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November 9, 2009
Obama Presses Senate to Pass Health Care Reform Bill This Year
On Sunday, November 8, President Barack Obama urged senators to quickly take action and pass the health care bill by the end of this year, The New York Times reports. The House of Representatives’ version of the bill passed November 7 by just two votes.
Obama’s health care reform legislation will extend coverage to 36 million uninsured Americans and is expected to cost $1.1 trillion during the next 10 years. Before the Senate can debate issues in the plan, the Congressional Budget Office must analyze the bill’s overall costs.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs 60 votes to move the bill to debate, in which senators will discuss issues such as coverage of abortion, coverage for illegal immigrants and the inclusion of a public option, a government-backed insurance plan allowing states to opt-out.
Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, a Democrat-turned-Independent, has said he’ll block any bill that includes a public option. “ If the public option is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote,” he said.
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