Shortly before they left town for the August recess, President Obama offered an open September invitation to his house for any lawmaker who wanted to discuss his health care overhaul plans in detail.
"They will have all of August to review the various legislative proposals. When we come back in September, I will be available to answer any question that members of Congress have. If they want to come over to the White House and go over line by line what's going on, I will be happy to do that," Obama said at a Raleigh, N.C., high school on July 29.
Now some of his harshest critics are calling him on that promise and asking for an invitation.
Reps. Tom Price of Georgia, Phil Roe of Tennessee, Michael Burgess of Texas, Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Steve Scalise of Louisiana say they want to take the president up on his offer but haven't heard back from the White House.
"[We'd] like to think the President's invitation to join him at the White House to go over the health care legislation line-by-line was more than just words," members of the conservative House Republican Study Committee wrote in an press release Wednesday. "So, how about it, Mr. President? The American people expect us to work for positive solutions, just as they expect us to keep our word. We're ready to meet when you are."
The president plans to address a joint session of Congress next week, but don't expect him to take questions. Notepad asked a White House spokesman for a response to the RSC's request but has not yet heard back.
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