. . are squabbling over whether to include a government-run program to compete with private insurers.

“We’re in a narrow track now between the ideas that are being debated in the finance committee and those being debated in the House,” Podesta said.

If Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican who has been working closely with Democrats on compromise legislation, votes for a bill, “that really advances the cause forward,” he said.

Delay

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus put his panel to work drafting a proposal this week after months of seeking agreement with Snowe and other Republicans. So many amendments were filed by members of both parties that Baucus pushed the co...

. . are squabbling over whether to include a government-run program to compete with private insurers.

“We’re in a narrow track now between the ideas that are being debated in the finance committee and those being debated in the House,” Podesta said.

If Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican who has been working closely with Democrats on compromise legislation, votes for a bill, “that really advances the cause forward,” he said.

Delay

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus put his panel to work drafting a proposal this week after months of seeking agreement with Snowe and other Republicans. So many amendments were filed by members of both parties that Baucus pushed the committee’s debate into next week.

Podesta said Senate Democrats may resort to reconciliation, a parliamentary tactic that would require only a simple majority vote. “The path is there to move forward,” he said.

On politics and personalities, Podesta said Clinton has patched up his relationship with former Vice President Al Gore. Historian Taylor Branch, in a new book called “The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President,” reports on his recorded interviews in which the former president spoke candidly about many issues, including his differences with Gore.

Podesta said he recalled “one last session in the White House,” after Gore lost the 2000 election to then-Texas Governor George W. Bush, “where they kind of let it all hang out for a few hours.”

“That was the anger of the campaign,” Podesta said, and “you don’t get over those things in 15 minutes.” For his part, “President Clinton had some questions about the way the vice president ran the campaign.”

The two “have great respect for each other,” Podesta said. “I would describe them as friends again.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Heidi Przybyla in Washington at hprzybyla@bloomberg.net