Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) told Fox News this morning that the Senate should only pass health care legislation if it can get 70 or 80 votes.
He also called reconciliation — a process by which Democrats could pass legislation with a simple majority — a “trick.”
“If you’re gonna pass something that’s gonna impact everyone in this country personally, their own personal health care, and impact one sixth of the economy, you ought to get something like this passed with 70 or 80 votes in the Senate,” he said. “That’s the way you get the American people to say, yes, this must be a good idea.'”
Under reconciliation, which is a filibuster-proof process used for budgetary matters, Democrats could pass legislation with only 51 votes. Barrasso dismissed it as a “trick.”
“The whole process, legislatively, is to get around the rules,” he said.
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Barrasso also repeated a talking point from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, questioning why President Obama is releasing his health care proposal before the bipartisan health care summit scheduled for Thursday. Barrasso said, however, that he will attend the summit if he’s invited.
