|
|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
Lone Democratic holdout in Senate [Ben Nelson] agrees to back healthcare bill
|
|---|
| Parent(s) |
Issue
|
| Contributor | Monsieur |
| Last Edited | Monsieur Dec 19, 2009 11:27am |
| Logged |
0
|
| Category | News |
| Author | Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook |
| Media | Newspaper - Los Angeles Times |
| News Date | Saturday, December 19, 2009 05:25:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Reporting from Washington - With a critical vote looming this weekend, Senate Democrats reached a long-sought deal with the lone Democratic holdout, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, who will back the party's healthcare bill after settling weeks of negotiating over abortion.
That would give Democrats the 60 votes they need to quash a series of Republican-led filibusters and pass a bill by Christmas.
Nelson, who was pushing for tougher restrictions on federal funding for abortion, reached the agreement with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office Friday night after round-the-clock talks with Reid and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a leading supporter of abortion rights.
Under the agreement, individual states would be allowed to prohibit insurers from offering abortion services in new regulated insurance marketplaces, or exchanges, where Americans who do not get health benefits through work would shop for coverage. Senate officials said that is consistent with current law, which gives states this authority over their insurance markets.
The abortion compromise is less restrictive than the House healthcare bill, which banned any insurers from offering abortion coverage to any American who receives insurance subsidies. |
| Share |
|
|
2¢
|
|
| Article | Read Full Article |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
