March 15th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, parliamentarian Alan Frumin is getting a great deal of attention of late, with literally the fate of the country at stake on how he rules on provisions within the Democrats healthcare reconciliation package.  Republicans are expected to show a united front of opposition to ObamaCare and will vote as a block to support every possible point-of-order against the bill.

Banking Committee chairman Dodd is expected to unveil his financial reform bill this afternoon, a package some expect to create concerns on both sides of the aisle. One provision rumored to be included that’s certain to anger conservatives is the creation of the much maligned consumer financial protection agency within the Federal Reserve.

Bottom Line: While there will undoubtedly be a great struggle against the reconciliation bill in the Senate, if it gets to that point, the reality will be that the bulk of ObamaCare will have already passed the House and on its way to Obama’s desk. Defeating reconciliation in the Senate will only alter ObamaCare, not defeat it. Thus, House Dems must be made to realize any deals they make trading their vote for reconciliation provisions may not come to fruition.

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March 12th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, the Parliamentarian, responding to questions posed by Republican leadership, has ruled that Obama must sign the Senate-passed healthcare bill (if it were to pass the House) before the Senate can vote on the “side-car” reconciliation bill.  This would effectively kill the “Slaughter Solution” posed recently that would “deem” the Senate-bill passed and move the reconciliation bill to the Senate for action.

It also significantly complicates Pelosi’s efforts to lock down wavering Democrats, particularly those with abortion funding concerns, since there is now no way to ensure that any “fix” to the Senate-bill would be enacted before the Senate-bill is signed into law. There is deep mistrust of the Senate among House Democrats this Congress, so this development makes it even more difficult to sway skeptical Dems. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a former House member, referencing this skepticism, stated, “They just need to trust that we’ll do it right and I think enough of us talking to them will help them to do that.”

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