Dems Ramp Up Push For Colleagues To Block Filibuster

[SpartanDem]

Buoyed by news of a temporary replacement for the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Senate Democratic leaders are launching a renewed effort to get all 60 members of their caucus -- even those who might eventually vote against health care legislation -- to at least commit to blocking a Republican filibuster.

After that, the bill itself could win passage with only a simple majority.

Proponents of the strategy say it is being actively discussed both on Capitol Hill and within the White House -- "every day," said one Democrat who is actively involved with both branches when it comes to passing health care legislation. "That's the whole conversation. At the end of the day we don't need them to vote for the bill. We need to get them to get to cloture to end the debate."

As former DNC Chair Howard Dean summarized: "If you are a member of the Democratic Party you have an obligation... to vote with the party on procedural issue. I would expect that regardless of what Senators think they about the public option, they should be there for cloture."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/23/dems-ramp-up-push-for-col_n_296421.html

[GarbagemanLB]

1. This is the only shot at the public option passing the senate. There are definitely Democrats who

will vote against any bill including a public option.

[ProSense]

2. It's only one shot.

If they can't get the 60 to commit, there is always reconciliation.

[GarbagemanLB]

3. Reconciliation has limits and doesn't guarantee that a filibuster won't prevent necessary components

of reform.

Certain aspects of healthcare cannot be passed through reconciliation, and there may be enough Democrats upset with such a tactic that they also block those reforms that can still be filibustered.

[ProSense]

4. Not for health care

Nothing says that any challenge to a full bill will succeed. The bill as a whole is directly budget related. Repubs and Dems who want to prevent the use of reconciliation are the first to mention splitting the bill.

Health Care and the Budget: Issues and Challenges for Reform (PDF, 2007)

Chairman Conrad, Ranking Member Gregg, and other Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify this morning on the U.S. health care system and the major budgetary and policy issues associated with that system. Rising health care costs and their consequences for federal health insurance programs constitute the nation’s central fiscal challenge. Rising costs also represent a critical issue for employers—who sponsor most private health insurance coverage—and for the enrollees and patients who ultimately bear the costs of health insurance and health care. At the same time, substantial concerns exist about the number of individuals who lack health insurance, about the quality of care that is provided both to the uninsured and to the insured, and about trends in health such as the growing prevalence of obesity.

"Obama’s budget...included language allowing for the use of...reconciliation...to pass health care"