Why was John Ensign absent from Senate floor during health care debate?
WASHINGTON — As senators speak on the Senate floor today to discuss health care reform in a lively, rare Saturday session, one voice that has been absent is that of Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada. Ensign had been an active participant as the Senate Finance Committee was debating an earlier version of the bill. He offered several amendments, and a few were accepted in the committee’s final bill. But Ensign is not recorded in the congressional record as having been on the floor today and he is not scheduled for floor time this evening, according to a tentative line-up from the Republican leadership office. Ensign’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about his schedule. On Friday evening, Ensign joined several Republican senators for a colloquy on the floor, where he broke out charts and graphs to support what he believes are the “major problems” with the bill. Ensign opposes the legislation and is expected to vote against it. Ensign criticized the bill for its propo
