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-By Warner Todd Huston Thanks to CATO’s Jim Harper, we discover that the slovenly work of Obama’s Congress is so bad that they are now passing bills that they haven’t even bothered to name. It’s been bad enough that the Democrats have affixed to bills names that are entirely Orwellian in nature, but now they aren’t even bothering to think that hard. In the recent past we’ve gotten bills named in ways that convey the precise opposite nature …
Well it seems almost certain now that the House will pass the Senate’s version of the health care bill tonight and Obama will sign it into law shortly after that. Reconciliation may or may not happen. But in any case…
The word is that the House will abandon the “deem and pass” strategy and have a straight-up vote on the Senate version of Obamacare. In addition, but separately, the House will vote on amendments to the Senate version that could be adopted through “reconciliation” in the Senate. I think this means one of two things: (1) Pelosi has the votes to pass the Senate version or (2) she has concluded that there are no extra votes to be gained through “deem and pass.” It also means, of course, that “deem and pass,” having been the object of much ridicule, was inflicting collateral damage on the Dems. Some ridicule remains fair because the Democrats voted against a Republican attempt to have “deem and pass” renounced.
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Hmmm. If Demon Pass is dead (and it is dead according to multiple sources), then they either have the votes and we are just waiting for it, or they would rather lose on an up or down vote so as to avoid the appearance of being Enemies of the State. Since the meeting broke down into chaos, one wonders if they actually have the votes. The problem is the sequence. Can the House vote to amend something that isn’t the law, as the Senate bill will not be law before the president’s signature? The Rules Committee meeting turned into mass confusion when Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman said, “We’re not going to ‘deem’ the bill passed. We’re going to pass the Senate bill…I would be against the idea of ‘deeming’ something — we either pass it or we don’t .”
House Democrats on Saturday decided against using a controversial tactic to pass the Senate’s version of the health care bill, ?a senior House source confirmed to Fox News.
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A rough and rowdy Rules Committee hearing just recessed, but not before it had another great moment. Challenged by Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (D., Fla.) over Deem-and-Pass, Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) responded, with not a little dissimulation: “We’re not going to deem the Senate bill passed.We’re going to pass the Senate bill. We’re going to pass it by a vote in the House.” (Editor’s Note: No, they won’t.) Rep. Joe Barton (R., Texas) responded. “We’re making news here. . . Praise the Lord!”
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FireDogLake reported tonight that Pelosi and Rep. Bart Stupak made a deal in order to secure his vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made a deal with Rep. Bart Stupak in order to secure his vote and that of other anti-choice Democrats for the health care bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this Sunday. According to a member of Congress who was briefed on the matter, Pelosi has agreed to let Stupak have a vote on his amendment either before or after the House votes to pass the Senate bill. It instructs the Senate to substitute the language in his amendment for the Senate language on abortion. FDL has obtained a copy of the concurrent resolution ( PDF1 , PDF2 , PDF3 , PDF4 ), which includes cosponsors Marion Berry, Sanford Bishop, Joseph Cao, Kathy Dahlkemper, Steve Driehaus, Marcy Kaptur, Dan Lipinski, Alan Mollohan, and Nick Rahall. A second source confirms that with the exception of Cao, these are the members of Congress who are still on the fence. Cao is still considered a firm “no” vote. The deal calls for Stupak to have a vote on his amendment either before or after the House votes to confirm the Senate bill on Sunday. Stupak is confident that he has the votes to pass the measure, and is happy to have the vote after the House passes the Senate bill. He believes that by using a “tie bar” approach, his amendment would be “tied” to the health care bill — which would require just 51 votes in the Senate. Pro-choice members of the House, however, are demanding that the vote on the Concurrent Resolution happen before the House confirms the Senate bill. If in fact it passes, they plan to vote against confirming the Senate bill. They want Rep. Diana Degette to release the names of the 41 cosigners to her letter who pledged to vote against any bill that restricts a woman’s right to choose, and they are angry that the White House has been whipping to push through the Stupak deal.
