Yesterday there was a major break in the push by Democrats in the U.S. House to enact health care reform, when Blue Dog Dems on three committees got some elements to their liking. The bits include reducing the federal subsidies designed to help lower-income families afford insurance, exempt additional businesses from a requirement to offer insurance to their workers and change the terms of a government insurance option. Those pieces are estimated to perhaps reduce costs by $100 billion over a decade.

Since we have a Blue Dog Democrat in the neighborhood, I was interested to participate this morning in the weekly conference call of South Dakota Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. She said she’s reserving judgment on the brokered Blue Dog agreement (she wasn’t one of them), since it occurred during committee bill markups and hasn’t seen a full bill. Further, Herseth Sandlin said, she awaits a Congressional Budget Office assessment of the bill (due in perhaps two weeks) to see the financial effect. Herseth Sandlin reiterated her position that health reform should not increase deficit spending.

That said, she wants to see health care reform, since “the current system is broken and unsustainable,” given spiking health costs and too many people (roughly 47 million) without health insurance.

Herseth Sandlin is glad for the delay on health care reform legislation until after the August recess ends after Labor Day — she said the artificial timetable to act by tomorrow when the lawmakers seek to get out of Dodge was indefensible. Further, it allows time for her to research health care reform bills on both the House and Senate side, and talk with South Dakotans on what they want to see done. Herseth Sandlin said she’ll hold a series of public meetings to gauge the health reform opinions.

Yesterday, Congressman Barney Frank told Politico the liberal wing of the House is becoming increasingly leery of the Blue Dog clout.  Herseth Sandlin said the moderate Blue Dogs will offer input in September in line with the goal of having a financially-responsible product that a wide variety of Americans can support, which means those on the left and right will have to make concessions.

“Most of the country is in the middle,” she stated.

One thing is certain, August will be a big month for rank-and-file Americans — and special interest groups — to debate health care reform. American Future Fund is among the groups encouraging people to ask pointed questions of federal representatives when they come around next month.

“I certainly expect the political rhetoric to heat up on both sides,” Herseth Sandlin said.