A bill which aims to make health insurance available to all Americans was approved 13 to 10 by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The panel was the first Congressional committee to approve the health legislation. But a partisan split signified potential trouble ahead, according to the New York Times: Republicans on the panel, who voted unanimously against the measure, described the idea of a new public insurance option as a deal-breaker. They said they still hoped that a consensus bill would emerge from the Senate Finance Committee.