House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said that she could gather enough votes to pass the Senate's health care reform bill (HR 3590) if the upper chamber agrees to make several changes to the bill through reconciliation, CongressDaily reports. While speaking to reporters before President Obama's State of the Union address, Pelosi said her chamber is not likely to pass the Senate's bill in its current form, but "we can pass this thing" by using reconciliation and a two-track approach to "resolv[e] some of the issues." Although several moderate Democrats earlier in the week said they were against using reconciliation, Pelosi argued that the procedural maneuver was "established for this purpose."
Editor's Note: Reconciliation is a legislative process in the United States Senate intended to allow consideration of a contentious budget bill without the threat of filibuster. Reconciliation limits debate and amendment, and therefore favors the majority party.
Click here for more...
