The Washington Monthly

March 20, 2010

REID TELLS HOUSE DEMS WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR.... Lingering in the background has been a lingering question from House Dems: the Senate really will pass the reconciliation budget fix, right?

Before President Obama spoke to the House Democratic Caucus this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) addressed lawmakers and told them what they wanted to hear.

Reid, in a speech on Saturday to the House Democratic Caucus, said he'd wrangled a majority of votes to pass a series of changes to the Senate's original healthcare bill through budget reconciliation rules.
"I'm happy to announce I have the commitment of a significant majority of the United States Senate to make that good law even better," Reid said.

The applause was loud and lengthy.

Reid's office will reportedly release the contents of the letter -- which he has already shared with Pelosi and Hoyer -- later today. I find it hard to believe there are House Dems who would seriously let health care reform die over concerns that Senate Dems may not follow through, but if the commitment makes the final vote a little easier, it's a welcome development.

Update: To emphasize a key point here, the letter has been "signed by more than 50 Senate Democrats, saying they will vote for the reconciliation amendment."

—Steve Benen 4:35 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (6)

Comments

I hope that "significant majority" means just exactly that -- more than 50 + the vice president to break a tie.

Posted by: Andy on March 20, 2010 at 4:44 PM | PERMALINK

better to linger twice than to malinger at all.

Posted by: punaise on March 20, 2010 at 4:57 PM | PERMALINK

I think reconciliation can go over well enough. The Repubs can make better hay out of "deem to have passed" even thought they've done that, as well.

Posted by: neil b on March 20, 2010 at 5:02 PM | PERMALINK

That's great as long as they actually get to the vote. Harry's about to find out that despite all the talk to the contrary, reconciliation bills can be filibustered.

Posted by: Pat on March 20, 2010 at 5:09 PM | PERMALINK

(Update - "deem and pass" apparently off the table. The Rebaglickin's would have made hay, if it had been used, despite using it themselves.)

Posted by: neil b on March 20, 2010 at 6:07 PM | PERMALINK

Where's the letter cuz I will believe it when I see it. And it better be scanned in color becuase I want to see each senator's sig in their own BLOOD.

Sorry, Harry, you have no credibility with me.

Posted by: bdop4 on March 21, 2010 at 8:19 AM | PERMALINK

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