the next night, harry reid shook hands with ben nelson. that produced the abortion adjustment.got a congratulatory phone call from the president. host: as drew armstrong told us this morning, this is not the end. there will be signed of reconciliation to be determined with the house bill which includes a public option parade in a few minutes, the senate will gavel in ended about 50 minutes, the senate will vote on final passage of hr 3590, the health care bill, $780 billion. we will show you bits of the boat. back to your phone calls on health care reform. middletown, delaware, you oppose the bill? caller: yes, i do. i feel that if you're going to vote on health care issues, go to the heart of the matter. that is the extent -- spent expanding price of health care. it is way out of control in every state in this country. there is no reason for these high health care bills. the cost is more than anyone can absorb. the co-pays are off the wall. i know people who have copays of $50-$100. they need to look at best, not this foolishness they have been doing in washington. they don't

the three horsemen of this bill stand behind senator harry reid did amazing job.ust watched with awe with how he could weave the legislative fabric. max baucus never gave up. he started out early and persisted and persisted and persisted and persisted. no matter what lock was broken away. christopher dodd kept the flame of ted kennedy and the spirit of doing the right thing and doing a good thing and return to the highest about use of of this country. this is a happy day. mitch mcconnell said on the floor that we will go home and hear our constituents or elegances bel pre i don't believe that. i believe that the negativity that leader mitch mcconnell and others have continually displayed on the floor has peaked. now, when people learn what is actually in the bill and all the good it does, it will become more and more popular because it is good for america, good for the american people, and the true symbol of what we can do if we all pull together. [no audio] >> after the senate passed the health care bill, the president spoke briefly with reporters at the white ho

jacob hacker, how real is this broad compromise, a term that harry reid used? >> well it certainly is a broad compromise but i think it's a complex one. it has a lot of moving parts and a lot of details we don't know yet. the way i would describe it is in sort of dickinson terms is the detail of public options. the public option one, the public option within the exchange and available to americans day one for competition for private insurance plays to give people a choice, that public option has been replace the, in my mind with an inadequate substitute, a national system of private plans. but public option two, which was never on the agenda before, a buy-in to the actual medicare program for 55 to 64 year olds is an enormous positive development. it's actually the original idea, if you will, for the public option, simply letting people get into the medicare program that provides broad secure coverage at an afford knowledge price. >> ifill: the original public option is not necessarily alive but this new one mightily. >> yes what i would say is this is an inter

harry reid is watching the video. this new system is going to improve health care, expand choices, lower cost. it's going to do none of this. that is the snow job and then my personal favorite, a year without a. kathleen sibelius will be appearing in this christmas special as the house miser. but i am an optimist. i am a glass half-full person and i believe in the miracle on main street. [cheers and applause] because when we set our mind to something, we can do it. we can do anything and everything. we have been through much worse. after all, we survived jimmy carter. [cheers and applause] it doesn't matter how many slick press conference as the left has and their cronies in the democratic arty. it doesn't matter how much they vilify us. when it comes to standing up for our freedom and our basic rights, we will not be denied. we will not be silenced. [cheers and applause] and let me just tell you. i don't know about all of you over there but i think about christmas and hanukkah and i think of the season as the christm

negotiations, majority leader harry reid mistakenly voted no before realizing his mistake and changing his vote. >> mr. reid of nevada. >> no. ( laughter ) ( applause ) >> mr. reid of nevada. aye. >> the yays are 60, the nays are 39. h.r. 3590 as amended-- the patient protection and affordable care act-- is passed. ( applause ) >> through 24 days of grueling debate, republicans had done everything they could to stop the bill, and they warned it's not over. minority leader mitch mcconnell: >> i guarantee you that people who voted for this bill are going to get an earful when they finally get home for the first time since thanksgiving.

the majority leader, harry reid will speak about senate passage of the healthcare bill.t's about 8:45 a.m. we'll bring that to you live. we continue to take your calls this morning. you are opposed to this bill. why is that? >> i have blue care network. i have a prescription once a month for hundreds of dollars. i'm in the food industry. i understand there's a $23,000 limit. i'm wandering. if i do lose my coverage and have to go to the government, would i lose my prescriptions and would i still get the same coverage as far as prescription coverage? host: i can't tell you that but if you did lose your coverage, is that your concern? caller: that's my concern. i have major medical issues. i have pain medicine that costs $1400 a month. i'd be in trouble without it. host: in houston is christopher. you support the bill. caller: thank you c-span and the congress. for too long, there have been healthcare gaps. we all discern quality healthcare i had to get my shoulder looked at. it wasn't anything major. the emergency roam was full of people. real diverse. i put down my united

