BREAKING: House Dems drop 'deem and pass' in favor of separate vote on Senate health bill

[jefferson_dem]

House leaders plan separate health vote, rejecting 'deem and pass'

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 20, 2010; 2:31 PM

House leaders have decided to take a separate vote on the Senate health-care bill, rejecting an earlier, much-criticized strategy that would have permitted them to "deem" the unpopular measure passed without an explicit vote.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Saturday that the House would take three votes Sunday: first, on a resolution that will set the terms of debate; second, on a package of amendments to the Senate bill that have been demanded by House members; and third, on the Senate bill itself.

Van Hollen, who has been working on the issue with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said House leaders concluded that that order -- approving the amendments before approving the Senate bill -- makes clear that the House intends to modify the Senate bill and not approve the Senate bill itself.

"Our objective all along was to make it clear that the House is amending the Senate bill, and we found another way of accomplishing that," Van Hollen said in an interview.

House Democrats had considered "deeming" the Senate bill passed along with the amendment package, Pelosi said earlier this week, "because people don't have to vote on the Senate bill."

Though the maneuver has been commonly used in the House, including by Republicans to advance their own favored policies, the idea attracted widespread criticism, and prompted Republicans to accuse House Democrats of trying to avoid taking responsibility for the Senate package. The $875 billion measure contains many politically contentious provisions, including a special deal that would provide extra Medicaid funding to Nebraska that was added to win the vote of Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson (D). The deal, known as the Cornhusker Kickback, would be stripped out in the package of revisions that the House now plans to approve first.

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http://ow.ly/1oSep

[backscatter712]

1. Just so long as Pelosi and her whips can whip 216 votes twice in a row...

If she's got the votes to pull it off, then whatever works...

[Hutzpa]

2. What separate vote is that??

I hope it's not the Stupico amendment or language?

:shrug:

[Connie_Corleone]

3. There will be no vote on Stupak language.

There will be 3 votes. One on the rule, one on the reconciliation bill and one on the Senate bill.

[Hutzpa]

9. Thanks

:thumbsup:

[DCBob]

4. Good. That "demon pass" was a right wing talking point.

This has been a remarkable day in politics with much more to come.

[impik]

5. That's a good decision. We should do it openly and proudly, and not to give those fuckers more

talking points.

[craigmatic]

6. Good the more they cut down on the controversey that leads to repub talking points

the better.

[opihimoimoi]

7. GOP GROUP OF POUTERS...Only THEY can DEEM/PASS?...LOL. Now, its all MOOT

[Change Happens]

8. I wonder what the pukes will complain about next then?

[HughMoran]

10. That'll work as well

Whatever gets it done.

[Oregone]

11. nevmind

On edit: looks like from another thread you posted they will vote on reconciliation package prior to the bill, so that should get the job done

[Hippo_Tron]

12. I always thought deem and pass was a stupid idea

All it would do is give dems a defense that they didn't actually vote for it due to parliamentary technicality. Trying to explain that will be kind of like John Kerry trying to explain how he voted for the 87 billion before he voted against it.