On Health, Senate Awaits Go From Green Eyeshaders

ERICA WERNER

WASHINGTON (AP) — They don't vote or hold a veto pen, yet Congress' number-crunchers wield oversize influence on President Barack Obama's health overhaul agenda.

Doubt it, consider this — lawmakers are anxiously awaiting Congressional Budget Office calculations on the Senate health care bill, and debate on the historic measure can't start in earnest until the agency renders its verdict.

In a flurry of proposals and numbers, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has been seeking the CBO's answers for weeks, even as the House passed its own version of legislation extending health coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and enacting tough new restrictions on insurance companies.

Reid's bill and the accompanying CBO analysis are expected next week. If the budget office says the bill is too expensive or doesn't reduce the deficit, moderate Democrats could flee and Republicans would have fresh ammunition. If the numbers are on target, Reid will have a stronger hand to corral support as debate begins.

The wait has been lengthy precisely because Reid is aiming to ensure that when the budget office releases its analysis it hits certain marks.