Health Care Debate Moves to Senate Floor
Several Senators who voted to move forward say they may not support final bill.
Compiled by staff
Published: Nov 23, 2009
Saturday night, Senate Ag Committee chairman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., joined Mary Landrieu, D-La., Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Joe Liberman, I-Conn., to vote for Cloture on the Senate's Health Care Bill. The motion passed 60 to 39. The bill is now set for Senate debate, which could last several weeks. The four moderate Democrats agreed to open debate despite expressing reservations on the measure, but say they will press Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for further changes to the bill before committing to its final passage. Each of them has warned that they might not support the final bill.
"I don't want a big-government, Washington-run operation that would undermine the private insurance that 200 million Americans now have," Nelson said.
The Democratic caucus remains bitterly divided over a government-run insurance option. The $848 billion Senate version represents the work of two committees and hundreds of hours of hearings and deliberations. Democrats admit their victory represents just the end of the beginning.
No Republican Senators voted to begin debate and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says the reservations of moderate Democrats show that the leadership has gone too far.
"I believe there are a number of Democratic senators who do care what the American people think and are not interested in this sort of arrogant approach that everybody sort of shut up and sit down, get out of the way, we know what's best for you," McConnell said on CNN's "State of the Union"
The Senate bill would provide coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans by vastly expanding Medicaid and creating insurance "exchanges" for individuals who do not have access to affordable coverage through their employers. For the first time, it would require most people to carry health coverage, although families with incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level would receive subsidies to buy policies.
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