In the wake of the Senate Finance Committee's approval of the Baucus health-care bill, 14-9, with the help of key moderate Republican Olympia Snowe, McConnell emphasized that the bill that will be brought to the senate floor is being crafted by Senate and House leaders without input from the American public:
"Sen. Snowe called me this morning to let me know that while she continues to have serious, substantive policy reservations with this proposal, she wanted to keep the process moving. I share her concerns about the direction of this bill once it leaves the committee, and her call for transparency before we vote to proceed to any bill on the floor.
"The fact is, this proposal will never come before the Senate. But what we do know is that the bill written behind closed doors here in the Capitol will be another 1,000-page, trillion-dollar Washington takeover. We know it will slash a half-trillion dollars from seniors' Medicare, add new taxes and raise premiums. That's not reform."
The final, mashed-up bill, is expected to come to the floor the week after next, and Baucus is hoping his ideas will survive the process:
"The bottom line here is we need a final bill, a merged bill that gets 60 votes," Baucus said. "Our goal is to pass health care reform, not just talk about it."
Snowe, for her part, is already hedging on a final vote:
"My vote today is my vote today. It doesn't forecast what my vote will be tomorrow."
