U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D., Md.), said Friday that Democratic leaders are "very close" to securing the 218 votes needed to secure passage of health-care legislation this weekend.
Hoyer and others are trying to gather enough support within Democratic ranks for the bill, which in recent days has been caught up in intra-party disputes over abortion and immigration. In a conference call with reporters, he said he expected that the House would finish debate on the bill by 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. EST Saturday evening and proceed to a vote, but cautioned that debate could stretch into next week.
"Sunday afternoon we will have available to us, and I've also indicated to members that Monday and Tuesday are a possibility," Hoyer said. "My expectation is that we will not need it and we'll be done tomorrow night."
House Democrats on Thursday worked to iron out their differences on how the bill handles access to health-care for illegal immigrants and language intended to block federal funding of abortion.
Rep. Diana DeGette, (D., Colo.), said pro-choice Democrats will not oppose a key procedural vote on the bill, if House leaders as expected add language from Rep. Brad Ellsworth, (D., Ind.), aimed at appeasing some anti-abortion members of the Democratic caucus.
DeGette said pro-choice members can stomach the language if it helps leaders secure a few more votes for the health-care measure.
"This is a game of inches," she said.
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Right-To-Life Committee have complained that the Ellsworth language, which is aimed at keeping federal funds from being steered toward abortion services, would do little to address their concerns.
Hoyer on Friday said that "we would like the bishops obviously to support this and that Democrats' have sought "to keep the situation neutral" by attempting to keep the federal government from funding abortions."
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have expressed concerns that possible changes to the bill could bar illegal immigrants from purchasing health-insurance policies from an "exchange" created by the measure.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, (D., N.Y.), said Thursday that up to 20 Hispanic lawmakers would oppose the bill if it made such changes. Hoyer said that Democrats "want to make sure that illegal immigrants...do not receive federal assistance" through the bill, but that "there is some discussion as to exactly what this means."
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com