US Senate Opens Debate On Health-Care Measure
By Patrick Yoest, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Senate opened debate Monday on broad-
reaching $848 billion health-care legislation, as senators began the long slog
of discussing possible amendments to the bill.
The Senate moved to the bill after Democrats won a critical vote Nov. 22
allowing debate to begin, but debate on amendments was formally started Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Senate Democrats would work
hard over the course of the month on the bill, which they hope to pass by
Christmas.
"We'll do this work transparently, and we'll do this work tirelessly," Reid
said, warning that he would keep the Senate in session on nights and weekends to
work on the bill. "There is not an issue more important than finishing this
legislation."
A number of Obama administration official met Monday evening in Reid's office
to discuss strategy on the bill. Among them were Health and Human Services
secretary Kathleen Sebelius and White House Office of Health Reform director
Nancy-Ann DeParle, but they didn't offer any comments.
The Senate debated only two amendments Monday: one offered by Sen. Barbara
Mikulski (D., Md.) that would steer $1 billion in surplus funds generated by the
bill toward women's health efforts and another by Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.)
that would return the bill to committee with order to restore billions of
dollars in Medicare spending cuts.
McCain referred to the slated Medicare cuts as "Bernie Madoff accounting," a
reference to the New York financier who was convicted of running a multi-
billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
A Reid spokesman said that there is no agreement on when to vote on the
amendments. The early tension over how to vote on amendments could presage
future procedural battles over the bill, which could help drag the bill's
passage past December. Reid said he was "very disappointed this is the way the
debate started."
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-30-091958ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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