Senate Democrats have apparently secured the 60 votes they need to open formal debate on a bill to reform the nation's health care system.
In advance of the vote late Saturday night two Democrats who have expressed reservations about the bill, which mirrors the broad outlines of the bill that passed the House recently and is estimated to cost $849 billion over 10 years, announced their intention to vote to bring the measure up for debate.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said that while she still opposes some measures in the bill, which is estimated to reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion while covering an additional 31 million of the uninsured, she would nevertheless vote to move the measure forward.
"We deliberated for more than 22 months, incorporating recommendations from experts all across our great nation, and proved with our bill that America can achieve unprecedented health insurance reforms that expand coverage, reduce costs and provide stability for those with existing coverage," Lincoln said. "We accomplished these goals without posing long term risk for taxpayers."
But Lincoln said she would not vote to let the measure proceed past the next procedural hurdle, the 60 votes required to close debate, if it still contains a "public option" government alternative to private insurance companies.
"Rather than create an entirely new government-run health care plan to compete with private insurers," she said. "I support health insurance reform that focuses on changing the rules of our existing employer-based private health insurance system."
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., also said that she was voting merely to allow the debate on the ultimate shape of health reform legislation to continue.
"My vote should in no way be construed by the supporters of this current framework as an indication of how I might vote on the final bill," she said. "My vote is a vote to move forward, to continue the good and essential and important and imperative work that is underway."
She added, "After a thorough review of the bill...I have decided that there are enough significant reforms and safeguards in this bill to move forward, but much more work needs to be done before I can support this effort."
But Senate Republicans, knowing that Lincoln and other moderate Democrats are potentially facing difficult reelection campaigns, sought to cast the procedural vote as backing the underlying bill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the Democrats who voted to allow the bill to come up for debate but said they might vote against the final measure without changes were tying themselves in pretzels.
"The best opportunity to change the bill is at the beginning by denying the majority leader the vote he needs to start the bill," he said. "The time of maximum leverage is prior to tonight's vote."
He added, "Make no mistake about it, the vote tonight is a vote for this 2,000 page bill."
McConnell and other Senate Republicans are strongly opposed to the measure because they say it raises taxes, cuts benefits under Medicare and expands an already financially troubled Medicaid system. They also fear that the public option will drive private insurers out of business and ultimately lead to a government takeover of the entire health care system.
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