Senate may not deliver bill in 2009

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., spoke as Democratic officials said it could be December before Senate debate begins in earnest on the issue atop President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda, months after senior lawmakers and the White House had hoped. The drive to pass legislation has been plagued for months by divisions within the party.

House leaders, on a faster track, pointed toward a vote this weekend on a bill to extend coverage to tens of millions who lack it, ban insurance industry practices such as denying coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions and slow the rate of growth of medical spending nationwide. The 10-year, $1.2 trillion legislation is estimated to expand coverage to about 96 percent of eligible Americans.

The measure includes an option for consumers to purchase a government insurance plan, an attempt to put pressure on private firms.

Reid for the first time publicly raised the possibility that lawmakers would not be able to complete work on health care by year’s end. "We’re not going to be bound by any timelines. We need to do the best job we can for the American people," he said after the weekly closed-door meeting of rank-and-file Democrats.

A few hours later, Reid’s office revised his remarks. "There is no reason why we can’t have a transparent and thorough debate in the Senate and still send a bill to the president by Christmas," said spokesman Jim Manley.

At the White House, spokesman Reid Cherlin said, "We’re moving on the same timeline. The House plans to vote on the health reform bill within days, and as Senator Reid said today, he shares the White House’s commitment to passing meaningful reform by Christmas."