President Obama’s request that Congress send him a health care overhaul by October is running up against the painful realities of the legislative process.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Wednesday that the timing for House floor action this year on sweeping global warming and health care legislation depends on how fast committees can complete their work.

Hoyer, D-Md., and other House leaders had previously indicated that they wanted to pass the climate change legislation first, and then health care. But that plan appears to have run into a snarl of committee jurisdictions. In addition to the Energy and Commerce Committee, which approved the bill on May 21 by a 33-25 vote, eight other committees have jurisdiction over parts of the bill and still haven’t waived their right to hold separate markups.

On health care, no House committee markups are scheduled yet, although three panels are working on legislation: Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor. “The committees are working together on legislation. They hope to have one package. How quickly we proceed depends on that process,” Hoyer told reporters. He added that “scheduling of the bills will be dictated by the progress made in committees.”

Obama on Tuesday told key Democrats that he wants a health care overhaul on his desk by October, though he set no fixed deadline. “He is very focused on trying to accomplish both these issues before the August break, as am I,” Hoyer said. “But it will be dictated by the progress made. We want to pass both.”

Republicans are bristling at talk of an October deadline for health care legislation. They say it is more important to get a bipartisan bill than to enact something quickly.