Thaindian News

Washington, Oct 14 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The Senate Finance Committee voted (14-9) on Tuesday for a great overhauling of the Health care Bill. This is the first step in greatly transforming the Health care bill, as envisioned by the Obama administration.

Now all eyes are on the Senate as Senate leaders start trying to merge two very different bills into a new version. Plus, it also requires 60 votes needed to get it approved.

The man of the moment is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who has said he wants to complete the wedding quickly, of the two different bills into one and get historic health care overhaul legislation onto the floor the week after next.

President Barack Obama acknowledges that it’s not going to be easy and be an easy path for the bill to be approved. Speaking on Tuesday in the Rose Garden, Obama called the 14-9 Finance Committee vote “a critical milestone” toward getting a health care overhaul this year. The legislation won its first Republican support when Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine broke ranks with her party, saying she was answering the call of history.

Obama wasn’t ready to bask in this small victory.

“Now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back,” he said. “Now is the time to dig in and work even harder.”

There was no victory lap either for Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. “The bottom line here is we need a final bill, a merged bill, that gets 60 votes,” he said. “Our goal is to pass health care reform, not just talk about it.”