In advance of a crucial vote Saturday, leading Senate Democrats criticized their Republican opponents for seeking to stop health reform efforts without advancing an alternative.
The Senate will vote to bring up for debate a bill, drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that is estimated to cost $849 billion over 10 years but would actually reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion while covering an additional 31 million of the uninsured.
Democrats will need to marshal 60 votes to overcome a republican filibuster of the motion to bring the bill to the floor for debate.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sought to take Republicans to task for one of their chief complaints about the measure, that it is too long and complicated.
"Senate Republicans want to talk about the number of pages in this bill; we want to talk about the number of people who will get affordable care," Durbin said. "Our bill is two thousand pages long and it helps hundreds of millions of people."
He added, "The Republican bill is zero pages long and helps no one. The choice is clear. It's time to pass this health reform bill."
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., also faulted the GOP for failing to advance a proactive alternative to the present system.
"After months of hearings and years of debate, Senate Republicans still haven't offered a comprehensive health reform plan of their own," Reed said. "Their strategy to delay reform has succeeded in the past, but it has cost the American people and our economy dearly."
He added, "America can no longer afford the status quo."
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said that despite all of the "fabrications" being spread by opponents of the measure, the bill would be a big boon to the economic security of many Americans.
"When this is law and families no longer have to worry about a constant tug of war with their insurance companies, or losing their insurance if they lose their job, or an ever ballooning price tag for health insurance, they are going to remember who delivered on their behalf," Menendez said. "And they'll also remember who raised a ruckus to protect insurance company profits over American families' paychecks."
Senator Ben Nelson, D-Neb., announced Friday that he will vote for the motion to proceed to debate on health care reform on the Senate floor.
"This weekend, I will vote for the motion to proceed to bring that debate onto the Senate floor," Nelson said in his statement. "Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts to obstruct. That's what the vote on the motion to proceed is all about."
He added, however, that there are parts of the bill he supports and parts he doesn't, and if it's not possible to work to fix the parts he doesn't like, he will "oppose the second cloture motion—needing 60 votes—to end debate, and oppose the final bill."
Currently, the Democrats do not have a single Republican supporting them and will need all 60 votes to come from Democrats. Some of the more conservative Democrats, such as Nelson, have voiced opposition to different parts of the bill, making it unclear if Democrats will have the necessary votes.
Nelson's decision to vote 'yes' during the test vote this weekend goes a long way towards ensuring that the Democrats will have the votes needed.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.