Senator Harry Reid is Ready to Force Health Care Bill by "Reconciliation" Process

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is ready to push the Health Care Bill through using a process called "Reconciliation," which is really anything but reconciliation as we would normally define the word. It would further irritate, not calm, the country's current sentiments over a government-run Health Care Plan.

Moderate members of Reid's own Democratic party do not favor the Reconciliation process. Reconciliation means that a bill can be passed with a "50+1" vote rather than the 60 votes generally needed in the Senate. In other words, let's get this thing rammed through no matter how other people feel.

A little background:
Back in August, the Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee were fairly sure they'd have the 60 favorable votes. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Reid's spokesperson Jim Manley stated they were participating in bipartisan efforts on the Health Care Bill, but implied that patience is limited and they may have to pass the bill by any legislative measure it might take (paraphrased).

Then, the non-party affiliated Congressional Budget Office revealed that the Health Care Bill included some $829 to $898 billion (depending who you talk to) new taxes on medical device companies and pharmaceutical corporations, just to name a couple of industries. The CBO stated that the only other way to cover those expenses would be to charge American citizens.

In an October 7 interview on FOX News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto," Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN - yes, some Democrats do still talk to FOX) stated that in her state and others, medical device companies were growing, creating quality jobs for people, and providing much needed devices to consumers. These new taxes would either make the companies go under, or they would have to pass the cost on to the people needing medical devices and all taxpayers. She was against this tax and felt she couldn't vote for the bill in that condition, stating that Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer (CA), Al Franken (MN), Evan Bayh (IN) and even John Kerry (MA) among others felt the same.

Apparently, the Baucus Bill which passed last month has somehow miraculously done away with some of those medical device and pharmaceutical tax dollars. The CBO reports that the Baucus Bill replaces this money by putting an $1800 penalty on families that don't want to participate in health insurance; and $201 billion in taxes on companies that want to give their employees "cadillac" health insurance plans (translated to the working man - really good health care).

That tax on your employer could mean they stop giving you "really good" health insurance, and you would be forced to join the public "option."

Reid has come out with his own option to the Health Care bill, calling it a "Government Option Co-op with an Opt Out." So far, no paperwork has been sent to anyone for an analysis.

The "Reconciliation" process limits debate to a maximum of 20 hours. Then, anyone who opposes a bill simply has to sit down and shut up. This is ironic, considering that the Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee during the Bush administration debated for over two years on one of Bush's nominees-Miguel Estrada-who could have been touted as the first Latino Supreme Court Justice long before Sotomayor, but he had a fatal flaw...he was a conservative. The SJC never allowed Estrada's nomination to come up for a full Senate vote.

Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) has stated he will stand against Reconciliation.

Sources:
Huffington Post, 9/10/09
Retired Americans.org
Wall Street Journal, 8/20/09
"Your World with Neil Cavuto", FOX, 10/7/09