Health Care

Landrieu To Reid: No Triggers, No Bill--Negotiating Compromise With Schumer

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 1:41PM

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

After announcing her intent to support a health care debate this afternoon, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told reporters she thinks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will soon have to choose between a triggered public option and no health care bill. She also says Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate one of its most fierce and vocal public option advocates--has been tasked as a point man on the issue.

"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 told reporters.

Landrieu has been in negotiations with a number of centrist senators about a compromise that would eliminate the public option, except in states where insurance remains unaffordable. Interestingly, though, Schumer is playing a big role in that process.

Read more »

Chuck Schumer

Is Chuck Schumer Taking Temperature On Carper's Public Option Compromise?

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 5:15PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

I'd missed this before, but check out what Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told reporters last night about conservative Democrats' push for something like a public option trigger mechanism.

"Senator Carper has been trying to help forge a compromise and I'm very proud of his efforts, and he's still at work, I understand, on that, so is Senator Schumer. They've been trying to negotiate this compromise among the various factions for a while and I think actually we're getting closer. We're not there yet. But we're a lot closer than we were two months ago, where it was just a logjam."

Schumer's name, in this context, is interesting. It's possible that she simply means Schumer is talking to all parties, trying to get everybody on the same public option page as he has been for months. But it certainly sounds like she's saying he's taking the caucus' temperature on this Carper compromise, which I outlined here.

Read more »

Health Care

Snowe, Carper In Discussions About Trigger-Like Amendment

Brian Beutler | November 19, 2009, 4:48PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

This afternoon, I asked Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) whether she'd been looped in on an idea, floated recently by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), to tweak her proposal to affix a public option to a trigger mechanism. Indeed she and Carper have discussed his plan, but she remains pessimistic that it'll ever be adopted.

"Tom and I have been working on it, we've had discussions and so on, but, you know, we haven't got down in concrete terms, and he'd like to have my affordability language and so on," Snowe said. "But nevertheless it's still going to require 60 votes so I don't know when that would happen, and frankly I would have preferred that to happen at the outset of this process, rather than going through this convoluted procedural gymnastics."

Read more »

Filibuster

Reid On Passing Health Care: 'I'm Not Using Reconciliation'

Brian Beutler | November 19, 2009, 1:30PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Yesterday, I asked Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) what he and other moderates had heard from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at an impromptu afternoon meeting about health care reform. Nelson said Reid "talked about process, procedure, discussion about reconciliation and a whole host of issues of that sort."

Reconciliation is a complicated legislative process that would allow Reid to pass some version of reform without having to contend with a filibuster. "Nobody's really jumping up and down to push for reconciliation," Nelson added, "he's not threatening that, but anybody can conclude that if you don't move something on to the floor, that is one of the possibilities."

Today, at an event celebrating the unveiling of his health care bill, I asked Reid what specifically he'd said to Nelson--along with Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA)--about reconciliation. His answer left no wiggle room: "I'm not using reconciliation," he said.

ME-SEN

Is Snowe Popular Enough In Maine To Withstand Anger From The Right?

Eric Kleefeld | November 13, 2009, 4:35PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

With a new poll suggesting that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) could potentially lose her 2012 Republican primary to a conservative challenger, does the political environment in Maine mean that she could be in real danger from the right, or that she might have to become an independent or even a Democrat?

Snowe's office has not returned out requests for comment. We spoke to Mark Brewer, an associate political science professor at the University of Maine, for the opinion and perspective of a local expert.

"Certainly the numbers among Republicans are a little surprising. It is certainly the case that the Maine Republican Party has a pretty significant faction within it that is relatively conservative, that has for a decent amount of time now looked at Sen. Snowe somewhat skeptically, I guess -- and that's probably being charitable to a certain degree," said Brewer. "So the fact that there's anger within the Maine GOP at Snowe isn't surprising. The fact that the figure among the Republican primary figure, and the fact that there were 59%-31% in favor of a conservative challenge, that surprised me a little bit."

