Health Care

The Final Four: Who's Standing In Reid's Way, And Can They Be Won Over?

Brian Beutler | November 24, 2009, 4:29PM

From left to right Top: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) Bottom: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Center: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Toward the end of the summer, when it was unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would include a public option in his health care bill, progressives let it be known that he would not be forgiven if he allowed a handful of nameless Democrats silently filibuster the provision. In the end, this pressure, and various other factors, ultimately convinced Reid to include the opt out public option in the legislation, and the opponents have had to come forward. Their names won't surprise students of Democratic politics: Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

These conservative Democrats are known for taking stances at odds with the party on key issues, but in this health care debate they are ultimately driven by very different motives. They have suddenly become the targets of every major reform organization in the country, and understanding what makes them tick will be key to the advocates who are now trying to change their minds.

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Harry Reid

What Did We Learn From Saturday's Health Care Vote

Brian Beutler | November 23, 2009, 11:50AM

Senators Nelson (D-NE) and Lieberman (I-CT)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid got his 60 on Saturday, and when the Senate returns from Thanksgiving recess next week, they'll be debating and amending a major piece of health care legislation. However, the vote, and its aftermath exposed or clarified the cleavages within the Democratic party that will have to be bridged if Reid hopes to keep his caucus in line on the next cloture motion--to end a Republican filibuster and hold a simple majority vote on reform.

If you thought the opt-out compromise was a silver bullet for the public option, you may have gotten a bit ahead of yourself. It held up for a while, and could still survive, but that's going to require some interesting gymnastics from Democratic leaders. Leading up to Saturday's vote, and in its immediate aftermath, conservative Democrats entrenched their opposition to the public option in the Senate bill. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) repeated his threat to support a health care filibuster if it includes a public option of any kind, and, despite her earlier support for the provision, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) took to the Senate floor Saturday and announced, "I'm promising my colleagues that I'm prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as a government-run public option is included." That gives her a bit more wiggle room than Lieberman's left himself, and Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) have a bit more still, but that makes 60 for the opt out a tough climb. On the other side of the caucus, though, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Roland Burris (D-IL) have inched closer to threatening to block a health care bill from the left if the public option is weakened further. If reform is to pass, one side of the caucus will have to hold its collective nose and vote for something they don't like.

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Blanche Lincoln

Lincoln: "I'll Filibuster A Public Option Bill"

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 3:00PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Conservative Democrats are making it very clear that they'll switch their vote and kill the bill down the line if the public option doesn't get stripped out of it.

"Let me be perfectly clear," Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) said on the floor of the Senate. "I am opposed to a new government administered health care plan as a part of comprehensive health insurance reform, and I will not vote in favor of the proposal that has been introduced by Leader Reid as it is written.... I've already alerted the Leader and I'm promising my colleagues that I'm prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as a government-run public option is included."

That's pretty compatible with what Mary Landrieu told reporters earlier this afternoon.

"I believe it's going to be very clear at some point very soon that there are not 60 votes for the current provision in the bill, and that the leader and the leadership are going to have to make a decision and I trust that they will figure out how to do that," Landrieu said.

Blanche Lincoln

60! Blanche Lincoln Says She'll Support Health Care Debate

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 2:22PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) says she's in for a health care debate, where she'll try to make the bill more like the Finance Committee package.

"Although I do not agree with everything in this bill, I have concluded that it is more important that we begin this debate," she said. "I will vote in support of cloture to debate this bill."

Her decision comes as Republicans gear up to attack the vote--on the question of whether to debate the bill--as a vote for the health care bill itself.

Now all the hold outs are on the record. Nelson, Lincoln and Landrieu will all vote yes. At this point, Democrats just need to make it to 8 pm without any surprises, and then they can call it a day.

Mary Landrieu

Landrieu To Vote For Health Care Debate

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 12:30PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

The suspense has lifted. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) will announce on the Senate floor this afternoon that she will vote to debate health care legislation.

