Obama’s Planning Democrat-Only Bill

Analysis…

The seemingly endless protests and reforms for the Health Care bill are pushing democratic congressional leaders, as well as Pres. Obama, to seek “alternatives” to a bi-partisan health care bill, according to New York Senator Charles Shumer.  That alternative is seeking to exclude Republicans from the levy and create a health care bill established by the vote of 51 democrats.

TPM |  Democratic party leaders have a message for Republicans, who are crying foul over the news that they may get shut out of the health care debate: turnabout’s fair play.
In a memo that was drafted and circulated on background in April, Senate Democrats made the case that using a budget reconciliation bill to pass health care reforms is perfectly within their rights, given the Republicans’ promiscuous use of the same tactic when they were in power. Excerpts of the memo were published by various news outlets back in the spring, but the memo doesn’t appear to have been previously published in its entirety until now. And now, with Democrats ramping up the threat that they’ll invoke the process in the fall, they’re rehashing those same arguments.

Bloomberg |  The president and his advisers have started devising a strategy to pass a measure by relying only on the Democratic majority in each house of Congress, according to a source who spoke last week on condition of anonymity.
A move by Democrats to seek a partisan bill may provoke a backlash from Republicans and weaken public support for a health-care overhaul, Obama’s top domestic priority. It might also result in watered-down legislation.

Politics Daily |  Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said time is running short for the Senate to get a health-care reform bill passed and signed into law by the end of the year. Given the difficulties negotiating a bipartisan bill, Schumer said he’d rather ditch efforts to win GOP votes.
Meanwhile, Republicans object to using an expedited process to push the bill and are hopeful they will reach an agreement on a bipartisan plan. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Democrats would be abusing the legislative process if they push the bill through with little or no Republican support.

NYTimes Blog |  Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.
The Democratic shift may not make producing a final bill much easier. The party must still reconcile the views of moderate and conservative Democrats worried about the cost and scope of the legislation with those of more liberal lawmakers determined to win a government-run insurance option to compete with private insurers.
On the other hand, such a change could alter the dynamic of talks surrounding health care legislation, and even change the substance of a final bill. With no need to negotiate with Republicans, Democrats might be better able to move more quickly, relying on their large majorities in both houses.

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