 (Image: fimoculous under CC 3.0) |
It’s possible that healthcare reform supporters were rejoicing too soon: it turns out that the health insurance bill will end up returning to the House of Representatives for a Senate vote.
Although Republicans tried to offer many amendments in an attempt to force the bill back to the House, it wasn’t their efforts that have stalled it. Unfortunately for the GOP, the thrust of the bill remains as is. Rather, Democrats themselves made some minor mistakes when writing the legislation. According to the Senate’s parliamentarian, two provisions are not considered to be directly related through the federal budget. Therefore, they cannot be passed through the reconciliation process. The offending provisions are related to an increase in federal Pell grants for college education.
Now, the Senate will have to vote on those issues sometime today, after working on the legislation last night. The House will then have to vote on the bill again, as soon as this evening. While some representatives may consider changing their vote, doing so makes little sense. The changes will not significantly change the content of the bill. Also, those who are angry probably won’t forget their support for the changes in how health insurance plans are bought and sold.
