Is $500 million the price of Senator Nelson’s vote on health care bill?
Senator Ben Nelson has said that he will not vote for a health care bill unless it included an amendment forbidding the use of federal funds for abortion.
Now that Joe Lieberman’s vote is in the bag with the expansion of Medicare being removed from the bill last night, it appears the Senate is prepared to use both a carrot and stick to get Nelson on board — whatever it takes.
Redstate is reporting:
The White House and Democratic Leadership in the Senate has told Senator Nelson they will close every military base in Nebraska — a threat that is not credible, really — but they have also offered Senator Nelson between $300 million to $500 million in earmarks, according to key hill health care operatives. These hundreds of millions will be available for whatever he wants to spend them on in Nebraska.
[...] reported yesterday on the story about the White House using a carrot and stick to buy Senator Ben Nelson’s vote on the health care bill. This story continues to unfold as more details come [...]
[...] had previously reported on the rumors that Ben Nelson was both threatened with base closures if he didn’t vote for cloture, and [...]