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Reid Plans Monday Cloture Vote on $247 Billion Health Care Bill

By Philip Klein on 10.15.09 @ 5:00PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a cloture vote for Monday on a $247 billion bill to avoid cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, according to a Senate GOP source.

As I reported earlier, when combined with the supposedly fiscally prudent Senate Finance Committee bill, Reid's proposal would bring the cost of health care legislation to above $1 trillion, and ensure that it creates deficits -- in violation of President Obama's pledge. By doing a smaller and separate $247 billion bill, it will be easier to claim that the larger health care bill they push is deficit neutral.

Reid is trying to rush this bill through, and today scheduled a cloture vote to break any hopes of a filibuster for 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Earlier today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans supported pulling back the scheduled cuts to doctor reimbursement rates, but that they would offer ammendments to pay for it.

"I think virtually all of my members are in favor of fixing this reimbursement problem, but we think there are ways to pay for it," McConnell said. "And when it comes up in the Senate, we're going to offer amendments that will give us an opportunity to pay for an adjustment that most of us think ought to be -- ought to be done. But this is so transparent. They're taking this issue out of health care, suggesting that we spend a quarter of a trillion dollars, not pay for it, so that they can then argue, the very next week potentially, that this trillion-dollar health care bill is paid for."