WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday the Obama administration is fiercely determined to get a health care overhaul, although he conceded it likely won't happen without "an awful lot of screaming and hollering."
Appearing at a Brookings Institution gathering, Biden said it will be difficult to find a consensus on remaking the health care system. But he also predicted that "we're going to get something substantial" and said he believes "we're going to get there."
Biden spoke as President Barack Obama continued a pre-Labor Day rest at Camp David. Obama is shifting his push for health care changes into high gear next week with a State of the Union-style address to a joint meeting of Congress.
The vice president suggested Obama will tell Congress and the American people precisely what he thinks must be included in the package that the White House is pressing lawmakers to approve this fall.
Obama's scheduled speech next Wednesday is in no small part a bid to salvage his health initiative in the face of withering attacks from Republicans, interest groups and many private citizens.