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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on its $829 billion health-care reform bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The announcement came on the heels of the Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary analysis of the legislation. The CBO projected Wednesday that the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $81 billion and the number of uninsured people by about 29 million in 10 years.
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The Washington Post reported that, during a speech on the Senate floor, Reid, of Nevada, “blasted Republicans for opposing the Finance Committee’s measure, accusing GOP leaders of aiming to be ‘partisan protesters’ rather than ‘productive partners.'”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky “fired back that Democrats have yet to craft a package that can win 60 votes and, until they do, any claims that the package can dramatically shrink the ranks of the uninsured while lowering the budget deficit are ‘irrelevant,'” the Post said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that some Democrats still haven’t given up on the government-run insurance option.
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware wants legislation that allows states to set up their own public options or even form regional public options, according to the Journal. Meanwhile, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York wants to add something to Carper’s plan: a public option at the federal level, and a provision that allows states to opt out. “That way, the default would be a government-run choice in all 50 states,” the Journal said.
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In a separate push, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio circulated a letter Thursday that urges Reid “to fight for a sustainable health care system that ensures Americans the option of a public plan in the merged Senate bill.”
Thirty senators, including Brown, signed the letter.
“Support for the public option runs deep in the Senate,” said Brown, who took to the Senate floor Thursday night.
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