THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 8, 1994 TAG: 9407080602
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
President Clinton may be willing to compromise on certain aspects of his health care plan - as long as every group affected by the plan is involved in the process, U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt said Thursday.
``His principal goal is to make health care more cost efficient, and to insure portability of coverage,'' Gephardt said.
``He believes you need to get everybody involved. As long as there is that fundamental underpinning, he's willing to compromise on how it's done and when it's done,'' Gephardt said. ``But he's not going to compromise on that fundamental element. It may take three years or five years to get it done.''
Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat and the House majority leader, made the remarks prior to a speech at the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce's fourth annual Celebrate America's Birthday breakfast. The $25-per-plate affair was held at the beachfront Ramada Inn.
While many Americans are nervous about what the final health care bill will look like and how it will affect their ability to pay for and choose physicians, Gephardt said Congress is committed to doing what is right.
``I believe people want to see this done,'' Gephardt said of health reform. ``There's anxiety over what we will do, and there's anxiety over whether or not we will do the right thing. But we want to take a good system and make it better. If you've got insurance, it's a good system.
``But we've got the highest health care costs of any industrialized nation,'' Gephardt said. ``Something has to be done about those costs.''
With the loss of former Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), Gephardt is seen by many as Clinton's point man on Capitol Hill for health care and other areas of his legislative agenda. That role, said Gephardt, is ``probably overstated.''
``As majority leader, I have a job to do,'' he said. ``We have a Democratic-majority House and Senate, but it's going to take Republican votes to get this done.''
In his speech to the gathering, Gephardt said the private sector - not government - is the key to meaningful restructuring of the health care industry.
``We have to make it more competitive and more efficient, with high quality and lower prices. I believe the private sector can do that better than government.''
Gephardt said the economy is ``doing better,'' but that it is necessary to keep interest rates down.
``I'm heartened by the way the economy is going,'' said Gephardt. ``But we still have a long way to go.''
Gephardt praised Congress for its work in reducing federal spending.
``We've reduced the deficit for each of the last three years,'' said Gephardt. ``That's the first time that's happened since Truman was president. Reducing spending is neither easy nor fun, but since we've put a five-year hard freeze on discretionary spending, we've made some progress.''
Gephardt also expressed hope that this week's global economic summit in Italy will not result in higher inflation, which would choke economic growth.
Concerning the crime bill, Gephardt expects passage before summer's end.
``The bill will include three strikes and you're out, more cells, more police officers, tougher sentences and more death penalty crimes,'' he said. ``I support all of those. But we need to get involved in stopping crime before it happens. And we need to help the victims of crime.''
Earlier this week, local GOP leaders expressed concern over Gephardt's speech, saying it would be used as a platform for incumbent 3rd District Rep. Martin Lancaster. Gephardt made no mention of the November congressional race, but did tell his audience that North Carolinians are lucky to have Lancaster in Washington.
Lancaster faces Republican challenger Walter Jones Jr. in the general election.
Gephardt, who owns a home in Corolla and regularly vacations on the Outer Banks, was scheduled to return to Missouri Thursday. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Gephardt
by CNB