Micheal E. Hammond, former General Counsel of the U.S. Senate Steering Committee, is one of the preeminent experts on U.S. Senate procedure. Here is what he says about passing ObamaCare via reconciliation.
February 22, 2010, 10:00 a.m. EST
MEMORANDUM
FROM: Michael Hammond
RE: New Obama Health Care Draft
As of this hour, there is an 11-page document on the White House web site outlining Obama’s newest version of ObamaCare. Before laying out a summary of the most recent Obama proposal, I would like to make a couple preliminary points:
PRELIMINARY POINT #1:
OBAMACARE CANNOT BE PASSED THROUGH RECONCILIATION
There are several reasons for this:
First, you cannot get the bill through the House without “fixing” abortion, and you cannot do abortion on reconciliation in the Senate.
Cao will not be the deciding vote. This means that, if absolutely nothing has changed, the current House vote count on the House bill is 217-216. But things have changed:
- Public support for ObamaCare has continued to sink through the floor.
- Between 10 and 12 “yes” votes would vote against the Senate bill based on its abortion language.
- Many House Democrats are still uncomfortable about the “Cadillac tax.”
But, under the Byrd Rule (which prohibits reconciliation language with budgetary implications which are only ancillary to the policy ramifications), you can’t fix abortion on reconciliation. We have asked Senate parliamentarian Alan Frumin concerning our ability to offer abortion amendments to reconciliation, and he has adamantly stood by the position that this is not allowed. And, to get around the Byrd Rule, the Senate requires 60 votes. Without an abortion “fix,” this bill cannot pass the House.
Furthermore, the new provision to allow the government to set insurance rates is also a violation of the Byrd Rule.
Also, the $60 billion union “fix” requires a $62 billion offset. And the additional substantial costs of Obama’s proposal would also have to be offset. Assuming they take the entire $2.5 trillion package and pass the whole thing through reconciliation, they can pay for some of these costs with the phony $124 billion budget “surplus” contained in the Senate-passed bill. The downside of this is that the insurance “reforms” (preexisting conditions, limits on co-payments, etc.) which form the core of the bill will be thrown out under the Byrd Rule.
But, assuming they are using reconciliation for nothing more than a “fix,” they have to come up with a new set of offsets. The offsets on the Senate bill are unavailable to them. And it’s not like it has been easy to come up with the offsets they have.
p>
In order to comply with the 1974 Act, these offsets would have to make the reconciliation bill compliant with the reconciliation instructions during the first five-year window and revenue-neutral in every year thereafter. Thus far, NO VERSION OF THE LEGISLATION HAS BEEN ABLE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT, EVEN USING THE PHONY ACCOUNTING GIMMICKS.
Incidentally, Pelosi is now demanding that the Senate act on reconciliation before House members are forced to put their necks on the line again. But a Senate-initiated tax bill is unconstitutional, and would be “blue slipped” in the House.
Incidentally, the 1974 Act allows an unlimited number of amendments to be offered, without debate, at the end of the 20-hour statutory time for debate. My recommendation would be that, if Senate Democrats decide to invoke the “nuclear option” and throw out the Senate rules in order to do reconciliation, that the first ten amendments be the pro-gun agenda.
Finally, the Senate has failed to comply with the reconciliation instructions that mandated reporting by October 15. And, although they may get a pass on this, the production of a new concurrent budget resolution will extinguish this possibility unequivocally.
PRELIMIARY POINT #2:
What bothered the American people, as much as anything, was the perception that the Senate’s ObamaCare bill was produced by fraud, secrecy, corruption, bribery, and extortion. Rather than improve the process, the White House has actually made it more corrupt by:
- threatening to fraudulently take a process restricted SOLELY to deficit reduction and using it to pass the biggest deficit engine in human history; and
- refusing to release legislative language, in the hope that controversies can be kept secret.
there is more to the story here…REDSTATE website
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Virtue and Morality is the Answer to Washington Corruption
Mar 29
Posted by admin in Abuse of Power, Commentary, Corrupt Associations | No Comments
We need only go back and read the historical writings of our founding fathers to grasp the solution to our current deficit of leadership in Washington. The times we are living today are in many ways exactly the same as they were when these men risked everything for liberty. They could not have done it without deep faith and belief in Natural Law. The underlying basis of which is Virtue and Morality from which come Truth, Honor and Humility; none of which exists in Washington today.
