Harry Reid, Shelley Berkley to attend health bill signing; Dina Titus won’t

By Lisa Mascaro

Monday, March 22, 2010 | 4:16 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley will be among the many members of Congress planning to attend Tuesday's signing of the historic health care reform bill at the White House, but Democratic Rep. Dina Titus will be sending regrets.

After House passage of the bill over the weekend, the White House said today it was extending the invitation to join President Barack Obama at the signing ceremony to "each and every member of the House and Senate that supported health care reform."

"I expect that many of them will attend," said press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Titus, however, will not be joining because she had previous commitments, her spokesman said.

The health care vote was a politically difficult one for the Southern Nevada congresswoman who faces a potentially tough re-election this fall in her swing district. Republicans have vowed to make her vote a campaign issue in November and have already begun the attack.

Berkley faces a potentially easier re-election this fall in her mostly Democratic Las Vegas district. "The Congresswoman will proudly join President Obama at the White House

to watch as he signs into law historic health reform legislation," Berkley's spokesman said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who many in Washington believe accomplished the unimaginable last year as he led the Senate to passage of the bill -- even as parts of it become objectionable to House Democrats -- will also attend.