Published: November 06, 2009 01:04 pm      

House Dems say Saturday vote on health care may slip

By ERICA WERNER

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama regrets a delay in plans for a House vote on sweeping health care legislation and that he’ll visit Capitol Hill Saturday to personally lobby for it.

Obama had planned to visit lawmakers on Friday, but changed his plans as a result of the delay. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that while there now won’t be a final vote on the bill on Saturday, as Democratic leaders had previously indicated, the president “sees tomorrow as an important step forward.”

House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters earlier in the day that the make-or-break vote on Obama’s top priority could face delay. Democrats indicated they didn’t have enough votes lined up to conduct the vote Saturday.