Read more »

Olympia Snowe

Family Research Council PAC: We Would Support A Primary Against Olympia Snowe

Eric Kleefeld | November 11, 2009, 5:40PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

I just spoke to Connie Mackey, president of the Family Research Council Action PAC, and she told me that if a conservative candidate were to emerge to run against Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) in the 2012 Republican primary, FRC Action will back them.

"Well of course there is an audience that would love to see Olympia Snowe out of office, within the ranks of social conservatives, that's for certain," said Mackey.

A new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) found that a generic conservative challenger would lead the moderate Snowe in a Republican primary by a whopping 59%-31% margin.

"I think a couple years ago, we wouldn't have thought it was possible," said Mackey. "However, those numbers are interesting, and I think those numbers might just track the fact that a lot of Americans are waking up to the liberal policies, what they mean and how they're playing out. And it may be affecting her, with her votes for the stimulus, and breaking from her party. And we would like to see a conservative have a chance to remove her from office up there."

Read more »

Olympia Snowe

Poll: Snowe Could Lose 2012 GOP Primary In Landslide To Conservative Challenger

Eric Kleefeld | November 10, 2009, 11:07AM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

A new survey of Maine from Public Policy Polling (D) has some dire news for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), with the moderate Republican potentially losing her 2012 Republican primary against a generic conservative challenger -- and by a landslide, no less.

The numbers: Conservative challenger 59%, Snowe 31%, with a ±4.8% margin of error. It is of course a long way from the idea of a generic conservative challenger to having an actual candidate, but the potential for success by just such an insurgent is certainly there.

Snowe's overall approval is 51%, to 36% disapproval. Democrats approve of her by 60%-29%, Republicans disapprove by 40%-46%, and independents approve by 51%-33%.

The pollster's analysis notes the importance of her vote for a health care bill in the Senate Finance Committee: "Snowe's numbers are steady with independents but down with both Democrats and Republicans compared to three weeks ago, an indication of the perilous political position she finds herself in. Republicans are mad at her for supporting any Democratic bill, while Democrats still are not completely happy with her because of her hesitance to support a public option."

Ben Nelson

Are Senate Centrists Trying To Mount A Comeback For Snowe's Triggers?

Brian Beutler | November 3, 2009, 1:57PM

Are Senate centrists trying to broker a comeback for the so-called trigger option?

Two key conservative Democrats say they, along with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) haven't given up hope.

"There's a possibility that [triggers could make a comeback]," said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). "Right now, we don't know what the actual version of the plan is, because it hasn't come back from CBO...so I think when we get that back, we'll take a look and see what the scoring is, and maybe figure out what chance that plan has to get enough votes. My expectation is that it probably doesn't have enough to get 60 votes to get off the floor if it gets on the floor."

Read more »

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.

Chris Dodd

Key Senators React To Lieberman's Fuzzy Public Option Logic

Brian Beutler | October 28, 2009, 9:32AM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

One of the most puzzling things about Sen. Joe Lieberman's opposition to the public option is that he says it's based in a belief that a new government "entitlement" will end up being a large burden on taxpayers. In fact, the public option will be paid into (i.e. not subsidized like an entitlement) and the vast consensus among experts, partisan and non-partisan, is that a public option will save the government lots of loot. Moreover, they conclude that the bigger the plan is, the more money it will save.

Yesterday, I asked Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Lieberman's Connecticut colleague Chris Dodd (D-CT) what they thought of Lieberman's backward thinking.

Singing the praises of her preferred 'trigger' solution, Snowe said "[triggers] obviously can have a maximum impact...certainly, not as comparable to a full public option and what they want, but on the other hand what you're doing with the public option is basically crowding out the private sector, because of the government's, you know, inordinate advantage in the market place."

Read more »

Health Care

Snowe Pessimistic About Triggers

Brian Beutler | October 28, 2009, 9:13AM

Yesterday Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said he'd filibuster a health care bill if it contains a public option. Many reporters and analysts took this as a sign that an alternative political strategy of courting Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who prefers the public option only as a fall back, would re-emerge.

