Health bill faces roadblocks in Senate

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By Sean Lengell

Hours after House Democrats narrowly advanced legislation to reshape the country's health care system, Republicans and a key independent in the Senate on Sunday vowed to kill the measure unless it is radically altered.

"The House bill is dead on arrival in the Senate," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "It was a bill written by liberals, for liberals."

Mr. Graham said that Senate moderates such as Joe Lieberman "are not going to get anywhere near the House bill."

Mr. Lieberman, Connecticut independent, said that if the Senate version includes a government-sponsored "public option" insurance plan as in the House bill, "as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote."

"I believe the debt [caused by a public option] can break America and send us into a recession that's worse than the one we're fighting our way out of today," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

The House late Saturday voted 220-215 to pass Democrat-crafted health care legislation. The bill drew the votes of 219 Democrats and only one Republican. Opposed were 176 Republicans and 39 Democrats.

The measure now moves to the Senate to begin a long-delayed debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.

Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana Republican, said passage of the Democratic measure with almost no Republican support means that the majority party has ignored the wishes of the American public.

"I think from this past summer we saw the American people express overwhelming opposition to a government takeover of health care," Mr. Pence said on "Fox News Sunday." "Last night on a narrow partisan vote, the Democrats put their liberal, big-government agenda ahead of the American people."

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele said the Democrats' rush to push through health care reform legislation will cost the party in future elections.