Finance Committee stays late to finish work on healthcare bill

The Senate Finance Committee, the fifth and final congressional panel to contribute to the healthcare reform legislation, rejected the final amendment of a session at 2:08 a.m. Oct. 2 to complete the measure that is expected to form the backbone of health reform legislation. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) delayed a vote until next week, though he said he has enough support to pass the package out of committee. The bill, which Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV) will merge with a Senate health committee measure, appears to meet the reform criteria Obama laid out last month in an address to Congress, reports the Washington Post.