Snowe Helps Pass Baucus Bill

From Bloomberg.com:

The Senate Finance Committee approved an $829 billion plan to overhaul U.S. health care, clearing the way for a full Senate debate over the broadest expansion of the government’s role in the medical system since the creation of Medicare in 1965.

Just one Republican on the panel, Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, voted for the measure in an otherwise party-line 14-9 tally. That marked the first time a Republican in either the Democratic-controlled Senate or House has supported the revamp legislation, President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.

“Ours is a balanced plan that can pass the Senate,” said panel Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat.

Baucus had spent months courting Snowe and other Republicans, making his committee the last of five congressional panels to complete its version of the legislation. Senate and House Democratic leaders must now merge the bills and schedule floor debates. After each chamber votes, they’ll have to reconcile their measures.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will meld the finance panel bill with one approved by the Senate health committee in July, forcing him to resolve differences over a host of issues that divide both political parties and risk rupturing Democratic unity.

“There are many miles to go in this legislative journey,” Snowe said. “My vote today is my vote today. It doesn’t forecast what my vote will be tomorrow."