By Catherine Knowles, C3’s Director of Policy

On Thursday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Reid (NV) set the procedural wheels in motion for a vote on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The first procedural vote is expected around 8pm on Saturday.  It will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed.  Majority Leader Reid is working to line up the 60 votes needed to pass the cloture motion (a cloture motion must be approved by three-fifths of the Senate).

Continue reading for more information on the upcoming Senate vote as well as a summary of some of the provisions included in the Senate bill that C3 thinks are important for people living with colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Chris Dodd (D-CT)

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed its portion of the health reform legislation and have now sent it to the Senate floor. The legislation hopes to expand insurance coverage to nearly every American. Read the rest of this entry »

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Cancer Survivor and Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has decided to leave the Republican Party and run in the 2010 Democratic primary. You can read the Senator’s statement below.

April 28, 2009

Statement by Senator Arlen Specter

I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation. Read the rest of this entry »

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) outlined his priorities for health care reform at a community forum last week in Ohio.

Senator Brown, who has been a long time supporter for reforming the American health care system said, “We need health reform to ensure that every American has access to high quality, affordable health coverage…As it stands, 46 million Americans are uninsured, and that is 46 million too many.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Senate passed a $838 billion stimulus package on Tuesday. The bill won support from three Republicans, Sens. Arlen Specter (PA), Susan Collins (ME) and Olympia Snowe (ME), to pass 61 – 37 in the upper chamber. The bill will now go to conference where both House and Senate representatives will have to work out differences and come up with one bill. Read the rest of this entry »