Unconstitutional "Deem & Pass" Dead

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) won't use the tactic of deem and pass for healthcare reform.

Instead there will be two separate votes, one on the Senate bill and one on the reconciliation bill.

Engel said that Pelosi told a whip meeting Saturday that members should be proud of their "yes" vote because it is as historic as the social security vote.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MGY3MTRiNGI3NjMwMmIxOTllY2E0ZDYyMWQyY2JhZDA

In case you're unfamiliar with the process, here's what it all means:

Tomorrow at 1:00PM EST, the House will take two separate Roll Call votes on two separate bills: the Senate bill, which has already passed the Senate, and the Reconcilliation bill, which has not passed the Senate but fixes the other bill.

If passed, the Senate bill will go to the President's desk to sign and become law.

The reconcilliation bill will go to the Senate in order to be possibly passed. However, a reconcilliation bill that began in the House has not passed in over 30 years. There is no reason for the Senate to bring that bill to a vote, especially with the public perception of the reconcilliation process.

Since the Democratic leadership has called for two separate votes for the bill rather than attempting to sneak it by through Deem and Pass, there are two possibilities:
1) The Democratic leadership realized the Deem & Pass process was far too controversial to attempt, even in the case that the vote fails. In order to save political face & credibility, as well as avoid the scores of Constitutional lawyers lined up with lawsuits to challenge the bill's legitimacy, they chose to actually vote on the bills.
2) They have the votes, and they see no reason to attempt to disguise the vote any longer.

I'm going with #2. Fox's estimated count stands at 217-214 in favor of the bill tomorrow - it needs 216 to pass.