Senate Democrats Consider Using Reconciliation to Pass Health Care Bill

As the fate of President Obama's health care bill hangs in the balance, lawmakers are exploring a complex procedural tool to bypass a Republican filibuster and push the legislation to passage. Reconciliation, a rarely used procedure, has been criticized by Republicans as a "parliamentary trick" to change social policy without proper debate. However, Democrats argue that the process is not as rare as Republicans claim, citing its use in 24 instances since 1980, including the passage of welfare reform in 1996 and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Key Takeaways:

Reconciliation allows the Senate to fast-track legislation that brings congressional spending in line with the approved budget, shortening debate and eliminating filibusters.
The Senate's parliamentarian has the final say in determining which provisions can be passed under reconciliation, which could potentially limit the scope of the health care bill.
Republicans have used reconciliation more often than Democrats in recent years, including passing President Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2003.
Democrats argue that reconciliation has been used to pass a wide range of legislation, including the unemployment insurance benefit (COBRA), the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and the landmark welfare reform law of 1996.
Passing a bill under reconciliation with less than 60 senators' support has been done only six times since 1989, with Republicans using it more often in close votes.
Senator Robert C. Byrd, a key Democrat, has expressed opposition to using reconciliation to pass the health care bill, citing concerns about the bill's scope and the potential for the Senate parliamentarian to limit its provisions.

Statistics:

Since 1980, reconciliation has been used 24 times to pass legislation, including the welfare reform law of 1996 and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Of these 24 instances, over half (14) have been used by Republicans since 2001 to pass tax cuts and other legislation.
The Senate parliamentarian has the final say in determining which provisions can be passed under reconciliation, which has limited the scope of previous legislation passed under this procedure.
Reconciliation has been used to pass a wide range of legislation, including the unemployment insurance benefit (COBRA), the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and the landmark welfare reform law of 1996.
Six times since 1989, bills have been passed under reconciliation with fewer than 60 senators' support, all but one of which were used by Republicans.

Sources:

Jennifer Haberkorn, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, February 24, 2010
Thomas E. Mann, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, as quoted in THE WASHINGTON TIMES, February 24, 2010
Len Nichols, director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation, as quoted in THE WASHINGTON TIMES, February 24, 2010
Senator Robert C. Byrd, letter to colleagues, April 2010
Associated Press, photograph, February 25, 2010