GOP to use amendments as tactic

Capitol Hill Republicans are crafting hundreds of amendments in hopes of tripping up the health care overhaul if Democrats scrape up the votes needed to resuscitate the long-stalled measure by week’s end.

Even though Democratic leaders on Sunday conceded they didn’t yet have the votes to pass President Obama’s overhaul out of the House, Senate Republicans are threatening to put up hundreds of amendments — one of the few weapons in their limited arsenal — to force Democrats to take difficult votes on politically sensitive subjects.

Amendments don’t have to be relevant to the subject matter under the controversial tactic Democrats are using to avoid a filibuster, so Republicans can force Democrats to take tough votes on any number of matters, such as closing the detention facility for terrorism suspects at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

But they won’t reveal any details ahead of time.

“Discussion about what we might do is something I wouldn’t engage in in any event, because I don’t particularly want to tell the other side, and secondly, we’re optimistic that we may not have to get to that point,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters.

TWT RELATED STORY: Obama humanizes health debate in final push

Democratic leaders said they can’t risk passing any amendments to the bill, even if they agree with them. If they were to pass, it would require more time — and possibly more votes — to marry the Senate legislation with what passed in the House.

Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, who caucuses with Democrats, is considering offering an amendment to establish a public insurance option, his spokesman said. It’s a program that liberal Democrats have embraced and Mr. Sanders believes deserves a vote in the Senate.

Democratic leaders in both chambers pushed the public option aside on the assumption it couldn’t get 60, or even 50, Senate votes. The president did not include it in his plan, either.

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois says Democrats may be asked to vote against issues they feel strongly about, including the public plan.

“We have to tell people, ‘You just have to swallow hard and say that putting an amendment on this is going to stop it or slow it down, and we can’t just let it happen.’ We have to move this forward,” he said.

“We know the Republicans are likely to offer a lot of amendments, and some of them may be appealing to Democrats, but we’re going to have to urge them to stick with the bill.”

Before the bill can get a vote in the Senate, it has to pass the House, where Democrats don’t yet have the 216 votes they need. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he doesn’t have the votes but expects to be successful.

Twelve of those “no” votes come from a group concerned that the Senate bill would federally fund abortions, according to Rep. Bart Stupak, Michigan Democrat. But House leaders signaled last week that there is no way to change the abortion language through reconciliation and that they intend to work around the 12. Other Democrats questioned whether the dozen “no” votes would hold.

Other rank-and-file Democrats have expressed concern that the Senate bill doesn’t have as extensive reforms in the way hospitals and other service providers are reimbursed for treating Medicare patients. The Senate bill also doesn’t have as generous subsidies to help the poor and middle class purchase insurance.

Story Continues →