Senate GOP to Reid: Publish healthcare bill online

Senate Republicans are now demanding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) make public the details of the healthcare bill he previewed earlier this week.

In a letter recently sent to Reid, the GOP lawmakers ask the majority leader to make the full text of the bill available online "for taxpayers to read and learn how the federal government is spending their money."

"As you know, this legislation will have a profound impact on the lives of every American, including the next generation who will be forced to pay for it," the group of 40 Republicans wrote. "The health care bill will likely be more than 1,000 pages long and is the single most important legislation we will consider and debate this year in Congress."
 
"With an issue this large and complex, we need full transparency at every stage in the legislative process," they added. "President Obama was elected, in part, on his promise to bring greater transparency to the workings of the federal government.  The American people and every member of Congress should be allowed to read the bill that was sent to CBO."

So far, Reid has only previewed the bill, revealed it would contain an "opt-out" public option and informed lawmakers it is still pending a thorough cost analysis.