"Slaughter Solution" dies by way of the Senate Parlimentarian

[ftwspursfan]

Ruling Kills an Option for Moving Health Bill
March 11, 2010, 2:30 P.M.
By David M. Drucker
Roll Call Staff

The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress’ original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package, senior GOP sources said Thursday.

The Senate Parliamentarian’s Office was responding to questions posed by the Republican leadership. The answers were provided verbally, sources said.

House Democratic leaders have been searching for a way to ensure that any move they make to approve the Senate-passed $871 billion health care reform bill is followed by Senate action on a reconciliation package of adjustments to the original bill. One idea is to have the House and Senate act on reconciliation prior to House action on the Senate’s original health care bill.

Information Republicans say they have received from the Senate Parliamentarian’s Office eliminates that option. House Democratic leaders last week began looking at crafting a legislative rule that would allow the House to approve the Senate health care bill, but not forward it to Obama for his signature until the Senate clears the reconciliation package.

continued at RollCall.com

Now we have to hope and pray Stupak can keep his 'pro-life' troops together against the Senate bill.

[ftwspursfan]

Are there any congressional experts/parliamentarians out here on RF? How can the House try to pass a 'fix' to the Senate HC Bill before the Senate votes on the reconciliation bill? It seems that the House is trying to pass the reconciliation or 'fix it' bill first, then declare the original Senate HC bill as passed w/o a vote on the bill(Slaughter Solution), and then the Senate can start 'reconciliation'. It seems to me that the GOP senators could then raise a point of order that the Senate cannot use reconciliation on a bill(the 'fix it' bill) that the House has passed first. Help, I'm confused??

[ftwspursfan]

Congressional Democrats embarked on the final push for an historic health care bill on Thursday with no guarantee that they have the votes to pass it.

And they made their task even more difficult by moving toward writing off anti-abortion members who voted for the bill the first time in the House.

House leaders now believe they can’t change the abortion language in the Senate bill under the reconciliation process, which is only supposed to be used on budgetary matters.

But that would likely mean several House members who think the Senate language doesn’t go far enough in banning federal funding of abortions would likely change from “yes” votes to “no.”

Democratic leaders were nonetheless gearing up for a pair of committee hearings next week that will start the clock on a final, down-to-the-wire vote, which will require House Democrats to swallow their significant distaste for the Senate bill and to vote on faith that Senate leaders can muster the support to change it.

Read more: Pelosi: 'The choice has to be made' - Patrick O'Connor - POLITICO.com