Well, Snowe herself disagrees.

"I don't see how you get to 60 [votes to replace the public option with a trigger]," Snowe told reporters last night.

Having a public option in the bill, she said, will "make it infinitely more difficult to change that on the floor...I just don't see how that works."

For what it's worth, Lieberman also said he opposes the trigger option yesterday, too. So he's not necessarily making a public push to get Snowe back into the game.

Olympia Snowe

Snowe: I'll Block The Health Care Bill If I Have To

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2009, 4:05PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has already suggested she won't vote for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care bill if it comes to the floor. Now she says she could prevent it from getting there in the first place.

The AP reports, Snowe will vote with the GOP to filibuster the bill "unless changes are made" to Reid's plan.

Health Care

Gibbs On Filibuster Possibility: Dems And GOP Alike 'Will Be Held Accountable By Their Constituents'

Christina Bellantoni | October 27, 2009, 3:33PM

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

On Air Force One, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs wasn't sweating the news that Democrats and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) may not be coming through on the Senate health care bill.

Gibbs said he hadn't seen the reports about Lieberman saying he'd support a filibuster, but added, "I think Democrats and Republicans alike will be held accountable by their constituents who want to see health care reform enacted this year."

"I haven't seen the report from Senator Lieberman or why he's saying what he's saying," he said, citing polls showing support for health care. "And we know that if that doesn't happen, people say they'll be very disappointed by that, and we think people will make progress to ensure that this gets done."

Gibbs said President Obama hasn't been making specific calls yet but, "I'm sure we'll get involved in due time."

Read more »

Health Care

Snowe 'Deeply Disappointed,' Says Triggers 'Could Have Been The Road' To Broader Bipartisanship

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2009, 5:07PM

Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME)

Is Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) a definite no vote now? In response to the news that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will include a public option (with an opt out clause) in his health care legislation, Snowe says she's not happy.

"I am deeply disappointed with the Majority Leader's decision to include a public option as the focus of the legislation," Snowe said in a statement. "I still believe that a fallback, safety net plan, to be triggered and available immediately in states where insurance companies fail to offer plans that meet the standards of affordability, could have been the road toward achieving a broader bipartisan consensus in the Senate."

How explicit a statement is that, though? I could be over-parsing here, but it sounds to me as if she's leaving a door pretty wide open to supporting this bill down the line. Note, she doesn't say she's withdrawing her support. And note as well that she says she thinks triggers could have been the path to broader bipartisan consensus--i.e. instead of being the path to just one Republican vote (hers), triggers might have won over a few more GOPers.

She's said she doesn't support the opt out. She's also said it would be very hard for her not to join a Republican health care filibuster under these circumstances. But, despite what Reid said, it's not clear to me that she's completely jumped ship.

Health Care

Reid: Public Option No 'Silver Bullet' But Strong Consensus For Opt-Out

Christina Bellantoni | October 26, 2009, 3:24PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced what we've been reporting today - the merged health care bill will include a public option allowing states to opt-out.

"Under this concept states will be able to determine whether the public option works best for them," Reid told reporters. He said it was the "fairest" way to go.

Reid (D-NV) said after "countless hours" of talking to his caucus, there is a "strong consensus" for this plan. He said he will not submit a plan with a triggered public option to the Congressional Budget Office.

"As we've gone through this process, I've concluded, with the support of the White House and Senators. Dodd and Baucus, that the best way to move forward is to include a public option with an opt out provision for states," Reid said.

Read more »

Health Care

Over White House Skepticism, Reid Likely To Go The Opt Out Route

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2009, 10:45AM

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

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will send a health care legislation to CBO today, and details of his proposal will be unveiled shortly thereafter, TPMDC has learned. A highly placed source suggests that Reid's preference remains to include a public option with an opt out clause, despite the fact that the White House is skeptical that this is the most politically viable strategy.

