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Zack Space, Charlie Wilson and House Democrats Will Attempt to Pass Healthcare Without a Recorded Vote

By The Pullins Group LLC

My Congressman, Zack Space and our neighboring Congressman, Charlie Wilson, will apparently try to pass healthcare reform without an actual recorded vote.  Don't believe me?  Then check out today's Washington Post:

After laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the Senate's health-care bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it.

Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under the House rule for that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers "deem" the health-care bill to be passed.

The tactic -- known as a "self-executing rule" or a "deem and pass" -- has been commonly used, although never to pass legislation as momentous as the $875 billion health-care bill. It is one of three options that Pelosi said she is considering for a late-week House vote, but she added that she prefers it because it would politically protect lawmakers who are reluctant to publicly support the measure.

Read the rest of the story here.

Full post as published by The Pullins Report on March 16, 2010 (boomark / email).