Washington: First public hearings on Fort Hood, important vote on health care reform

The first public hearings on the Fort Hood shootings got underway on Capitol Hill yesterday. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich tells us why the Senate was so focused on the question of terrorism.

Todd also previews an important test vote on health care reform in the Senate happening this weekend. He says there are three holdouts in the party who have not yet said if they’ll vote to approve the current bill. Here’s who they are:

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska: Opposes the public option, thinks the bill costs too much, and doesn’t think that the abortion prohibitions are strict enough. However he has left the door open that he may well vote yes.

Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana: Has similar problems with the bill. She has strongly suggested that she’s for health care reform, but she has not said how she’ll vote yet.

Sen. Blanch Lincoln of Arkansas: The third and most unpredictable holdout. She’s a moderate Democrat facing a tough reelection who opposes the public option and has given no indication of whether she’ll take the politically difficult step of falling in line with Democrats and President Obama.