Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate health committee, said Republicans "will not be at the table when the Senate merges the health-care bills from two committees before sending one to the floor," the Des Moines Register reports.
Said Harkin: "No, this will be a proposal by the Democrats to bring a bill on the floor. And that's what I have said before, that the people of this country -- I keep saying -- the people of this country pretty overwhelmingly elected Barack Obama last fall and to make changes. The people of this country overwhelmingly elected Democrats to the House and Senate."