Reid says 'significant majority' of Senate committed to health bill fixes

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Saturday he'd received commitment from a "significant majority" of senators to pass a series of changes to health reform legislation.

Reid, in a speech on Saturday to the House Democratic Caucus, said he'd wrangled a majority of votes to pass a series of changes to the Senate's original healthcare bill through budget reconciliation rules.

"I'm happy to announce I have the commitment of a significant majority of the United States Senate to make that good law even better," Reid said.

The majority leader's office is expected to release a letter outlining that support shortly after the Democratic caucus meeting this afternoon.

Democrats abandoned plans to tie together a vote on the fixes to the health bill and the actual Senate bill, opting instead for separate votes.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Democrats thought they had the votes for this strategy, setting up a healthcare vote on Sunday.

Reid said he expected health reform to become law within "a matter of days."

The majority leader also seemed to signal a thaw in the frosty relationship between House and Senate Democrats over the past few months, praising House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the best in history.

"One of the joys of my life has been my friendship, my partnership with the greatest speaker the House has ever had, Nancy Pelosi," he said.