The clock ticking, House and Senate lawmakers scrambled to advance a health care reform package Tuesday even though Democratic leaders have admitted that neither chamber will be able to approve a bill before the August recess.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Monday night that a floor vote on health care reform "clearly will not be possible" by Friday.

But House Democrats are trying to at least pass their version of the bill out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the only House panel yet to vote on the package, this week...

(CNSNews.com) - The Senate version of health care reform allows federal funds to go to insurance companies that pay for abortion. When asked if he thinks the House will approve this version of the bill or something similar in House legislation, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that the final outcome rests with pro-life Democrats.

“Everyone knows what Leader Boehner’s position is on protecting human life, and we don’t do the whipping for Majority Leader [Steny] Hoyer,” Michael Steel, Boehner’s press secretary, told CNSNews.com.

“The question is: Will pro-life Democrats support this version of the bill?” said Steel. “Will they pledge to oppose any health care bill that increases the number of abortions, particularly taxpayer-funded abortions?”...

If passed, two healthcare reform bills could mean more abortions at taxpayers' expense.

The two primary measures -- the Kennedy bill and the House Democratic leadership bill -- contain provisions that would represent the greatest expansion of abortion since the Supreme Court legalized it in 1973, according to Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee.

"These two bills contain multiple provisions that would result in federally mandated insurance coverage of abortion on demand, result in massive federal subsidies for abortion, result even in mandated creation of many new abortion clinics across the country," he explains...