Sen. Nelson Holds Up Health Bill

Dispute Over Abortion Threatens Democrats' Christmas Deadline for Passage

By GREG HITT and JANET ADAMY

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats' drive to pass health-care legislation by Christmas showed signs of faltering Thursday, amid divisions over abortion and criticism by some Democratic supporters that the bill is unaffordable for lower-to-middle-income families.
In a seesaw day, Sen. Ben Nelson, an antiabortion Nebraskan who is the last Democrat withholding support for the legislation, rejected an overture by party leaders to address his concerns about the bill's handling of abortion. Among other things, Democratic leaders proposed to create a new tax credit that would promote adoptions.
Sen. Nelson said his concerns had "not been fully answered." In an interview with a Nebraska radio station, he suggested it would be difficult to vote on the broader bill by Christmas, as the White House wants.

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"I accept the idea of deadlines and the pressure that that creates," he said. "But a deadline and a timeline that's out there, that is not achievable, isn't helpful." He added, "I do intend to be home for the holidays."
Labor leaders amplified their complaints about the bill. AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka objected to the bill's proposed tax on high-value insurance plans, and the decision by Senate Democrats to drop a government-run insurance plan. Mr. Trumka said the Senate bill was "too kind to the insurance industry."
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada continued to work to get 60 votes, the number needed to ensure passage of the legislation, said Reid spokesman Jim Manley. With Mr. Nelson's vote in doubt, President Barack Obama met with Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, the lone Republican to show interest in supporting the package, to see if she would back the bill. Sen. Snowe is an abortion-rights supporter.
"He'd prefer to get this moving," Sen. Snowe said. She added that she urged the president to postpone action and use "part of January" to deal with her concerns, which include a proposal to establish a new long-term care program. "The time frame is totally unrealistic," she said of the push for a vote by Christmas.
The bill is designed to extend health-insurance coverage to tens of millions of Americans. It includes a mandate on individuals to carry health coverage or pay a fine -- a provision that is raising fresh concerns among some lawmakers who say that even with new tax credits, some people will find coverage unaffordable.
The Senate bill sets some limits on abortion coverage under insurance policies bought in the new national exchange -- or marketplace -- that would be created under the bill. It would still allow women who receive some government subsidies to buy insurance that covers the procedure, though they would have to use their own money to pay for an abortion.
Sen. Nelson is seeking to further tighten the bill's restrictions. He dismissed the latest attempt to find common ground. "As it is right now, without further modifications, it isn't sufficient," he said.

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Associated Press

Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, center, flanked by Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, left, and West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, right, as they prepare to leave after appearing on CBS's 'Face the Nation' Sunday in Washington.

With the holidays looming, some Democrats were beginning to suggest it might be difficult to make the Christmas deadline set by Mr. Reid.

"Obviously, we are going to take the holidays off, and if we haven't done health care, we need to keep going and come back and do it as soon as possible," said Sen. Jack Reed (D., R.I.). Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) added she didn't know when passage of the bill would come, saying it could be "Christmas Eve, or Christmas, or the week after, or the week after that."
Mr. Reid is juggling a number of year-end priorities. He was trying to push the Senate toward a final vote Saturday on a fiscal 2010 defense bill, which also includes provisions extending jobless benefits. Also pending is legislation needed to lift the nation's $12.1 trillion debt ceiling.
"This entire process is essentially a charade," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). Republicans threatened to resist Mr. Reid's efforts to proceed to a vote on the defense bill, in what would be a symbolic protest over the push on health. Mr. McConnell said Democrats were preparing to vote on a health bill "that no one outside of the majority leader's conference room has seen."
The White House brushed off suggestions that momentum may be turning against the health overhaul. "Despite all the cable TV chatter, nothing has happened in recent days that suggests that this bill is any less likely to pass," said White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer.
Democrats fear a delay could cause them to lose traction on the bill. Pushing the Senate vote past Christmas would add to the time it would take to piece together a compromise between the House and Senate, and would tie debate on that final bill more tightly to the 2010 election season. Polls show widening voter discontent with the health initiative.
Write to Greg Hitt at greg.hitt@wsj.com and Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com