03/12/2010 10:22:54 AM EST
Reconciliation To Begin Monday - And Other News
posted by HistoryByDay
Final CBO Scoring Is In
WASHINGTON -- Congressional budget referees say Senate legislation that's now the foundation for President Barack Obama's health care plan would cut the federal deficit by $118 billion over 10 years.
The Congressional Budget Office says the $875 billion, 10-year plan would provide coverage to 31 million people who'd otherwise be uninsured. And it says the cost would be more than offset in savings from changes in Medicare and other programs.
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Reconcilation To Begin Monday
A Democratic leadership source told CNN Radio that the legislative push begins Monday when the House Budget Committee is expected to vote on a key procedural piece of the health care package.
That measure will not contain new policy language, but it ignites the process, known as reconciliation, that Democrats are using to pass and change the Senate health care bill.
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Senate Bill Doesn't Have To Become Law First; From CQ.com:
Republican aides, reporting the decision, interpreted it to mean the House would have to clear the Senate bill and President Obama would have to sign it before the reconciliation bill could be passed. House leaders had been hoping that the two bills could be passed almost simultaneously.
The parliamentarian, however, later reportedly clarified his position to Senate aides, saying that the reconciliation bill could be written in a way that would not require Obama to sign the Senate bill into law before the reconciliation bill is voted on.
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Obama To Delay Oversees Trip To Finish Health Care
President Obama is pushing back his trip to Asia, previously planned for March 18, by three days in order to focus on health care.
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This is it. The final leg on this bill begins Monday and will hopefully end in about 10 days. What a big week next week will be.
