Posted on 01/24/2010 8:11:15 AM PST by eartotheground
Struggling to salvage health reform, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have begun considering a list of changes to the Senate bill in hopes of making it acceptable to liberal House members, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The changes could be included in separate legislation that, if passed, would pave the way for House approval of the Senate bill — a move that would preserve President Barack Obama's vision of a sweeping health reform plan.
But the move comes with political risk, because it would open Democrats up to charges that they pressed ahead with roughly the same health care bill that voters appeared to reject in the Massachusetts Senate race Tuesday. Republican Scott Brown won on a pledge to try to block Obama-style health reform.
The effort also puts Reid and Pelosi on the side of giving a sweeping reform bill one more try, instead of adopting a course being floated by some Democrats in Congress and at the White House of adopting a scaled-back bill including popular reform provisions.
The changes are being worked on this weekend with plans for Pelosi to present them to her caucus next week, according to sources familiar with the situation. But, sources stressed, neither Reid nor Pelosi know if this strategy can win the support of their members, but they are attempting it because it is the quickest path to passage.
Earlier this week, Pelosi said she did not have the votes to pass the Senate bill unchanged through the House. And Reid, who lost his 60-vote majority Tuesday, does not have the votes to make wholesale changes to legislation his chamber passed last month.
So, leaders are considering making limited changes that can be passed using a budget process called reconciliation, which only requires 51 votes in the Senate.
The changes being considered track closely with the agreements House and Senate leaders made in White House meetings last week, according to a source. They include the deal with labor unions to ease the tax on high-end insurance plans, additional Medicare cuts and taxes, the elimination of a special Medicaid funding deal for Nebraska and a move to help cover the gap in seniors' prescription-drug coverage. Pelosi is also working to change the Senate provision that sets up state insurance exchanges. The House prefers a single, national exchange.
Reid spokesman Jim Manley declined to comment on whether a list of changes was being drawn up.
"We have still not decided what we are going to do," Manley said. "We remain confident we will pass health reform this year. We are working with the White House and the House to identify our options for doing so. We anticipate further conversations with the administration, the House and our caucus."
Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said, "Discussions are ongoing, and options are being examined on the best way to move ahead on health insurance reform, but no final decisions have been made. It is premature to conclude anything except that staff is continuing to work on various options."
There is great uncertainty around both the politics and policy of the reconciliation strategy. Under the budget reconciliation process, the bill's changes would have to be germane to the budget, so there is a real question about how many of the proposed tweaks could be included.
Politically, Democrats, shell-shocked from Tuesday's election, may be wary of using procedural maneuvers to pass the bill in place before Brown's election, which cost Democrats their 60-seat majority.
Some Democrats have viewed the election results as a sign that their party should change direction and scale back its ambitions, not move ahead on the same course.
But progressive groups and leading labor unions are pushing their Democratic allies not to shy from the fight, but to push ahead with the bill that was just days from possible passage before Brown's election. These groups have rejected the idea of passing a scaled-back bill.
Also, a Democratic source defended reconciliation as a legitimate legislative tool used in the past by both Democrats and Republicans. For instance, President George W. Bush's 2003 tax cuts were passed with 51 votes.
Obama/Pelosi/Reid are arrogantly clueless and utterly indifferent to the clearly expressed desires of the American People.
They will stop at NOTHING. Absolutely NOTHING. Obamacare is just part of the marxist’s agenda.
Secret but transparent.
What do they want - a real revolution???
This legislation is such a tangled ball of yarn with all of its special deals and giveaways that they’ll never be able to untangle it enough to carve out a “smaller” bill without loose ends all over the place. The Dems are pro-abort and this is a shining candidate for a quick kill.
They are not clueless. Reid knows he is going out the door. Pelousy knows this is their one chance to get their wish. It is as apparent as the nose on either of their combined lefty faces.
Surely they are clueing in the clueless wonder in the Whitehouse so he can include their ideas in his State of the Socialist Republic speech coming this week.
It appears that they are heading that direction. The Libtards don't even try to cover up what they're doing anymore. They are so sure they can't be stopped that they're basically flaunting their corruption right under our noses, and daring us to do anything about it.
A tsunami is forming, and it's going to be an ugly, contentious year. This will make the late 60's look like a Sunday picnic....
I’m worried cause this isn’t just on politico (mostly left-wing tripe) but they mentioned this on foxnews this am
I want them to take whichever course of action generates the greatest amount of chaos and damage to the Democrat party without getting healthcare passed.
I’m not sure exactly what that is, but I have a feeling these two idiots will figure it out.
With this bunch of Marxists, it's never over.
I sent my Donk an e mail that said “ your next in Nov.”
how can it go to reconciliation if it is an entirely differenet bill than was passed by the Senate intially. Any changes would have to involve all senators the quorum rules prevail. reconciliation is used only for budget bills. the reconciliation passage would be unconstitutional and unprecedented. but anything that comes from the Pissant in the Whine House is unprecedented and unconstitutional. get ready for lengthy legal battles in the US Federal Courts
This is no longer about health care at all. This is about saving the Obama presidency from three years of limping along completely rudderless. Right now, Pelosi, Reid, and the Bamster would take a bill that said "Getting sick and dying is bad" if they could get it to pass. They have to be able to go back to their raw meat constituents with SOMETHING, though.
It ain’t over till the Botox Lady Screeches “I’m MELTing, I’m MELLLLLLTing!”.
What the f^&$ is WRONG with these people????
Man, I cannot WAIT for November.
Lets pray we make it to November my husband thinks thay will cram the health care bill down our throats causing a revolution resulting in Obama declaring martial law and ending up with no november elections
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