Obama strongly suggested that Democrats will try to pass a sweeping overhaul without GOP support, by using controversial Senate budget rules that would disallow filibusters. And then, he said, this fall's elections would write the verdict on who was right.
"We cannot have another yearlong debate about this," Obama said at the end of a 7½-hour marathon policy debate.
Neither side gave ground throughout, sticking mostly to familiar arguments and talking points. The president urged Republicans to "do a little soul searching" and said majority Democrats would decide quickly how to proceed on the issue that has eluded leaders for half a century.
