Pomeroy “he maddest by far' on drawn-out health care debate

A “very angry” North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy said Thursday that the protracted health care debate is hurting him so badly back home that he might as well retire if it drags on much longer.

Pomeroy’s comments, reported by the well-known political Web site, www.politico.com, came in an emotional talk with other Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee.

A Democrat who attended the Ways and Means session said Pomeroy was “very angry” as he spoke about the delay, according to the POLITICO report. “Other folks were upset, but he was the maddest by far.”

“I believe Congress needs to resolve fairly quickly this protracted health care debate,” Pomeroy told POLITICO on Thursday. “We have a number of other issues that haven’t been able to get enough attention, because health care is taking up all the floor time, all of the attention. We need to move on.”

The story also quotes President Barack Obama, who in a speech to House Democrats Thursday acknowledged that the drawn-out debate has taken a toll on his party. He told the members that he knew “some of you have gotten beaten up at home.”

“Believe me, I know how big a lift this has been,” Obama said. “I see the polls. ... I catch the occasional blog poster, cable clip that breathlessly declares what something means for a political party, without really talking about what it means for a country.”

The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead is owned by Forum Communications Co.

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