and that's the whole point of it. >> imagine you're harry reid. how do you get either, "a," you get four conservative votes from the democratic caucus, or, "b," pass the bill with viewer than 60 senators supporting it? >> well, you get those four -- those 60 votes, all four of them, all 60 of us by continuing to talk, continuing to be in these meetings as all of -- many of us are that care so passionately about this. ultimately you bring people together and say we need this, you're leaders in the party. four of these people we're talking about, three of them are committee chairs. all of them are on one of the two most prestigious committees in the senate. they're getting all kinds of push from home to vote for this. the public wants the public option overwhelmingly. democratic activists want the public option. it clearly, according to all polls, it clearly works for the country. it works for most people, will keep prices down and it will mean -- it will keep the insurance companies honest, as i said. we just know the insurance companies always try

once against, harry reid is demonstrating why harry reid is sowing so well. >> that is from the las vegas sun. this is from the reno scammer newspaper. -- arena scam inner -- examiner >> only a third of nevada's votersq-l well-known for callin president obama a loser and liar while giving a speech to school children. telling the review journal director he hopes they go out of business. a means to help pass obama care and the slave master references. these come as no surprise. we are sure to see many more twone now and the 2010 elections. the question is now how deep they will sink. why do you continue to tout the healthcare bill. are you a representative of nevada's people? those are two different opinions on senator reed. fur from nevada, we especially want to hear from you. mark in little river, south carolina on the republican line. go ahead with what you think. caller: he has the best congress money can buy. mary lander got her $3 million for holding out. senator ben nelson is holding out. all you have to do is hold out and be a democrat and you can get what you want from harry reid.

harry reid has lead that fight and we've won it. fight."to max baucus who bent over backwards and not only went the extra mile but the extra hundred miles to involve the minority. to my great friend, chris dodd, who did a masterful job of leading our committee and getting the bill through and doing a masterful job. kriz and max and i are all classmates together. we were all sworn and the same day. -- as one in on the same day. -- sworn in on the same day. this is a starter home. it has a great foundation. we are expanding health-care coverage to 31 million americans. it has a protective rules -- were roof. this is not the end of health care reform, this is the beginning of health care reform. i am just proud to join my fellow senators and doing whatever i can to make sure we get over the goal in the next few days and have the president signed into law as soon as possible after the first of the year -- president sign it into law as soon as possible after the first of the year. >> [inaudible] >> i work with -- i worked with every democratic s

so wtever is going on, i think that the nber one issue for the majorityeader harry reid is to really get this thin done. >> ifill: jacob hacker let' ta about the medicare part you like so much. is it going to cost a lot of money and won't that lose tes? >> wl no. mean it's going to be a stand-alonmedicare buy-in so that meanst would be self nancing. the people who areaying emiums to buy into medicare will be fully nding their covege. thatctually raises a bit of a technical ncern. it's just how to you insurthat coverage is afrdable. there e two parts to what's being discsed and we don't know all theetails yet. thfirst part is actually to low people to buy into medicarerior to the creation of these exchanges in 20 1. so prior to the creation of e exanges in 2014. that's aositive development, it's something that's concre that peoe will be able to see it changing lives very earlyn the rerm process. >> ill: you were on capitol hill today talking to people about is. did people say to u great, this is done? >> no. i n tell you that no one feels like it's ne. there's still a long wayo go. th

harry reid says the same. this is opening the democratic party to inevitable tax.re not even getting the new deal kind of program we need. such as guaranteed. health care for guaranteed this is a travesty. we're giving the insurance industry huge subsidies. the medicare proposal floated in the senate -- now we find out the premiums for just one individual between 55-64 each person could be paying $7,600. this is not a social compact that guarantees health care. it perpetuates the idea or reality of healthcare apartheid. host: good afternoon to our viewers are watching us on the bbc parliament channel. we also welcome your calls. you can also send us a comment by twitter or by our e-mail address. let me share with you what mitch mcconnell said yesterday off the senate floor and where the healthcare debate is and is going. >> we saw two weeks ago in a gallup poll that there was a 9% more americans opposed then supporting. we saw a 40% more opposing in another poll. now in the cnn will we see 61% opposed. the argument i your friends on the other side making, they are

