Key Dem: Friday's 'emergency meeting' showed enough votes for public plan

House Democrats' "emergency meeting" last week showed enough votes to pass  a public option, one key Democratic lawmaker said Monday.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the House chief deputy whip, said that the quickly arranged meeting Friday showed that Democrats will have the votes to pass some version of health reform legislation including the public (or "government-run") option.

"We absolutely found, after taking that very public roll call in our caucus meeting, that we have the votes overwhelmingly to pass the public option," Wasserman Schultz said during an appearance on Fox News this morning.

"Right now, we're sorting out the details of which of those public options will get the votes," she added.

The 256 Democrats in the House were asked to stand up and declare publicly where they stood on the public option during their Friday meeting. There are several varieties of the public plan on the table, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has indicated her choice to proceed with one version or another would rely on analyses by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Wasserman Schultz suggested that the loose ends still to be tied up in the House health debate revolved not around the public plan, but rather, other details in the plan, such as its size and financing.

"We're still working toward getting the votes not just toward the public option, but toward various components of healthcare reform, as well," she said, adding that she had personally been whipping votes among centrist, Blue Dog Democats, and that many are on board with the public option, and are working toward resolving concerns about other parts of the legislation.

Wasserman Schultz added that in conference with the Senate down the line, House negotiators would seek to keep much of the framework of their bill in place, versus the structure provided for in the Senate bill.

---