With a little help from Keith Hennessey , Bill Kristol points out: Nancy Pelosi and Louise Slaughter have come up with a parliamentary maneuver — “deem and pass” — reeking of evasiveness and trickery that Democratic members are going to have to embrace. But it gets better! The point of “deem and pass” is to allow representatives to vote directly only on the reconciliation “fixes” rather than on the Senate health care bill (which will be deemed to be passed if reconciliation passes). But the reconciliation “fixes” make the Senate bill even more politically unattractive. … The Democrats would actually be better off — well, less worse off — simply voting to pass the Senate bill. But by embracing the Slaughter Rule and this package of reconciliation fixes, they’ve managed to make a bad political situation for themselves worse. Congratulations!
Mega-ouch : Fox News provides the relevant part of the transcript from the Senate Doctors presser: Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., warned Thursday that he and the staff of several other GOP senators will be monitoring with a microscope any potential payoffs to Democrats that materialize down the road in exchange for their vote on the health bill. “If you think you can cut a deal now and it not come out until after the election, I want to tell you that isn’t going to happen,” Coburn said at a news conference. “And be prepared to defend selling your vote in the House.” Republicans are playing hardball after several “sweetheart” deals emerged in the Senate-passed health care bill, including the so-called “Cornhusker kickback” — which would spare Nebraska certain Medicaid costs. That provision was stripped in a package of changes introduced Thursday, but Coburn suggested Democrats might try to avoid the appearance of a quid pro quo — giving something in return for votes — by arranging for juicy payoffs down the road, like a federal appointment or local project. As Democratic leaders try to win over just a few more hold-outs to reach the 216 votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill in the House, the feisty Oklahoma Republican said he’ll have his eye out for exactly that kind of deal. “If you voted no and you vote yes, and you lose your election, and you think (your nomination) to a federal position isn’t going to be held in the Senate, I’ve got news for you — it’s going to be held,” Coburn said. “No. 2 is, if you get a deal, a parochial deal for you or your district, I’ve already instructed my staff and the staff of seven other senators. We will look at every appropriations bill at every level, at every instance, and we will outline by district, and we will associate that with the buying of your vote.” FDL’s got the latest news on the Whip count . It’s tight. Very tight. As I wrote on Twitter, I’m sick thinking about all the backroom wheeling and dealing going on behind close doors, using our tax $$ to buy votes for this monstrosity of a “reform” bill in advance of the anticipated Sunday House vote . Have a House member who is wavering on whether or not to vote for this bill? Call them. Email them . Don’t give up. More: Check this out: From The NRCC’s Code Red : From HumanEvents.com : “Most interesting rumor from the Hill yesterday: Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) who announced his retirement from Congress has been promised the job of NASA administrator in exchange for his vote, and Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), another retiring Democrat, has been promised an appointment as U.S. Ambassador to NATO in exchange for his vote. It will be interesting to note any job announcements from this Tennessee duo post-House retirement. Both voted against passage of the House bill back in November.” Disgusting.
Below is the just-released text of the House Reconciliation Bill. In the strange, ‘through the looking glass’ world that is the House Democrat Leadership, they will vote for these “fixes” to the Senate passed health care bill. In voting for these fixes, the House will ‘deem’ that the Senate Health Care bill is passed. See, the Democrats can vote for the fixes without having to vote for the bill that is being fixed.We already knew they don’t have to read bills to pass them. Now, they don’t have to vote for them either. The Senate, then, will dutifully enact all of these “fixes,” by using elaborate procedural tricks and at least a couple votes to override the Senate Parliamentarian. Right, like that is going to happen. 111_hr4872_amndsub For those keeping score at home, the whole idea of a reconciliation bill is simply to provide cover for House Democrats to pass the Senate Bill. The Senate will never take up reconciliation. The Senate bill will become the law of the land.
