Legal Commentary

"The Controversial Differences"

By Big Tent Democrat

There is a lot to disagree with in this Ezra Klein piece, but I want to focus on the new drumbeat that the "controversial differences" between the House and the Senate bill are few:

That would require House Democrats to do something they don't wish to do and pass the Senate bill unchanged. But passing the Senate bill unchanged would not mean that health-care reform cannot be changed. The bulk of the controversial differences between the two bills have to do with money -- how you raise it and how much of it you spend. Those differences can be resolved through the 51-vote reconciliation process. There's even an open reconciliation vehicle waiting to be used.

(Emphasis supplied.) Ezra is talking about the excise tax. But this is not the "bulk of the differences." It is really astounding that Ezra, who's own list of "fixes" to the Senate bill was quite long, argues this. Imagine what the House, who basically disagreed with Ezra's reform ideas, thinks. The House, especially House progressives, need to bargain to their maximum leverage now. As Ezra says, the Senate bill is sitting there - passage of that bill by the House can wait until the reconciliation agreement is hammered out. If that takes a couple of weeks or more, so be it. The elections are not until November.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 19, 2010 (boomark / email).