harry reid has led the fight. we have won it. . . what we are building here is not a mansion. it is a starter home. but it has a great foundation. coverage for 31 million americans. it has a great protective roof. and there is room for expansion in the future. but we might never get there if we do not start a starter home. so this is not the end of health care reform. it is the beginning. i'm going to join our leaders in making sure we can get done what we need to. >> i will take a few questions. yes. >> [inaudible] >> i worked with every democrating -- democratic senator for the merged bill, and now for the amendment. negotiations took place at this podiunm, sometimes individually, and ben nelson was like the rest of them. we worked for many, many weeks, as we did with other senators. so we have, as you look through the bill, you will see different interests in the merged manager's package. >> [inaudible] >>the doctor's fix was done because doctors felt that was the best way to move forward. we feel it should be

i want to commend senator harry reid, the extraordinary work that he did. speaker nancy pelosi for for extraordinary leadership and dedication. having passed reform bills in both the house and senate, we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that i can sign into law. i look forward to working with members of congress of both chambers over the coming weeks to do exactly that. with today's vote, we are now critical close to making health insurance reform or reality in this country. our challenge is to finish the job. we cannot do another generation of american to soaring costs, eroding coverage and exploding deficits. we need to do what we were sent here to do and improve the lives of the people we serve. for the sake of our citizens, our economy and our future, let's make 2010 a year we final reform health care in united states of america. merry christmas and happy new year. >> do you have a policy which for the troops? >>-- a holiday wish for the troops? >> i do and i am on my way to call a few of

we are blessed to have harry reid with us.ence with the house of representatives. today, we stand ready to pass a bill into law but finally makes access to quality health care a right for every american, not a privilege for a fortunate few in our country. this year, many years ago, franklin delano roosevelt spoke of four religions -- for freedoms. one of the great fears that americans live with is that they would be hit with an illness for which they would not receive treatment because they could not afford it. this bill does not guarantee that you'll never get sick. it does not guarantee that you will not die. all the guarantees is that you are a citizen and you are struck with illness, you will never have that fear that you'll end up losing your home, your job, your retirement, your life savings, because you have been afflicted by an illness. we are dealing with a freedom that all americans have, that one day they will suffer the indignity to not be able to afford health care. the bill frees americans from the fear that if t

harry reid is watching the video.his new system is going to improve health care, expand choices, lower cost. it's going to do none of this. that is the snow job and then my personal favorite, a year without a. kathleen sibelius will be appearing in this christmas special as the house miser. but i am an optimist. i am a glass half-full person and i believe in the miracle on main street. [cheers and applause] because when we set our mind to something, we can do it. we can do anything and everything. we have been through much worse. after all, we survived jimmy carter. [cheers and applause] it doesn't matter how many slick press conference as the left has and their cronies in the democratic arty. it doesn't matter how much they vilify us. when it comes to standing up for our freedom and our basic rights, we will not be denied. we will not be silenced. [cheers and applause] and let me just tell you. i don't know about all of you over there but i think about christmas and hanukkah and i think of the season as the christmas

harry reid's only allowed some to win and others to lose.ure you in this whole process the american people are the ones who lose. this health care bill will be incredibly expensive, will cost jobs in this country, and as has been proven not just by republicans but by former dnc chair howard dean doesn't reform health care, it raises taxes too high, it spends too much money, the american people lose in an agreement like this. >> may i just very quickly -- what this provision does as senator nelson negotiated it is set up a supreme court challenge. row v wade is clear on federal funding for abortion and now we're seeing that law that was laid down years ago in row v wade thrown up in the air. and it's pretty obvious that votes have been bought. i mean, whatever it took to get a vote, that's what the majority leader did. if it was sending money to states, other states are going to pay for it. the taxpayers of america are sending money to nebraska to, louisiana to vermont, to nevada. and the list goes on and on, in order to get votes. is that th

and of course, as senator dodd said, our leader, harry reid.t in biblical terms, harry reid has the patience of jobe -- job, the wisdom of solomon, and the endurance of sampson. -- samson. he has hung in there day after day. has put this together. and he is about to achieve what hasç alluded so many majority leaders going back over half a century. truly with the passage of this bill harry reid will have earned his place in theç senate's history.çqu! i thank all the groups for all their support behind us here who have gotten us to this point and without further ado, the person who has led us to this point of victory for the american people, our great leader, harry reid. >> we have a lineup here today that is the lineup that is the reason we were able to complete this legislation. i play baseball. i love baseball. i love baseball season. i can come home even if it's for a shortç time, turn on the tv, and watch an inning or two, it's extremely relaxing. i enjoy it very much. i know a lot about baseball.ççó ii] know a lot about why manage base

