Democrats to pair loan reform with health care overhaul

Democrats are preparing to piggyback student loan reforms with the health care overhaul currently being debated Thursday.

The move has received more approval recently from members of the Senate, such as Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, which makes it much more likely to happen, Politico said.

If the two bills were piggybacked and passed through reconciliation, it would be a double win for President Obama, said Politico.

Democratic officials familiar with the negotiations say that it is almost for certain the move will go forward, reports The Hill.

"It's going in," said the Democratic source.

The health care bill is still contentiously debated and faces an uphill battle in the reconciliation process. Adding the student loan reforms, which take billions of dollars from private banks and re-allocate them back through federal loan programs, may potentially make it harder to vote for, Politico said.

"There are some who think it complicates the ultimate vote, there are other who think it helps the ultimate vote," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said. "It's an honest difference of opinion."