As TPMDC has reported, the move would make it much less likely that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) will ultimately support the bill, and the White House conveyed skepticism to Reid last week that he was making the right call.

However, a senior White House official tells TNR's Jonathan Cohn that the White House will ultimately back whatever Reid decides to do. Sounds like we'll know for sure pretty soon.

Public Option

MoveOn Email: Call Obama And Demand Public Option

Rachel Slajda | October 23, 2009, 5:22PM

President Barack Obama

MoveOn.org blasted an email to its members today, urging them to call the White House immediately and demand a strong public option.

"Tell President Obama to stand with Senate Democrats and the American public to ensure the Senate bill includes a strong public health insurance option--not Senator Snowe's 'trigger,'" the email reads.

As TPMDC has reported today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been pushing for a strong public option in the Senate version of the health care reform bill. But the White House has apparently been pushing back in favor for a trigger option, preferred by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

Health Care

Sources: White House Pushing Back Against Senate Public Option Opt Out Compromise

Brian Beutler | October 23, 2009, 3:11PM

President Barack Obama

Multiple sources tell TPMDC that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is very close to rounding up 60 members in support of a public option with an opt out clause, and are continuing to push skeptical members. But they also say that the White House is pushing back against the idea, in a bid to retain the support of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

"They're skeptical of opt out and are generally deferential to the Snowe strategy that involves the trigger," said one source close to negotiations between the Senate and the White House. "they're certainly not calming moderates' concerns on opt out."

This new development, which casts the White House as an opponent of all but the most watered down form of public option, is likely to yield backlash from progressives, especially those in the House who have been pushing for a more maximal version of reform.

It also suggests, for perhaps the first time, that the White House's supposed hands off approach, to ostensibly allow the two chambers in Congress to craft their own bills, has been discarded.

Read more »

Public Option

Snowe To Snub Public Option Again This Weekend

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 23, 2009, 2:29PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) will double-down this weekend on the rejection of a public option she told Brian about yesterday.

In an interview set to air on Bloomberg, Snowe tells the network's Al Hunt that she's opposed to any public option's inclusion in a health care bill because it gives the government too much control of the health care industry:

"A public option at the forefront really does put the government in a disproportionate position with respect to the industry," she says in the interview.

Health Care

How High Will Public Option Trial Balloon Fly In The Senate?

Brian Beutler | October 22, 2009, 6:51PM

For days there was silence. And then this morning and afternoon, the floodgates opened. Senators began saying, on the record, that Democratic leadership was leaning toward putting a public option--with an opt out clause--in the base Senate health care bill.

But, as a source close to the negotiations told me, there's more to leadership's inclination than meets the eye. Part of the play here is to see whether this news causes Senate centrists to flip out. A classic trial balloon. So far, only Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has said it will likely cost Harry Reid her cloture vote. Conservative Democrats might not be pleased, but so far they're keeping it fairly bottled up. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) voiced some displeasure, but nobody's gone into revolt.

Assuming the calm endures, chances seem pretty good that this is the direction Reid will take. But it won't be set in stone...until it's set in stone. As Greg Sargent has noted, the votes aren't there yet for a straightforward public option like the level-playing-field plan in the Senate HELP Committee's bill. In other words, negotiations will continue.

Harry Reid

Source: Leadership Poised To Add Public Option, Moderates Mostly Mum

Brian Beutler | October 22, 2009, 4:49PM

Where did all of this momentum for the public option come from? According to a source close to negotiations, it came from last night's closed door meeting between Senate and White House officials, with the push coming from Democratic leadership.

"It's definitely being considered," the source said, referring to the public option compromise that may end up in the Senate's health care bill.

"It came out at last night's meeting," the source indicated. "It was indicated that based on some surveying that had been done of the moderates, that it doesn't so far seem like they would jump out of their skin as long as they have an opportunity to vote to strip it."

