bill nelson

On the Fence
Likely Supporters
Likely Opponents

9
51
40

Likely Supporters

Senator

Stance

Home State Data*

Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Signed a public letter saying that “absent a competitive and continuous public insurance option – health reform legislation will not produce nationwide access and ongoing cost containment.” (10/30/2009)
6.7% uninsured

Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
Finance Committee chairman
“[T]he Senate health reform legislation is a balanced, fiscally-responsible package that will deliver [...]

The Senate Finance Committee just voted down the second and last public option amendment expected to be offered during the panel’s markup of health reform legislation. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), would have created a public plan to compete with private insurers on a newly formed marketplace, called the exchange.
The vote was [...]

In a major victory for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday shot down legislation to provide seniors full coverage through the controversial coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee yesterday approved an energy bill designed to straddle the partisan chasm between Democrats intent on tackling global warming and Republicans pushing to open more coastal waters to petroleum drilling.
The resulting measure requires electric utilities to generate 15 percent of their power with renewable sources by 2021, aims to [...]

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) offers a new angle today on the Detroit bailout, saying that he’ll support the plan only if the automakers stop trying to kill states’ efforts to tighten emission standards.
California has famously applied for an Environmental Protection Agency waiver forcing emission reductions of 30 percent by 2016. But the automakers claim the [...]