and, of course, as senator dodd said, our leader, harry reid. to put it in biblical term thes, harry reid has the patience of job, the wisdom of solomon and the endurance of sampson. he has hung in there day after day, has hut put this -- put this together, and he is about to achieve what has eluded so many majority leaders going back over half a century. truly with the passage of this bill, harry reid will have everyoned his place in the senate's history. [applause] so -- [applause] i thank all the groups for all their support behind us here who have gotten us to this point, and without further ado, the person who has led us to this point of victory for the american people, our great leader, harry reid. [applause] >> we have a line up here today that is the lineup that is the reason that we are able to complete this legislation. i played baseball, i love baseball. i love baseball season, i can come home even if it's for a short time the, turn on the tv and watch an inning or two, it's extremely relaxing, and i enjoy it very much. i know a lot a

i want to commend senator harry reid, the extraordinary work that he did.y leadership and dedication. having passed reform bills in both the house and senate, we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that i can sign into law. i look forward to working with members of congress of both chambers over the coming weeks to do exactly that. w3w3with today's vote, we areçw critical close to making health insurance reform or reality in this country. our challenge is to finish the job. i]we cannot doomç another generation of americansç to soaring costs, eroding coverage and exploding deficits. çwe need to do what we were set here to do and improve the lives of the people we serve. çfor thm@vake of our citizens, let's make 2010 a year we finally reform health care in the united states of america. çmerry christmas and happyççw year. çççççç>> do you have a leh for the troops? ñrçççç>> -- a holiday wish e troops? ç>> i do and i am on my way to call a few of them to wishç thm a merry christma

harry reid and nancy pelosi because of the fact that harry reid virtually was nullified during the bushion and now no one is paying attention -- the new dog, harry reid right in the middle. he is so impressive -- i think he should get credit for that. i think he is the most impressive. have a big christmas. host: springfield, ohio, betti on the republican line. caller: now is the time for mr. john boehner, a patriot, he is the one we follow and listen to. host: thank you for all of your calls. in the house of representatives will begin its legislative business.

majority leader harry reid is doing everything he can to move this along. there is a session going on this weekend. it will go late into the night. i am hopeful that we will see legislation passed relatively quickly. host: alabama, on our democrats line, go ahead. caller: the reason we are in this mess is because we allow insurance companies and medical suppliers to fund campaigns of politicians. we can amend the constitution. that is why women have the right to vote. it is more than 40 million people not insured. people who pay their premiums think they are insured until they get sick. that is when they are denied coverage. it is a ponzi scheme involved in interest rate you pay your premiums and i know you have a pre-existing disease -- and they know you have a pre-existing disease. we are the only country in the world that penalizes our citizens on making them go bankrupt when the become ill. we cannot wait until 200014. we will be broke or dead. guest: the caller is right in saying that our system is such that even a good number of people who have health

but this is a big victory for harry reid as well as president obama and they are very happy tonight. >> let me jump in with a question here. >> sure. >> one of the chief criticisms of republicans is they are basically saying -- and you can see senator john mccain going to the podium right now. one of the chief complaints is the notion that somehow this is being sneaked through the middle of the night. we're going to take a moment and listen to john mccain and then i want you to respond to that in a moment. let's listen to senator john mccain. >> i don't like to spend too much time recalling it but health care was a big issue in the presidential campaign and on october 8th, 2008, just less than a month before the election, then candidate obama said and i quote, concerning health care reform, quote, i'm going to have all of the negotiations around a big table. we'll have negotiations televised on c-span so that people can see who is making and that was a statement made by then senator candidate obama. and republicans and the other side. there has never been. i say that with the knowled

harry reid. senator brooke's first electoral win as massachusetts attorney general. we back in 1962. the road to that office is as rocky as the state's northern coast. when he announced he would seek that job, state party officials did everything they could to dissuade him. they offered him a judgeship and he said no. they offered him the lieutenant governorship and he said no. they told him he could not win. he said no, i can win. there was no dissuading at or broke. he had good reasons -- good reason not to take no for an answer. four years later and six years after that, the people of massachusetts sent him to represent them in washington. the soldier who fought fascism, a lawyer who fought corruption, the attorney general who fought violence, the candidate who fought his daughters became a remarkably successful united states senator who fought for equality, transparency, and for peace. we are all proud of the -- of what the grand sum of a slave of bought -- did to this building and building b

host: wouldn't you agree that senator harry reid has needed his vote? caller: no, we need reconciliation. will not get nelson, senator lieberman, senator lang can. there is a good democrat considering a run against lincoln in the primary. the people in arkansas need to look at him and get rid of people atblanche lincoln. these people really republicans. we have allowed the democratic party to move to the right and if we do not look out for the people and get these corporate democrats out of the party, we're looking just like the republican party host: to inverness, florida, an independent named richard. caller: james ross? host: please turn down your television. texas, scott, on the republican line. caller: senator lieberman for being an ex-democrat is surprising. his showing some logic and reasoning on the subject. he has shown that for anyone who uses a little logic there is no way that we can afford this. democrats are calling an and whining about not being able to afford insurance. they can sure afford cable to watch this show and a bet that they ar

