Congress Delays Health Vote Amid Calls to 'Cool' Rhetoric

Time for 'great respect' on Hill: Sen. Alexander

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 9, 2011 3:03 PM CST

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Congress Delays Health Vote Amid Calls to 'Cool' Rhetoric — Well-wishers gather for a candlelight vigil outside the offices U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., in Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The tragedy in Arizona won’t stop the health care debate, but it has pushed back a repeal vote and prompted calls to cool the rhetoric, Politico reports. The House majority leader postponed the week’s lawmaking agenda—including a vote on repeal set for Wednesday—following the attack. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander told CNN that “We ought to cool it, tone it down, treat each other with great respect.”

“Even on difficult issues like immigration or taxes or the health care law,” we must “do our best not to inflame passions,” Alexander continued. “In light of yesterday’s tragedy, our focus has changed,” noted a Republican congresswoman. “We need to make sure that we are responding appropriately to that tragedy before we get involved” in “legislative business.”
(More health care reform stories.)

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