Health Care Debate Down to the Wire in Senate

Today marks the end of the last full week until the end of year break for our congress, but they still have a lot to talk about it seems. For months now our Congress has wanted to pass some form of health care reform before the end of the year, yet it is coming down to the wire. After the bill got through in the house with 220 to 215 vote we learned it would be a hard fight, no matter what side of the debate you are on. Now with the public option gone the Dems. have 59 votes. One away from the 60 they need to close the debate and pass health care reform. All eyes are on one Democrat holdout (shown above) senator Ben Nelson from Nebraska. Easily the most conservative Democrat in the senate, he has refused to vote for the bill until stronger abortion restrictions are implemented and all payment of abortion by taxpayers is taken out of the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Hussein Obama have both been speaking with Senator Nelson and discussing his possible support.

Last week marked an important week for health care reform. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut stated that he would no longer support health care until the "public option" was removed. With few other options, the Dems had to drop the long debated public option.

Throughout this debate Republicans, led by Senator John McCain and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have been doing all they can to pass amendments, slow the debate, and in any way possible stop health care reform.

Now with little time and not enough votes will the bill still be passed by Christmas as proposed? Without a public option and after many compromises the bill is a shadow of its former self, but will Dems. in Congress be able to get even this through? We will soon see. For now it seems Ben Nelson is key to all of this.