Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Monday sought to squash claims that Democratic leaders were drafting final healthcare reform legislation behind closed doors.
The key senator instead said that the bill has been "drafted by all senators" since he and other Senate leaders have spent time taking input from other members of the upper chamber.
"The fact of the matter is that it's been drafted by all senators in the sense that I've spent a large amount of my time talking to senators, meeting with groups of Senators," he said during a teleconference with reporters today. "I know [Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris] Dodd is doing the same thing, Senator Reid is doing the same thing."
Several Republican lawmakers, including Senate Finance Committee member have accused top Senate Democrats of writing the bill in exclusive sessions with Obama administration officials. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) even introduced a resolution calling for the debate to be held in "full public view."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took to Twitter after the first health bill meeting, sharing a YouTube video about the session.
