casper
11-21-2009, 09:12 AM
Moderate Democrat boosts Senate health bill
By John Whitesides
WASHINGTON - One of three wavering U.S. Senate Democrats said on Friday he would vote to start the chamber's healthcare debate, bolstering the chances for a broad reform bill one day before its first crucial test.
Senator Ben Nelson said he would support a procedural motion on Saturday to allow debate on healthcare reform to proceed, moving Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid closer to the 60 votes he needs to overcome Republican opposition.
Nelson said he is still uncertain whether he will support the final legislation but he wants a "full and open" debate. If approved in Saturday's 8 p.m. (0100 GMT on Sunday) vote, the debate would start on November 30.
"Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts to obstruct. That's what the vote on the motion to proceed is all about," Nelson, one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, said in a statement.
"It is only to begin debate and an opportunity to make improvements. If you don't like a bill why block your own opportunity to amend it?" he said.
Democratic Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu remain publicly uncommitted on the vote to proceed to debate on the overhaul of the $2.5 trillion healthcare system, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
The Saturday vote will be the first hurdle for Reid's plan, which would expand coverage to tens of millions of uninsured and bar insurance practices like denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.
The procedural motion requires 60 votes to pass in the 100-member Senate and Democrats have no margin of error -- they control exactly 60 votes. Republicans so far are united in opposition to the plan.
Nelson, Landrieu and Lincoln, moderates from conservative states where the overhaul is not popular, have rebelled at Reid's inclusion of a new government-run public insurance option and voiced concerns about the plan's costs, impact on small businesses and affordability for consumers.
"It would be our hope that our more moderate Democratic colleagues would respect the wishes of their constituents rather than do the bidding of Harry Reid," Republican Senator Jon Kyl told reporters.
DEBATE IN DECEMBER
If the Senate takes up the bill, the debate is expected to last at least three weeks, making it unlikely Obama can sign a final bill by the end of the year.
Any differences between a Senate bill and the House of Representatives version passed on November 7 would have to be reconciled before a final bill can be voted on again in both houses and sent to Obama.
Hoping to avoid an embarrassing setback that could cripple Obama's legislative agenda, Reid and other Democratic leaders have pushed wavering Democrats hard to allow the debate to open, arguing they can seek to change the bill as it unfolds.
Reid met with the three on Wednesday, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a former senator, traveled to the Capitol to meet with Landrieu. Reid's bill includes an extra $100 million to pay for healthcare for the poor in Landrieu's state of Louisiana.
By John Whitesides
WASHINGTON - One of three wavering U.S. Senate Democrats said on Friday he would vote to start the chamber's healthcare debate, bolstering the chances for a broad reform bill one day before its first crucial test.
Senator Ben Nelson said he would support a procedural motion on Saturday to allow debate on healthcare reform to proceed, moving Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid closer to the 60 votes he needs to overcome Republican opposition.
Nelson said he is still uncertain whether he will support the final legislation but he wants a "full and open" debate. If approved in Saturday's 8 p.m. (0100 GMT on Sunday) vote, the debate would start on November 30.
"Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts to obstruct. That's what the vote on the motion to proceed is all about," Nelson, one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, said in a statement.
"It is only to begin debate and an opportunity to make improvements. If you don't like a bill why block your own opportunity to amend it?" he said.
Democratic Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu remain publicly uncommitted on the vote to proceed to debate on the overhaul of the $2.5 trillion healthcare system, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
The Saturday vote will be the first hurdle for Reid's plan, which would expand coverage to tens of millions of uninsured and bar insurance practices like denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.
The procedural motion requires 60 votes to pass in the 100-member Senate and Democrats have no margin of error -- they control exactly 60 votes. Republicans so far are united in opposition to the plan.
Nelson, Landrieu and Lincoln, moderates from conservative states where the overhaul is not popular, have rebelled at Reid's inclusion of a new government-run public insurance option and voiced concerns about the plan's costs, impact on small businesses and affordability for consumers.
"It would be our hope that our more moderate Democratic colleagues would respect the wishes of their constituents rather than do the bidding of Harry Reid," Republican Senator Jon Kyl told reporters.
DEBATE IN DECEMBER
If the Senate takes up the bill, the debate is expected to last at least three weeks, making it unlikely Obama can sign a final bill by the end of the year.
Any differences between a Senate bill and the House of Representatives version passed on November 7 would have to be reconciled before a final bill can be voted on again in both houses and sent to Obama.
Hoping to avoid an embarrassing setback that could cripple Obama's legislative agenda, Reid and other Democratic leaders have pushed wavering Democrats hard to allow the debate to open, arguing they can seek to change the bill as it unfolds.
Reid met with the three on Wednesday, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a former senator, traveled to the Capitol to meet with Landrieu. Reid's bill includes an extra $100 million to pay for healthcare for the poor in Landrieu's state of Louisiana.