Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ahead-of-obama-speech-health-reform-debate-renewed-in-congress Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript New health care proposals were discussed Tuesday as Congress returned to Capitol Hill after its August recess. Betty Ann Bowser reports. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JIM LEHRER: Congress went back to work today on health care reform. There were new proposals just 24 hours ahead of President Obama's prime-time address.NewsHour health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser begins our lead story report. BETTY ANN BOWSER: With lawmakers back at the Capitol after their August break, and President Obama set to address Congress and the nation tomorrow night, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus faced new pressure to show results from months of bipartisan talks.After months of negotiations, it was widely reported over the weekend that Baucus circulated a framework for a bill to a select group of members of the committee, the so-called gang of six, three Republicans and three Democrats, who have been trying to reach agreement on a bipartisan measure.Early details indicated the Baucus proposal would not include a government-run public insurance option to compete with private insurers. Instead, it would create nonprofit insurance cooperatives run by consumers.The package would cost an estimated $900 billion over 10 years, and it would mandate most Americans have health insurance or face heavy fines. And to help defray the cost of covering the uninsured, it would impose fees on insurance companies for the most expensive health plans.But, on the Senate floor, Republicans like John McCain of Arizona warned, their voices and their constituents are still not being heard in the health care debate. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-Ariz.: We do have legitimate, workable, doable, viable alternatives to the government option. And when the president of the United States stands up and says we don't, he either is not paying attention to what we're saying, which has been one of the big problems with this debate, or he willfully ignores the fact that there are solutions, that we can move forward and reduce health care costs in America and preserve the quality. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Even so, Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor he still wants a bipartisan bill this year. Later, he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with President Obama at the White House, and they reaffirmed support for a public option plan in the final bill.