the fascinating part of this for many of us has been that while nancy pelosi or harry reid would talkublican stalling, you have the votes and the bill but they seem to have a small problem with that. they cannot pass the bill. a 60/40 at the edges of the senate, you are looking for republicans to either blame or to provide you with the votes you need, tells me there is something desperately wrong with the bill. , when you can i get your own people on board. -- when you can't get your own people on board. when we are saying to slow this down, it makes sense with what i am saying. let's create an environment where bricken to a doctor- centered approach to this that is bottom that focuses on some key things. you have a menu of choices that could be very easily introduced and not as complicated as the 2000-page behemoth that they have running around the senate now. there are real challenges, yes, in terms of getting all this through the senate and the house because they want to block it at every turn despite those challenges, i think the leadership has been fairly consistent in making sur

harry reid says the same. this is opening the democratic party to inevitable tax.re not even getting the new deal kind of program we need. such as guaranteed. health care for guaranteed this is a travesty. we're giving the insurance industry huge subsidies. the medicare proposal floated in the senate -- now we find out the premiums for just one individual between 55-64 each person could be paying $7,600. this is not a social compact that guarantees health care. it perpetuates the idea or reality of healthcare apartheid. host: good afternoon to our host: good afternoon to our viewers are watching us you can also send this a twitter comment or e-mail us. before i get you to respond, this was set off the senate floor. >> we saw in the gallup poll that there was a 9% more americans to oppose the bill that supported it. in another poll, 14% more americans oppose the bill been supported it. and now we see in the cnn poll, 61% opposed and only 36% in favor. the argument i hear our friends on the other side making is that they are sorting their members to make history. man

harry reid. earlier that senator brooke's first electoral win as massachusetts attorney general. we back in 1962. the road to that office is as rocky as the state's northern coast. when he announced he would seek that job, state party officials did everything they could to dissuade him. they offered him a judgeship and he said no. they offered him the lieutenant governorship and he said no. they told him he could not win. he said no, i can win. there was no dissuading at or broke. he had good reasons -- good reason not to take no for an answer. four years later and six years after that, the people of massachusetts sent him to represent them in washington. the soldier who fought fascism, a lawyer who fought corruption, the attorney general who fought violence, the candidate who fought his daughters became a remarkably successful united states senator who fought for equality, transparency, and for peace. we are all proud of the -- of what the grand sum of a slave of bought -- did to this building a

i was watching harry reid on tv and there was this look on his face.tion, the two democratic governors are voted out. americans are catching on. they are fed up. obama, who i happen to like, and wanted bush and cheney out, he has not created the 3 million jobs that he ran on, he has not brought our troops home from the middle east, that he ran on. matter of fact, he sent more troops. now he's got to come up with something because the elections are one year from now and have to say they gave us something even if it is two three aspirants for every american couple. there are going to pass this regardless of what it says because they have to have something on the resume to say look how good we are at governing. wheat pass this bill. -- we pass this bill. host: china's government censors take in fresh aim of the internet, rolling new measures that limit the citizen's ability to set up a personal website and view hugs -- hundreds of website offering films, video games, and other forms of entertainment. the authorities say the stricter controls are intended

if you ask harry reid, harry reid has said he ahad a few problems with lieberman, and lieberman has gotten the left, who feel that he has changed and altered his position, but he is the 60th vote and harry reid has to happen to break any republican filibuster. -- has to have him to break any republican filibuster. host: in "the baltimore sun," let me read you what they said. "if senate democratic leaders succeed in the negotiations and nail down the 60 the vote, they began a lengthy process for ending republican filibusters and moving to the final vote. three cloture votes will be required for each stage the bill must move through, each requiring 60 votes, setting the 30-hour limit on debate." white three cloture votes? -- why three cloture votes? guest: i'm not sure what they're referring to in that article. at this point, we are not sure what the final procedure is going to be, and one of my colleagues at "politico" wrote this morning about a 7:00 p.m. christmas eve vote. but when they get a final -- there is going to be a filibuster on bringing it up and there will be a substitute amend