When she does, she will join her colleague Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), another conservative Democrat, in the "yes" column. The lone holdout at this point is Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who has yet to publicly announce her intentions.

Health Care

Senate Debates Historic Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 10:14AM

Sen. McConnell (R-KY) Sen. Reid (D-NV)

We'll be following today's proceedings live from the U.S. Capitol, gavel-to-gavel. Check in all day for breaking updates.

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Ben Nelson

Tomorrow's Health Care Vote: A Cheat Sheet

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 5:40PM

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)

With Ben Nelson now in the "yes" column, there are now two known Democratic hold outs on tomorrow's health care vote: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

Landrieu told reporters today that she'll likely make an announcement tomorrow morning. Lincoln, on the other hand, has been unreachable, and it's unclear if, or when, she'll announce her intent publicly before the vote, which will come at 8 p.m. tomorrow night.

It's probably a safe guess that, if at the end of the day, there's something standing between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 60 votes on the motion to debate to his bill, he won't hold the vote. As unlikely as that is, here are the potential hangups.

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Blanche Lincoln

OOPS! Durbin Walks Back Statement Suggesting Lincoln's Health Care Vote Is In The Bag

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 12:28PM

Earlier today, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)--a vulnerable incumbent, and a key health care swing vote--had confided in Majority Leader Harry Reid that she'd made up her mind about tomorrow's test vote on health care reform.

That must've touched off some nerves, because he's now issued a statement walking back that contention.

"In a conversation with reporters earlier today, some of my remarks regarding Senator Lincoln were unclear and have been incorrectly interpreted," Durbin's statement reads. "Let me be clear: Senator Lincoln has had a number of conversations with Sen. Reid about the health care reform legislation. She has asked important questions and there has been a positive and healthy give and take. But Sen. Lincoln has not yet signaled her intention as to how she will vote on tomorrow's cloture motion."

Back on the fence, I guess? You can read the entire statement below the fold.

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Blanche Lincoln

Reid Knows How Lincoln Will Vote On Early Health Care Test Vote

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 11:30AM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

What will Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) do tomorrow? Perhaps Harry Reid knows.

"She's told Senator Reid," Sen. Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters after a Friday press conference. "You will have to ask Senator Reid."

Reid has zero margin for error tomorrow, and it's difficult to imagine he would move forward if he knew Lincoln planned to vote "no." A very telling sign in.

Of all the health care reform fence-sitters in the Democratic party, Lincoln is the only one that faces re-election next year, and her prospects don't look particularly good. As a result, pinning down her intentions has been particularly difficult. But in a coup, Congress Daily caught up with Lincoln yesterday, and she hinted that she may be on board herself.

"Without a doubt [Reid] has always stressed ... that you gotta believe in a little bit of the process," Lincoln said. "That's what we're here for. I mean, certainly knowing that not all 100 of us are going to agree on anything, you gotta be able to depend a little bit on the process. It gives you an opportunity to make the case and move things forward."

Lincoln stressed, of course, that she has to finish reading the bill before making up her mind, but said she'd announce her intentions publicly before the vote.

Ben Nelson

Landrieu, Nelson Win Goodies As Reid Seeks Their Vote On Reform

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 9:27AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Sen. Mary Landrieu's state of Louisiana is still ailing years after Hurricane Katrina devastated its largest city. So Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could be killing two birds with one stone by including in his health care bill $100 million in federal Medicaid aid for any states (aka, Louisiana) that have suffered a natural disaster in the last seven years. That's much needed help for the poor in Louisiana, and also a sweetener for Landrieu, whose support for health care reform has never been terribly certain.

That appears to be a more justifiable offer from Reid than a separate concession to Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), another health-care fence sitter. In a move that appears designed to win Nelson's initial procedural votes, Reid decided not to include a measure ending anti-trust exemptions for the insurance industry.

Reid originally fought hard to lift the exemption, even testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the need to end insurance companies' monopolistic practices. But his decision may be paying political dividends, as Nelson inches toward supporting a key health care test vote on Saturday.

