Senate unable to gurantee 51 votes for changes in reconciliation

[jonathon]

The pressure is on the House to pass the Senate version of the health insurance reform bill yet the Senate refuse to provide the House with any gurantee that the bill will actually go back to reconcilliation to fix severe issues within the Senate bill.

An undercurrent to the unresolved negotiations is the mounting friction between the House and the Senate. The two chambers don’t see eye to eye on most days, but since the stunning Democratic loss in Massachusetts, the tensions have been exacerbated at a time when their trust and cooperation is essential to finishing health care.


Part of the negotiations center on whether Reid can provide an ironclad guarantee that the Senate will not leave the House in the lurch, aides said. If the House agrees to pass the Senate bill with a companion measure — or a “cleanup” bill — to make fixes, they want to know that the Senate will indeed pass it, too.


There was some talk among Senate leadership on Thursday of putting together a letter signed by 51 Democratic senators pledging to pass a cleanup bill if the House would pass the Senate bill. But that effort fizzled when support for it didn’t materialize, insiders said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31836_Page2.html#ixzz0dLZo3Csu .


“The Senate moderates’ viewpoint is, ‘We passed our bill. We’re not going to spend three weeks on some other bill,’” said a Democratic lobbyist who represents clients pushing for reform.

If the Senate won't put their names to a gurantee that they will honor their promise to send the reconciliation once signed by the President, why on earth should they or ANY of us trust that they will fix the bill in reconciliation. Especially, since the Senate bill is what this White House WANTS to pass. Remember, Feingold stated that this the legislation had worked and advocated for all along.

We need to call our progressive senators and tell them to hold fast to opposing the Senate bill and work to pass legislation that will truly help the American people.

Here is a link, if you would like to participate:

http://firedoglake.com/call-reports/?form=4

[derby378]

1. This is what we call a "Mexican standoff"

Not pretty at all.

[TheKentuckian]

2. K&R, they think we are really stupid

[jonathon]

3. Please call a few of the progressive congressmen/women and tell them to bear up to it

The people are on their side.

[Craftsman]

4. HCR is now a red shirt on this away mission, It's dead Jim.

Drop it and get to jobs asap.

[Spazito]

5. Oh geez, Politico AND FDL...

two names that carry NO credibility with them, one a repub lapdog and the other the Nader headquarters for third party advocacy.

[Ozymanithrax]

6. The Health Care bill is not going for reconciliaiton, it is in Conference committee...

with the purpose of putting the two bills together as one.

Wikipedia has a good write up on reconciliation, and lots of links to sites that are more accepted.

A reconciliation instruction (Budget Reconciliation) is a provision in a budget resolution directing one or more committees to submit legislation changing existing law in order to bring spending, revenues, or the debt-limit into conformity with the budget resolution. The instructions specify the committees to which they apply, indicate the appropriate dollar changes to be achieved, and usually provide a deadline by which the legislation is to be reported or submitted.<1>

A reconciliation bill is one containing changes in law recommended pursuant to reconciliation instructions in a budget resolution. If the instructions pertain to only one committee in a chamber, that committee reports the reconciliation bill. If the instructions pertain to more than one committee, the House Budget Committee reports an omnibus reconciliation bill, but it may not make substantive changes in the recommendations of the other committees.<2>

As far as I can tell, the only way to get a "Reconciliaiton Bill" is to go back to the committee's and have them write one. It would be limited in scope, as were Bush's tax cuts that come to an end. What would be the point of creating a public option that will come to an end in 6, 8 or 10 years and require the Senate to recreate it.

[bain_sidhe]

13. It isn't in a conference committee

they decided against setting one up, going for the "ping-pong" instead. The Senate bill was the "ping." The House was supposed to modify it, which would be the "pong." That bill would then go back to the Senate for a vote. They're now scrapping the "ping-pong" strategy, because the modified bill can, and will, be filibustered.

Now they're talking about passing the Senate bill as is, which would make it the law when Obama signs it. Then the House would write a new, separate bill under the Reconciliation Instruction passed in the Budget, to "fix" the problems with the Senate bill, and send it to the Senate. That bill, because it's written persuant to a Reconciliation Instruction, can't be filibustered, and would require only 51 votes. This article is saying that the Senate can't or won't guarantee that they'll have 51 votes to pass that separate "fix" bill.

[Larkspur]

7. If I was a House Dem, I would make my vote on HCR contingent on Senate Dems

and Obama guarenteeing 51 Senate votes to pass fixes to the Senate HCR bill and get it in writing.

If Harry Reid can't guarentee 51 votes to pass fixes to the Senate HCR bill via reconciliation, then Harry Reid and the Senate Dems are worthless.

[Hosnon]

8. I don't know whom these assholes are representing but it sure ain't us.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

[damntexdem]

9. So try it anyway.

And if the f'n Senate won't pass something better than the Senate Bill, then screw the Dem leadership.

[Citizen Kang]

10. All this tells me is

We NEVER had a majority of REAL Democrats in the Senate. We have several whores with a D next to their names who are for sale to the highest bidder.

[WI_DEM]

11. Dems are looking foolish thru all of this--like they can't accomplish anything. That is really

having an effect in the country. Obama will look, regrettably, like poor Jimmy Carter did. A good man who couldn't get anything accomplished. Part of the problem is the congress under democratic control.

[L0oniX]

12. Yes Yes Yes...the rich mutha fuckas won't do shit for us ...same ol same ol

Trust = gone ...Hope = gone ...Change = can you spare some?