The U.S. Senate is considering a new version of the public option in an attempt to pass its version of the health care bill.

The new plan does not include a government insurance program. Instead, private companies would provide the same policies that members of Congress and the federal government receive.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is under fire from Republicans for comparing opponents of health care to supporters of slavery.

"You think you've heard these same excuses before? You're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said, 'Slow down. It's too early,'" Reid said Monday.

Reid neglected to point out it was actually the Democrats who supported keeping slavery in the presidential campaign of 1864, while the Civil War was still underway. Also, more Republicans than Democrats supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964.