Health Care Bill Does Not Depend on Coakely Race

By Jeralyn, Section Legislation
Posted on Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 07:12:14 PM EST
Tags: health care reform bill, Martha Coakley (all tags)

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Ezra Klein:

I'm fairly optimistic that health-care reform will pass, even if Martha Coakley loses to Scott Brown in Massachusetts. It certainly can pass, as the House could simply approve the Senate bill unchanged and then make modifications through the reconciliation process.

This news article in the Wall St. Journal makes the same points. Jonathan Chait at TNR has three options for the health care bill if Coakley loses.

Jake Tapper and Jonathan Karl at ABC agree. Either the House passes the Senate version so this election won't matter, or they use reconciliation.

The sky is not falling, despite the suggestion to the contrary by the influential Dems runnng to MA this weekend to stump for Coakely. [More...]

One thing: Tapper and Karl write:

One option no one seems to be seriously discussing is delaying Brown being seated, though Republicans have already dispatched legal teams to Massachusetts in anticipation of any possible recount or other legal challenge that could delay Brown’s certification -- if, of course, he wins.

I think it has been discussed, as I mentioned in comments here and here.

Update: Jon Walker at FDL: Reconciliation is, and has been, an option for months.

And yes, both the Senate and House bills are bad. But, they are 90% the same and neither has a public option, neither has what we wanted, so why it is such a calamity if the Senate version passes instead of the House version?

< Another Consequence of the Coakley Race: Dawn Johnsen | Late Night: Desolation Row >

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Health Care Bill Does Not Depend on Coakely Race | 46 comments (46 topical)

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I would beg to differ (5.00 / 4) (#1)
by andgarden on Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 07:29:49 PM EST

I think that there's a strong chance that any Democrat in a conceivably difficult seat in the House will bail on HCR if Coakley loses.

Worse than that (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Big Tent Democrat on Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 07:33:12 PM EST

Coakley losing means the BEST CASE is the lousy Senate bill.


: The Senate bill is the ONLY CASE regardless (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by NealB on Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 09:48:38 PM EST

...if anything is going to pass.
If nothing passes now, Congress will have to get back to it in 2013. Costs aren't going down, Americans aren't getting healthier, the number of uninsured continues to grow. Coakley or not, Senate bill or nothing, like Ezra says in tomorrow's Post: "We'll be back at this again, and soon."

: Indeed (none / 0) (#3)
by andgarden on Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 07:34:16 PM EST

Yep. (5.00 / 3) (#8)
by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 07:49:22 PM EST