Democrats Wyden, Rockefeller Withhold Support of Panel's Bill

[Emit]

Monday, October 5, 2009

~snip~

Although Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he has the votes to pass the 10-year, $900 billion bill out of the committee, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) remained undecided Sunday. If all 10 Republicans on the panel vote no, two Democratic defections would be enough to send Baucus and the Obama White House scrambling to regroup.

"More needs to be done to hold insurance companies accountable, to hold premiums down for the American people," Wyden said in an interview Sunday. "I want to continue these discussions."

Committee defeat of the bill is an unlikely scenario, but one that highlights the power every Senate Democrat -- and perhaps a few Republicans -- holds going forward in a process that could stretch beyond Thanksgiving.

Wyden, like many other Democrats, has begun intensive talks with administration officials and with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who must blend the Finance bill and a version approved by the health committee for the full Senate to consider.

~snip~

Rockefeller and other proponents of a public insurance option say they will fight to add the provision on the Senate floor or in negotiations with the House, which appears to have the votes for it.

~snip~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100402002.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

[rucky]

1. Does this mean Baucus will vote against himself?

seeing that he "doesn't have the votes"

[Inuca]

2. If Rockefeller says

that he will vote to add the PO when the bill is on the Senate floor, this does not sound like too much of a NO vote in committee to me. And I don't mean this as a criticism of Rockefeller who has been pretty close to amazing on all this.

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

3. Perhaps Obama

shouldn't have referred to Ron Wyden as "too radical".

Wyden has been a voice of informed resistance during this health care debate, and hasn't supported any existing measures because they don't go far enough.

Much as I try, I can't begin to puzzle out all the details, but I know that in the bigger picture, Wyden holds the peoples' interest first.

[Captain Hilts]

4. Yes, Wyden does. nt