House panel to consider healthcare bill Monday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives Budget Committee on Monday will consider a reconciliation bill that Democrats hope clears the way for final congressional approval of an overhaul of U.S. healthcare, House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer said on Friday.

Representative Jim Clyburn, a member of the House Democratic leadership, said he hopes a vote by the full chamber could be held on the measure within the next 10 days.

The White House announced earlier on Friday that President Barack Obama has postponed a trip to Asia so that he could stay in Washington and help fellow Democrats get healthcare across the finish line.

Obama has pushed hard for a final vote on the healthcare overhaul, a top domestic priority, which has ignited a long-running political brawl with Republicans and consumed Congress for the last nine months.

The reconciliation bill is aimed at resolving concerns of House Democrats with an earlier Senate-passed healthcare bill.

Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner said: "People are becoming more confident that we are going to get this done."

(Reporting by Donna Smith; writing by Thomas Ferraro; editing by Eric Beech)