House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this about the health care bill reconciliation process:
“There has never been a more open process for any legislation,” Pelosi said at a press conference.
Her shameful statement is followed by the news that, in fact, the final bill will be put together in secret, out of the eyes of the American public. From politico.com (emphasis is mine)
The decision means that the White House, Senate Majority Harry Reid, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will attempt to reach an agreement through private negotiations with key lawmakers. Once a deal is struck, the bill will go back to the House for passage, then to the Senate and onto to the president’s desk – a legislative path that has been described as “ping pong.”
The decision to bypass the conference committee, which the aides said came during an Oval Office meeting Tuesday, formalized what many Democrats had long known: If they have any hope of passing the health care bill quickly, they would need to circumvent the normal order of business.
Is it any wonder that well known, once powerful Democrats are running for the hills?
