Obamacare by Hook or by Crook
The Democrats have announced plans to use a procedural step called “the self-executing rule” or the “deem and pass” to shepherd the healthcare bill through the House before the end of the week. But what does deem and pass” actually involve?
I had (and still am having) an awful time trying to understand the technicalities behind how the Democrats are going to pass their healthcare bill.
First, it was through the reconciliation process. Now, they’re going to include a step called “the self-executing rule” or the “deem and pass” to shepherd the bill through the House before the end of the week.
It’s all terribly esoteric. What does deem and pass” involve?
Byron Tau from The New Republic explains:
The House Rules committee is often called the ‘traffic cop’ of the House – controlling what bills come to the floor and how much debate is allowed on each one. On each bill, they pass what is called a ‘rule’ – a resolution determining what kind of debate is allowed on each bill. The whole House must first pass the rule, then the underlying legislation. In the case of ‘deem-and-pass’, the vote on the rule would also have the effect of passing the Senate bill.
In essence, the House won’t be technically voting on the Senate bill. They will instead be voting on a rule with a package of reconciliation requests that, when passed, will deem the Senate healthcare bill passed as if voted upon. The bill will then become law after the President signs it, after which the House’s reconciliation requests could go to the Senate for consideration.
The Washington Post came out with this very helpful graphic explaining the possible steps and the timeline:
A whole bunch of questions emerge from the “Slaughter Solution”, named after Rules Committee Chair Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY).
Could it come under a Supreme Court challenge, as Politico suggests it could? Do Americans really care about the internal processes of Congress? Will using this mechanism to pass healthcare reform matter at the polls this November?