. >> more bad news for harry reid and the democrats. my colleagues have pointed out the difficulty they're going to have trying to explain away the features of their legislation has analyzed by c m s. senator mccain has taken the lead and mention this as well. we have been talking about the fact that a lot of arizonans are participants in the medicare advantage program, 337,000 as a matter of fact. we are talking about the fact that so many of them will be dropped -- will drop their medicare advantage coverage. that is an exaggeration, what are the actual facts, what does cms say about that? they talk about the result of less generous benefit package is, enrollment plan would decrease by 33%. decrease by 33%. the other group of people who would suffer as a result of this bill with fewer benefits, the idea that if you like your plan you will get to keep it is not really true and it is not just medicare. for others as well. the taxes will, according to c m s, be passed on in the form of higher premiums or higher costs for the medical devi

i want to commend senator harry reid, extraordinary work that he did. speaker policy for her extraordinary leadership and dedication. we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that i can sign into law. i look forward to working with members of congress in both chambers over the coming weeks to do exactly that. with today's vote, we are now incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country. our challenge is to finish the job. we cannot deal with another generation of americans with exploding deficit. we need to do what we were sent here to do and improve the lives of the people we serve. for the sake of their citizens and economy and future, let's make 2010 the year we finally reform health care in the united states of america. merry christmas and happy new year. i want to which the troops a happy christmas and to thank them for their service as they are posted in iraq and afghanistan. >> ben nelson was the last democrat to agree to vote for the health-care bill. after

and at aime when harry reid is trying to muster 6votes to pass the bill,hose numbers are not lpful. >> its a fact that t issue of abortion sti very strong emotion. >> reporter: nebraska decrat ben neon-- one of the last holdouts-- is ill insisting on tighter restrictio on abortion coverage, he told a radio interviewer day. >> as it is right now, witho furtr modifications, it isn't sufficient. there is a lotmprovement on the legislation t the basic estion about funding of abortion has not been full answed yet. >> reporter: and replicans have stepped up thr efforts to block the bill, usinevery procedural toothey can. >> i'd offer unamous consent... >> rorter: the debate came to a standsll for a time yesterday, when oklama republican tom coburn foed senate clerks to srt reading 767-page democratic amendmen >> section 2006. >> reporter: the proposal wa eventually pulled. but coburn has threatened e same tacc when the final veion of the bill-- roughly 000 pages-- comes to the floor. the republican goal:o make mocrats give up and start over. >> there's a chae, there's a chance thawe could s

guest: this started on friday night, senator harry reid, headed in and he was holding negotiation sessionsy were in senator reid's office for 13 hours, until 10 o'clock on friday night. and at the last minute they came back there late at night to try to finalize the deal on some abortion language that had been holding up moving the bill forward, senator nelson had serious concerns. they went home and nelson didn't say much and had to sleep on it. and they came back and announced they had a compromise, and introduced the package of deals and now we are in this ticking clock of passage on christmas eve, it will be a lot of late nights and early mornings but seems it's on the rails. host: we can take your calls at three different lines with your questions and comments w3from drew armstrong from cq.ç who were the key players with senator reid able to broker that kind of deal? guest: there were a few others, you had chuck from new york and senator barbara boxer, they were there representing the left side of the democratic caucus, nelson one of the conservative democrats. he was worried that pu

. >> reporter: a self-imposed christmas deadline loomed over senate majority leader harry reid and his democratic ranks today. but despite his insistence, it was not clear they'll make it. that's partly because president obama is hearing more from those on the political left who accuse him of giving up on key reforms like the government-funded public option. >> i think, at this point, the bill does more harm than good. >> reporter: former democratic party chairman howard dean is now urging democrats to scrap the current bill and start over. >> the fine print in this bill allows that insurance companies charge you three-times as much if you're older than they do if you're younger. this is an insurance company's dream, this bill. and i think it's gone too far. >> reporter: and today, the politically powerful service employees international union voiced its deep disappointment with concessions made on health care reform. in an open letter to his 2.1 million members president andy stern said... "our challenge to the president, to the senate, and to the house of representatives is to fight.

senate majority leader harry reid and the democrats will be speaking with reporters.have that at 1:15 on c-span. earlier today we learned more about work in the senate in that vote from a reporter covering the action. david drucker joining us from roll-call. most of us missed the vote. , is what this means and where we are in the process of the health-care debate. >> guest: the big test for harry reid and the democrats last night's a vote because it was the first in a series of votes, passage of the health care bill. they have done that. that signals this thing will pass the senate and enter a conference committee with the house. even though the majority leader has secured the support of his members in advance there's always trepidation before we get to of vote. you could tell wants the vote occurred it was successful to the democrats. leadership and members on that side were very excited and they think this is a done deal. >> host: with the democratic leadership do to get ben nelson on board? >> guest: they had to acquiesce to a few of his demands and opera couple de

