Health care: Shutting out the GOP?

How Democrats reportedly plan to prevent Republicans from delaying health-reform negotiations.

House and Senate Democrats are "almost certain" to sidestep a formal conference committee and negotiate informally to reconcile the health-care reform bills they have passed, two top congressional staffers told The New Republic. By "ping-ponging" the legislation back and forth, Democrats reportedly hope to avoid a series of procedural steps requiring votes and full debates that Republicans could use to delay negotiations. Would forgoing a conference committee shut out Republicans, or just save time before an inevitable showdown over the final vote? (Watch Republican leaders sound off on health care.)

This exposes Democrats' hypocrisy: The idea here is to bypass public hearings and exclude Republicans from negotiations to save a little time, says Ed Morrissey in Hot Air. But to do so House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama will have to break promises to end "backroom deals" in Washington. And for what? They'll never avoid a filibuster on a final vote unless the House accepts the Senate version of the bill, which has no public insurance option.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us