Podesta: Forget The House; Health Care's On The Senate

[flpoljunkie]

Podesta: Forget The House; Health Care's On The Senate
Brian Beutler

January 26, 2010, 11:13AM

The man who chaired Barack Obama's transition to the presidency, and who runs the most influential Democratic think tank in Washington has a message for the Senate: The House won't pass your health care bill until you take action first--so it's on you.

"My own view...is that you have to insure that the Senate goes first," John Podesta told me after an event with leading union figures at the Center for American Progress this morning. "You have to have the fix before the package can pass the House. I just didn't see any way, if you will, that the House was going to bet" on the Senate acting later.

"It seems me that asking the House to take a flier on what the Senate can do--we've kind of watched that move all along the past year, it hasn't worked out that good. So it's incumbent upon the Senate to really go first," Podesta added.

Podesta is the latest influential Democrat to endorse a version of what's come to be known as "Plan B" for health care reform. The House can pass the Senate health care bill, but only if there's a guarantee that the Senate will be able to pass a separate bill, making significant changes to some of its key provisions. Podesta says that means the Senate needs to take concrete steps--promises won't suffice.

more...

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/podesta-forget-the-house-health-cares-on-the-senate.php

[Jennicut]

1. Interesting but the Senate is full of DINOS and many have come

out against the side car reconciliation. I don't trust the Senate to do anything right. I don't know if we even can get 50.

[gkhouston]

2. Sounds like the Senate Dems have deliberately gone limp as a way of

playing "hard to get" so the House won't demand much in the way of reconciliation. Screw that.

[Strawman]

3. Wish there was a good article on how many votes for reconciliation

These asswipes in the Senate sure love to play coy to try to get as much as their can for themselves.