Sen. Casey: Democrats can force through health care changes

Democrats think they have enough votes to push through a health care overhaul without any help from the Republican minority. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey says it will take some doing but a bill can be approved. He says Democrats have to hurry.

Democrats in Washington seem ready to use a legislative technicality to force through a health care bill without the threat of a Republican filibuster.

Democrats think they have enough votes to push through a health care overhaul without any help from the Republican minority. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey says it will take some doing but a bill can be approved. He says Democrats have to hurry.

Casey: When you see what’s happened in the last couple of weeks, insurance companies jacking up rates at a time when we are in a terrible recession, we have to act, we have to move forward, and I hope our Republican colleagues will join us, but time and again they have not shown any willingness to move forward.

When asked about the use of a tactic called “reconciliation,” to prevent a filibuster, Senator Casey said Republicans successfully used the approach to push through George W. Bush’s tax cuts.