Senate Hopes to Begin Health Care Debate Next Week
November 6, 2009
On Tuesday, November 10, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that he hopes to begin the health care debate this week. Reid started the process of adding the House-passed bill to the official Senate calendar so he could file a motion to proceed to debate as soon as tomorrow.
Republicans are expected to mount a filibuster of the motion to proceed, which if successful would prevent the bill from being debated on the Senate floor. Reid needs 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, and has been working to secure the votes of all 60 members of the Democratic Conference.
Despite the formal calendar process, the timing of the Senate’s health care debate is still in doubt. Reid has said that he would not bring a measure to the floor without a formal cost estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO score is expected the week of November 16.
