Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

With less than three hours to go before a historic vote on healthcare reform, scheduled for Sunday afternoon in the House of Representatives, House Democrat John Larson of Connecticut said on CNN’s State of the Union telecast that his party had garnered the votes necessary to get the bill passed.

Speaking on a panel alongside House Republican Mike Spence, Mr. Larson said that House Democrats had reached the crucial 216-vote mark to see the bill through. However Mr. Spence said that House Republicans would do everything in their power to stop the bill from passing; yet he refused to reveal any details about specific plans.

With 178 Republicans set to vote lock-step against the bill on the floor of the House, they would require at least 38 Democrats to join them in order to kill the bill off. According to reports, 33 Democrats had confirmed they would vote against the bill.

However the Democratic case was bolstered at several points during the course of the week. First, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ruled on Thursday that the bill would cost $940 billion over ten years and would lead to a deficit reduction of $138 billion during the same period. The deficit reducing impact was further revised upwards to $143 billion based on new filings over the weekend.

Second, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reversed an earlier decision to use a “deem and pass” procedure which would bypass the need for a direct up-or-down vote on the Senate version of the bill — a procedure which the Republicans seized upon as an indication of Democratic manipulation of due process. The decision to instead use a direct vote may have further influenced some House Democrats to support the bill on Sunday.

In terms of the procedure to be followed, the overall vote will comprise three sub-votes: first, the House will vote on the rules of the vote itself, second, it will vote on the Senate version of the bill, and third, it will vote on changes to the Senate bill.

If the bill is passed, it will bring to a climactic close the year-long debate on healthcare reform. The passage of the bill would represent a powerful victory for Democrats and a success for President Obama that eluded at least two of his predecessors. It would also imply additional insurance coverage for almost 32 million more Americans, bringing the healthcare system closer than ever to the goal of universal coverage.

Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, health bill, House Democrat, House Republicans