Harkin: Public Option Can Pass Senate
Even as the Senate Finance Committee just shot down a long-debated proposal to create a public insurance plan, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is predicting a victory for the proposal on the Senate floor, according to The Iowa Independent, TWI’s sister site.
“Why shouldn’t we have a public option,” Harkin said during an interview on “The Bill Press Radio Show.” “We have the votes.”
Harkin’s reasoning seems to be that, with polls showing rising support for the public option, it’ll be politically tough for lawmakers — particularly conservative-leaning Democrats — to vote against it.
“„“Those in the minority can offer amendments to take it out, and then we’ll see where the votes are,” Harkin said.