The only remaining question: What's in it for Arkansas?

AR-SEN

HCAN: Health Care Swing States Want An Up-Or-Down Vote On Reform

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 9:13AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Congressional procedure can be confusing even for politicos, but the reform campaign Health Care for America Now has boiled it down. The group has distributed polling data to its largest member organizations indicating that voters in key swing states believe health care shouldn't be stymied by procedural supermajority requirements in the Senate.

The polls were taken in Nebraska, Louisiana, and Arkansas, home of reform skeptics Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, and Blanche Lincoln, don't believe their senators should kill reform by voting with Republicans to block either a debate or a vote on the bill.

"In the Senate, before a bill can be voted on, there must be a vote to allow it to be debated," reads the first survey question. "Regardless of whether you support or oppose the health insurance reform plan itself, do you believe that it should be debated on the floor of the Senate?"

In all states, voters overwhelmingly said the Senate health care reform bill should be debated on the floor. Nebraska: 88-9, Louisiana: 82-9, Arkansas: 84-11.

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Blanche Lincoln

Poll: Blanche Lincoln Could Lose In 2010 If She Supports Health Care Bill

Eric Kleefeld | November 19, 2009, 5:11PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

A new Zogby poll suggests that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) could seriously endanger her 2010 re-election by supporting the health care bill.

In initial match-ups, Lincoln leads state Sen. Gilbert Baker by 41%-39%, within the ±4.5% margin of error, and has a healthier lead of 45%-29% over state Sen. Kim Hendren.

In a series of follow-up questions, respondents were then asked how they would feel if Lincoln supported the bill. In a new match-up with Baker, Lincoln's previous edge of 41%-39% turns into a Baker lead of 49%-37%.

Health Care

White House Heaps Praise On Sen. Lincoln's Contributions To Health Care

Christina Bellantoni | November 19, 2009, 12:56PM

Director of the Office of Health Care Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

The White House is going for the attract 'em with honey strategy, heaping praise on some of the holdouts in the battle to get a health care reform bill passed.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln has been "and important and constructive player in this process and has made this a much better bill in this process," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said when asked on a conference call about where the conservative senator is leaning.

"She was a stalwart in working to protect seniors and taxpayers," White House health care czar Nancy-Ann DeParle chimed in.

They each said Lincoln (D-AR) was instrumental in improving the early version of the bill when it was clearing the Senate Finance Committee.

DeParle said Lincoln "was up there fighting" to get the Elder Justice Act included in the bill and said she saved taxpayers $600 million by capping tax deductions for CEO pay.

"That is huge that she got it in the bill," DeParle said.

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Ben Nelson

Will Concessions, And A Trim CBO Score, Appease Conservative Democrats On Health Care?

Brian Beutler | November 19, 2009, 11:37AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Conservative Democrats couldn't have asked for better top-line numbers from the CBO on Senate health care legislation. Low total cost, big long-term deficit reductions, millions insured, and a public option that insures perhaps one percent of the population. But is that enough to actually cool their heartburn?

Well, yes and no.

"Listen, anytime you add more to deficit reduction, you have to say that it's a move in the right direction," Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told reporters yesterday. "So there's no doubt...that clearly would be one [area of improvement]--but again you have to have a lot of faith and trust in the scoring system."

Nelson cautioned that the CBO numbers released yesterday are preliminary, and subject to some uncertainty, but basically applauded the bill for being fiscally responsible.

But is that what's really driving the moderates' skepticism?

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Health Care

RNC Adds Nelson To 'Flip-Flop' Campaign

Christina Bellantoni | November 12, 2009, 2:16PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Even though it's cold outside, flip-flops are back in season.

As Evan reported earlier this week, the RNC is exploiting tensions within the Democratic party to compare wavering senators with Sen. John Kerry, using his "I voted for it before I voted against it" video.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) is the next target.

