Posted on 02/22/2010 4:52:25 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
White House officials today publicly made it clear that should Thursday’s bipartisan health care reform summit not result in a legislative kumbaya, with Democrats and Republicans setting aside differences to come together on a bipartisan bill, Democrats are likely to pursue a legislative path for finishing up the bill that includes using controversial “reconciliation” rules in the Senate, requiring a majority vote instead of the 60-vote threshold that has become par for the course.
“The president wants and believes the American people deserve an up-or-down vote on health reform,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said Monday morning on a conference call, using the language to describe a 51-vote majority vote, instead of the 60-vote threshold to stave off a potential filibuster.
Pfeiffer also acknowledged that the health care reform proposal the White House posted this morning was designed with practicality –- not theoretical constructs –- in mind. White House officials posted the Senate Democrats’ bill that passed by a party-line vote on Dec. 24, 2009, and a list of fixes to that bill.
The idea is that the House would pass the Senate bill and the House and Senate would both pass a legislative “fix.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.abcnews.com ...
The answer is in your question.
The Senate Bill must be passed by the House in full BEFORE reconciliation can take place. Reconciliation (requiring only 51 votes) will then shape the bill to what is acceptable to the house and the president. So the stuff the president wants like price controls will have to be added in reconciliation.
The Republicans should bring the 160 or so amendments that they attempted to get included and then ask the President which of those can we get passed?
Not only does the President not want to start with a blank piece of paper he can’t.
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