One more tidbit from Senator Conrad's conference call. According to Conrad, the reconciliation process is structured such that if you included instructions on more than one priority -- say, both cap and trade and health reform, or cap and trade and health reform and education -- "you'd have to write the legislation as one bill." The Committee reports assigned by the reconciliation instructions would be returned to the Budget Committee, stapled together into an omnibus package, and go to the floor of the Senate as a single entity. And if you think health reform will be hard, imagine piling it on top of cap and trade and education.
WILL HEALTH REFORM, CAP AND TRADE, AND EDUCATION ALL HAPPEN IN ONE BILL?
TAP depends on your support
We’ve said it before: The greatest threat to democracy from the media isn’t disinformation, it’s the paywall. When you support The American Prospect, you’re supporting fellow readers who aren’t able to give, and countering the class system for information. Please, become a member, or make a one-time donation, today. Thank you!