Since Democrats can’t pass their bill on the merits – despite a 40 seat majority in the House – they are resorting to a backdoor scheme, dubbed the “Slaughter Solution.”  As the Washington Post reported this morning, though, House Republicans aren’t willing to let this trick pass without a fight:

Republicans sought to block Democrats’ path.  Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.), who switched political parties in December, plans to introduce a resolution that would compel the Democrats to conduct a regular vote.  Outside the Capitol, hundreds of conservative activists affiliated with the ‘tea party’ movement gathered to protest the health-care legislation.

Newspapers continue to weigh in against both the substance of the Democrats’ government takeover of health care as well as the backdoor tricks the Democrats are employing:

The Denver Post: “A New Low for Health Care Bill?“:

The U.S. Constitution is clear: For a bill to become law, it must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  If your side lacks the requisite votes, your agenda doesn’t pass.  Yet House Democrats are weighing use of a so-called ‘self-executing rule’ to pass - without actually voting on - the health care bill the Senate squeaked through on Christmas Eve. A leading legal scholar says such a move is unconstitutional. We think, at the very least, that it’s an affront to our representative form of democracy.

Albuquerque Journal: “Don’t Bend the Rules Just To Pass Any Bill“:

If the Senate health care bill is such a good plan, why are President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid resorting to arcane, secretive - and seemingly desperate - tactics to ram it through Congress?  Perhaps it’s because 68 percent of Americans don’t think it is the right plan. Even many people who want changes in health care and better insurance protections for consumers don’t think the trillion dollar measure that includes a massive expansion of Medicaid - a government welfare program - is the way to go.

The Chicago Tribune: “A Hazardous Vote“:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is stampeding Democrats to push through a health care reform package by the end of the week. What’s in it? Lawmakers don’t actually know yet. How much will it cost? They don’t know that either. The Congressional Budget Office is still calculating.  This whole thing has become such a politically dangerous mess that Pelosi is cooking up a way for her House members to avoid full responsibility for it. The latest: House members wouldn’t vote on the Senate health care bill. The House would vote on changes in that Senate bill and the Senate bill would then be deemed to have passed.

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The Democrats plan to use a process called reconciliation to pass their health care reform package. They will use the Senate-passed bill as the base bill and draft a separate reconciliation bill and “fix” parts of the Senate bill to appease certain House Members. The Senate bill does not have enough support in the House to pass, so Democrat leadership will attempt to avoid putting it on the floor for an “up or down” vote. They must comply with requirements that the Senate bill first pass before consideration of the reconciliation bill occurs. To do this, Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter has proposed including language in a procedural rule bill that would deem the Senate bill passed once the rule vote passed (the “Slaughter Solution”).

It’s no wonder the American public is outraged and does not trust Washington. A new poll released today by the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest revealed that six in ten Americans believe that House Democrats’ “Slaughter Solution” to avoid a vote on the Senate-passed bill is “unfair.” It is my hope that House Democrats will avoid procedural tricks to avoid real votes on real issues.

The above poll shows significant opposition to the substance of the Democrat bills as well. Significant majorities oppose raising taxes and cutting Medicare benefits to pay for new insurance subsidies (76%), having government panels recommend medical procedures (87%), and government involvement in deciding the “acceptable” level of health coverage (81%).

The poll further revealed support for various Republican solutions, such as allowing individuals to buy insurance across state lines (84%), letting people save for health needs through tax-free Health Savings Accounts (78%), and allowing premium discounts for individuals who participate in healthy behaviors (85%).

It is my hope that the House Leadership will slow down, allow for a fair “up or down” on the Senate health care bill and consider alternative solutions that will improve, not overhaul, our health care system. Sarah Beatty-Senior Legislative Assistant