House could vote Saturday on health bill

The House could hold a rare Saturday vote this weekend to pass its healthcare reform legislation.

An aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that a vote could happen at 6 p.m. on Saturday, a schedule House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) suggested in reports Wednesday afternoon.

"It could happen at 6 p.m. on Saturday, but no final decisions have been made," said Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for Pelosi.

House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) said the goal is to finish Saturday evening. It's not clear at this point, she said, whether the goal is to finish by 6 p.m. or start voting at 6 p.m.

A Saturday vote would fit within a timeline established after the Manager's Amendment on the House bill was filed late Tuesday evening. House Democratic leaders had agreed to Republican demands that they post their final bill online for at least 72 hours before a final vote, meaning the earliest that a vote could be held is late Friday.

Slaughter and the Rules Committee will meet at 2 p.m. on Friday to determine the rules for the final health debate.

The vote would bump up against the Nov. 11 Veterans Day holiday, on and after which lawmakers had been expected to recess until delays in passing the health bill had led Democratic leaders to threaten to cancel the break.

Mike Soraghan and Jared Allen contributed to this story.