http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/77273-house-liberals-want-fix-to-health-bill-before-vote-on-senate-billHouse liberals want fix to health bill before vote on Senate bill
By Michael O'Brien - 01/21/10 10:54 AM ET
House liberals want a vote on fixing health legislation before taking up the Senate bill, one of their leaders said Wednesday evening.
If the House ends up having to pass the Senate's bill, liberals in the House Democratic Caucus would want to vote on a separate piece of legislation making fixes to it first, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) said.
"What we want is the House bill to be integrated into the Senate bill and we probably can only do it by having a separate vote," said Woolsey, the co-chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, during an appearance on MSNBC.
"And we want that before we vote on the Senate bill, so we can incorporate many good parts of the House bill and take out parts of the Senate bill we just don't agree with," Woolsey added.
The California Democrat's remarks suggest that House leaders may be moving toward one option on finishing healthcare that would see the House pass the Senate bill, in order to avoid sending an amended bill back to the upper chamber, where Republicans would subject it to a filibuster. Instead, the House would pass the Senate bill as-is, and then make changes to it with a separate bill, which would be passed in the Senate under budget reconciliation rules, meaning only a 51-vote majority is needed to pass.
Still, House liberals have been reticent to pass the Senate bill, having protested a number of its provisions, especially the excise tax on high-value insurance plans. Passing the modifications to the Senate bill before actually voting on the Senate bill itself could placate those members' concerns, though Democrats are facing a number of legislative options on healthcare.
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