House sidesteps 2 anti-'deem and pass' resolutions

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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/03/house-sets-aside-anti-deem-and.html?hpid=topnews

The debate over Democrats' preferred method for passing a health reform measure came to the House floor Thursday, as Democrats sidestepped one resolution that would have required an up-or-down tally on the Senate health bill and dispensed with a second GOP measure slamming the majority's tactics.

The first resolution -- offered by Democrat-turned-Republican Rep. Parker Griffith (Ala.) -- would have prevented Democrats from using a "deem and pass" strategy to approve the Senate measure. Under this scenario, the House would "deem" the Senate bill passed when the chamber approves the rule governing debate for health care, and then would vote on a package of "fixes" to the Senate bill negotiated between the two chambers.

The bill to ensure an up-or-down vote on health care never got an up-or-down vote itself. Technically, the House voted 222-203 Thursday for "the previous question" -- in favor of proceeding to a rule vote for the day's calendar of bills. A vote against the previous question was a vote in support of giving Republicans the chance to offer their own rule, though the GOP likely would have had to prevail on more procedural questions before they could have brought Griffith's measure to a vote.

On Thursday evening, Republicans failed in a second effort, as House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) offered a privileged resolution citing news reports on the deem-and-pass strategy and on alleged wheeling and dealing for health-care votes. Cantor's resolution stated "that the House disapproves of the malfeasant manner in which the Democratic Leadership has thereby discharged the duties of their offices."