As I noted yesterday, the House Committee on Rules still has not scheduled a time for a mark-up on the health care reform bill. They have to pass the bill before it goes to floor for debate, and the leadership won't send a bill to the floor until they believe they have the votes for passage. So, this delay means they are not yet convinced they have the votes.
The reason for this, unsurprisingly, remains Bart Stupak. He is, as Natasha described this morning, working to block the entire bill unless none of the insurance options in the new health care exchanges cover abortion procedures. This is even though there is already a ban on federal funding for abortion in the bill, and in pre-existing federal law. Using an alliance of Republicans, anti-choice Democrats, and Democrats who oppose the health care bill for other reasons, Stupak is claiming that he has enough votes to block the bill for reaching the floor (though the necessary "motion to recommit" vote), unless his demands are met.
As Natasha also mentioned this morning, the Democratic leadership does not actually know if Stupak has the votes or not, since no formal whip question around Stupak's demands has been completed. However, a Capitol Hill source confirmed to Natasha that they are suspicious that he has the votes. As such, they are currently whipping to see if a new compromise, which appears to re-ban something that was already banned, has enough votes to reach the floor:
Democratic House leaders have developed a compromise they hope will resolve an intra-caucus dispute about whether the health bill allows tax dollars to subsidize abortions, and they're surveying abortion opponents in the caucus to gauge support.
The language is not yet publicly available, but lawmakers familiar with it say it strengthens an existing provision intended to prevent abortion from getting any federal dollars.(...)
Leaders are hoping to start debate Friday or Saturday, and say there will definitely be a vote before Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
Lawmakers have said the abortion compromise may not be included in the final version of the bill to be released as soon as today, called the "managers amendment." Instead it may be included in the "rule" which is done the day before the vote. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said today he did not consider that a violation of his pledge to have the bill language available for three days before a vote.
Even though the whip is ongoing, a list I have obtained indicates that there are only 29 Democrats who are with Stupak, 28 of whom are men:
Altmire; Barrow; Boren; Bright; Carney; Childers; Costello; Dahlkemper; A. Davis; L. Davis; Driehaus; Griffith; Holden; Kildee; Kratovil (conflicting reports); Lipinski; Marshall; Matheson; McIntyre; Melancon; McMahon; Mollohan; Oberstar; Peterson; Rahall; Ross; Shuler; Tanner; Taylor
This list only makes 30 (including Stupak himself), and 39 Democrats are required to join with every Republican to block the bill from reaching the floor. As such, Stupak does not have the votes to stop the bill on his own. Then again, it is possible there are enough Progressives--and other Democratic members--upset with the bill for other reasons prevent debate from going forward. At this point, it would only take nine such Democrats to join with Republicans and with this group, and block the whole thing.
There is a very narrow margin for the health care bill in the House. However, while most national news stories continue to focus on the cost of the bill or on the public option, the major sticking point for conservative Democrats is actually reproductive rights. Even under the widest Democratic majority in three decades, they are still attempting--and close to succeeding--in actually pushing reproductive rights backward.
Update: Debcoop confirms with McMahon's office that he is not supporting Stupak's amendment, although she did not ask McMahon's office about the motion to recommit. |
