The three Democrats and three Republicans negotiating health care reform legislation in the Senate Finance Committee convened on a conference call last night–and from all accounts, it seems as if they’re ignoring, at least for now, Majority Leader Harry Reid’s threat that he’ll break health care reform legislation into parts and pass some of them through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process.
According to the Washington Post, one participant said the group reached a consensus to “to take your time to get it right,” and to lower the already cut-rate cost of their bill below $900 billion.
“Our discussion included an increased emphasis on affordability and reducing costs, and our efforts moving forward will reflect that focus. We have come a long way, will continue our work throughout August and plan to meet again before the Senate returns in September,” said Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus in a statement after the call. The negotiators have no plans to convene again until a week before the Senate comes back into session in September.
The implication is pretty clear: the group is dismissing the threat that they’ll be rolled by leadership–at least in public. If leadership is serious, though, the group ought to be getting down to business soon. The deadline for passing a reconciliation bill is October 15, and if an acceptable product doesn’t emerge from the Finance Committee soon, then many of the measures the gang of six is currently debating could find their way into the budget bill.
