House Gears Up For Reconciliation Maneuver

The House Ways and Means Committee has agreed to send H.R. 3200, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, to the House Budget Committee.

By packaging the bill as a budget bill, House leaders might be able to use a process called the “reconciliation” process to get a health reform bill through the Senate with just 51 votes, rather than 60 votes normally required.

Senators trying to win passage of ordinary Senate bills need to have 60 votes to prevent opponents from “filibustering,” or engaging in endless rounds of discussion. But Senate budget reconciliation procedures permit budget bills to pass with a simple majority of the votes cast.

SOURCE: National Underwriter

Dems Go Nuclear on Obamacare

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) held a hearing this morning to certify that H.R. 3200 -- the main House Obamacare bill which was the subject of all the town hall rage in August -- has met all requirements to pass as a “budget reconciliation” measure.

Under reconciliation, the bill can be passed by a simple majority vote in the Senate -- just 51 votes -- and will be given preferential treatment on the House floor as well. The Dems have apparently invoked the “nuclear option” to shut out Republicans and ensure the bill is passed before the end of the year.

SOURCE: Human Events

Next On Health Reform

For liberals, issue number one right now is making sure a public insurance option gets in the Senate bill. It is not in this Finance Committee measure.

[...] Snowe made clear several times on Tuesday, that she will not support any parliamentary effort to move forward, unless there is a full CBO budget review, and a lot of transparency.

"The credibility of the process will dictate the credibility of the outcome," said Snowe.

In other words, if you try to jam this thing through the Senate without time for Republicans to offer amendments and to look through the bill, you might have problems.

That tells me that we will be lucky to have a final vote on health care reform in the Senate by Veterans Day, let alone Thanksgiving.

SOURCE: Jamie Dupree

Jingle Bells

The days are ticking by in 2009, and the more I think about it, the more likely it seems to this reporter that Congress could be working well into December on health care reform.

Why might it take that long?

Well, even if Democrats produce a final bill for debate in the House and Senate soon, it is going to most likely take several weeks for the Congressional Budget Office to review those bills and see how much they cost, who gets covered, the budget effects, etc.

It is not required, but enough members in both parties have made noise about such a move that it should be built into any Health Reform Timeline.

SOURCE: Jamie Dupree