Santorum: Healthcare Reconciliation DOA in Senate

Newsmax ^ | 3/21/10 | David A. Patten

[NoobRep]

Former GOP Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania said Sunday that the House reconciliation bill designed to fix shortcomings in the Senate’s healthcare reform legislation cannot legally be considered by the Senate, because it would impact Social Security revenues and therefore is not eligible for the reconciliation procedure.

Santorum also says Democratic leaders were well aware of this fact, but effectively “sandbagged” their members in the House in order to push healthcare reform through Congress.

Reconciliation is designed to pass healthcare reform without bringing it back before the Senate for approval. Sen. Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts means Democrats no longer have the 60-vote majority they need to overcome a GOP filibuster, but they are believed to have the simple majority – 51 votes – needed to pass changes in the Senate via reconciliation.

To get the 216 votes they needed in the House, Democrats promised that aspects of the Senate bill representatives found unpalatable, including the Cornhusker Kickback and other notorious deals, would be “fixed” in the Senate via reconciliation. But Santorum says the House fixes aren’t eligible for the reconciliation procedure.

“Here’s the problem,” Santorum told Fox News host Greta Van Susteren on Sunday evening, “according to the 1974 budget act, if the provisions in the bill affect Social Security revenues, it’s invalid for reconciliation.”

[NoobRep]

They need to keep pushing this angle.

[Parley Baer]

This and the recomit in the House will put the dimoKKKRATS in a bind come election time. They are stuck with the flaws in the Senate bill.

[C19fan]

It was all about plausible denability for the Donkeys.

[Oceander]

Very nice. I hope that pans out. If it does, I think we will suddenly see a rush of very stupid, very panicked democrats in the House trying to undo the Senate bill. Too late, though, we'll let them join in, and say sweet nothings to them, just to get them to go along, and then go ahead with the political bloodletting in November nonetheless.

Forget "Sunday, bloody Sunday" it's gonna be "Tuesday, bloody Tuesday."

[Steely Tom]

So what? All this means is that Obama signs the bill already passed by the Senate, and the reconciliation stuff goes down the tube. Which is what the leadership wants anyway. All the tools who put their “fixes” into the RB can have a fake conniption and tell their constituents “I tried.”

[CSI007]

Who cares? We about to get hit with a gigantic bag of you know what and we can throw most of them out in November and probably still won’t be able to reverse course.

[Brilliant]

Even if the reconciliation bill doesn’t pass, the Senate bill will become law when the Dems pass it, and we’ll have socialized medicine.

[fightinJAG]

But what does this mean? That the Obamacare Senate bill passed by the House is not eligible to become law because the recconciliation bill is DOA, or that it becomes law and the Deems were “sandbagged” (which, BTW, is not likely - they were probably all in on it)?

[denydenydeny]

“Here’s the problem,” Santorum told Fox News host Greta Van Susteren on Sunday evening, “according to the 1974 budget act, if the provisions in the bill affect Social Security revenues, it’s invalid for reconciliation.”

And this is a law, not just a "rule."

[Red Steel]

Many of us already knew the Senate would ignore the House bill this gives them the excuse. As soon as the House passes the Senate bill it’s over and Obama signs it into law.

[Reagan69]

The House doesn’t care... they will just say, we voted for it in good faith, we can’t control what the Senate does.

[Mygirlsmom]

Which was their end game all along. Reconciliation was a ruse, and even though it’s been exposed prior to the vote, they are gonna jam this thing through anyway.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Me too, what does it mean?

[TCH]

I have plenty of “tools” that say differently.

[fightinJAG]

If it does, I think we will suddenly see a rush of very stupid, very panicked democrats in the House trying to undo the Senate bill.

I hope so, but I doubt it. I think they were all in on this and they know very well their "fixes" are cynical sham CYA moves designed to give them some political cover in Nov. It won't work as political cover in Nov, but it sure got them through the day today, didn't it?

[fightinJAG]

So what? All this means is that Obama signs the bill already passed by the Senate, and the reconciliation stuff goes down the tube. Which is what the leadership wants anyway. All the tools who put their “fixes” into the RB can have a fake conniption and tell their constituents “I tried.”

Yep. This is EXACTLY what Pelosi had up her sleeve. But I don't buy that the rank-n-file Rats weren't in on this. Just like the Gals are keeping quiet because they know Obambi's abortion EO is toilet paper.

[jakerobins]

Doesn’t matter....The democrat lemmings are committed to run over the cliff..and they intend to follow thru. This bill will NEVER see the Senate...I’ll bet seconds after is this thing is passed then it will be on it’s way to the White House. Barry and Nancy will probably be on the front page of most newspapers....SICKENING!! I personally would like to thank those Republicans that stayed home and those that decided to teach elected Republicans a lesson. By allowing the Dems to takeover Congress in 2006 and 2008 we will now have National Health Care.... We aren’t far off from Chavez....The President has taken over major industries and has nationalized health care.....I’m not so sure barry will leave even if voted out in 2012

[fightinJAG]

I didn’t want to believe what it means, but . . . well, keep reading the thread. :(

[no dems]

And the House Dems were stupid enough to believe their Leadership.