Mike Steele:

"Ben Nelson has taken part in the classic Potomac two-step of telling his constituents one thing in Nebraska and doing another thing back in Washington, D.C. Ben Nelson's double-speak has not gone unnoticed by voters in Nebraska and now it looks like Nelson may take this double-speak on health care reform one step further by voting for government-run health care before voting against it. Politicians cannot have it both ways - just ask John Kerry. Nebraskans can spot a phony politician when they see one and they know that any vote to move the Democrats' health care bill forward is a vote for a government-run health care experiment."

Ad after the jump.

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Health Care

GOP Sees 2010 Window, Gloat That Dems Who Opposed Health Care Will Take Dual Heat

Christina Bellantoni | November 11, 2009, 5:38PM

(Top, L-R), Rep. Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Shuler (D-NC), Rep. Ross (D-AR). (Bottom, L-R), Rep. Altmire (D-PA), Rep. Nye (D-VA), Rep. Tanner (D-TN)

Much like Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Sen. Ben Nelson, looks like the 39 Democrats voting against the House health care bill Saturday are getting squeezed from both sides.

We've been writing about all the left-leaning campaigns going after Democrats on health care, and plenty of efforts to hit Republicans as party of "no."

TPMDC has been chatting with Republicans who want to pick off vulnerable House Democrats in 2010 and they (not surprisingly) are pleased as punch by the internal warfare.

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Health Care

Another Campaign Targeting Lincoln On Arkansas Airwaves

Christina Bellantoni | November 10, 2009, 4:06PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Seems like everyone is hopping on the pressure Sen. Blanche Lincoln train, with the vulnerable senator getting targeted from the left and the right.

Lincoln (D-AR) is the subject of a new ActBlue push dubbed Campaign For Health Care Choice, where 822 people have raised $32,247 so far.

Blue America is organizing the drive and charges Lincoln, a key vote on the health care plan pending in the Senate, "is refusing to commit to a quality public plan to keep the insurance companies honest."

They are using the money to run this ad statewide in Arkansas:

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Bill Clinton

Clinton To Senate Democrats: Whatever You Do, Don't Lose

Brian Beutler | November 10, 2009, 2:40PM

Fmr. President Bill Clinton

After an hour-long lunch with the Senate Democratic caucus, former President Bill Clinton found himself surrounded by dozens of reporters, and summarized his message as one of the urgency of action. "The worst thing to do is nothing," Clinton said of the party's health care reform push. "We can do so much better."

As they emerged from the lunch one by one, a number of senators echoed this rendering.

"His message was very simply it is so important that this be done, that there are so many people, I think 30 percent of the population he said at one point or another, don't have any health care coverage," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told TPMDC, "and so the ability to fix the problem is really upon us."

"He made clear that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," she added, noting that Clinton did not directly address the politically divisive policy aspects of reform--abortion, the public option--in his presentation.

To members who are facing tough re-election races next year (such as fellow Arkansas native Blanche Lincoln) Clinton's message was equally simple: "You're going to do it, and then people are going to begin to see that none of the bad things that people are talking about will come to pass, essentially," Feinstein said.

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Blanche Lincoln

RNC To Blanche Lincoln: Don't Make Us Turn You Into John Kerry

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 9, 2009, 3:30PM

Sen. Blance Lincoln (D-AR) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

As the full focus of the health care debate shifts to the Senate, the GOP has a tough job targeting nervous moderate Democrats. The easy part is taking advantage of Democratic Party rifts. Explaining the rules of parliamentary procedure? That's hard.

To help, the RNC has turned to a tried-and-true method of shrinking complicated Senate protocol into convenient take-home size. In a new web video out today, the RNC tells health care reform fence-sitter Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) that unless she votes with the Republicans on cloture, they'll do to her what they did to John Kerry.

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Health Care

Do or Die: The Six Senators Who Will Decide the Fate of Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | November 9, 2009, 1:46PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faces a number of obstacles to passing health care reform but his main task is to keep his caucus united for not one, but two, supermajority votes, just to get the reform bill an up or down on the Senate floor. Failure to get 60 votes to push past either of those two procedural chokepoints could derail the reform bill. Here are the six key holdouts Reid must wrangle to reach the magic threshold.

