Congress Won't Finish Health-Care Reform by Summer Recess

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The massive overhaul of the U.S. health-care system will be put on hold when members of Congress leave for their August recess, lawmakers say.

While that's likely to disappoint President Barack Obama, who made health-care reform a key part of his presidential campaign, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said the White House should be pleased with the progress so far. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said "there really is plenty of time," the Associated Press reported.

"Well, we don't expect (a bill) to be signed into law by the August recess. But we expect the House and Senate to have passed bills, yes," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the AP reported.

But it's unlikely it would be the same bill because the House of Representatives and the Senate have been working on sometimes contradictory versions. House Democrats have proposed raising taxes on wealthy Americans to pay for the plan. Democratic leaders, meanwhile, have tried to calm moderate and conservative lawmakers about a proposal that could guarantee tough re-election bids, AP reported.