They called budget reconciliation a "legislative shenanigan", but they'd use it for HCR repeal

[bigtree]

October 5, 2011

GOP Rep Vows To Use Reconciliation To Repeal Health Care Reform

TPM's Brian Beutler reports today that the GOP is mulling over whether to attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act using a parliamentary strategy that you may be familiar with, because it was deployed to get the bill passed in the first place:

"Turnabout's fair play," said Rep. Steve King (R-IA).

He's talking about "reconciliation" -- the technical term for a budget process that allows a narrow Senate majority to circumvent a filibuster, and pass certain kinds of tax and spending policies on a majority-rules basis. It's the tool Democrats used to pass a small but significant package of amendments to their final health care bill -- in the face of loud GOP howls -- after Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) won his special election and cost the them their 60-vote super majority.

Now conservative Republicans say they're prepared to use the same tool to repeal as much of the law as they can if they control both chambers in 2013 -- despite decrying the process itself in practically the same breath.

And decry it the GOP has. Beutler has King going to far as to call it a "legislative shenanigan." And when you dial back the clock to February of 2010, you can find House Republican Conference Chair Mike Pence (R-Ind.) calling for the renunciation of the "abuse of the legislative process known as reconciliation" on Meet The Press . . .




read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/05/gop-vows-to-use-reconcili_n_996722.html