Senate Finance Committee Approves Healthcare Reform Legislation

October 14, 2009

The Chicago Tribune reports, "After months of wrangling over how to reshape the nation's healthcare system, the last of five congressional committees on Tuesday endorsed its sweeping blueprint for expanding coverage and containing costs." The "14-9 vote by the Senate Finance Committee sets the stage for the final legislative push amid intense lobbying by healthcare providers, consumer advocates, labor unions and other interest groups." The bill was "designed by committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) with an eye toward keeping moderate Democrats on board and creating the possibility of at least some Republican support." But most GOP lawmakers "blasted the healthcare campaign Tuesday, renewing complaints that they had been excluded from the process."

In an unrelated story, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch lamented on the floor of the Senate following passage of the Baucus bill in committee that the bill that will pass in the Senate is not the bill that just passed in the committee, “it will be much worse”, he warned.