David Dayen reports the Senate health insurance reform bill will be available for Democratic Senators tomorrow.
The Washington Post reports that Majority Leader Harry Reid is feeling “cautiously optimistic”:
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) scrambled Tuesday to lock down votes behind a health-care bill that he may unveil as early as Wednesday.
Reid would not confirm that he had received commitments from all 60 members of the Democratic caucus to overcome GOP procedural objections and bring the legislation to the Senate floor, saying only, “I feel cautiously optimistic that we can do that. I think we’re together as a caucus.”
The leader was more outspoken in describing his bill, boasting to reporters: “Of all the bills we’ve seen, it’ll be the best: saves more money, is more protective of Medicare, is a bill that’s good for the American people.”
Looks like we’ll know more tomorrow (but, we’ve said that before.)
Last weekend, Sam Stein reported that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to drag out the debate for at least six weeks. And, Senator Coburn (R-OK) is making a big deal out of his plan to have the full bill read on the Senate floor. David Waldman explains how that will work and notes “it’s just not going to do that much. It won’t take all that long to read it.” Waldman probably understands this process better than Coburn and his staff.