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THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - March 15, 2010
Reid Formally Notifies Republicans He Will Use
Reconciliation to Pass Health Care Bill
by: Jason Leopold
truthout|Report
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid formally informed
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell Thursday that he will use
the budgetary process of reconciliation to try and pass a
final round of changes to the health care bill.
It's unclear when the legislation will come up for a vote.
Reconciliation only requires a simply majority whereas
Democrats would need to win 60 votes in order to bypass a
Republican-led filibuster.
"We plan to use the regular budget reconciliation process
that the Republican caucus has used many times," Reid told
McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader. "Keep in mind that
reconciliation will not exclude Republicans from the
legislative process."
Republicans have warned Democrats against using reconcili-
ation to pass a health care bill they say is highly
unpopular with the American public.
But Reid said Republicans were "distorting the facts" and
he pointed out that the "vast majority" of bills where the
procedure was used in the past to pass legislation, includ-
ing George W. Bush's "massive, budget-busting tax-breaks
for multimillionaires," were orchestrated by Republican
congresses.
"Given this history, one might conclude that Republicans
believe a majority vote is sufficient to increase the
deficit and benefit the super-rich, but not to reduce the
deficit and benefit the middle class," Reid said. Alter-
natively, perhaps Republicans believe a majority vote is
appropriate only when Republicans are in the majority.
Either way, we disagree.
"At the end of the process, the bill can pass only if it
wins a democratic, up-or-down majority vote," Reid said.
"If Republicans want to vote against a bill that reduces
health care costs, fills the prescription drug 'donut
hole' for seniors and reduces the deficit, you will have
every right to do so."
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The full text of the letter is reprinted below:
March 11, 2009
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Republican Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Leader McConnell:
Eleven months ago, I wrote you to share my expectations
for the coming health reform debate. At the time, I
expressed Democrats' intention to work in good faith
with Republicans, and my desire that ? while we would
disagree at times ? we could engage in an honest
discussion grounded in facts rather than fear, and
focused on producing results, not playing partisan
politics.
Obviously, the opposite has happened, as many
Republicans have spent the past year mischaracterizing
the health reform bill and misleading the public.
Though we have tried to engage in a serious discussion,
our efforts have been met by repeatedly debunked myths
and outright lies. At the same time, Republicans have
resorted to extraordinary legislative maneuvers in an
effort not to improve the bill, but to delay and kill
it. After watching these tactics for nearly a year,
there is only one conclusion an objective observer
could make: these Republican maneuvers are rooted less
in substantive policy concerns and more in a partisan
desire to discredit Democrats, bolster Republicans,
and protect the status quo on behalf of the insurance
industry.
In fact, the attacks on the health care bill are part
of a broader pattern. As has been well documented,
your caucus conspicuously shattered the record for
obstruction last Congress by demanding gratuitous
procedural votes on even the most non-controversial
matters, and by stalling the work of the Senate despite
the urgency of the serious problems facing our country.
Senate Republicans are on pace to again break their own
record this Congress, illustrated by Sen. Bunning's
effort to prevent the Senate from acting to extend
families' unemployment and health benefits even after
those benefits had expired.
While Republicans were distorting the facts in the
health care debate and inflicting delay after needless
delay, millions of Americans have continued to suffer
as they struggle to afford to stay healthy, stay out
of bankruptcy and stay in their homes. Thousands of
Americans lose their health care every day, and tens
of thousands of the uninsured have lost their lives
since this debate began. Meanwhile, rising health
costs have contributed to a rising federal budget
deficit.
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To address these problems, 60 Senators voted to pass
historic reform that will make health insurance more
affordable, make health insurance companies more
accountable and reduce our deficit by roughly a
trillion dollars. The House passed a similar bill.
However, many Republicans now are demanding that we
simply ignore the progress we've made, the extensive
debate and negotiations we've held, the amendments
we've added (including more than 100 from Republicans)
and the votes of a supermajority in favor of a bill
whose contents the American people unambiguously
support. We will not. We will finish the job. We will
do so by revising individual elements of the bills
both Houses of Congress passed last year, and we plan
to use the regular budget reconciliation process that
the Republican caucus has used many times.
I know that many Republicans have expressed concerns
with our use of the existing Senate rules, but their
argument is unjustified. There is nothing unusual or
extraordinary about the use of reconciliation. As one
of the most senior Senators in your caucus, Sen. Judd
Gregg of New Hampshire, said in explaining the use of
this very same option, "Is there something wrong with
majority rules? I don't think so." Similarly, as non-
partisan congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norm
Ornstein said in this Sunday's New York Times, our
proposal is "compatible with the law, Senate rules and
the framers' intent."
Reconciliation is designed to deal with budget-related
matters, and some have expressed doubt that it could
be used for comprehensive health care reform that
includes many policies with no budget implications.
But the reconciliation bill now under consideration
would not be the vehicle for comprehensive reform ?
that bill already passed outside of reconciliation
with 60 votes. Instead, reconciliation would be used
to make a modest number of changes to the original
legislation, all of which would be budget-related.
There is nothing inappropriate about this. Reconcili-
ation has been used many times for a variety of health-
related matters, including the establishment of the
Children's Health Insurance Program and COBRA benefits,
and many changes to Medicare and Medicaid.
As you know, the vast majority of bills developed
through reconciliation were passed by Republican
Congresses and signed into law by Republican Presidents
? including President Bush's massive, budget-busting
tax breaks for multi-millionaires. Given this history,
one might conclude that Republicans believe a majority
vote is sufficient to increase the deficit and benefit
the super-rich, but not to reduce the deficit and
benefit the middle class. Alternatively, perhaps
Republicans believe a majority vote is appropriate
only when Republicans are in the majority. Either way,
we disagree.
Keep in mind that reconciliation will not exclude
Republicans from the legislative process. You will
continue to have an opportunity to offer amendments
and change the shape of the legislation. In addition,
at the end of the process, the bill can pass only if
it wins a democratic, up-or-down majority vote. If
Republicans want to vote against a bill that reduces
health care costs, fills the prescription drug "donut
hole" for seniors and reduces the deficit, you will
have every right to do so.
Sincerely,
HARRY REID
United States Senator
Nevada
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