Senate moves health care bill to the floor for debate

Nov. 21, 2009 | Kitty Felde | KPCC

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The Senate spent Saturday night at work, deciding whether the health care bill should be debated on the Senate floor. The vote was a squeaker: Democrats convinced all their members, plus two Independents to move the bill forward. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports.

Thirty nine Republicans voted against moving the bill forward.

Senator Dianne Feinstein called it "effectively a filibuster." The Democrat from California said the partisan atmosphere was grim. Fellow California Democrat Barbara Boxer predicted the coming debate won’t be any easier.

"The other side is getting so dug in they don’t want to do anything," Boxer said. "This proved it, I think. This was just a motion to proceed to debate."

Boxer and Feinstein want more money in the bill to reimburse hospitals that treat the uninsured. They also want more money for Medi-Cal to pay for health care for poor.


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