You'd Better Bone Up On This

Between now and October 15, the Obama Administration and Congress will try to get together on health care reform ("HCR"). The Democrats are holding in their back pocket the threat/promise to push HCR through using the reconciliation process, which requires an up or down majority vote without the possibility of filibuster. Republicans with short memories of how they used reconciliation during the Bush years to push through major policy changes, are huffing and puffing about this prospect. This is a beginner's primer on the topic, generally, and refutes some the Republican arguments. One additional incentive for the Democrats/Obama to attempt to reach a bipartisan solution is that while a bill in reconciliation cannot be filibustered, it is subject to amendments contending that provisions of the legislation do not have budgetary impacts, which was the original justification for an expedited process. A policy change as sweeping as HCR is likely to have numerous aspects that fall outside the budget impact argument, so negotiations can achieve a more cohesive bill without countless votes to test each challenged provision. Even that, of course, assumes the other side is acting in good faith. Oddly enough, I have seen some analysis that the industries most "threatened" by HCR may want a seat at the table now to make what they perceive will be a "bad" bill less so, so maybe they'll influence their Republican lapdogs to cooperate.