Senate negotiators struck a tentative agreement Tuesday night to replace the controversial government-run insurance plan in their version of health-care legislation, hoping to remove one of the last major roadblocks preventing the bill from moving to a final vote in the chamber.
"We have a broad agreement," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters at the Capitol. "Tonight, we've overcome a real problem that we had."
The announcement came after six days of virtually round-the-clock negotiations between five liberals and five moderates who had been tasked by Reid to work out their differences on the public option. Appearing with Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), the leader of the liberal faction, and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), the moderate leader, Reid declined to detail the agreement, pending a review by congressional budget analysts.