Conrad: Reconciliation Is Very Limited

Wow, what a downer for Democrats. Sen. Kent Conrad, who is Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee (which is responsible for reconciliation if they go that route) said the following:

“…reconciliation cannot be used to pass comprehensive health care reform. It won’t work. It won’t work because it was never designed for that kind of significant legislation. It was designed for deficit reduction… The major package of health care reform cannot move through the reconciliation process. It will not work… It will not work because of the Byrd rule which says anything that doesn’t score for budget purposes has to be eliminated. That would eliminate all the delivery system reform, all the insurance market reform, all of those things the experts tell us are really the most important parts of this bill. The only possible role that I can see for reconciliation would be make modest changes in the major package to improve affordability, to deal with what share of Medicaid expansion the federal government pays, those kinds of issues, which is the traditional role for reconciliation in health care.”

Ouch.

Conrad defended the possible use of reconciliation by saying that the procedure would only be used for “minor” issues with the bill. He stated it could not be used for the main package, but certain ‘sidecar’ issues, as he calls it. In other words, it could focus on cost issues and budgetary measures, which is what reconciliation is for.

However, that means that either the Senate or the House has the pass the other’s bill…and then use reconciliation to smooth the edges. However, how does that resolve abortion? Or the public option? Or other divisive issues?

Frankly, it does not. And thus, the major issues that prevented Democrats from passing health care last year remain, with or without reconciliation.