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 October 7, 2009

Congress’ Secret Plan to Pass Obamacare

Leaders in the House and Senate have a plan to pass President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care plan by Thanksgiving without any significant participation by the American public.

A new report from CNSNews.com quoting a senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) confirms “it is ‘likely’ that Reid will use H.R. 1586 — a bill passed by the House in March to impose a 90-percent tax on bonuses paid to employees of certain bailed-out financial institutions — as a ’shell’ for enacting the final version of the Senate’s health care bill.”

This story confirms the four-part scenario that would railroad the bill through the Senate using a very unusual closed-door procedure to craft the bill with no input from the American people.

The Heritage Foundation last month exposed the following four-step plan to pass Obamacare. Now it has been publicly confirmed and is ready to be implemented.

Step One: “The Senate Finance Committee will finish work on the marking up of Senator Max Baucus’ (D-MT) conceptual framework for legislation by this Friday.” Progress on this had been stalled and the bill was not passed by the end of last week. FoxNews.com is reporting that the Congressional Budget Office score of the bill will be released later today and a high score may further stall progress on the committee’s Vapor Bill. The Senate Finance Committee’s progress on passing something out of committee – INCOMPLETE.

Step Two: Next, Reid will take the final product of the Senate Finance Committee and merge it with the product of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. CNSNews.com confirmed that “the actual final text of the legislation will be determined by Reid himself, who will consolidate the legislation approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the still-unapproved legislation from the Senate Finance Committee. Reid will be able to draft and insert textual language that was not expressly approved by either committee.” Reid will write the final version of Obamacare to be considered in the Senate with no input from the American people. This is an extremely complex procedure that will not be done in public, or in the form of a hearing, or a public conference committee, and only Reid, other senators chosen by him, and Obama Administration officials will be allowed to read the bill before the Senate debate starts. Merger of the bills – IN PROGRESS.

Step Three: Reid will then move to proceed to H.R. 1586, a bill to impose a tax on bonuses received by certain TARP recipients. A senior aid to Reid confirmed that he will move to proceed to Senate Calendar No. 36, H.R. 1586, or another House-passed tax measure, so the Senate can avoid the constitutional mandate that tax bills originate in the House. Proceed to tax shell of a bill – CONFIRMED.

Step Four: As we previously reported, this scenario would most likely be implemented after the Massachusetts state legislature gave Gov. Deval Patrick the power to appoint a new senator. New Massachusetts Sen. Paul Kirk was sworn in on Sept. 25. Change law of Massachusetts to allow for interim senator – COMPLETE.

The final step in this plan is for the House to take up Obamacare, without amending the legislation, and then sending that bill directly to President Obama for his signature. CNSNews.com previously reported that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer could avoid a House-Senate conference committee and another round of votes in the House and Senate by refusing to amend the legislation. That would also avoid a new round of public scrutiny over the final text of the bill. This scenario is in the process of being implemented and, if successful, it will result in Obamacare being on the President’s desk in time for Thanksgiving with minimal participation of the American public.

The San Francisco Examiner published an editorial today that exposed the fact that the American people can’t see the bill. “When then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama promised not to sign major legislation until it had been posted on the Internet for public reading at least five days, trusting voters took him at his word. Now they know better. Not only is the actual language of what is likely to become the main legislative vehicle for Obama’s signature health care reform not available on the Internet, it hasn’t been given to members of the key Senate committees or the Congressional Budget Office.” The procedure being used, in addition to the exclusion of the American people from the process, should be of grave concern to all who want to participate in democracy and have a say in Congress’ health care debate that will touch one-sixth of the U.S. economy.

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Comments Author: Brian Darling
  • peterwise
    "...without any involvement from the US public" ?
    Actually, I believe we, the US public, elected these legislators to, guess what, legislate. No one elected Heritage or the so-called townhall meetings (where geriatric Republican diehards rail against "socialist" medicine - while at the same time accusing Obama of threatening their medicare).

    Fred Hayak, patron saint of Thatcherism, conceded that some things might be better done by government, and that medical provision might be one. Incidentally, defence is another. As Al Gore might say: an Inconvenient truth?

