Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said this morning
that the committee would vote on Tuesday on an amendment to
include a government plan in its version of the health care
legislation.
The Finance Committee bill is the only Democratic bill in the
House or Senate that does not include a government plan, a key
provision for liberals.
At least three Democrats on the committee have expressed
opposition to a government plan: Baucus himself, as well as Sens.
Kent Conrad and Blanche Lincoln. Should the amendment get
defeated as expected, we'll have to see if any liberal Democrats
still vote the plan out of committee. That may be an early
indication of whether liberals will ultimately cave on the idea
when it comes up for a vote in the Senate as a whole -- i.e. if
they literally face the choice between abandoning the government
plan, or getting no health care bill at all.
Yesterday, Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is on the Finance Committee,
insisted that the final legislation would include a "robust
public option," but his thinking was that it could be added on
down the road, even if it doesn't get passed at the committee
level. Last week, Sen. Jay Rockefeller
said he would vote against the bill at the committee level if
it was not changed substantially from the original draft, and the
lack of a government plan was his leading criticism of the
legislation.
The Finance Committee will be debating amendments today until
noon, and then recess until Tuesday. Monday is the Yom Kippur
holiday.
