After more than nine hours of voting on amendments to the health care bill, the Senate adjourned Thursday morning and will reconvene later Thursday morning at 8:45am to finish voting on amendments. There will be no more amendments heard after 1pm Thursday.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the bill making changes to the health care bill will have to go back to the House of Representatives for final approval, something top Democrats were trying to avoid.
Spokesman Jim Manley said Republicans and the Senate parliamentarian had found “two minor provisions” that violate budget rules. The two provisions, dealing with Pell grants for low-income college students, will have to be removed from the bill. Just 16 lines of text will be removed from the 153-page reconciliation bill.
Once those provisions are removed and the Senate passes the measure, the House will have to approve the legislation before sending it to Obama for his signature. There are no delays expected from this passage and the House and Senate are expected to be complete with this Bill by today.