Conrad opens door to reconciliation for healthcare

[Pirate Smile]

Source: The Hill

The Senate Budget Committee Chairman said Wednesday he’s willing to use special rules to force changes to the healthcare legislation through the Senate with a simple majority vote.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) made clear his openness to applying budget reconciliation to healthcare, a position he opposed prior to this week’s special election in Massachusetts, is contingent on the content of the bill.

His comments lend weight to speculation that congressional Democratic leaders plan to have the House pass the Senate healthcare reform without changes, then pass a second bill with changes hashed out between the two chambers' leaders and the White House.

"If the House passed the Senate bill, could reconciliation, that process, be used to fix things that might be improved upon? Yes," Conrad said. "Would I support it? I can’t know that without knowing what would be included in the package."


Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/77097-conrad-opens-door-to-reconciliation-for-healthcare

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Plus:

MSNBC just reported that Pelosi WILL try to pass the Senate bill IF
in return, the Senate Dems. give the House a separate piece of legislation in return called a "patch" on the budget-related issues in the original healthchare bill which would alter things like the "Cadillac tax" and the scope of mandates. And these could be done through reconciliation.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=140078&mesg_id=140078

[BrklynLiberal]

1. bullshit...plain and simple.

[bemildred]

5. Yep. nt

[defendandprotect]

2. Not until we hear MEDICARE FOR ALL . . . EVERYONE IN, NO ONE OUT --

[Nuclear Unicorn]

3. If we go the 51 vote route go for it all.

[Pirate Smile]

6. I do wonder what else we will get when we only need 50 plus Biden.

We had 55 or 56 votes for the PO earlier. I don't know where we stand now.

That would help a lot and certainly sweeten the deal for the House Progressive caucus - frankly, everyone in Congress because the PO is actually popular with the public.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. "We had 55 or 56 votes for the PO earlier. I don't know where we stand now."

I say, "Go for broke."

What else have we got to lose (besides our souls)?

[Pirate Smile]

10. I completely agree. It would help the support for HCR so why the hell not?

[Rozlee]

13. Naw, you wouldn't lose your soul

Unless you woke up and Dick Cheney was on your chest sucking in your breath.

[tomm2thumbs]

4. 'download 'patch' to health care here...' sounds like Microsoft is running the country

I guess with all the viruses lobbying the lawmakers, it goes with the reality of the situation

[leveymg]

8. Conrad and Baucus committees could be bypassed in Reconciliation

The President of the Senate (VP Biden) will write the Instructions that specify the Reconciliation, that includes selection of the commitee(s) (can be one), and the deadline for delivery of an Amended Bill that's reconciled with the House version. The Bill is then presented to the full Senate for a 50 plus one vote.

Biden can pretty much craft the Bill he wants in Reconciliation.

This time, the White House would be smart to put this through just one Senate Committee - Harkin's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is far more Public Option friendly.

[defendandprotect]

12. Biden...? Isn't he tied to the corporates in Delaware????

And the panel can be staked just as easily as putting Baucus in charge of

health care was stacking it against the consumer in favor or corporations!!

[Faryn Balyncd]

9. You've shown your colors, Kent....The time for reconciliation was with REAL REFORM with a public....

....plan available for all Americans.

[MilesColtrane]

11. I'd hate to see what's left to be sent to the Oval Office after that process.

...reconciliation would give the minority party in the Senate a chance to force a separate roll call vote on every line of the bill.

The requirement that every single provision in a reconciliation bill have budgetary impact means that the bill cannot address regulatory issues, consumer protection issues, or items like abortion.

The open-ended limitations on deficit increases sharply curtail any additional spending in the bill and mean that most changes made by reconciliation that affect spending and revenues must expire in ten years.

And the requirement that congressional committees hold a new two-stage markup process, combined with the usual (if time-limited) floor consideration and conference processes, means that using reconciliation would occupy all of Congress’s attention until late February, at a time when legislators are anxious to shift their public focus away from health care and back to the economy.

It's looking more and more like the whole thing will be going down in flames.