Posted on 02/19/2010 3:37:07 AM PST by BIOCHEMKY
President Obama is working on health care legislation intended to reconcile differences between House and Senate Democrats that could be attached to a budget bill and avoid a Republican filibuster, according to a published report.
The president's proposal, which is still being written, will be posted on the Internet by Monday morning, senior administration officials and Congressional aides told the New York Times.
By piggybacking the legislation onto a budget bill, Democrats would be able to advance the bill with a simple majority of just 51 votes, averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate.
The White House signaled Thursday that an aggressive, all-Democratic strategy for overhauling the nation's health system remains a serious option, even as Obama invites Republicans to next week's televised summit to seek possible compromises.
"It will be a reconciliation bill," the Times quoted a Democratic aide as saying. "If Republicans don't come with any substantial offers, this is what we would do."
The administration's stance could set the stage for a political showdown, with Democrats struggling to enact the president's top domestic priority and Republicans trying to block what many conservatives see as government overreach.
Obama's plan, like the House and Senate bills, would expand coverage to some 30 million, require most Americans to carry insurance or face financial penalties, and block insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions, the Times reported.
One Capitol Hill Democrat told the Times abortion remains "a wild card."
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday that Obama plans to have a health proposal that "will take some of the best ideas and put them into a framework" ahead of the Feb. 25 summit.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yep. Guess they’re more concerned about keeping all those invitations to glitzy Georgetown cocktail parties coming their way.
Let’s not get hung up on who “writes” the bill.
The need here is to create one huge national scream saying, “Not just no, but Hell no!”
Let the Dems in the House then tell Pelosi, “Hell no!” “I won’t give up my seat for Obamacare and his ego.”
Darn right! It's time they defended the Republic (for a change).Anyone who goes along with a fascist take over of our health care system needs to be tared and feathered. They're obviously not working for us Americans.
Republicans also frequently choose poor leaders or weak lieutnants. Examples, Micheal Steele, as well as many of GW Bush’s staff and appointees....Bill Frist, Scott McClellan, even Colin Powell who turned out to be a mole.
I assume that a Democrat Congressman would be the one to attach it to the budget bill. If somehow that’s a problem, the White House will write the Obamacare bill and Pelosi herself will introduce it.
Don’t know what it takes to bypass committees, but my experience hasbeen that the House and Senate leadership can take something to the floor whenever it wishes to do so. The Constitution does not require vetting by legislative committees.
That being said, Obama and his minions are doing this to appease the Left, since there’s no way that the House will approve this crap. There are currently 218 House members still in Congress that voted for Obamacare in November (1 AYE vote resigned and has not been replaced, and Murtha died). Cao won’t vote for it, so they’re down to 217, the bare minimum they need assumng full attendance of current members. Pelosi would need every single one of them to vote for the bill, which will either (i) include the Stupak language on abortion (which will cause some liberals that had voted AYE before assuming that the anti-abortion-funding would be stripped in conference to vote NAY this time) or not include the Stupak language (which will cost Pelosi the votes of Stupak and up to 30 others). And then there’s the fact that many more House Democratshave realized how voting for Obamacare could cost tgem their seat—do you think that all of those Democrats in GOP-leaning districts will vote for it again? Imagine if the Democrats are one vote away (they won’t get that close, but just imagine) and Brad Ellsworth of IN is the deciding vote. Do you really think that he’ll flush his hopes of winning Bayh’s Senate seat down the drain by voting for a bill that is so unpopular in Indiana?
Scott Brown’s voctiry killed Obamacare, and not just because it cost the RATs their filibuster-proof Senate majority.
This is the real danger. The democrat leadership is as dictator-prone as the POTUS.
TRAP is a four letter word, or hadn't you noticed?
GOP: Do your duty. Do not appease a dictator.
I read Lindsey Graham is quite the party girl.
http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2009/09/09/lindsey-graham-is-a-party-animal/
Im confused. All the house has to do is pass the senate version of health scare bill and tada. Why are they making it so hard?
He will never get it to the floor without Pelosi/Reid and a majority of Dems in both houses. Who wants to put his head on the block for Obama right now? It's likely to end your career in the House/Senate unless you're in a safe district, and those are getting scarce lately.
If we can keep the 'Pubs in line, Obama will be unlikely to get even a simple majority of Dems to vote for Obamacare.
Just MHO
"Reconciliation" is a step in the budget process, and the budget process includes the president preparing a budget request.
Outside of the budget process, having legislation initiate from the White House is not uncommon. The language of the Detainee Treatment Act, the Military Commissions Act and FISA was delivered to Congress from the Bush White House. Congress doesn't have to adopt that language, but in the case of the DTA and MCA, the Republican-controlled Congress passed White House promulgated law.
That said, the use of reconciliation to start new programs or to make radical changes in public policy is an abuse of the budget process.
I suspect they can find a way to do all of this this within the framework of the constitution. Elections do have consequences.
The bigger question to me is will the party follow him dutifully over the cliff? Last report I saw had the House 100 votes short of agreeing to the Senate version and I seriously doubt the House could pass again what they passed last summer with the mid-term primaries looming and challengers stepping up. We shall see. Still worth while to make yourself heard on the issue!
Most Republicans may be useless, but these Democrats are far worse than useless.
It’s one thing to use a controversial procedure to defeat the Republicans; it’s another to use it against the current will of the people. If Pelosi, Reid and Bambi do this, the Republicans should walk out. The Dems want it, they OWN it, and we will own them in the election.
call the republicans and tell them no to his summit. It is joke to make the Republicans look foolish. Attendance is not required. Also tell o to basicaly shut the f... up. Healthcare reform is BS it is just control of America through a despot dictator whom needs a good kick in the backside.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. This morning my dance card is full and it looks like they are all doing the jitter bug!
(Source: FDL)
The responses have been rolling in. Thus far, 20 Senate Democrats are on the record supporting the reconciliation process, with one maybe (Mark Pryor) and only two definite no’s (Blanche Lincoln and Evan Bayh). What’s more, John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Sheldon Whitehouse and Al Franken have backed the effort started yesterday to pass the public option through the reconciliation process, making it 8 Senators on the record for that. Both of these responses need 50 yes votes out of the 59 Senate Democrats, because reconciliation cannot be filibustered.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsAvRfTpZcIkdHNBNGFIaWJtbUdMbHVHaGRnNzNuRGc&hl=en
Senate reconciliation whip count
(Complete with phone numbers.)
I believe so, but (for the most part) those are decided by a simple majority. A point of order known as a "budget point of order" requires 3/5ths to pass, but that style of point of order lies only when spending under the budget exceeds the budgeted allocation (or something like that).
Why do you think the Democrats are so quiet after Brown got elected? They have been plotting on this HC legislation ever since that night.
We need to stand up and oppose and go on the attack. We need to do whatever it takes for this not to pass.
THIS WEEKEND IS CRUCIAL.
When is this POSOTUS going realize we have bigger problems than this health care boondoggle he keeps trying to ladle upon free people.
we have an economy problem....you know, ‘Its the economy stupid’
while he merrily goes on his marxist-lets-destroy-the-constitution way....
Very nice analysis and it saves me from having to post very similar thoughts. If Pelosi had the votes to do what the Dems say they are going to do this bill would be law by now. All this theater we are witnessing is simply to cover up the fact that Pelosi does not have the votes.
And you have a great nom de FR.
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