The U.S. Senate would have heard the health care bill — all of it.

Republican Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.) said earlier this week he would force Congress to read the 2,074-page version of the Senate health care bill out loud.

"The American people are going to get to hear this bill read, period," Coburn said Monday.

The move is a procedural tactic designed to delay a vote on the bill, but it's also a public-relations move designed to highlight its length and perceived inscrutability.

On Thursday afternoon, Coburn backed away from the threat, saying he was not sure it would be productive.

Tthe Oklahoma Republican said he still plans to post a section-by-section explanation of the legislation on his Senate Web site.

If the health care debate lasts for weeks in the Senate, there could still be opportunities for Coburn or other Republicans to insist on a lot of reading aloud.

Below, answers to a few common questions about reading the bill out loud.

How can a member of the minority force a reading?

Senate rules are very specific about bill readings, requiring two readings before the bill is sent to committee and one reading after the bill is reported out of committee.

Since legislation has grown increasingly long and complicated in modern times, reading of the bills is now routinely waived. But under current Senate rules, it takes unanimous consent to skip a reading. Any one Senator can still insist that a bill pending before the full Senate be read in its entirety.

Who actually reads the bill out loud?

The Senate clerks would be responsible for reading the bill.

However, there have been instances where others reading the bill. Earlier this year, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee temporarily hired a speed-reader as a clerk, just in case the GOP tried to pull a similar maneuver with a 900-page climate bill.

The speed-reader wasn't necessary, as the GOP committee members later agreed to forgo reading.

How long will it take?

No one really knows for sure, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) estimated about 48 hours.

Can the maneuver be stopped?

If Coburn insists on using parliamentary tactics to force a reading, at least one GOP member will need to stay on the floor constantly (even overnight) to maintain his objection to waiving the reading. Otherwise, Democrats will simply ask for unanimous consent and the Senate will proceed with debate.

Why don't Members read all bills out loud?

In practice, the knotty legal language of most bills makes them pretty hard to understand without knowing the related laws. Senators and Representatives have paid staffers who help analyze and summarize legislation and make recommendations.

Still, some object to the practice of routinely waiving reading. The nonprofit Downsize D.C., dedicated to shrinking government, has drafted a proposed law called the Read the Bills Act .

The act would require all bills to be read aloud, in the presence of a quorum. If a bill was changed at the last minute, it would need to be re-read in its entirety. It would also make all members planning to vote "yes" on a bill sign an affidavit swearing that they have read it in its entirety.

What will it sound like?

If you can't wait to catch the reading on C-SPAN, you can check the new Web site Hear The Bill , which used a small army of voice actors and volunteers to read the House bill out loud.

Byron C. Tau writes for Roll Call.