Moment of Truth on Health Care Reform

The moment of truth is approaching for the Democrats this year on health care reform.  The seven-hour public spectacle of the Health Care Summit is now behind us and it demonstrated that the Republicans are in no mood to compromise.  The Democrats must now go it alone.  There appear to be two paths for the Democrats, each with a similar outcome.  The first path is to get health reform legislation passed any way they can.  They will then face the judgment of the voters for their actions in the November 2010 Congressional elections.  The second path is to fail to get health reform legislation passed.  They will then face the judgment of the voters for their in-action in the November 2010 Congressional elections.

With Republicans committed to their anti-Obama filibuster strategy, there appears to be only the budget reconciliation process left to get Health Care Reform passed and signed by the President this year.  Bear some facts in mind as the Republicans scream about subverting the democratic process by using budget reconciliation.  According to the Congressional Research Service, 17 of the 22 bills passed under reconciliation since the process was created in 1974, have been done so by a Republican-controlled Congress or under a Republican president.  This includes nine times when Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate.

Major health programs have previously been enacted using reconciliation, including COBRA, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.  Republicans used the process in 1996 to pass Welfare Reform, and in 2001 and 2003 to pass President Bush’s tax cuts.

Now that the Republicans are as clearly as possible on record as being unwilling to participate, the question seems to boil down to a fairly simple proposition.  If the Democrats pass Health care Reform, the November Congressional elections will be about defending their work to enable tens of millions of Americans to obtain health insurance, and to rein in the most abusive practices of the health insurance industry.  If they fail to pass Health Care Reform, they will have failed to pass the major legislative initiative they promised to voters during the 2008 elections.  One can see now the Republican cries about “the do nothing Democrat party”.

The choice seems pretty straightforward.