Health Care, Ben Nelson | featured news

With a critical vote looming this weekend, Senate Democrats finalized a deal this morning with the lone Democratic holdout, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, who will back the party's healthcare bill after settling weeks of negotiating over abortion.

Senator Ben Nelson said that he and Democratic leaders had made “real progress” in negotiations on abortion, but there was no final agreement.

Two centrist senators, Ben Nelson and Joseph I. Lieberman, said that they were opposed the bill as it is currently written, particularly its inclusion of a new government-run insurance program.