Any provision in the base bill that hits the Senate floor will stay in unless 60 senators can band together to strip it out. That means if a public option is included now, it's almost certain not to go anywhere. According to both Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and other sources, the compromise being considered would create a national public option that pays providers at negotiated rates. Unlike similar so-called "level-playing-field" public option proposals, it would not be operated by the Department of Health and Human Services, but by a separate entity, with a board of directors appointed by the government.

This fact, apparently, didn't sit well with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, who is determined to keep Sen. Olympia Snowe's vote.

Read more »

Health Care

Nelson, Conrad Say Dems, White House Leaning Toward Including Public Option In Senate Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | October 22, 2009, 2:16PM

If this is accurate, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) gets a medal for prescience and Sen. Olympia Snowe's decision may be made for her. Two high profile conservative Democrats are saying they hear that Senate and White House health care negotiators are leaning toward including the public option in the base bill that they bring to the Senate floor.

"I keep hearing there is a lot of leaning toward some sort of national public option, unfortunately, from my standpoint," said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). "I still believe a state-based approach is the way in which to go. So I'm not being shy about making that point."

"What I'm hearing is this is the direction of the conversation," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND).

Reid's office is not commenting on the speculation. But if Nelson and Conrad's understanding is correct it would be bombshell news. Reid and the White House have been under intense pressure from the Democratic base to include a public option in the bill that comes to the Senate floor. If they accede, it would all but assure that if a health care bill os enacted by Congress, it will include a national public option. We'll pay close attention

Olympia Snowe

Maine AFL-CIO To Snowe: Get With The Program On The Public Option

Brian Beutler | October 22, 2009, 2:04PM

Word travels fast!

As it happens, the Maine AFL-CIO is holding its convention today. In response to my earlier report that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) does not support a favored opt out compromise, and will likely filibuster a health care bill if it includes a public option, the coalition put their convention into recess so everyone in attendance can call her office to tell her they support a public option.

"Senator Snowe's constituents in Maine want and deserve a robust public option," said AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale. "Workers from across the state were gathered for their state AFL-CIO convention and will all be calling her directly in support of one."

Snowe's no stranger to pressure on this issue, both from within her state and without. And that pressure just got ramped up a little bit further.

Olympia Snowe

Snowe: I Do Not Support Opt Out Compromise, Would Likely Filibuster Public Option Bill

Brian Beutler | October 22, 2009, 12:38PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

In a huddle with reporters moments ago, I asked Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for her thoughts on a public option compromise that would allow states to opt out of a national government insurance program, and her answer could slow down the proposal's considerable momentum.

"I don't support that," Snowe said.

Asked further whether she would participate in a filibuster on a bill with a public option, she went almost all the way.

"I've said, I'm against a public option...yes...it would be difficult" to support allowing the bill to proceed to a vote.

Snowe and other centrists say they'll withhold their support on a motion to proceed to the bill on the Senate floor (which will require 60 votes in and of itself) until the legislation is fully pieced together and the CBO has weighed in. She and other centrists want to ensure that the bill meets their specifications before it goes to the floor, so that they won't bear the burden of rounding up the 60 votes needed to change the legislation during debate.

Olympia Snowe

Poll: Maine Democrats Love Olympia Snowe -- GOPers Split

Eric Kleefeld | October 21, 2009, 3:00PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

The new survey of Maine by Public Policy Polling (D) finds that Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe is overwhelmingly popular with the state's Democrats, in the wake of her vote for the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill -- and not too well liked among Republicans.

A whopping 70% of Maine Democrats approve of Snowe's job performance, with only 17% disapproving. Republicans, by contrast, are tied at 45%-45%. Independents approve of Snowe by 51%-33%, yielding an overall top-line approval of 56%-31%.

"With less than half of Republicans approving of Olympia Snowe now it's going to be interesting to see if she's challenged from the right come 2012," said PPP president Dean Debnam, in the polling memo. "Is she going to be pushed into a corner the way Arlen Specter was where her only prospect for political survival is a party switch? It's certainly something political observers across the country will be watching."

