The effort has won implicit support from Obama, who has said repeatedly that he does not want to draw lines in the sand on the issue. The president has spoken frequently with both senators in recent months.
But as the healthcare debate intensifies on Capitol Hill, it is unclear how long Grassley and Baucus can sustain their middle-of-the-road approach.
Grassley is under pressure from GOP lawmakers to break off negotiations. Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said in a recent C-SPAN interview that the Iowa senator had no authority to represent Republicans.
"There are a significant number of senators, some in powerful positions, that feel I am helping to pass something that is going to be bad for this country," Grassley said. "They believe that if I wasn't working for a bipartisan thing, Democrats would implode and beg for Republican help."
The pressure on the other side of the ideological spectrum is even more severe, as liberal lawmakers and advocacy groups intensify their campaign for a government insurance plan, which polls show is broadly popular.
In recent weeks, several groups, including Health Care for America Now and the Laborers' International Union of North America, have run ads targeting Grassley and Baucus in their home states.
"The majority of people support where Democrats want to take this country," said Healthcare for America Now national campaign manager Richard Kirsch. "If you have a majority of Democrats who want something, why should the minority define what will happen? That just seems like bipartisanship for bipartisanship's sake."
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noam.levey@latimes.com