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MoveOn

MoveOn: We Have $3.5 Million Pledged For Primaries Against Dems Who Filibuster Health Care

Eric Kleefeld | November 6, 2009, 2:15PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

MoveOn is serious about opposing Senate Democrats who join Republicans to block health care reform, announcing yesterday that they've built up over $3.5 million in pledges to fund primary challenges against any of them.

While no specific Senator is mentioned, it should be noted that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who is up for re-election in 2010 and is currently facing a tough race, could find herself becoming a top target of this push from the left.

MoveOn also has a petition that it is asking members to sign: "If ANY member of the Democratic Caucus joins a Republican filibuster of healthcare reform with a public option, the Caucus must immediately strip that Senator of all Committee Chairmanships."

The full e-mail from MoveOn is available after the jump.

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Health Care

Pryor: Reid Has Tried To Find The Middle-Ground Among Dems--But Has He Succeeded?

Brian Beutler | November 5, 2009, 5:38PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) hosted a meeting of moderate Democrats this afternoon, including Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Kent Conrad (D-ND), to compare notes on health care legislation. But, as is becoming a common theme around these parts, they say there's not much to discuss until they can see the bill with a CBO score.

After the meeting adjourned, I asked Pryor whether he and fellow moderates had sympathy for the idea, articulated most frequently by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had found the correct middle ground in his caucus by including a public option in the final bill. "I know that Harry Reid has tried to find the center of the caucus. I don't know that he has, I'm not saying he hasn't. But once we actually see this bill and know what's in there, we'll talk about it as a caucus," Pryor said.

Pryor suggested that there may be some number from CBO early next week, but was careful to note that those were merely rumors. If he's right, though, we will know plenty more in the days ahead.

Barack Obama

As Leaders Try To Pass Health Care Reform By Year's End, The Nearest Obstacles Are In Their Own Party

Brian Beutler | November 5, 2009, 2:23PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

With less than two months to go until Congress breaks for the holidays, the White House and Senate leaders are huddling to figure out how to pass a bill before the end of the year. As part of their push, both camps are meeting with conservative Democrats--most notably Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)--whose unanimous support is absolutely required simply to bring the bill to the floor. But leading Democrats are unlikely to make any progress until these swing-vote senators see the bill Majority Leader Harry Reid put together, along with a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. They say that's necessary before they make any decisions on even the earliest procedural votes, and there's no clear indication as to when the CBO will weigh in.

Last night, Reid met with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and others to discuss, among other things, how far they've come in convincing caucus conservatives to support the bill's public option. "That's one of many subjects, that wasn't the main subject," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Along the same lines, Reid spokesman Jim Manley suggests that this is part and parcel of an effort to move legislation sooner rather than later. They met, he said, to "discuss ways to try and get a bill done by the end of the year."

But with conservative Democrats cold to the public option, and withholding their commitments to allow the bill to be debated on the floor, the White House and Democratic leaders have a lot of work ahead of them and they'll likely have to work in tandem. On that score, this week, Lincoln--perhaps the most electorally vulnerable of all moderate Democrats--met with both Reid and President Obama to discuss the Senate bill.

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Health Care

MoveOn Targeting Democrats Considering Health Care Filibuster

Brian Beutler | November 3, 2009, 11:35AM

As Christina mentioned yesterday, MoveOn is targeting the conservative Democrats in the Senate suggesting they may vote with Republicans to filibuster a health care bill.

Radio ads will run in Arkansas and Louisiana, directed at Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). You can hear the Landrieu ad below.

Accompanying the radio spots will be a broader direct mail campaign aimed at Lincoln and Landrieu, but also at Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the only Republican on the list.

Lincoln, Landrieu, and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) will also be faced with polling data showing that the public option is popular among their constituents, who do not want to see them obstructing the passage of a reform bill.

Blanche Lincoln

Poll: Arkansas Voters Disagree With Lincoln's Public Option Skepticism

Brian Beutler | October 30, 2009, 10:29AM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

The trend continues: a new Research 2000 poll, commissioned by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America, finds that a Democrat from a red state may not be doing herself any favors by standing in the way of a public option.

The poll asked Arkansans "Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan -- something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get -- that would compete with private health insurance plans?"

The findings are in line with other statewide and national polls that find the public option to be broadly popular. 56 favor, 37 oppose.

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Mitch McConnell

McConnell Says A Vote For Cloture Is A Vote For Health Care Reform

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2009, 4:51PM

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear today what the GOP has been suggesting for months: moderate Democratic senators fearful that voting for health care reform will cost them their seats (think Blanche Lincoln) can't get away with voting for cloture and against a bill on the floor.

At a press conference this afternoon, McDonnell compared the idea to another tortured line that cost a Democrat an election. "We all recall Senator Kerry's strained way in the 2004 campaign of explaining why he voted for it before he voted against it," McConnell said. "And I think it is perfectly clear that most Americans will treat the vote to get on the bill as a vote on the substance of the bill."

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Health Care

End Game: So When Will Health Care Really Happen?

Christina Bellantoni | October 27, 2009, 2:03PM

The House voting, the Senate voting

Yesterday's events have given health care new momentum, but advocates are a long way from popping champagne.

There remain unanswered questions about how the proposed Senate bill and public option opt-out will be structured, along with questions about its final cost and how the government will pay for it.

A Democratic aide told TPMDC today the House is aiming to have its bill on the floor in early November with a vote by Nov. 11, Veterans' Day.

The Senate has several stages ahead - a CBO score for the merged bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced yesterday and then an agreement for what amendments will be allowed. It will be on the floor for debate in the next two weeks.

Once each bill passes its chamber, private negotiations will produce a conference report that will get another House and Senate vote.

Translation: there may be snow on the ground in D.C. before anything finally heads to President Obama's desk.

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Public Option

Lincoln Still Opposes Public Option, But Won't Say How She'll Vote

Rachel Slajda | October 27, 2009, 1:51PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

The Associated Press reports that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) spoke about the public option today, saying "We don't need to go there," but wouldn't say if she'd vote to block the health care reform bill from the Senate floor.

Although Lincoln has repeatedly voiced opposition to the public option, she hasn't committed to voting against cloture. The bill will likely need all 60 members of the Democratic caucus to break a Republican filibuster.

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Health Care

Lincoln Won't Commit To Cloture

Rachel Slajda | October 26, 2009, 1:39PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) has not committed to supporting a vote on a health care reform bill, Greg Sargent reports today.

When asked if she would vote yes on a procedural motion (cloture) to bring the bill to a vote, a spokeswoman said Lincoln "has not committed her vote to anyone."

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Health Care

Sen. Lincoln Hammered With Questions On Public Option During Online Chat

Christina Bellantoni | October 19, 2009, 10:38AM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Public option supporters bombarded Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) with questions last night about why she doesn't back a public option in the health care fight, with one constituent fretting about losing her seat to a Republican.

"We are terribly disappointed that you have caved in to the insurance industry and failed to support the public option for health care. It may very well affect our vote for you in the next election," Ray and Judy told her on the chat, which is posted online.

"Unfortunately the insurance companies opposed the bill I supported in the Finance Committee. There are many ways to provide greater options and choices to individuals, including non-profits, a state plan, and a co-op plan," Lincoln wrote back.

But that wasn't the last word. Lincoln got six more questions along the same lines.

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Health Care

Sen. Lincoln Asks Constituents To Join Her On Health Care Chat Saturday

Christina Bellantoni | October 16, 2009, 3:50PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Sen. Blanche Lincoln is asking her supporters to join her for an online chat about health care Sunday night.