In order for a free people to self-govern, they must be virtuous and moral. Without these traits as a people, they will sink into despotism.
Samuel Adams pointed out a sobering fact concerning our political survival as a free people when he said:
(emphasis added)
He then went on to say that public officials should not be chosen if they are lacking in experience, training, proven virtue, and demonstrated wisdom. He said the task of the electorate is to choose those whose “fidelity has been tried in the nicest and tenderest manner, and has been ever firm and unshaken.”
If we look at our current leadership, we have chosen a President who is neither virtuous or moral. He is, at a minimum, a socialist and more likely a communist. Moreover, it is highly likely that he is neither a Natural Born Citizen nor a legal Naturalized Citizen of the United States. This is a very serious matter that has been utterly ignored by the courts and the press in order to perpetrate a fraud on the American People. It is the highest treason that our founding fathers would never have tolerated. They took great care and consideration to be certain that a leader with dual loyalties could never hold the highest office in the land.
Indeed, our Congressional leadership is worse! These people were “hired” by us to represent us and what have they done? They have defrauded the very people that elected them by allowing an unqualified candidate to run for and get elected to the Presidency. What immoral cowards! Yet, we the people have failed ourselves in choosing people of such low mortality to begin with. We deserve to suffer the consequences of our actions. Our actions are representative of the low moral character that we, as a nation, have sunk to and this has been driven by the long term undermining of education in America. In our complacency, we have allowed a liberal takeover of education which in turn is indoctrinating our children against the very Constitution that protects them.
So, what do we do? We seek out leaders of High Virtue and Morality!
Below is letter from Eugene DiSimone, Candidate for Governor of Nevada to James Gibbons, Governor of the State of Nevada. In no uncertain terms, he is spelling out all that is wrong with the current deficit of virtue and morality with the current President and Congress. The call is there for Governor Gibbons to proceed with Quo Worranto proceedings against the President and redress for the seizure of States rights with the Healthcare Bill. Each branch of government have usurped power from the states and claimed it for themselves. Clearly in violation of the Constitution.
Mr. Eugene “Gino” DiSimone
Candidate, Governor of Nevada 2010
17810 Thunder River Dr.
Reno, NV 89508
March 27, 2010
Mr. James A. Gibbons
Governor State of Nevada
101 N. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701
Dear Governor Gibbons:
I adjure you, nay, I require you, as the duly elected Governor of my State exercising the duty of Commander in Chief of Nevada, to immediately take action to protect my freedom, liberty, property and wealth, as your duty utterly requires. To this end I require you file a legal challenge, Quo Warranto (D.C. Statute 35 §16-3501), on the authority of BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA II, a/k/a BARRY SOETORO requiring proof that he is eligible to be President of the United States of America, and he has the constitutional authority to act as President of the United States and to execute the Health Care Bill. This Bill is a direct threat to my freedom, liberty, wealth and property. It threatens nearly every citizen of Nevada and nearly every business of Nevada as it will forcefully extract, under duress, my/our wealth and property. This is an acute direct security threat and I require swift aggressive intervention for assurances of security from my Commander in Chief of this great State of Nevada.
By virtue of this acute security threat to me and Nevada citizenry and businesses, as Commander in Chief, it is your solemn sworn duty to protect me/us from acute security threats, particularly threats to my freedoms, liberties, health, wealth and property. To this end I demand you exercise your sworn duty to protect us with expediency as follows:
Sincerely,
Gino DiSimone
1-775-544-2765
Copyright © 2010 by Gino DiSimone