Less than a year ago, Baucus and Conrad endorsed reconciliation for health care reform

[babylonsister]

http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/8/21/194145/076

Baucus and Conrad endorsed reconciliation for health care reform

by ryeland, Fri Aug 21, 2009 at 07:41:45 PM EST


I was just re-reading a diary I wrote last February predicting that Democrats would need to use reconciliation to pass health care reform, and noticed an interesting quote from Max Baucus.

Just after last November's election, Ezra Klein posted a profile of Max Baucus that included this discussion of Budget Reconciliation:

...Congress in the Bush years normalized the procedure, using it for everything from tax cuts to drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. But reconciliation remains an aggressive tool for something as controversial as health-care reform. (It's also an uncertain one: Republican opponents could use the rule that bears Byrd's name to mount a parliamentary challenge.) So I ask Baucus whether he could imagine running health care through the budget-reconciliation process. "Yes, I can," he says without hesitation. "The goal here is to get results. And not just results for the sake of results but principled results. And that means working with the other side where you get principled results and means maybe going to reconciliation to get principled results."

Interesting. But that was before Baucus put together the Gang of Six, the group of Conservadems and Republicans who are trying to push through the health insurance industry's version of health care reform. Once that process had started, Baucus changed his tune. From April 2009:

Baucus, meanwhile, did indicate that he is unlikely to use "reconciliation" to push a health-care reform bill through the Senate.

<...>

Sen. Baucus said he did not want to use this process to overcome Republican opposition because it would only thwart bipartisan negotiation.

"I am not in favor of reconciliation; I think it gets in the way," Baucus said. "If we jam something down somebody's throat it's not sustainable, and I want something that's sustainable, that's going to last.

"My goal has always been to talk to Republicans and say `Hey, we don't have to do this (resolution) if we work together.'"

And how about Kent Conrad? Back in March, Conrad stated that he would rather not use Budget Reconciliation for health care reform, but felt it was appropriate if necessary:

KENT CONRAD: RECONCILIATION IS NOT OFF THE TABLE.

"One thing I've said to colleagues is the Budget Act contemplates a second budget resolution with only 10 hours {of debate} on the floor," Conrad continued. "If it proved absolutely essential, if there was no Republican cooperation on writing major health reform, you could write a second resolution. It would only take a day on the floor and you could include reconciliation instructions there."

As health care legislation comes together over the next few weeks or months, it's important to remember that Max Baucus and Kent Conrad have no problem with Budget Reconciliation in principle. If they say they do, let's remember who they're speaking for now -- the health insurance industry.

Finally, if you have any doubts about the intentions of Max Baucus, consider the Gang of Seven. And, no, I don't mean the Gang of Six. Prior to a month ago, when Orrin Hatch abruptly left negotiations, Max Baucus' bipartisan health care reform group consisted of four Republicans and three Democrats. How special.