After debating all morning and well into the afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee voted against an amendment, written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) that would have added a public option to the panel’s health care reform bill.
The final vote was 8-15 with 5 Democrats–Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT)–voting with all Republicans to kill the proposal.
Next up, Chuck Schumer’s more modest public option proposal.