Senate leadership will aggressively whip votes for a public option if the House passes it first, according to Majority Whip Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) office.



In a statement to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), Durbin's office said that the House must first pass the Senate bill in identical form, then could include a public option in separate legislation that would pass the Senate through budget reconciliation, a tactic that allows the majority to pass bills with 51 votes instead of 60.



"I want to be crystal-clear: Sen. Durbin and the rest of the Senate leadership will be aggressively whipping for the public option if it is included in the reconciliation bill the House sends over," said Joe Shoemaker, a spokesman for Durbin.

Progressives will respond by turning their pressure toward House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), flooding her office with calls and running ads in her district, according to a PCCC spokesman.



However, Durbin's office said they would not let the public option stand in the way of the larger healthcare bill, indicating they do not necessarily expect the public option to ever make it to a vote.



"All of these vital and important things will not come to pass if we make one provision — the public option — the only thing we fight for. It must be balanced against all the other items as well," said Shoemaker.



At this point, it's not clear the Senate has the votes for a public option. Progressives have garnered 41 pledges from Senate Democrats to support it, still nine short of the 50 needed, assuming Vice President Joe Biden would break the tie.



Nor is it clear that the House can pass the Senate bill without the support of pro-life Democrats. Assuaging their concerns has been the top priority for House leaders, and there's been little indication that Democrats plan on making a renewed push for the public option.



Durbin's office also criticized progressives for holding Democrats' feet to the fire over the issue.



"Instead of calling out senators like Durbin who have staunchly supported and fought for progressive principles to be included in the health reform bill, people need to look at what is possible and what is lost by actions like this," Shoemaker said.



Reports earlier this week indicated that Durbin would whip votes against the public option to help ease passage of the reconciliation "fix" bill. Durbin's office clarified Friday that the Illinois Democrat would only oppose such a measure if it came up as a modification to the reconciliation bill the House sends over. (To get the House to pass the Senate bill, Senate leaders are promising to pass exactly the changes the House proposes.)

