Health Bill: From Reconciliation to ‘Deeming’

JGrimes

This post by WSJ’s Naftali Bendavid also appears on the Washington Wire blog.
We’re not doing anything wrong. And besides, the Republicans did it more.
That was much of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s message today as he struck back at critics of the legislative tactics Democrats are using to push through their health overhaul bill. Dismissing the criticism as an inside-the-Beltway fixation, Hoyer said the American public cares about what’s in a bill, not the process by which it passes.
“ ‘So what?’ says the American public,” Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told reporters. “What they’re interested in is what resulted. ‘What did you do for me and my family to make my life more secure?’ ”
Republicans have been complaining loudly about the legislative process used by the Democrats as they struggle to push their health overhaul over the finish line. In particular, GOP leaders have criticized the planned use of “reconciliation,” a provision that allows the Senate to pass a bill with a simple majority of 51, rather than the 60 usually required for controversial bill.
More recently, they have also challenged Democrats for considering a tactic under which the House would “deem,” or declare, the Senate version of the health bill passed, […]

Read more this great post here