House Majority Whip to Fox: "I Don't Think There Is A Whole Lot Of Sentiment In The House For Any Kind of Slimmed-down Version" of Health Care Reform

During the lunch break in today's bi-partisan health care talks, House Majority Whip James Clyburn told Fox House Democrats have almost no interest in a slimmed-down, Plan B on health care reform.

The White House has such a plan but is not currently pushing it in Congress. The plan would extend benefits under two state-federal partnerships - Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program - and allowing parents to cover their children on their policies until age 26.

"I don't think there is a whole lot of sentiment in the House for any kind of slimmed down version," Clyburn said. "We'll pass that bridge when we get to it. But I would hope that this White House would stay focused on what the president is doing with this Senate bill."

Asked if he was "fearful" the White House might be losing its commitment to comprehensive health care legislation, Clyburn said:

"I'm not fearful. I would be disappointed if that's where the energies were expended."

Clyburn also said the House will not, under any conditions, pass the current Senate health care bill. It will only consider legislation that includes fixes to the Senate bill outlined in President Obama's 11-page health care summary released Monday.

"The House will not pass the Senate bill unless the president's fixes are attached to it," Clyburn said. "There are all kinds of technical machinations that may take place in order to do that as to who goes first, what you attach it to and all of that. But, if we are guaranteed that these kinds of fixes and maybe some other things that come out of this conference today are, in fact, part of the package that is totally different than just passing the Senate-passed plan."

The fate of the Senate bill looms large for the future of comprehensive reform. On Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said the House would have to approve the Senate bill to set in motion a process whereby the Senate could draft policy "fixes" and then pass legislation with a 51-vote majority under special parliamentary rules known as reconciliation.

Today, Clyburn openly questioned Conrad's analysis.

"I don't know that he's right about that,"Clyburn said. "I have heard from other parliamentarians that there are other avenues to do this that are different from the way Senator is saying."

Asked what legislation the House could pass right now, Clyburn said he wasn't sure.

"I don't know about that. I have not done a vote count."