Nelson on Health Care, Oil Drilling TAMPA (WUSF) - At least 60 votes are needed to pass a bill in the Senate, unlike the bare majority needed in the House of Represenatives. And that difference could signficantly alter the final version of a health care reform bill. So says Senator Bill Nelson, who spoke before a Tampa chamber of commerce meeting in Ybor City.

Nelson says he supported the so-called "public option," but it was not included in the final version approved by the Senate Finance Committee. So it's far from certain that universal health care will come to pass.

Nelson also has been one the state's strongest opponents of offshore drilling, including co-sponsoring a bill in 2006 that would keep oil drilling at least 250 miles from Tampa Bay. But that could all be undercut by moves to allow oil and gas exploration in state waters - from three to 10 miles offshore. Nelson told a group of Tampa business leaders that they need to be vigilant to protect the state's biggest industry.

Nelson says it's unlikely oil companies will find much oil or gas off Florida's coast. And even if they did, he says it would take a decade before that energy could be brought to the market. © Copyright 2012, WUSF