Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Monday that the public option, saddled with a provision that will allow states to individually opt-out, will be included in the final draft of the Senate’s health care reform legislation.

Although Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the only Republican on the Senate Finance Committee to vote in favor of moving the legislation out of committee, does not support a public option, Reid stated that the Senate has to move on. The Majority Leader added that he hopes that Snowe and other Republicans will support health care reform after being given the chance to submit their own amendments. (0:24)

 

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Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Sevice
The Senate Finance Committee approved the America’s Healthy Future Act Tuesday with a 14-9 vote.

The legislation’s sole Republican vote came from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine.), who has been pursued heavily by Democrats as a possible ally.

All Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the bill, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.), who had previously expressed reservations with the bill.

“There is no way in its present form that I will vote for it, unless during the amendment process it is changed in vast amounts,” Rockefeller said mid-September.

By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) asks the nominee for the Director of the CIA about his views on Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda at his hearing before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee. At his hearing he said that finding Bin Laden would be a “main priority”. February 5, 2009.

 

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