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Special US Senate Election Threatens Heath Care Deal

   VOA News 16 January 2010
   Candidate  for  the  US  Senate  seat  left empty by the death of Sen.
   Edward  M.  Kennedy,  Massachusetts  Attorney  General Democrat Martha
   Coakley,  left,  appears  with  former  President  Bill Clinton on the
   campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Ma

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Candidate  for  the  US  Senate  seat  left empty by the death of Sen.
   Edward  M.  Kennedy,  Massachusetts  Attorney  General Democrat Martha
   Coakley,  left,  appears  with  former  President  Bill Clinton on the
   campus  of  Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass.,15 Jan
   2010

   Top U.S. congressional leaders from the Democratic Party came close to
   finalizing  major U.S. health care legislation Friday, while President
   Obama  pushed for quick action prior to a special Senate election that
   threatens to derail his biggest domestic policy initiative.
   Congressional  negotiators reported progress after meeting for a third
   straight  day, and said they aimed to send the bill's major provisions
   to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in the coming days for
   cost estimates.
   The  talks  have  gained  urgency  with  opinion  polls indicating the
   Democratic  candidate,  Martha Coakley, could lose next week's special
   Massachusetts election to replace the late Senator Edward Kennedy.
   A  victory  by  the  Republican, Scott Brown, would cost the Democrats
   their  60th  Senate  seat,  stripping  them of their supermajority and
   eliminating  their  power  to  override Republican delaying tactics on
   contentious legislation, particularly heath care reform.
   President  Obama  will  travel to Massachusetts Sunday to campaign for
   Coakley.
   Democratic  sources said Thursday they reached a tentative deal on how
   to  pay  for  the health care overhaul, including a tax on high-price,
   employer-provided  health  plans.   The Senate included the tax in its
   version,  but  the  House  opposed  the  fee,  saying  it  would  hurt
   middle-class families.
   Democrats  hope  to  finalize  health  care  reform  before  Mr. Obama
   delivers  his  annual State of the Union address to Congress, which is
   expected by early February.
   Despite  a  few  remaining differences, the two bills are in accord on
   expanding  coverage to more than 90 percent of Americans under the age
   of  65.   The two bills also seek to stop alleged abusive practices by
   private  health  insurers, and to lower the rising cost of health care
   for families and small businesses.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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