May 09, 2006

A 48-42 majority was short of the 60-vote supermajority Senate rules require. Three Republicans—Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Richard Shelby of Alabama, and Mike Crapo of Idaho—crossed party lines; Democrats held firm, 39-0. The compromise measure, S. 23, which applied to birth procedures, failed with a similar lineup. In statements, Senators Reid and Kennedy improbably claimed reform wouldn't lower insurance rates, with Reid reserving special scorn for doctors for "too much malpractice."