Secondly - The threat of reconciliation has been made by Obama. What is it and when does it come into play?

What is the legislative process and why does Senator Byrd, the author of "reconciliation" oppose Obama's use of same? (compare the above post for Senator Byrd's formal declaration on this point.)

Here is how legislation is suppose to work in the Senate:

A bill is introduced and give an identifying number (i.e., in the House, H.R. #32 or - in the Senate - S.# 12) and goes into the appropriate committee(s) for review and appropriate but initial wording. Many bills, if not most, do not survive the committee process and "die" before ever getting out of committee. A committee can either choose to vote down a particular bill or simply take no action - both considerations resulting in the effectual death of the bill. When "no action" is taken, that is wholly the responsibility of the chairman of the particular committee. He is sole member of the committee deciding on the committee's schedule.

Before a bill moves out of committee, it must go through a review known as "mark up." This is a committee process that reconciles subcommittee reports (if any) and budgetary considerations.
Before any bill goes onto the floor (of the Senate) for debate, a cost assessment be attached to it by the CBO (Congressional Budget Office). This is part of "mark up." If the CBO gives an unfavorable cost analysis, the committee continues to review and amend the bill until the CBO numbers are deemed favorable.

Understand that the CBO is set up to be "non-partisan." Midknight Review that this attempt at independent, non-partisan review is, in fact, a reality - the CBO IS non-partisan. There is a problem, however. The CBO's financial conclusions on any bill sent to its offices for consideration are limited to the information given to it by Congress. The CBO does no investigative work, only analytical. If Congress has "hidden" cost items in other bills, the CBO will not make note of that circumstance. Its only job is to reconcile financial information given to it for a particular bill. In this, the CBO numbers can be manipulated.

How the CBO can be manipulated

In other words, a CBO report will be accurate as to the information given to it but as wrong as wrong can be if cost facts for a specific bill has been hidden in other legislation. As an example, a billion dollars that directly effects the cost of health care has been hidden in the Stimulus bill of February, 2009. When the Dems speak of a $950 billion dollar cost for health care AS VERIFIED BY THE CBO, they are not telling you there is an additional billion hidden the the Stimulus for the creation of a health care panel and its staff. In addition to this, there is another 371 million hidden in a separate bill for a thing called the "doctor's fix." Cuts to the medical community are being replaced in this "doctor fix" -- with the "doctor fix," cuts to the medical community become non-existent.

Another way of manipulating the CBO numbers is to present projected cuts to budget office that it will not make. Part of the 950 billion dollar price tag is the result of a projected 500 billion cut to Medicare. Without those cuts, projected health care costs will be 1.450 billion, just with this single consideration.

Add in the hidden costs of 371 million dollars for the doctor fix and 1.1 trillion dollars the medical panel and we have a cost factor of just under $3 trillion -- not $950 billion. We are being lied to big time.

Once out of committee, a floor debate/discussion begins. This continues until a "cloture" vote is taken which ends debate. Many have heard of "filibuster." It is important to understand that "filibuster" is nothing more than legitimate floor debate/discussion that survives a cloture vote. A successful "Cloture vote" occurs when 60 members of the Senate agree to end discussion. If cloture is unsuccessful, the bill being discussed is said to under "filibuster."

Once debate is closed, the bill receives an up or down vote that demands only 51 votes (in Senate).

If this vote is successful , the bill then goes to the House where it must receive 218 votes (a simple majority).

The bill is written up in Conference Report where the House and Senate versions of the bill are reconciled into a single legal statement. In the House, the Conference Report must be approved, again, by a simple majority vote.

In the Senate, the Committee report must receive two votes, a cloture vote of 60 to cut off discussion and a majority vote for approval.

It is this approved Conference Report that is the bill, proper. This is what is presented to the President and signed into law.

Reconciliation

Following this , the bill may return to the Senate for a vote on certain budgetary considerations that were not finalized in the initial proceedings. This is when "reconciliation" is used -- a vote requiring only 51 votes. Understand that "reconciliation" is used to finalized budgetary amendments on bills ALREADY APPROVED via the Congressional process.

"Reconciliation" is a relatively new process, coming into law in 1980. Its author? Democrat Senator, Robert Byrd. And it is Senator Byrd who opposes Obama's threat to use this procedure to short circuit the legislative process and cram through health care reform.

The Democrat author of "reconciliation" rejects its use in the health care reform. That's good enough for Midkight Review.

Compare our review of the legislative process with the one found here.
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