Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) told CBS’s Bob Scheiffer today that he might not vote with Democrats to move a health care reform bill forward, saying his vote would depend on if the bill is “fiscally responsible.”
“Some people argue that we should vote to go forward on a bill even if we don’t like it,” he said. “As we get further along in this, I view procedure and substance as being largely one and the same. I’d like to move forward, but some of that’s going to depend on is it fiscally responsible.”
For other moderates who’ve said they might filibuster a bill — such as Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — the public option is the sticking point.
But Bayh wouldn’t go that far.
“Some of my colleagues are a little more focused on that than I am,” he said. He, on the other hand, is more concerned that the states have “flexibility” when it comes to a public option.
On the opt-out in the Senate bill, he said, “I do think there’s flexibility there now to allow states to consider their own specific circumstances.”
But he added that it might not be enough.
Watch the video:
