NOW

Reporting from Washington and Chicago - President-elect Barack Obama today reasserted his pledge to overhaul the nation's healthcare system when he takes office, signaling that despite the economic downturn he would attempt a major reworking of the sector that has eluded presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"The time is now to solve this problem," Obama said at a Chicago press conference, where he formally announced that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle would head his healthcare team."It's not something that we can sort of put off because we're in an emergency," Obama said.
"This is part of the emergency."