    Heritage, and the more emotionally distraught far-right, seem to be arguing that "socialized" medicine (aka anything that takes power away from the insurance companies to ration our healthcare) is inherently a bad thing - so bad that there is no good or benign form of "socialized" medical care. In short, that "universal" provision, "socialized" medical provision, whatever, .... is irreemable and unreformable. Fair point if you guys were honest and consistent. But you're not. If you were, you would be calling for the abolition of medicare. Why aren't you? Perhaps its because if you were, what's left of the GoP would vanish down the plug-hole at the hands of the voting seniors of America who quite like their "socialized" medicare. The problem is that you and some of them think socialism is ok for yourselves - but God forbid - for the young working middle-classes and the (undeserving) poor. I presume that the latter, in particular, unlike yourselves, would be corrupted by "socialized" medicine.
  • Verla Parker
    I resent your implication that anyone who is not for everything Obama wants are "Geriatric Republican diehards and emotionaly distraught far-right people". This is the silent majority finally making their voices heard but Congress is not listening. We have sat back too long and had change forced down our throats and now look where we are!! Those elitists in Washington who are supposed to be our "elected officials" should walk in our shoes for two months, live on what we live on, and live within their means as we do for that length of time and then maybe they will have a better concept of what the average American family is and how we survive. Health care needs to be "fixed" but fix what is broken - and a lot of it is not broken. They could start with Tort reform but that will never happen because there's too many lawyers among our "elected officials" and that's how their lawyer friends on the outside and how they will make their living if and when they are no longer a "member of Congress.
  • peterwise
    Well, Verla,

    The first thing I should say is that I understood that the rules of engagement in these discussions were that response was via the reader's comments in the NRO, not directly to my e-mail address. 

    The second thing is that I never ever said that "anyone who is not for everything Obama wants are "Geriatric Republican diehards .......etc.". I for one am not for "everything Obama wants" (For instance, I want us out of Afghanistan, pronto), and while I may be on the verge of becoming a geriatric, I am certainly not a Republican, and much, much, too long in the tooth to be emotionally distraught about politics.

    The majority, silent and otherwise, cast their votes last November for change. They did so, I presume, with just as much consideration of the issues as those who went to the polls 4 years earlier and elected GWB. That is democracy. I also get the impression that the November '08 majority, just like the majority who voted for his predecessor 4 and 8 years earlier, were made up of "average" and "non-average" Americans (We are a rather diverse bunch in our great republic). However, I suspect that you consider that the people who voted for Obama are not "average" Americans like you, or that you think that they were somehow acting irrationally (temporary insanity?) in voting for someone whom you so evidently despise. And who are these political "elites" whom you believe are conspiring to do you down? Are they more or less elite than the class of 4 years ago?

    You say that you have sat back too long and had change forced down your throat. Didn't you vote last November? You did, but for the losing side? Oh, I see? That's the problem with democracy, it sometimes produces a result you don't like. When you say you have "sat back for too long" - what have you in mind - a coup d'etat to restore your right not to have a government you don't like?

    We now seem to have a small enraged and self-pitying minority who think that shadowy undefined "elites" and people who look different from them are engaged in a dark conspiracy to take "their" country away from them.  This small minority is incapable of accepting the decision of the American people, or even the legitimacy of its elected President. Very sad.

    Our economy is certainly struggling (but improving - though the employment-curve is predictably lagging behind the recovery). This isn't our President's fault. The collapse of the financial sector is directly attributable to the deregulation "reforms" introduced by Ronald Regan, and cheered along at the time by the pundits in the National Review. The zillion dollar endless war of choice in Iraq didn't help much either. Healthcare reform will cost a drop in the ocean compared to either of these disasters. Better still, average Americans will no longer have to fear that the misfortune of ill-health will be accompanied by the second misfortune of financial catastrophy (A reality for an increasing number of middleclass working families).

    I would be delighted to read your response in the reader's comments of the NRO. But not in my private e-mail.

    I am obliged.
  • TheConservativeSoldier
    Peter, Is your middle name "un"? These evil scum are not legislating, they are hijackijng and overthrowing. Wake up, Mr. (Un)Wise. In fact, the reform needs to start with the entitlements, Medicare and Medicaid. Who said otherwise? You may now return to bowing before your Chris Matthews portrait.
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