not have that hanging over the heads even though we have the debt ceiling looming. Washington will be quieter. I think it will take a long time for the reality of health care to settle in. Hopefully the economy continues to strengthen. How do you see health care in six months . Will republicans stop trying to kill it . It is hard to imagine it getting worse. Too many people lost coverage. Too many people with their prices increasing. It is chaos. Uncertainty about whether someone is paying for their premium. Uncertainty about whether a hospital needs an approval and where they get it from. There are problems that continue with the state exchanges. They are simply going to be too many opportunities politically for republicans to criticize the enormous damage that has been done. It is not a question of obamacare not making the system better, but it has done real damage. Will republicans offer an alternative . They have lots of alternatives. They can make it easier across state
Collaboration . You know, its been analyzed both ways, al, and i hope what it is, is a first step toward further collaboration, because our countrys in trouble. You know, we have a fiscal crisis looming. We still have an economy thats too weak, and we need to Work Together to solve these problems. So i like to view it as a very small step, a baby step in the right direction. It did reduce the deficit a little bit. It did it without raising taxes. It kept us from going into a Government Shutdown in january, but also in september of next year. And finally, it put the United States congress back on track to do appropriations bills. Let me get to some of the things you want to do in just a minute, but, first of all, when you get back, staring you right in the face within a month or so is the debt ceiling. Yep. Democrats say clean debt ceiling, we dont want to rattle Financial Markets. You have said that this is a chance to get more serious. Absolutely. What do you want to put on the debt c
More people will be signed up. That reality will change the publics opinion. I think hopefully washington will not selfdestruct. That will be a big change if people do not have that hanging over the heads even though we have the debt ceiling looming. Washington will be quieter. I think it will take a long time for the reality of health care to settle in. Hopefully the economy continues to strengthen. How do you see health care in six months . Will republicans stop trying to kill it . It is hard to imagine it getting worse. Too many people lost coverage. Too many people with their prices increasing. It is chaos. Uncertainty about whether someone is paying for their premium. Uncertainty about whether a hospital needs an approval and where they get it from. There are problems that continue with the state exchanges. They are simply going to be too many opportunities politically for republicans to criticize the enormous damage that has been done. It is not a question of obamacare not making
The Highway Trust Fund runs out of money soon. Bywill not be resolved august. We are working very hard with congress to get an answer before the Highway Trust Fund becomes insolvent. In the event it becomes insolvent, we are working through contingency plans to work with states so we can do the best job we can. Byprojects projects july will be stalled. Some projects will be stalled canceled. You say by july. The trust fund will become insolvent as early as august. Before then, ministate d. O. T. s dots willmany state be making decisions. There has been a lot of consternation about this. We have had 27 bandaids put on transportation. The Biggest Issue is how you pay for it. The president put forward a framework, a bill out that says tax reform. Is with you got any resettlement getption of this did you any receptiveness from john boehner . Introduced we think there is bipartisan interest. Can you use some of the proposal to finance there is a lot of symmetry. But we have a lot of work to
What are the odds it will not be resolved by august . We are working very hard with congress to get an answer before the Highway Trust Fund becomes insolvent. In the event it becomes insolvent, we are working through contingency plans to work with states so we can do the best job we can. Projects by july will be stalled. Some contracts will be canceled. You say by july. The trust fund will become insolvent as early as august. Before then, many state d. O. T. s will be making decisions. There has been a lot of consternation about this. We have had 27 bandaids put on transportation. The Biggest Issue is how you pay for it. The president put forward a framework, a bill out that says we can do this with tax reform. Did you get any receptiveness from john boehner . We introduced we think there is bipartisan interest. Can you use some of the proposal to finance there is a lot of symmetry. But we have a lot of work to do. What are the stakes for the republican governors and the Business Commu