Well that's quite a strong statement from Dream Act durbin. And yes, this is a strong signal...


Durbin says no to August deadline
By: Carrie Budoff Brown
July 22, 2009 05:52 PM EST

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said for the first time Wednesday that its no longer possible for the Senate to pass a health-reform bill before leaving for the August recess – which would defy President Barack Obama’s wish that both houses approve the legislation before summer break.

Durbin’s comments, confirmed by his office, are the strongest signal yet of what’s become increasingly apparent on the Hill – that the Senate Finance Committee is well short of being able to negotiate a compromise in time to clear the full Senate.

Now, with August fading as the goal for passing health care legislation in the Senate, Democratic officials are moving towards a new definition of victory: a bipartisan bill out of the Finance Committee by the recess.

The Senate Finance Committee is still days, if not a week, away from reaching an agreement. This timeline makes it almost impossible to hold a markup, merge the bill with one approved by the Senate health committee and schedule a floor vote – unless the recess was significantly delayed or a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was pushed back to September.

The new Democratic thinking is that Obama can legitimately claim progress if two Senate committees and three in the House approve bills by the August break. But even this goal is still not forgone, as lawmakers continue to grapple over major issues.

Durbin’s comments were first reported in The Hill. Obama had pushed the deadline in hopes of forcing the two houses of Congress to act before they head home for August recess – where members and senators are sure to hear from constituents anxious over Obama’s plan for a sweeping overhaul of the health system. That could make it even tougher to get a deal when they get back in September.

But in recent days, Obama himself seemed to backing away from a hard-and-fast August deadline to get bills out of both houses - a bow to the political reality that it simply wasn't going to happen in the Senate, where negotiations are bogged down on how to pay for the $1 trillion plan. Obama dropped any mention of the August deadline in any of his appearances to promote health reform since Friday.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25288.html