Shailagh Murray

Recent stories written by Shailagh Murray

Health care bill vote today (12/24/2009)

WASHINGTON – Overcoming a final procedural hurdle, Senate Democrats cleared the way for Christmas Eve passage of a landmark health-care bill that would provide coverage to more than 30 million people and begin a far-reaching overhaul of Medicare and the private insurance market.

Health vote goes down to wire (12/19/2009)

WASHINGTON – Senate Democratic negotiators scrambled late Friday to lock down the 60 votes needed to move health care reform to a final vote, a process that must begin before midnight tonight for Majority Leader Harry Reid to meet his self-imposed Christmas deadline.

Democrats court 60th vote (12/17/2009)

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans vowed Wednesday to use every available tactic to delay voting on the health care bill as Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., scrambled to unify Democrats in support of the legislation.

Senate likely to drop Medicare buy-in (12/15/2009)

WASHINGTON – Senate Democratic leaders appeared poised Monday night to abandon efforts to create a government-run insurance safety net in their push for health care reform as they attempted to close ranks around a bill they hoped would win the backing of all 60 members of their caucus.

Deal would remove public option plan (12/9/2009)

WASHINGTON – Democratic Senate negotiators struck a tentative agreement Tuesday night to drop the controversial government-run insurance plan from their overhaul of the health care system, hoping to remove a last major roadblock preventing the bill from moving to a final vote in the chamber.

President rallies Senate Democrats (12/7/2009)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama made a rare Sunday visit to the Capitol to urge a fractious Democratic caucus to pull together to pass landmark health care legislation.

Health reform deals in doubt (12/6/2009)

WASHINGTON – Heading into a make-or-break week, Senate Democratic leaders are struggling to preserve the fragile support of interest groups for a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system, even as lawmakers seek to change the carefully crafted provisions that brought the groups on board.

Votes on health care bill likely today (12/2/2009)

WASHINGTON – Senators prepared to cast their first votes today on health care reform, but even as partisan divisions hardened and contentious amendments stacked up, Democrats increasingly expressed optimism that they would succeed in passing a bill before Christmas.

Reid offers up $849 billion health reform bill to Senate (11/19/2009)

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid presented an $849 billion health care overhaul package Wednesday that would extend coverage to 31 million Americans and reform insurance practices while adding an array of tax increases, including a rise in payroll taxes for high earners.