Independent Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman said Tuesday that he would back a Republican filibuster against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill if a government-backed insurance plan remains in the package.
The announcement is a blow to the Democratic leader and signals that he does not yet have the votes to advance the bill. While Reid needs just 51 votes to pass the package, he needs 60 votes to crush a filibuster.
“If the bill remains what it is now, I will not be able to support a cloture motion before final passage,” Lieberman told reporters, adding that he’s willing to vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate.
The trouble doesn’t end there for Reid, who on Monday declared that a government insurance plan that states can opt out of would be in his final health care bill. Moderate Democratic Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., both said they’re uncommitted on Reid’s bill.
“The devil’s always in the details,” Nelson said, expressing concerns about how hard it might be for states to opt out of the government plan.