"Later this month, the full Senate will begin consideration of health insurance reform and I have made it clear that I will only support the final version if it is best for my constituents in Arkansas," she wrote in a letter to her supporters today. "As we move to the next stage of this debate, I want to hear from you."

In the letter, Lincoln reprised her talking point from the week that she voted for the Senate Finance Committee version of the bill "not because it was a perfect bill but because it was a major step toward improving health care for Arkansas families."

The chat can be found here and will be held Sunday at 5 p.m. central time.

Portions of her email after the jump.

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Blanche Lincoln

Blanche Lincoln Mum On Opt-Out Public Option...For Now

Brian Beutler | October 9, 2009, 5:45PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Only three Democrats voted against both "robust" and modest public option amendments to the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill: Kent Conrad (D-ND), Max Baucus (D-MT), and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

We caught up with Conrad and Baucus yesterday--but what about Lincoln?

For now, Lincoln isn't commenting on the plan--a common refrain on the Hill given the extremely fledgling nature of the proposal. We should know more next week, though. The Finance Committee will vote on its bill Tuesday, and on Wednesday, Majority Leader Harry Reid will kick off the process of merging the Finance and HELP Committee proposals. And the shape of the bill that reaches will have a tremendous bearing on the fate of this, or any number of other, potential changes to it.

Barbara Boxer

Kerry, Boxer Unveil Climate Bill Draft...So What's Next?

Brian Beutler | September 30, 2009, 11:57AM

Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA)--chairs of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Environment and Public Works Committee respectively--have unveiled a draft of a climate change bill calling for significant reductions in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions in both the near and short term. The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.

Though the draft will change considerably over the coming weeks, it is the basis for the upper chamber's coming legislative push, which, if successful, will, when combined with an already-completed House climate bill, become the most significant piece of energy legislation in the nation's history.

But between now and then, it will meet the many machetes of the Senate--an institution that hasn't been too kind to previous, failed climate change bills.

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Health Care

Lincoln: We Can Accomplish Health Care Reform Without A Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 7:22PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) wasn't on hand in the Finance Committee hearing room to oppose against the public option in person. But below is her official statement with respect to the "no" vote she issued by proxy.

Arkansans have told me they support health care reform that forces insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and prevents them from dropping coverage when you become seriously ill. We can achieve these goals, stabilize the cost of coverage for Arkansans who have health insurance, and expand coverage to the uninsured and underinsured without creating a purely public, new government program, which most Arkansans do not support. I have promised my constituents that I will fight for health insurance reform that is deficit neutral, now and in the future, and that creates more choices for small businesses and their workers and the self-employed. These are important priorities that I believe we can achieve.

In addition, I am working to ensure that requiring Americans to purchase health insurance does not result in a personal windfall for health insurance company executives. My amendment would cut the tax shelter, from $1 million to $500,000, of what businesses are able to deduct for executive compensation. This is a fair policy change aimed at lowering insurance costs to consumers and reassuring them that insurance companies are not receiving excessive tax breaks while at the same time profiting from a government mandate.

Not very good news for reformers. The key questions down the line will be whether she's willing to filibuster a public option amendment or an entire health care reform bill on the grounds that it contains a public option.

AR-SEN

Poll: Blanche Lincoln Trails Republican Challengers

Eric Kleefeld | September 29, 2009, 6:11PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

A new Rasmussen poll has some bad news for Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who is up for re-election in 2010: She's trailing all four of her Republican challengers in a state that has been trending more to the GOP.

Republican state Sen. Kim Hendren leads Lincoln by 44%-41%. State Senate Minority Leader Gilbert Baker is ahead of her by 47%-39%. Businessman Curtis Coleman edges her out by 43%-41%. And finally, businessman Tom Cox leads her by 43%-40%.

In a further bad sign, Lincoln's favorable rating is only 45%, with 52% unfavorable. The Republican candidates are all hardly known, with undecided numbers of 34%-40% for their own personal ratings -- meaning this is basically Lincoln against generic Republicans. And for now at least, she's losing.