Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told reporters today that he would push to pass the public option in its own bill if it doesn’t pass as part of the overall health care bill, The Hill reports.
“I still hope we get it on this. If we don’t get it on this, we can give it a try,” he said.
Asked if that meant passing separate legislation, he answered “Absolutely, absolutely, oh yeah.”
Brown is a staunch supporter of the public option. He’s also one of the original signatories on a letter urging Senate leadership to pass the measure using budget reconciliation.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said today that Democrats will try to pass fixes to the health care bill using reconciliation, but it’s unclear whether those fixes will include a public option.
