Less than 24 hours after President Barack Obama went on the attack against Congressional Republicans for obstructing health care reform, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled that the GOP wouldn’t be cowed.

In his Tuesday morning floor remarks, McConnell reiterated the Republican position that reform legislation shouldn’t be rushed and that passage of House and Senate bills should be pushed until after the August recess. McConnell also continued to target the president’s policy prescriptions for health care reform.

“We certainly don’t need to rush and spend a trillion dollars to enact this flawed proposal by the August recess,— McConnell said. “The proposals we’ve seen aren’t just incomplete, they’re indefensible at a time of spiraling debt and ever-increasing job losses.—

“Maybe this is why the administration has started to insist on an artificial deadline for getting its reform proposals through,— McConnell continued.

Obama on Monday escalated his charge that Republicans are opposing health care reform simply to try to inflict political damage on the White House.

Meanwhile, bipartisan negotiators on the Senate Finance Committee reconvened Tuesday morning to try to reach a deal on health care reform. Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Monday evening that the two sides are getting closer to an agreement.