Can we do a Back-up Healthcare Bill via Reconciliation?

[radhika]

I admit I am totally perplexed by Congressional Rules. But....here in California (the state that most approximates the federal government in dysfunction) we often submit bills that would go into effect only if ANOTHER BILL FAILS TO PASS.

Could the House of Representatives pass such a backup bill under reconciliation? It would open Medicare to persons over say, 40. It would specify that it come into force only if the House and Senate fail to agree on a HCR bill. Might be fairly easy to get 51% of reps and senators to sign on. With that approved as a fall-back --teehee- measure, it would be really easy for Dems and Progressives to dump the current abomination.

Toofer: Also would make it deliciously hard for the tightie righties to still hold their line against the Obama Bill.

[cutlassmama]

1. We can, but for some odd reason no one seems to want to do it that way

[Ozymanithrax]

2. A reconciliation bill would have to be put out the the necessary comittees...

Who would then write the bill...

Baucaus would be in charge of that....

And come December 2010, the lame duck congress would vote on it.

Yes, we could run a reconciliation bill, but it must go through the same process of writing and review before it is given an up or down vote. It will be written by the same people that wrote the current bill and opposed by the same Republicans and Republicrats.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. Duplicate