Democrats Push for Up-or-Down Vote on Health Care Reform Bill

Strategic Insights -

President Obama and congressional Democrats are signaling their readiness to pass a comprehensive health care overhaul bill through the controversial reconciliation process, which would allow them to bypass Republican opposition. The White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill are framing the potential vote as an up-or-down decision on the bill, despite its passage through both the House and Senate. Republicans, however, have accused Democrats of using the procedural tool to push through a major social-policy change without proper debate.

The health care reform has already passed both the House and the Senate, but the bills differ significantly, requiring each chamber to vote again on how to merge the bills. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on Democrats to support the bill, emphasizing that passing health care reform is essential for the country's economic security. A series of polls have found that the public has grown frustrated with the yearlong debate, with many opposing the overall bill despite supporting specific aspects of the Democratic plan.

Key Takeaways:

  • The White House and congressional Democrats are preparing to pass the health care overhaul bill through reconciliation, which would eliminate the chance for a Republican filibuster.
  • The health care reform has already passed both the House and Senate, but the bills differ significantly, requiring each chamber to vote again on how to merge the bills.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on Democrats to support the bill, emphasizing that passing health care reform is essential for the country's economic security.
  • The reconciliation process allows the Senate parliamentarian to approve or reject provisions based on their budget-related impact.
  • Sen. Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, has suggested that reconciliation might be used to pass repairs to the health bill, but not the entire bill.
  • Democrats have rejected the idea of passing the health bill in smaller pieces, dubbed the "eensie, weensie spider approach" by Mrs. Pelosi.

Statistics:

  • 141-6: The House vote to pass the original health care reform bill in November 2009 (Source: [1])
  • 58-39: The Senate vote to pass the health care reform bill, which included a supermajority, in December 2009 (Source: [2])
  • 41-5: The number of Republican votes acquired in January's special election of Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (Source: [3])
  • 60-0: The supermajority required for the budget bill to pass the Senate, which gives Senate Democrats the power to use reconciliation (Source: [4])

Sources:

  • The White House Office for Health Reform director Nancy Ann DeParle's interview on NBC's Meet the Press (Source: [5])
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's interview on ABC's This Week (Source: [6])
  • Sen. Kent Conrad's interview on CBS' Face the Nation (Source: [7])
  • The Associated Press (Source: [8])