E .J. Dionne: How the Democrats May Solve the Healthcare Problem

[flpoljunkie]

The catch is that the House Democrats don’t believe the Senate Democrats will necessarily keep their word and pass the reconciliation bill containing the amendments. And it’s not only the question of trust: anyone who has watched the Senate for the last year can be forgiven for wondering if it is even functional enough (given Republican obstruction and a lack of cohesion in the Democratic caucus) to keep a promise sincerely made.

So here’s an idea, I have been told reliably, that leaders of both Houses are considering: The House would pass a version of the reconciliation bill containing the various amendments and send it to the Senate. The Senate would change it slightly (in ways that the House agreed to), which would require the House to vote on it again. Only after it got the revised reconciliation bill would the House take up the Senate bill. The House could then pass both bills and send both to the president. Problem solved, health-care passes, and we move on.

Not all the difficulties with this scenario have been worked through, and it is not a slam dunk. For one thing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces a revolt on her left against passing the Senate bill without changes. Some may still have to be persuaded to make sure it gets the votes it needs. There are also some House Democrats from moderate-to-conservative districts who are wary, after Massachusetts, of voting for a health-care bill, period. And there are a lot of procedural issues that need to be ironed out.

Nonetheless, for those (and I’m one of them) who believe in health-care reform -- and who think the Democrats would be committing suicide if they gave up on health care now -- it’s heartening to hear that serious people are making serious efforts to get a health bill through. In a pinch, I think that enacting the Senate bill into law without changes is far preferable to passing nothing. But I also understand that there are aspects of the Senate bill to which House members have legitimate objections. Solving this problem will require Democrats to pull themselves together across many lines of division -- notably between the House and the Senate, and between moderates and liberals. Can they do it? The answer to that question depends in part on leadership from President Obama. Can he do it?

By E.J. Dionne
January 22, 2010

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/01/how_the_democrats_may_solve_th.html

[Tom Rinaldo]

1. One of my favorite pundits nails it again

"The catch is that the House Democrats don’t believe the Senate Democrats will necessarily keep their word and pass the reconciliation bill containing the amendments. And it’s not only the question of trust: anyone who has watched the Senate for the last year can be forgiven for wondering if it is even functional enough (given Republican obstruction and a lack of cohesion in the Democratic caucus) to keep a promise sincerely made."

Yep, and I think that the solution to that roadblock that is being discussed is brilliant. This makes sense.

[msongs]

2. waiting for repubs to give them permission to breath and exist nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. I wish people would stop getting my hopes up. I'm dying of optimism. n/t

[dkf]

4. I don't trust the senate to fix the bill either.

What is the incentive since this is what they approved of?

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. Leaving aside the difference between a 60 vote vs 50 vote approval...

...since you are correct that I am sure some will argue against "splitting the unity" of the Democratic caucus (as if that were some kind of holy grail rather than a weight pushing us down the path of the least common denominator) the idea mentioned deals with your issue. The House vote on the Senate bill would be held hostage until the Senate passes a version of reconciliation that the House knows it can happily sign off on. At least that is how I read it.

[dkf]

6. I'm saying the house has a right to be concerned.

They don't trust the senate and neither do I.

[Vinca]

7. At this point I think they should go item by item.

Schedule a day for votes and proceed. #1 - pre-existing conditions. Let the Republicans vote "no" on that. Then to every other part of the bill that should be a no brainer. After they get as much as they can through votes, run a public option through reconciliation.

[drm604]

8. Interesting idea.

Maybe this is the way to do it.