Legal Commentary

Conrad: Health Bills Are Dead If House Does Not Pass Senate Bill

By Big Tent Democrat

Given this pronouncement by Kent Conrad, I expect that WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will pronounce the health bills initiative over. After all, as Brian Beutler reports:

"The only way this works is for the House to pass the Senate bill and then, depending on what the package is, the reconciliation provision that moves first through the House and then comes here," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND). "That's the only way that works." I pointed out that House leadership has repeatedly said they won't take a flier on a reconciliation package--that they will only pass the Senate bill after the smaller side-car reconciliation bill has been all wrapped up.

"Fine, then it's dead," Conrad said.

(Emphasis supplied.) Apparently, in the words of Gibbs (when explaining why the Obama Administration opposes the public option now), "there isn't enough political support in a majority to get this through," so that's that. I mean it's not like the Obama Administration is willing to fight for anything here so what is there left to talk about. By Gibbs' reasoning, the health bills initiative is over. Better luck next time.

speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 24, 2010 (boomark / email).