Via Ezra Klein: Capital Gains and Games: House Heath Reform Votes to Occur Saturday

[flpoljunkie]

House health reform votes to occur Saturday.

MAR 17

Pete Davis

A top House Democratic staffer just told me the reconciliation bill, with some surprises, and a tentative CBO score will be posted on the House Rules web site late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Then a final CBO score will be posted Friday. The Rules Committee will meet Friday to mark up the rule. Then the House will vote on the rule Saturday, engage in perhaps four hours of debate, and, later Saturday, take the final vote on the reconciliation bill, which will deem the passage of the Senate bill.

House Democratic leaders appear increasingly confident of passage following Rep. Dennis Kucinich's (D-OH) decision today to vote for the bill. On November 7, 2009, he was one of 39 Democrats who voted against the House health reform bill, H.R.3962. Kucinich's statement explaining his upcoming vote details his anguish that the only bill before him is so flawed.

http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/pete-davis/1584/house-health-reform-votes-occur-saturday

[Bolo Boffin]

1. "the reconciliation bill, with some surprises"

Oh, please, no more surprises. Pass the damn bill.

[jenmito]

2. Why no comments on this? This is saying there WILL be a vote Saturday, meaning

they must have 216!

[karynnj]

3. I think some of us are kind of holding our breath until it actually totally happens

I agree with you that this sounds good - and intriguing. What surprises could there be? Are they good surprises?

[damonm]

4. If they were going to be bad...

I doubt they would have mentioned them at all. But this is nonetheless intriguing.

[awoke_in_2003]

6. "Are they good surprises?"

Are surpises from congress ever good? One can hope to be proven wrong- crow can't be all that bad.

[impik]

8. This is such roller coaster

I think we're all (Well, obviously not all of us, only those who actually want to see progress happening and not just being a pretty idea) very nervous and probably a little tired by now. But you're right, we should keep marching, it's so close now.

[Clio the Leo]

5. with no bill released tonight, it will be Sunday at the earliest...

.... Gibbs VOWED two days ago that "Air Force 1 is wheels up at 10 am Sunday!" .... will the flight be pushed back a bit so that he can now sign this historic bill unceremoniously fast?

[flpoljunkie]

10. They rarely read the bills anyway and the reconciliation bill is only 100 or so pages.

Surely, they can handle that in, say, 48 hours.

[Clio the Leo]

12. They have a self-imposed rule of waiting 72 hours to allow the public to read it....

Democrats had hoped to unveil the text of the reconciliation bill on Wednesday afternoon, setting up the possibility of a decisive vote on Saturday. But they said that the Congressional Budget Office was still analyzing the cost of some provisions.

House Democratic leaders have promised that lawmakers would be given 72 hours to review the legislation before voting on it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/health/policy/18health.html

PERSONALLY I dont see a huge difference between 9pm Saturday and 12noon Sunday (I was hoping for Sat. night because I wouldn't be able to watch it Sunday) but they'd have to deal with more of the same "they aren't allowing time for us to read the bill!" BS if they dont give it the full 72 hours.

[flpoljunkie]

13. I understand, altho do not agree with need for 72 hours to read 100 pages--the entire bill, yes

[Clio the Leo]

14. But their rule isn't conditional based on how long the bill is. NT

[flpoljunkie]

15. I know that. More on this from The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen

It's worth appreciating that this process is an example of Democratic leaders trying to do the right thing. When Republicans were in the majority, CBO scores were deemed irrelevant -- it didn't matter how much legislation cost or how much it would add to the deficit, because Republican policymakers decided they didn't care. Every new dollar of GOP-backed spending would simply get added to the debt. What's more, the 72-hour timeline is entirely self-imposed -- Dem leaders decided it would simply be a matter of propriety to have the bill published and available for three full days before a vote is held. Again, under GOP rule, such niceties were non-existent. When Republican leaders had secured the necessary support, they held a vote.

As Jonathan Cohn explained yesterday, these delays are frustrating, but they're evidence of Democrats being "guilty" of "trying to practice good government."

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022914.php

[Lord Helmet]

7. It'll be 72 hours after the CBO report which I believe hasn't been released yet.

I calculate Sunday for the vote.

[grantcart]

9. kick

[a kennedy]

11. kickin' this......

:patriot: