Orrin Hatch: Use of Reconciliation on Health Care Bill to end Democracy as We Know It
Writing in the Washington Post today, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-UT, assures us that using reconciliation procedures in the Senate to pass a sidecar bill adjusting the previously passed Senate bill to make it more palatable to House Dems would be (and I’m quoting here) “an assault to the Democratic process!” (Okay, that was the headline and he may not have actually written that part himself but it’s pretty much the gist of the whole piece.)
He starts out by noting that while the American Founders intended the House to be designed for Action, the Senate is designed for obstruction deliberation. And therefore it is un-American to pass anything by a simple majority to get around the minority party’s desire to obstruct deliberate the process. Oh, of course reconciliation has been used in a few isolated instances in recent years, all of which were eventually passed by large bipartisan majorities. So to even consider using reconciliation to complete the passage of health care reform legislation would deal a crushing blow to our democracy:
This use of reconciliation to jam through this legislation, against the will of the American people, would be unprecedented in scope. And the havoc wrought would threaten our system of checks and balances, corrode the legislative process, degrade our system of government and damage the prospects of bipartisanship.
Except, of course, as Greg Sargent points out, in painstaking detail, these arguments are completely intellectually dishonest.
As you can see, in this passage Hatch only mentioned the reconciliation votes for measures that passed by huge majorities. But here are the votes he didn’t bother mentioning:
* Hatch voted for the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which passed by a simple majority (58-33) via reconciliation.
* Hatch voted for the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, accelerating the Bush tax cuts and adding new ones, which passed by a simple majority via reconciliation — 50-50 in the Senate with Dick Cheney casting the tiebreaking vote.
* Hatch voted for the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act, reducing Medicaid spending and allowing parents of disabled children to buy into Medicaid, which passed by a simple majority (52-47) via reconciliation.
* Hatch voted for the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, extending the Bush tax cuts for some tax brackets, which passed by a simple majority (54-44) via reconciliation.
It’s one thing to argue, as Hatch and many others have, that previous reconciliation votes were somehow different from the vote Dems are preparing. It’s taking things to a whole new level to completely omit any mention of a whole series of votes you took because they inconveniently reveal that your entire argument is bogus.
Democracy is definitely reeling these days after the havoc wrought upon it by the Republicans. Not sure how passing health care reform could do much worse.
Oh, and along the way he misrepresents the bill’s cost, referring to it both as a multi-trillion dollar bill and later a 2.5 trillion dollar bill. And somehow manages to mangle Senator Kent Conrad’s statement that reconciliation wasn’t meant for this kind of a bill. He did say that but he was referring to the original comprehensive bill (which has already passed the Senate through the normal process). Senator Conrad also said:
But if the House passes the Senate bill, and wants certain things improved on, like affordability, the Medicaid provisions, how much of Medicaid expenses are paid for by the Federal government, that is something that could be done through reconciliation.
And, let’s hope, without further ripping the fabric of our democracy to shreds.
Bonus points: How many buzz words can you find in Boehner’s response to Greg’s piece about Kent Conrad?
Update: John Boehner spokesman Michael Steel emails a response:
“The American people have already rejected Washington Democrats’ trillion-dollar government takeover of health care stuffed with tax hikes, Medicare cuts, and special-interest giveaways. They have been crystal clear and loud as a buzzsaw on this issue. Trying to jam their latest job-killing backroom deal through Congress using this procedural trick would be a serious mistake.”
Posted by marindenver on 03/02/10 at 05:02 PM • Permalink
Categories: Politics • Election '10 • Barack Obama • Bedwetters • Health Care • Nutters • Our Stupid Media •
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