TheHill: easy post? Dems threaten to use 51-vote tactic for health bill if they lose in Mass

[ FYI, this means that electing Brown over Coakley will not in fact stop the HC bill, as Reid has other ways to pass it. ]

Democrats are prepared to use a budgetary procedure to pass healthcare reform legislation if they lose a key Senate race on Tuesday, a House leader said this weekend.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the assistant to the Speaker and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said using budget reconciliation is "an option" to pass a healthcare bill.

"Even before Massachusetts and that race was on the radar screen, we prepared for the process of using reconciliation," Van Hollen said during an appearance on Bloomberg television over the weekend.

Budget reconciliation is a procedural rule allowing a bill to pass the Senate with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes usually needed to end debate on any given piece of legislation.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/76495-dems-threaten-reconciliation-for-health-bill-if-they-lose-in-mass#thecomments-form-message

Easy post? No registration requested, form works quickly, but 'comment will be reviewed.'