The House of Representatives today defeated not one, but two attempts by the Republicans to attack the deem-and-pass maneuver for passing the Senate health care bill through the House, as part of a reconciliation package.
Earlier today, the House rejected a resolution from Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL), who switched from the Democrats to the Republicans in December, to require a direct vote on the Senate bill itself instead of the deem-and-pass procedure. The margin of defeat was 222-203 — which might be reasonably seen as a clue for further votes to come. (Late Update: Technically, this was a vote to go forward on a procedural motion by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), rather than interrupt business and hold a vote on Griffith’s resolution, as Republicans were demanding.)
Just now, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) offered a resolution to disapprove of the Democratic leadership for using the “Slaughter Solution,” as the resolution called it, with a lot of strong language calling the procedure a dishonest attempt to shield members from accountability, and that would damage the House’s reputation.
This resolution was then tabled — that is, set aside and effectively killed — by an even stronger margin of 232-181.