Read more »

Susan Collins

Associated Press Overplays Likelihood Of Collins Support For Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2009, 1:29PM

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

As the Associated Press has it, "[a]nother Republican senator says she's open to voting for a sweeping health care overhaul this year."

Reflexively, it makes sense to assume that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) might be a gettable vote for health care reform. She's the moderate Republican besides her Maine colleague Olympia Snowe to vote with Democrats on major agenda items. But, as Greg Sargent notes, that's almost certainly not going to be the case on health care reform.

Her official statement in response to the passage of health care legislation on the Senate Finance Committee was to lambaste it in pretty clear terms. AP appears to be basing their headline on her final words:

Read more »

Health Care

Rockefeller On Reid And The Public Option: It Comes Down To Who You Are

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2009, 1:09PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) suggested today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ought to act his conscience on the public option, and include it in the health care bill that comes to the floor.

Speaking to reporters outside the Senate chamber, Rockefeller sounded confident that the public option would be in the final reform package. Asked whether Reid should heed the will of the Democratic caucus (which overwhelmingly supports the public option) or do what he deems is most politically expedient, Rockefeller said it's up to Harry.

"He's got to look at both, but--I think it's sort of the time I think when it comes down to who you are. I mean that was obviously in Olympia's case, right?"

Read more »

Ben Nelson

Nelson: 'I Don't Know' If I Could Support A Health Care Bill Without Snowe

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2009, 12:54PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Speaking to reporters moments ago, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) addressed yesterday's vote in the Senate Finance Committee with words of support for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)--the only Republican who agreed to vote Sen. Max Baucus' health care bill out of committee. Nelson described it as a "courageous vote on her part to speak her mind when she thinks it's best to move the process forward."

There's been a flood of speculation in the past 24 hours about the possibility that Snowe's vote might now become the glue that keeps conservative Democrats on board with the reform process. I asked Nelson whether he could imagine voting for a bill that does not have Snowe's support. Nelson didn't answer one way or another--but without saying yes or no, Nelson indicated that her final position will weigh heavily on members like him.

"I don't know. That's a good question. I have to see everything before I can really say what I would do."

Read more »

Health Care

Grayson Targets Snowe: She Wasn't Elected President Last Year

Christina Bellantoni | October 14, 2009, 12:47PM

Sen. Olympia Snow (R-ME) and Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Rep. Alan Grayson, garnering national attention recently for blasting Republicans on health care, says he's collected 90,000 signatures on a petition that criticizes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Olympia Snowe.

Grayson (D-FL) has teamed up with Progressive Change Campaign Committee and at 1:30 today will deliver the petitions to Capitol Hill that tell Reid:

"Any Democratic senators who support a Republican attempt to block a vote on health care reform should be stripped of their leadership titles ... Americans deserve a clean up-or-down vote on health care," and "For the last six months, Democrats have been dwelling, debating, and hoping for Republican Olympia Snowe to vote for health care reform. Why? Olympia Snowe was not elected President last year."

Grayson charges Reid (D-NV) should "lay down the law" with conservative Democrats on health care and called out Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) for saying he wasn't sure he'd support the bill.

Health Care

Finance Bill Passes With Snowe's Support--So What Does That Mean For Reform?

Brian Beutler | October 13, 2009, 5:10PM

There's no way around the fact that today's Senate Finance Committee vote was a major milestone in the five-month long health care reform saga. That much is not in doubt. But in a way, the outcome had been largely pre-determined, and the public focus--from pressure groups and pundits and reporters--has already turned to the next stage in the process: starting tomorrow, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, working with Finance chair Max Baucus, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), White House officials, and a handful of other people will begin the arduous and crucial task of merging the Senate's two competing bills.

That will likely be a crucial moment for the public option, and that means the story behind the story of the Finance bill's passage is still evolving. We learned today, in a moment of great political theatrics, that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) decided to support the Baucus bill. What we'll learn in the days and weeks ahead is what that decision means for the substance of the bill going forward.

