2010-03-18

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives hope to have vote on a final health reform bill this Sunday or early next week. It remains unclear, however, as to whether House Democrats will be able to get the 216 votes necessary to pass health reform. No Republicans are expected to support passage of the bill and Democratic leaders do not currently have the votes necessary to ensure passage. Consequently, Democratic leaders are trying to win over some of the 39 members of their caucus who voted against the House-passed health-care overhaul (HR 3962) that passed on a 220-215 vote in November. They also need to retain the support of a bloc of anti-abortion Democrats who supported the bill only after adoption of an amendment offered by Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI). Some other Democrats who backed the House bill have also been undecided about whether to accept the Senate-passed bill (HR 3590) as modified by a separate, yet-to-be-unveiled "corrections" or budget reconciliation bill making changes in the Senate language. Most of the wavering Democrats represent districts carried by Republican presidential nominee John McCain in 2008. With all 178 House Republicans expected to vote against the final health-care legislation, 38 or more "no" votes could result in a major defeat for President Obama and the Democratic congressional leadership.

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