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Vice President Joe Biden led the Senate this morning while his colleagues voted from their seats in favor of Senate Bill 3590 (aka "Senate Health Care Bill" aka "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"). The vote was 60-39 along party lines, as expected. Republican Jim Bunning of Kentucky, who is retiring at the end of the 111th session of Congress, failed to show up or vote for the second day in a row but no explanation was forthcoming.
As you head into serious holiday mode, here's some calorie-less food for thought to put perspective on what we've gotten ourselves into:
If you haven't already heard, the last time a vote was taken in the Senate on the day before Christmas? 1895 per the Senate Historical Office.
The Los Angeles Times published an interesting article on the role played by Senate leader Harry Reid. In part (but the whole piece is a very good read):
The quirky, taciturn majority leader had no background in health policy and a less-than-commanding public image. Yet today Reid delivered as the Senate moved to take its final vote on the most sweeping healthcare legislation to make its way through the chamber in nearly half a century.
Along the way, Reid's effort sometimes revealed an unseemly, if time-honored, side of congressional business as he struck bargains with senators who traded their votes for aid to their states or help for supportive interest groups.
"This bill is a mess, and so is the process that was used to get it over the finish line," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) charged this week, encapsulating a new GOP line of attack.
But the process -- as described by senators, Capitol Hill aides and White House officials -- also revealed that oft-fractious Democrats could achieve remarkable unity under the guidance of a politician with an unparalleled understanding of the arcane institution he leads -- and a sure grasp of the particular needs of the individual lawmakers who serve there.
Swampland has the remarks given by Leader Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) this morning just before the vote (which did start promptly at about 7am). From McConnell and the opposition:
“This debate was supposed to produce a bill that reformed health care in America.
“Instead, we're left with party line votes in the middle of the night, a couple of sweetheart deals to get it over the finish line, and a public that's outraged.
“A problem they were told would be fixed wasn't.
“I guarantee you the people who voted for this bill are going to get an earful when they finally get home for the first time since Thanksgiving."
In addition to commending his colleagues for their work and espousing the ways in which he sees this legislation as a leap forward for the country, Reid agreed with McConnell's prediction that they'll be hearing an earful, but that they will hear an "earful of wonderment and happiness."
The House reconvenes on January 12, 2010 and the Senate on January 19, 2010. However, their staffs will begin negotiations over the differences between their two bills way before then and in preparation for the conference committee process. Composition of the conference committee, according to McClatchy, looks like this:
While health-care [conference] committee members haven't been named yet, it's widely expected that they'll include Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., one of the Senate bill's architects, as well as: Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate committee chairmen Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; and House committee chairmen Charles Rangel of New York, and George Miller and Henry Waxman of California, according to Harkin.
Likewise, we should expect to see House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the mix.
NB: The word "reconciliation" is sometimes used in connection with the process about to begin. That process does involve "reconciling" the differences between the House and Senate versions of health care bills, but it is not the reconciliation process which is a very specific process, unrelated to what will be happening with the health care bills and is described here.
For an excellent overview of the differences between the House and Senate version, I must refer to this New York Times' display - it's thorough, it's clear and you can view the differences via subject matter (i.e., abortion, public plan, Medicaid, etc.) and is a great starting point for battling it out in the comments as you vent your feelings about what's happened, what we've got, what we should have once the
