rssDurbin Explains Why the Democrats Won’t Use Reconciliation
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 12:25 pm
- 8 Comments
With Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) threatening to kill health insurance reform legislation unless it’s diluted considerably, liberals nationwide are urging Democrats to side-step Lieberman by using the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to pass parts of the bill with a simple majority vote of 51.
This morning, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough why party leaders won’t go that route.
Scarborough: Why don’t you blow the whole place up and just say majority rules, 51 is enough?
Durbin: We’ve been blowing things up on this issue for decades, and as a result, we’ve accomplished nothing. Reconciliation is a very spare and thin process with limited opportunities. For example, no insurance reform if we do reconciliation. We won’t give American consumers the tools that they need to fight back against the health insurance companies.
And I think they understand, as we do, that’s a very, very important element in this package.
8 Comments
Comment posted December 15, 2009 @ 12:40 pm
The idea was to split the bill.
Pass regulations with 60 votes and pass the public option with 51 votes.
Comment posted December 15, 2009 @ 1:07 pm
Wrong Sen. Durbin. The American people want real health care reform, not a watered down surrender to the insurance companies. The Republicans had no second thoughts on using reconciliation to pass the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Toss that milk-toast Majority Leader Reid overboard, tell that Traitor Joe where to go, and pass meaningful health care legislation.
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[...] is gaining some steam in both houses, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says it simply cannot work due to the complexity of the bill: “Reconciliation is a very spare and thin process with [...]
Comment posted January 2, 2010 @ 2:29 pm
Splitting the bill? That would require conviction and a bit of common sense, neither of which the Democratic Party, even the most progressive members, seem to have in any proportion to what the Republicans can muster when they push forward. Why no reconcilliation? The real truth is that Democrats are too beholden to Insurance Compnay dollars. It is the same reason why bankers got bailed out and middle class consumers are getting screwed. Come 2010 and 2012, the middle class progressives who put Obama and Democrats into power will sit on their hands as they did for that Governor from Goldman Sachs in New Jersey
Comment posted January 22, 2010 @ 7:47 pm
reconciliation works for tax related and budget issues only. You can't create new programs based on reconciliation.
Comment posted January 23, 2010 @ 12:47 am
reconciliation works for tax related and budget issues only. You can't create new programs based on reconciliation.
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