Lieberman says other centrist Dems share his concerns on Baucus bill

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is not the only Democrat to harbor major reservations about the health bill to pass a key Senate committee, the senator said Wednesday.

Lieberman reiterated his claim that he could not support the bill to have passed the Senate Finance Committee yesterday with backing of all the panel's Democrats, but hinted that other centrist Democrats beyond the committee may also oppose th plan.

"I don't think I'm alone," Lieberman said during an interview on Fox News. "I think there are other moderate Democrats who have a lot of questions about the bill."

The Connecticut centrist, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said that other Democratic centrists' concerns revolve around the price tag of the bill, as well as the taxes on high-value insurance plans in order to finance the bill. Those taxes, Lieberman has said, would only be passed along to consumers.

"We've got some questions we want to ask," he said on behalf of those centrists.

Lieberman also warned against Democratic leaders using budget reconciliation to pass their preferred health reforms, warning the move to scuttle Republican opposition would ruin the chances for cooperation between the parties for the rest of this session in Congress.

"I think it would really explode any hope of bipartisan cooperation for the rest of this session of Congress, and that would be too bad because we've got some big things we've got to work on together," he said.