WASHINGTON — After months of maneuvering, the Senate stands at the brink of a historic battle over health care with President Barack Obama and his allies on one side and Republicans, outnumbered but unflinching, on the other.
“Now it’s America’s turn, and this will not be a short debate,” Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, warned after Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled long-awaited legislation Wednesday night to extend coverage to 30 million more Americans and force insurance companies to take all comers.
“Higher premiums, tax increases and Medicare cuts to pay for more government. The American people know that is not reform,” McConnell said.
The Congressional Budget Office targets the 10-year cost of the health care bill at $849 billion, funded with new and higher taxes and Medicare cuts that ultimately also would cut the deficit by an estimated $127 billion, bringing the total cost of the legislation to just under $1 trillion.
Reid, D-Nev., wrote the legislation with White House aides during weeks of secretive negotiations, selecting elements from two committee-passed bills with the aim of securing the necessary 60 votes in a Senate debate that will be decisive for Obama’s health care agenda.
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