Reply #33: I have already explained it to you once

[bain_sidhe]

But you apparently didn't read my reply to your post a few days ago:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=140078&mesg_id=142465

To make it easy on you, I'll repeat myself:

The confusion comes from both processes using the word "reconcile."

Reconciling two bills, one passed by the House, and one passed by the Senate, is done by a Conference Committee which reports out a "reconciled" bill, and that's what you describe. Although you describe it incorrectly. The Conference Report (reconciled bill) CAN be filibustered.

What they're talking about is a *budget* reconciliation. This can only be done if a line in the actual budget bill authorized it. Luckily, the Budget bill passed by the Dems DOES have such an authorization. It can only pertain to budget items, such as taxes and spending, not regulations and setting up new programs and such. *THAT'S* the kind of "reconciliation bill" that only requires 50+1 votes to pass, because it cannot be filibustered.

What they're talking about here is passing the Senate bill as-is, then doing a separate bill to deal with the tax/payment issues under the "budget reconciliation" authority granted in this year's Budget bill.

And I'll add:

They decided against setting up a conference committee on the two different versions of the Health Care bill, going for the "ping-pong" instead. There won't BE a conference committee or *that* type of "reconciliation" for the health care bill. The Senate bill was to be the "ping." The House was supposed to modify it, which would be the "pong." That bill would then go back to the Senate for a vote. They're now scrapping the "ping-pong" strategy, because the modified bill can, and will, be filibustered.

Now they're talking about passing the Senate bill as is, which would make it the law when Obama signs it. Then the House would write a new, separate bill under the Reconciliation Instruction passed in the Budget, to "fix" the problems with the Senate bill, and send it to the Senate. That bill, because it's written persuant to a Reconciliation Instruction, can't be filibustered, and would require only 51 votes. But now, the Senate can't or won't guarantee that they'll have 51 votes to pass that separate "fix" bill. So, I'd suggest that they pass the "budget reconciliation" bill FIRST, and see if the Senate passes it, before they pass the Senate's version of the health care bill.