Posted on 02/20/2010 3:21:04 PM PST by Libloather
Reid: Dems will use 50-vote tactic to finish healthcare in 60 days
By Michael O'Brien - 02/20/10 01:44 PM ET
Democrats will finish their health reform efforts within the next two months by using a majority-vote maneuver in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.
Reid said that congressional Democrats would likely opt for a procedural tactic in the Senate allowing the upper chamber to make final changes to its healthcare bill with only a simple majority of senators, instead of the 60 it takes to normally end a filibuster.
"I've had many conversations this week with the president, his chief of staff, and Speaker Pelosi," Reid said during an appearance Friday evening on "Face to Face with Jon Ralston" in Nevada. "And we're really trying to move forward on this."
The majority leader said that while Democrats have a number of options, they would likely use the budget reconciliation process to pass a series of fixes to the first healthcare bill passed by the Senate in November. These changes are needed to secure votes for passage of that original Senate bill in the House.
"We'll do a relatively small bill to take care of what we've already done," Reid said, affirming that Democrats would use the reconciliation process. "We're going to have that done in the next 60 days."
The move would allow Democrats to essentially go it alone on health reform, especially after losing their filibuter-proof majority in the Senate after Sen. Scott Brown's (R) special election victory in Massachusetts.
Republicans have protested the maneuver as a hyperpartisan tactic to ram through a health bill, and have said that plans to use the reconciliation process make moot a bipartisan summit at the White House this week, where both GOP and Democratic leaders are supposed to present their ideas on healthcare.
Reid said that the final Democratic bill is likely to be unveiled Monday night.
I hate these people! Be gone with him!
This is hugh!
More like “Fatal Attraction”!
How many Dems in the House who voted for it last time are going to refuse to walk the plank for San Fran Nan a 2nd time?
I pray that all here who say it won’t happen are correct. I do know that many Rep. Senators have said if this is tried it will blow the Senate apart. I think even some Dem. Senators are loath to go this route because of the huge backlash it will entail in the Senate (not to mention in the country!) Praying it’s so...
I agree. In the past senior Senators from both sides wanted to preserve the uniqueness of the Senate by insisting everything pass with 60 votes. If the Dems want to use 50 plus one their decision will come back to haunt them. The GOP could have passed good legislation in the past on reining in the excesses of environmental laws, offshore drilling, SCOTUS appointments and etc with a 50 plus one vote approach. I look foward to the future for conservatism if 50 plus one is all one needs in the Senate to pass laws.
The Dems are screwed either way.
Notice the bias in this piece, the reporters took the snarky tone of disbelief at the claims of the Republicans. The Dems mutter anything and that rag "The Hill" reports it with no follow up. This article the reporters had to spend I guess days on the phone with Senator's staffers...."Senator Leftwing is going to support reconciliation to pass our fair leader's healthcare plan, isn't he, isn't he...." The MSM going from reporting to leftist advocacy, they can't help themselves.
....and he would still blame the Repubilcans when it fails, heehee
Reid only needs 50 + Biden. Please identify the 10 RATS who will not support reconcilation.
This is very scary. I don’t understand your optimism.
A repeal gets vetoed until 2013. We won’t have enough to override and by then it’s too late.
I think this is posturing by Reid, he’s trying to send a clear message to the Dem Party’s liberal base that he and his fellow Rats are willing to go to the mat to pass government controlled health care reform. But they have one big problem. The Senate Parliamentarian will most likely not allow a health care reform bill to be subject to the Reconciliation process, and Reid knows this. I can see the soon-to-be former Majority Leader and his fellow Rats all standing together at a microphone sadly reporting that because of the Parliamentarian’s refusal to allow Reconciliation that “meaningful” health care reform is dead. Oh yeah, I’m sure he’ll also blame the Repubs.
0bamacare doesn't even come into effect till 2014. We polish off 0bama and the Democrats in 2012, and we kill 0bamacare before it even starts.
No you won’t Harry.
You are neither that stupid or that powerful.
The American voter will lay seige to your offices at home and in D.C., and you will be driven from office.
The next congress will quickly undo any damage you have done.
At this point I’m saying “I dare ya.” If they pushed this through I think it would be abortion X 10 as far as the kickback they would get. I’ve had entirely enough. The lib’s are starting to say that the country is ungovernable. I’m saying,”try governing with the consent of the governed.” It’ll work better.
That is true but he could not handle the heat either.
The 60 vote rule is a good one. I didn’t support repealing it or nuking it when we had a majority and don’t support it now. Everybody knows you can make an steam engine run better by tying down the safeties. You can replace fuses with pennies or nails but it’s not a good idea. The Dem’s would have occasion to look back with regret if in their ambition they tried this.
Did you notice that the NHS in England is turning over one of it’s big hospitals to a private contractor?
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