Baucus's reform plan coming soon

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Baucus's reform plan coming soon

By CHRIS FRATES | 9/4/09 2:34 PM EDT


Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus could lay out a health care reform plan as early as Saturday, the Montana senator told his colleagues on a Friday afternoon conference call.



Baucus (D-Mont.) told the bipartisan group of Senate negotiators that has been working for months to craft a compromise that he will be releasing a plan soon, according to sources familiar with the call.

By producing a plan – one source characterized it as an “offer”– Baucus is signaling to his fellow committee members that the end game is near and they need to gauge whether they can support a bipartisan compromise.

The group has been resistant to laying out a proposal until they had reached agreement on all the provisions.


The six negotiators on the committee are Baucus, ranking Republican Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).

Baucus, in a statement, said the call was “productive.”

“We agree we need to take control of health care costs and make health insurance affordable for families and small businesses. We agree all Americans should be able to choose – and be able to afford – a quality health care plan
. And, we agree health care reform should be fiscally responsible and not add to the deficit,” he said. “After a month in our states, we’ll sit down together on Tuesday, take stock of where we are and determine how to best pass real reform. I am committed to getting health care reform done – done soon and done right.”

A source close to the discussions said, “The group clearly understood the unique moment the return to session presented.”

Still, the group’s moment may have already passed.

Before the recess, the Senate came to a standstill as everyone watched the group try to strike a bipartisan compromise. But after a brutal August that included tough talk by Grassley and Enzi, Democrats have already begun plotting options that don’t include a scenario where the committee reaches a deal.


The so-called Gang of Six talked by phone for the first time in more than two weeks and decided it will meet on Tuesday when the Senate reconvenes.

During the 90-minute call the senators on the Senate Finance Committee used the time to discuss their experiences at home during the August recess.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/26773.html#ixzz0QF9LBJPt