With less than two months to go until Congress breaks for the holidays, the White House and Senate leaders are huddling to figure out how to pass a bill before the end of the year. As part of their push, both camps are meeting with conservative Democrats–most notably Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)–whose unanimous support is absolutely required simply to bring the bill to the floor. But leading Democrats are unlikely to make any progress until these swing-vote senators see the bill Majority Leader Harry Reid put together, along with a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. They say that’s necessary before they make any decisions on even the earliest procedural votes, and there’s no clear indication as to when the CBO will weigh in.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=135360