i like to say that in both proud of the president and speaker harry reid and nancy pelosi about how they handled this debate so far. i'm also proud of howard dean who was out there doing a great job. i remember in the 1960's when the civil rights legislation passed. same thing. on the left everyone thought the legislation was too weak. it was not strong enough. it was correct. it needed strengthening. the same with this health care bill. host: caller, you said you were proud of power game. last week he cannot and was not in favor of this final measure. caller: he thought the measure was too weak, watered-down. the same thing was said about civil-rights back in the 1960's. on the right they feel that it is too much too fast, too radical. but it needs to be worked on. host: let's hear a republican view from lake charles, louisiana. caller: i am a republican, but i do believe this is a good thing to pass. there is all lot of corruption and i see it as a ploy to get this prolonged. host: lots of senators on the sunday shows yesterday. one of the key members of the 60-foot coalition is senato

. >> reporter: while the drama of majority leader harry reid scouring the democratic ranks for the one final vote he needed was unfolding inside, outside the capitol was brought to its knees by a blinding snowstorm. reed finally got that 60th vote from nebraska's ben nelson. nelson made his support known saturday morning. >> while each of my colleagues may differ on how to fix the system , i know of no members who are suggesting that the current system is satisfactory. i know of no member who doesn't think that we need to change our health care system. where we differ-- and i say so with great respect to all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle-- is in the way we fix our health care system. >> reporter: to get nelson on board, reed had to include stricter language on abortion coverage in his final amendments. as a result, the bill allows states to opt out of plans that cover abortion in the new insurance exchanges and those who enroll in plans that cover the procedure would have to pay for it separately. nelson also won a commitment from the federal government to cover the entir

senate majority leader harry reid's bill grows just as fast as the house version. and yesterday -- the day before yesterday we got a new actuarial report that actually addressed the reid bill, as opposed to the house bill, and we talked about that fairly extensively. i haven't seen any articles about it yet. but just one summary comment on it is that, according to this actuary of c.m.s., a part of the administration, said that the cost of health care under the reid bill will increase by .7%. that doesn't sound like much. but it is .7% more -- move -- than if we did nothing. that's not bending the cost curve down. mr. holtzs-eakin says each bill sets up a new entitlement program that grows at 8% annually, as far as the eye can see, faster than the economy will grow, faster than tax revenues will grow, and just as fast as the already-broken medicare and medicaid programs. they also create a second, new entitlement program, a federally run long-term care insurance plan. the bills are fiscally dishonest using every budget gimmick in the book. leave out inconvenient spe

harry reid tried almost everything. obviously the insurance companies don't want the public options. they see that as unfair competition by the government with what they do. but just from an ideaological perspective a lot of conservatives and the more sen trust democrats don't like this idea. and people like ben nelson, joe lieberman are refusing to give their vote to health reform if there is public option in it. and it is hard to see anyway out of that for the liberals. >> woodruff: let's talk about another area of difference. and that is how you pay for this. the house taxes a so-called cadillac plan, high, expensive health insurance plans. the senate imposes a tax on the wealthy. how expect to see that resolved. i have it backwards. the house taxes wealthy americans, the senate would tax the so-called high-end cadillac plans. how does that get resolved. >> well, cost, unlike certain other areas, you can split the difference and they may end up trying to mix aren't match but clearly the momentum now is with the senat

harry reid's amendment. right now, barring an agreement with republicans, the final vote on passing the overall bill could happen on christmas eve. there are lots of ways for you to follow the debate on health care. you can watch it live, gavel-to- gavel, and edited and commercial free only on c-span2. . . >> senator, let me big with you -- let me begin with you. those reports often residing government shelves. why would this be any different? >> this would be different because of the way it is set up. it is set to be fully bipartisan and it is set up to get the assurance of a vote on a recommendation from the commission. so the statutory commission and the law that governs this commission would provide that the recommendations of the commission would not be amendable and would come to the floor of the house and the senate for an automatic vote. >> would be commission have a target for deficit reduction or would there simply be the ability to set whatever target they want to target? why would we expect membe

familiar with doug elmendorf and the congressional budget office and the letter to the majority leader harry reid in relation to the deficit impact of the class act? mr. gregg: i appreciate the assistant leader asking me that question. regrettably, i'm not immediately familiar with it. i've probably seen it although i apologize for not being immediately familiar with it, and therefore i presume the assistant leader is going to remind me or at least reacquaint me with its terms. i would note that the term ponzi act did not come from me. it came from the chairman of the budget committee. mr. durbin: i would just say it's unfortunate that the senator from new hampshire has not seen this letter because if he had had an opportunity -- and it's impossible to read everything here. had he had an opportunity to read that letter, i don't think he would have made the speeches he just made on the floor about the class act because the congressional budget office tells us that in the first ten years, the class act will reduce the federal budget deficit by by $72.5 billion. in the second ten years by a substant

