. >>> we are going to ken strickland, nbc senate producer up on the hill. ken? >> chris, what happened today, moments ago in the senate health education labor and pension committee the same committee that senator ted kennedy would have chaired but he is ailing. they passed a vote on a party line vote and all of the democrats are going along with this that essentially gives the president what he wants in health care bill. approximate penalizes employers if they don't cover some of their employees. this is a first in a long road in a race to get health care bills passed in the house and senate before the august recess. a first in a long road for the democrats. >> give me a gps on that. give me a scenario between now and, say, october. what would be the steps you'd have to get to? the bridges would have to cross to get a national health care bill to the president's desk? >> there are five committees have jurisdiction over health care. this health committee is the first one passed a bill out of committee. four committees to go. also in the senate it's the finance co

big development in the sonia sotomayor confirmation process and we want to bring in nbc news ken stricklandn capitol hill. what can you tell us, ken? >> carlos, here is what i found out. orrin hatch from utah says he will not vote in favor of sonia sotomayor. this may not become a surprise to many americans considering hatch is a republican but here is the context you have to understand this. orrin hatch elected in 1976 has voted for every confirmation over the past 12 confirm medications and even when a democrat elected a nominee to be a supreme court justice, he voted for even democratic nominees. today, he says you just can't vote for sonia sotomayor. he is going to release a statement shortly and he basically says it's particularly difficult because i highly respect judge sotomayor and have a great deal of deference to any presidential noom knee nominee but at the end of the day he thought too many issues that was troubling him and he is not going to support her and a chilling effect it could be on other republicans figuring out whether or not they will support sotomayor. >> ken, stand

>> what about the latest reports that we're hearing from our producer, our senator producer, ken strickland, that max baucus has announced out of finance with a coalition of the willing on agreement on some of the policy proposals, not the finance mechanisms, which we're all waiting for, but some of the still-uncertain policy proposals on the senate finance side? >> we're certainly putting in a lot of time, but it seems to me that we've got to focus on the basics. that's holding people's premiums down and making sure that everybody has choices. and i feel very strongly that everybody ought to have choices like members of congress. not some people, but everybody, and i've got a proposal to do that and it would hold costs down and it will have bipartisan support. >> and that means a choice, which would include a public option, similar to what you all enjoy up on the hill? >> i'm very hope to the public option, just as long as it contains costs. but members of congress have access to a wide array of choices. we get a chance to belong to a big group. you can't discriminate against somebody who

bob, to you first, because just now, ken strickland, our own senator producer has just notified us thatgroup of senators are now asking for more time. and this is -- there's some big names here. there's so much heavy lifting ahead, lieberman, nelson, biden, collins, landrieu, and snowe, and a couple of these are members of the finance committee and the baucus group. at this stage, what does that mean? if they want more time, does that mean the august recess does not -- that deadline will not work for the white house? >> look, it may or may not. but a lot of the reporting on this, andrea, is just like your reporting on the stimulus bill. it's as if the perils of pauline was being enacted every single day. i think the president is resolute, he's pretty confident about where this is going to come out. take that cbo conclusion that came out yesterday. it was about total federal health spending. of course, total federal health spending will go up under this, but you'll save $2 trillion in the overall economy and for individuals over ten years. the average family will be $2,600, and that's wh

. >> senator, our senator producer, ken strickland just passed this note to us that senator hatch, fellow republican, has taken himself out of these bipartisan talks within senate finance saying some of the proposals on the table are things he simply cannot accept so it seems as though the white house and those trying to come one the bipartisan proposal are taking a step backwards today rather than forwards. >> we're ready. i'm ready. the republicans are more than anxious to do everything we can to solve the health care problem but we want to solve it and we have plans that will solve it in a way that will not break the bank. the bill that i'm cosponsoring with senator wyden has been scored by cbo, a democratic cbo, neutral. >> these are the coopts you've been talking about with senator wyden? >> scored at revenue neutral, no increase in costs and we think long-term it will actually turn the curve downward and save costs, that's what the group says about it so we're ready to deal with the president, if he will just say, okay, what i have proposed is financially impossible. let's sit down

. >> i'm told by ken strickland, our producer up there on the hill that you met today with the republicanse senate finance committee. there aren't that many meetings across from house to senate. so what are you and senators enzi and grassley talking about? are you trying to slow them down on the senate side? >> no, what we're trying to do, andrea, is tell them where house republicans are. house republicans have a plan. we believe that you ought to be saving tax free for health care. we believe that you ought to have flexibility in the insurance laws so you don't lose your coverage when you lose your job. we believe that small businesses and individuals that have the same benefit and discount that the larger folks have in terms of purchasing health care. we believe there ought to be a robust market for individuals to purchase health care, just as they've purchased a lot of other type of insurance -- >> are they willing to incorporate any of your house ideas into your senate negotiations, since you're not getting much of a hearing on the house side? >> that's exactly why we wanted to meet wi