Editorial: ‘Deemed to pass’ adds insult to injury [from 2010]

OC Register ^ | March 18, 2010

[BenLurkin]

A self-executing rule allows a “two for one” procedure, whereby the House, by voting on one piece of legislation, simultaneously disposes of a secondary piece, which is “deemed to pass” if the main bill is passed.

...If it is approved, the basic Senate bill being amended would be “deemed to pass” without the inconvenience and potential embarrassment of House members casting a separate vote to approve it.

...

The procedure has never been applied to something so significant as a package of major changes to a sector amounting to one-sixth of the U.S. economy. [Emphasis added] That is pushing the limits.

As we have noted before, a democratic system works best when major changes command not just a narrow partisan majority but a broad consensus, as was the case when Social Security and Medicare were passed. Pushing through large-scale and controversial changes with narrow majorities using arcane legislative tricks – the “reconciliation” process planned for the Senate also qualifies – almost always increases polarization and resentment and undermines the perceived legitimacy of the law in question.

Using “deem-and-pass” will not, as Speaker Pelosi has said she hopes, shield reluctant moderate Democrats from criticism in the November elections. Those who vote for the “fix” will be “deemed” to have voted for the whole package and criticized for sneakiness besides.