Source:
MSNBCFrom NBC's Ken Strickland
Senate Democrats will hold a closed-door meeting this afternoon to ensure they can hold up their end of the process to pass some fixes in the health-care reform bill. House Democrats have been skeptical their Senate colleagues will be able to close the deal after the House passes its bills later this week.
"From our point of view, it would be unfair to ask the House to vote unless we could get it done, too," Sen. Chuck Schumer, the chamber's No. 3 Democrat, said today.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had repeatedly said her members need assurances, in writing, that the Senate will pass a "fixes" bill that addresses the concerns of her members. But based on reconciliation rules in the Senate and unified GOP opposition, there is NO GUARANTEE Senate Democrats can keep a fixes bill intact.
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was asked by reporters earlier today what type of written assurances he could give the House he said, "We'll see." Schumer had the same "We'll see" response when the question was put to him.
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