Here's why it could have significant implications:

Read more »

Health Care

LIVEBLOG: Senate Finance Committee Votes On Health Care Reform Bill

Brian Beutler | October 13, 2009, 10:01AM

Check in here for continuous updates until the vote, which may not come until the afternoon.

Read more »

Health Care

Senate Finance Committee To Vote On Landmark Health Care Legislation Today

Brian Beutler | October 13, 2009, 8:51AM

Later this morning, after tense months of negotiating and arguing, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on its health care reform bill. The package, which is expected to pass on a party-line or nearly party-line vote, will be a precursor to a Senate bill, which will be compiled in the coming days, and reach the floor later this month.

Of the five Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the nation's sprawling health care system, Finance is the last to act, though it began preliminary hearings on the issue about one year ago.

Read more »

Arnold Schwarzenegger

White House Urges High Profile GOPers To Wax Positive About Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | October 7, 2009, 9:07AM

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA)

You know the recent spate of outside-the-Beltway GOPers saying positive things about health care reform? Bill Frist? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Tommy Thompson? Republican-turned-Independent Michael Bloomberg?

Well, it turns out the White House may have been nudging them a little.

That could resonate well with pockets of constituents around the country. But according to the Washington Post, the real target of the push was a single person from one of the smallest states in the country: "The White House lobbying campaign was aimed, in part, at the one Republican who has indicated she may vote for reform legislation, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), and she said Tuesday that she hopes the comments from her GOP colleagues will resonate," the Post reports.

So did it work? Snowe seemed pleased: "I think it is important to hear all voices in the party," Snowe said. "The more we hear, the more we learn, the better job we can do in the final analysis."

Health Care

Taking Their Time: Finance Committee May Delay Vote As It Awaits CBO Analysis

Brian Beutler | October 5, 2009, 12:16PM

The Senate Finance Committee was supposed to convene for a vote on its controversial health care bill tomorrow. Now, that's looking doubtful.

Early in the amendment process, the panel agreed not to hold a vote until a preliminary analysis on the legislation's cost-saving potential was available, and it appears as if the CBO will not complete its work until later in the week. That would touch off yet another delay--one that's likely to frustrate Democrats and liberal activists, who've grown impatient over the glacial pace of reform efforts.

Read more »

Health Care

Progressives Prepare to Pressure Reid to Include Public Option in Senate Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | October 1, 2009, 12:59PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

Major progressive organizations see a golden opportunity to resurrect the public option, and are preparing a campaign, which will include television ads in Nevada, to pressure Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to get on board.

As I've noted a number of times, the public option will not be in the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill, but it can re-emerge at three key points in the legislative process. Among those, one of the most important is the next step, when Reid merges the Finance bill with a more liberal proposal from the Senate HELP Committee. If he adopts the latter panel's public option, it would dramatically alter the nature of the legislative battle, shifting the onus from liberals, who have been doggedly fighting to include the public option in the Senate bill, on to conservative Democrats, who would have to decide whether their opposition to the popular measure is so strong that they'd be willing to join the GOP in a health care filibuster and tank the entire reform effort.

Such a move would likely alienate Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the only Republican working with Democrats on health care reform, and require Democratic leaders, including Reid and President Obama to make sure all 60 Democrats stand united when Republicans try to block the bill--a tall order, and one Reid doesn't seem prepared to meet.

Read more »

Health Care

Carper Floats Public Option Alternative Viewed Skeptically By Conservatives and Liberals

Brian Beutler | October 1, 2009, 9:29AM

Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE)

Senate Finance Committee member Tom Carper (D-DE)--who voted against a robust public option amendment but for a more modest public option amendment Tuesday--is quietly circulating a public option alternative that doesn't involve triggers but also wouldn't create a national public option.

Carper's proposal, according to Politico, would allow individual states to decide whether to create their own public options, or co-ops, or other alternative to private insurance. That's a plan that sounds intriguing to public option skeptics and even some more liberal Democrats, but it's also a significant departure from the public plan envisioned by reformers, which would be available nationwide without delay.

Read more »