Reconciliation was used three times during Bush years for Tax Cuts for the rich

[WI_DEM]

Under the administration of President George W. Bush, Congress used reconciliation to enact three major tax cuts. These tax cuts were set to lapse after 10 years to satisfy the Byrd Rule. Efforts to use reconciliation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling failed.

Congress used reconciliation to enact President Bill Clinton's 1993 (fiscal year 1994) budget. (See Pub.L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 312.) President Clinton wanted to use reconciliation to pass his 1993 health care plan, but Senator Robert Byrd (D-WVa) insisted that the health care plan was out of bounds for a process that is theoretically about budgets. However, on August 25, 2009, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), one of the members of the Senate Finance Committee's "Gang of Six" bipartisan group to work on a health insurance reform bill in the Senate, has said that reconciliation may be used, is an acceptable option, and that he can support it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconciliation_(United_States_Congress)

[Bleacher Creature]

1. You don't understand. Tax cuts benefit the rich -- thus, they are "good"

HRC reform with a public option and Medicare buy-in benefits the poor (at least the way the Senate bill is drafted) -- which is "bad."

[AndyA]

2. You mean those Bush tax cuts that added $2.5 TRILLION to the deficit? Those tax cuts?

And they shoved them through using reconciliation?

Those tax cuts?

The tax cuts that were going to create all those new well-paying jobs?

Are those the ones?

The Republicans never saw a tax cut (for the wealthy) that they didn't like. Anything for the little people...forget it.

[Champion Jack]

3. K&R--Thanks for this info