U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan signed onto a letter today from newly elected Democrats urging the Senate Finance Committee to cut costs as part of its work on health care reform.

"We are concerned that too little focus has been given to the area of cost containment," the letter reads. It continues: "We believe that any final bill must include innovation, hard decisions and incentives to bend the cost curve."

The letter does not include specific suggestions, but it makes clear that the senators are hearing from constituents about the cost of health reform, reports Barb Barrett.

The Senate Finance Committee is amending the details of the Senate's health reform bill and will be responsible for figuring out how to pay for it. The bill, approved recently in the Senate health committee, will cost an estimated $615 billion over 10 years.

The letter was written to Finance Committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus and signed by Sens. Mark Warner, Michael Bennet, Mark Begich, Mark Udall, Jeanne Shaheen, Roland Burris, Tom Udall, Jeff Merkley and Hagan.

Republicans have brought work on the U.S. Senate floor to a grinding crawl this afternoon to protest the delay of judicial nominees, including Raleigh lawyer Thomas A. Farr.

In a procedural roadblock, Senate Republicans are forcing the clerk to read aloud the bill being debated on the floor, which happens to be the massive climate change legislation. It runs nearly 500 pages.

While the clerk drones on, staffers are scrambling to come up with a deal that would allow hearings on a group of federal judicial nominees, reports Barb Barrett.

Farr was nominated Dec. 7, 2006 by President Bush for a seat in the Eastern District of the U.S. District Court. Farr is the longest-pending nominee without a hearing, according to Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s office.

Dole spoke on Farr’s behalf today in a closed-door policy meeting, then spent a 20-minute rotation on the Senate floor keeping the protest going.