. >> and harry reid, how many people know harry reid? okay. say it. we got one, two, three four, five. harry reid? >> wheeler, dealer. >> politician. >> anybody else? >> balanced. >> aged politician. >> and sarah palin? word or phrase. >> whack job. >> okay. lisa. >> can't handle leadership. >> william. >> unstable. >> and patricia. >> future leader. >> and bill, immature. >> bernadette >> ridiculous. >> tim? >> a joke. >> crazy. >> attractive. >> we're going to start and goo straight around upon michele obama. >> admirable. >> admirable. >> i love her. >> yes. >> and tim. >> first lady. >> that's position. feeling. >> she's very first lady-like. >> and vick. >> strong character. >> poised. >> i would say poised. >> and i don't know, i guess poised. she takes a good picture. >> william. >> very strong woman. >> and lisa. >> inspirational. >> inspirational. >> pamela. >> refined. >> john. >> indifferent. >> okay, good. and -- and within the republican party is there a person john that you respect and admire? >> -- mitt romney. >> anybody else? tim, you

as you know, harry reid tends to let his tongue get away from himself from time to time. so use to which i almost did not pay attention. but -- i am so used to it i almost did not pay attention. but from a public perspective outside the beltway, it is better off not saying. probably something that has legs. it could hurt him publicly, could hurt him in nevada but will not necessarily affect the health-care debate. chronically most of the things he mentioned, it was a different democratic party at the time and it was democratically controlled senate often that was resisting calls for change that he mentioned. a very ironic statement. very over the top. and it matters because he is the majority leader. but i think is the kind of thing that will blow over and will not really affect the health-care debate because things here are so self contained. but publicly it is a problem and i think republicans will mill default it is worth because they should because that would be the demillo it for all it is worth the -- they will milk it for all of his work and should because that wil

. >> senate majority leader harry reid early this morning. late night debate, the senate passed the manager's amendment. it was 16-40. more procedural votes are set for tomorrow morning at approximately 7:00 p.m. -- 7:00 a.m. eastern. wednesday 1:00 p.m., a vote on final passage is scheduled for christmas eve at 7:00 p.m. eastern the date is alive health care debate when the senate returns this afternoon at noon eastern on our companion network, c-span2. key democratic senators are holding a news conference on the health care bill today. among those taking part, majority leader harry reid, finance committee chair max baucus, christopher dodd, and the health committee chair, tom harkin. that will be at 1:15 p.m. eastern. also, president obama will be making an announcement about government efficiency. live coverage from the white house when it gets underway at 11:30 a.m. eastern. we will have it here for you on c-span. until then, united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon on the climate change summit in copenhagen. he discusses the group re

all under the direction of the majority leader, harry reid.a long way, back to the house. when we came to the senate, i wound up being majority leader and he was the whip. 100 amendments would appear for a bill, miraculously. usually 100. i would go to harry that was working with tom daschle, ken lanier this down a little bit? -- tan lee narrow this down a little bit? in a few hours -- can we narrow this down a little bit? in a few hours, we would get a product. he would work the floor, and have the confidence from tom daschle. at the time that you were the with and i was the leader -- toward the end of my time here, we wound up on one vote in 2007, we are in the well. john collins is down there. i want to mention the bill, because it might cause a little stir -- i won't mention the bill, because it might cause a little stir. finally, carey said it, i don't think we will make it. his troops were going at one or, our troops were going out the other. there we stood, the two leaders of the parties working together and losing. [laughter] one of my

. -- we will hear from harry reid in a moment. caller: i think it is ridiculous that we in america, one of the largest industrialized countries cannot get health care like everybody else has. i watcheds iicko"and it was kind of disheartening when michael moore -- i watched "sixcko." and went to do a different election. it is not about health care. this is just the beginning of how we do business in america there when they refinanced gm a while back, they had an ad that was out about how they will restructured gm and how they will do things differently going forward. the health care is the beginning of how they will start doing that all of our businesses hemorrhage money to a certain set of people in this country. we are -- economically through the money. if you trace -- what they're doing, if you trace where it is going to or who it keeps to be on top that goes along those same party lines as far as you see the politicians fighting to keep the things going. expos those people for the money they are receiving and then you can get r