Posted on 03/20/2010 10:29:14 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
At the House Rules Committee meeting, Democrats desperate to pass their national health care plan are running into the barrier of basic civics. Here is the problem: The Senate has passed its HCR bill. If the House passes the same bill, it goes on to the president; once he signs it, the bill becomes law. But House Democrats, when they vote for the Senate bill using the "Deem & Pass" dodge, also want to simultaneously pass a package of amendments to the law. Except HCR will not, at that point, be law. It will only become law when the president signs it. Congress can amend the law -- it does so all the time -- but can it amend something that isn't law?
Which is where Democrats are tripping up. Passage of their HCR proposal should be very simple: Senate passes it, House passes it, president signs it. But House Democrats are terrified of voting for the unpopular bill, so they hope to pass it by "Deem & Pass," in which they will vote, not for the bill, but for a rule that both deems the Senate bill to have passed and, in the same vote, passes the package of amendments. So House Democrats will have two fig leaves: 1) they didn't vote directly for the Senate bill, and 2) they voted to simultaneously amend -- to "fix" -- the Senate bill.
The problem is the sequence. Can the House vote to amend something that isn't the law, as the Senate bill will not be law before the president's signature? The Rules Committee meeting turned into mass confusion when Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman said, "We're not going to 'deem' the bill passed. We're going to pass the Senate bill…I would be against the idea of 'deeming' something -- we either pass it or we don't."
To Republican ears, that sounded as if Waxman was speaking out in support of a direct vote on the Senate plan. "I hope we're making news here," said Republican Rep. Joe Barton. If so, Barton added, "Praise the Lord!" Other Democrats jumped in to say that no, there would not be a direct vote on the Senate bill.
Barton then asked whether there would be some period of time between House passage of the Senate bill and House passage of the HCR amendments. During that period of time, the president would sign the Senate HCR bill into law. For the House to amend the HCR law, Barton said, it has to be law, which means the president has to have signed it. "If he doesn't, it ain't a law," Barton said.
Democratic Rep. Sander Levin jumped in. "We're going to be amending the law," he claimed. Waxman added, "We change current law, and the current law will be the Senate bill once it's voted on in the House."
But it won't be law until the president signs it. Obviously, Democrats are performing such strange contortions because many of their members are scared of voting for a bill that will likely mean defeat for them in November. But their attempts to avoid responsibility have created some very basic problems.
StewSays
Administration chief actuary can’t analyze #HCR bill in time for vote; expects will still increase spending http://tinyurl.com/ykdycaz
One and same !
It’s like being a terminally ill man strapped to his gurney close to death, laying there watching his children battle each other over his earthly goods while ignoring him as he takes his last dying breaths… An intolerable state of affairs indeed.
ROFL! Sessions just told the Dems that the Republicans would figure out the ‘doc fix’ next year when they’re in the majority!”
Sessions did a great job! 16,000 new IRS employees not counted in the CBO!
She sure does. :/
“Send them all home, except Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor.”
“That’s about right. They are really all we have.”
Can’t believe you 2 forgot about Michele Bachmann...who has more cojones than ANY of the men....sorry, it’s the truth.
Drier was just reading something from the Washington Post that the House leadership says that “Deemed to have passed” will not be attempted...
They are drunk with their power. Hoping to weaken the public’s resolve. That’s why they aren’t letting us catch our breath. It’s multiple attacks, rapid fire, trying to “Rahm” as much as they can down our throats and up our arse’s before they are stopped.
We all know that once Gvt. programs are started, they never stop.
What I’d like to know is where are all of them, including Barry and Company going to be in “exile” when this is over?
Waxman, once again, shows his utter stupidity and ignorance of how this process works?!!!
FOX announcing “deem and pass” now DEAD.
Lord help us!
I wonder if the Rats are voting for the Slaughter Solution because they want to try to preserve their cake and eat it too. You see, they want to appease the leadership and their base, yet they may think that the whole mess will be challenged and overturned in court.
I guess the voters in his district are either stupid or don’t care what kind of “character” the person has that represents them.
None.
Rep Camp R of Michigan....is reading from the Senate Bill has regarding the IRS as the enforcement ....central control...of everyone paying their Monthly health Insurance....with penalties and ability to control any tax refunds ....
Classic communist tactics. Overwhelm...
What I’d like to know is where are all of them, including Barry and Company going to be in “exile” when this is over?
Well South America has always been the friendliest of places for dictators, madmen and monsters.
Ok, Deem and Pass now dead per CSPAN and Fox... so how many votes do they need on a straight vote? I’m so freaking confused on all this, wondering if the deem and pass wasn’t a ruse to get us riled up anyway? From the debate they just had I’d say no.
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