The Republicans have a plan to defeat Democrats in the Senate trying to use reconciliation.
I asked a senior GOP Senate aide to explain the game plan for making this an “extraordinarily difficult exercise.” He said the leadership — Senators Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, Lamar Alexander, etc. — are discussing how to exploit the fact that the reconciliation process allows for an “open-ended amendment process.”
That means there’s no limit on the number of amendments GOPers can offer, the aide said, or on their subject matter. A senior Democratic aide confirmed that this is the case — and that it’s a concern weighing on Dems.
“If you bring a reconciliation bill to the Senate, it’s a free for all of amendments,” the GOP aide said, cautioning that this was only part of the overall strategy. “There is no way to limit the number of amendments that are voted on. You can’t close debate. Democrats will have to vote on every politically perilous amendment that you can possibly think of.”
In practice, the GOP aide said, this means that Republicans can offer amendments that aren’t even “germane” to the health care bill. He said Republicans would also exploit individual initiatives to “fix” the bill in order to force tough votes on Senate Dems.
For instance, the aide said, one of the provisions likely to be fixed in reconciliation is the protections Senator Bill Nelson secured for Floridians enrolled in Medicare advantage. Senate GOPers could “make everybody vote against allowing that same provision to be in place for their own constituents,” the aide says.
Reconciliation is difficult, but doable. So, who will lose if the Republicans try this tactic (besides the American people, that is)? Will it blowback on the Republicans or is this why the Democrats have turned into jelly?