As of this post there are 24 Senators signed on to the use of reconciliation to not only pass comprehensive health care reform, but to use this process to add the public option back in. The White House and the House Leadership have made it clear this is going to be the Senates call from start to finish. If they actually get their act together and pass it, then the other two parts of this dance will be more than happy with that music.
"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"
Regardless of the fate of the Public Option, it is clear (has been clear since the Senate authorized itself to use this process way back in the winter of ’09) that reconciliation will be the only way to get anything passed in regards to health care. This is going to lead to a lot of gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair by the Republicans and will be reported by the stenographic members of the traditional media as "trick" or side stepping of the processes of the Senate.
What will be missing from all of this, besides the explanation of exactly how anti-democratic the filibuster is, is the history of the use of reconciliation. The Dog knows that facts are really not very favored by the Republicans or the press when there is a good Democratic bashing story to be told, but let’s talk about them anyway.
Reconciliation was created by the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. What this act did was to allow debate on a budget bill to be ended with 51 votes instead of the in matters of complying with the Senates concurrent budget resolution (basically a resolution on what they will spend on that years budget).
A later amendment called the Byrd Rule allows members to object to individual provisions if they don’t meet specific provisions and those points require 60 votes to be kept in the bill.
That is the nuts and bolts of what reconciliation is. But that is not what you are going to hear all the screaming about. What you will hear is that this process is arcane and never used and should not be used now. The Republicans will act as though they have never used reconciliation to get what they wanted when they could not get past the Democratic minority. Which, of course, is complete hogwash.
Reconciliation have been used 22 times, 19 times it has not received a presidential veto (reconciliation fun fact, President Clinton is the only president to have vetoed a reconciliation bill). Of those 19 times, can you guess which party was in control of the United States Senate for 14 of them? The Dog will give you three guesses but you will only need one. That is right, the Republican Party.
The Brookings Institution was kind enough to put together a list of the bills that were passed using reconciliation, you can find it here. The Dog will give you a look at the top ten Republican usages:
1981 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act: This act made major spending cuts into social programs including welfare and food stamps.
1982 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act: This act reauthorized the welfare and food stamps cuts as well as making changes to the federal pay grades.
1985 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act: This act actually did something good, it created the COBRA program. While COBRA is a often not affordable it is a good idea. And look at that, the Republicans where the ones that used reconciliation to create it.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act: This is the act that ended welfare. Enough said.
Balanced Budget Act of 1997: This act was the first step of the Clinton Administration to balance the budget. It also included the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: Clinton era tax cuts that were passed by the Republicans in the Senate using reconciliation.
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001: President Bush’s first round of tax cuts for the wealthy.
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003: President Bush’s second round of tax cuts for the wealthy.
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005: Made cuts to Medicaid and Medicare spending, as well as student loan programs.
Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005: Extended Bush Administration tax cuts including cuts on capital gains. It also included a temporary alternative minimum tax fix.
As you can see Republicans have not been shy about using this method of passing bills that could not beat a 60 vote threshold. They are not even consistent in their objections about creating health care programs as both COBRA and CHIP (not to be confused with SCHIP, which is a state program and created by Democrats) were created under their use of reconciliation.
This is a rule the Senate put in place and is allowed to use or abuse it just like the filibuster. To those Senators who are getting squeamish about using this method to pass a public option as well as the over all plan, the Dog would remind them that this is a tried and true Senate rule and the Constitution gives the Senate the full authority to set its own rules. To fail to use every tool in your toolbox to achieve the ends the people of this nation have elected you for boarders on legislative malpractice.
So, now you are a little more up on the in’s and out’s of reconciliation history. Using this method to pass the HCR or get a Public Option is not a slam-dunk. There will be a lot of objections on parts of the plan and some of them, including the Public Option, might not make it through. Still in a time when it is clear the minority party will obstruct and not work to actually govern the nation in accordance with the will of the people, this is the tool Democrats in the Senate should use.
The floor is yours