As with the Ways and Means Committee earlier, the vote today in Education and Labor relied exclusively on Democrats: 26 of them voted in favor, while three of them defected to vote with 19 Republicans who lined up against the health care reform plan.

Among the Republicans trying unsuccessfully to block the bill: Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, the Congresswoman from Eastern Washington's 5th District. She has yet to put out a statement explaining her vote, but she's been pretty clear in saying that she sees the strong public option in the current bill as "another government takeover" that is going to "have federal bureaucrats tell you what your health care needs are, instead of those who know you best, like your physician, nurse practitioner, or pharmacist."