Is Pelosi's 'Deem and Pass' Healthcare Reform Strategy Acceptable?

By U.S. News Staff

March 16, 2010 RSS Feed Print

According to the Washington Post, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi now plans to use the "deem and pass" strategy to push through the Senate's healthcare reform bill. The strategy would ask for a House vote on a number of reconciliation fixes to the bill. A passing vote on the reconciliation package--which has been more popular among House members than the bill itself--would then "deem" the Senate bill passed, even without a direct vote on the actual legislation. Critics like Thomas Jefferson Street blogger Peter Roff question the legitimacy of the process. Bloleague Robert Schlesinger thinks it's just silly. Pelosi, however, stands behind the strategy, intent on following through with the Obama administration's promise for healthcare reform.

What do you think? Is "deem and pass" the right strategy? Take our poll and post your thoughts below.

Should Pelosi Use the "Deem and Pass Strategy" for Health Reform?

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The "deem and pass" rule is akin to a poison pill - we'll consider this ugly thing passed - it's so ugly that the Senate will have to pass our amendments to the bill to fix it.

So, if the Senate doesn't pass the amendments to the bill, does the "deem and pass" stand - since it's language is in the failed bill? If it does, it will be interesting to have a landmark bill that supposedly passed, without really doing having a vote to do so.

Great way to run a country!

Stephen Shaffer of UT 12:14PM March 20, 2010

It is very easy for me, we cannot afford this. We are bankrupt now. We owe other countries but still people want more so called rights. Government in this country was designed not to have too much control over us. yet now we expect them to control everything. I agree that we need to consider the problems with companies out of control, but I believe it is up to the people not to support those companies. If we give our freedoms up for more so called rights, we will be very sorry in the end. Socialism demands the lose ofr freedom by people. And why hate the wealthy. don't we all want to be successful. These people give us jobs and in a free country you have the ability to grow financially. If we give all this control to government,

they will control who gets the wealth. Do you believe they are so concerned about the poor and not themselves. Don't be fooled. I prefer to be free and make my own way. The Gov. could set fair rules of business without taking over. It is obvious this administration is interested in social control.

Greg Lunz of MD 10:12PM March 19, 2010

Pelosi's an idiot! They are all idiots!

What the heck is going on with all of this? They are running

us into the ground.

Why cant they ask - got that? ASK the american people what they

want. There are so many people out of work with nothing looking

very well for that to end soon, companies are NOT hiring.

Those senators are all set for their lives, they all will get

great pensions, full GOOD health care for the rest of their lives and dont or wont have to worry about where their next

paycheck comes from. Let me trade positions with any one of them

and give them a feel of whats really going on. Unemployment,

nothing that I can see in the future thats going to end this

situation I and thousands upon thousands of other "average"

american's are in this boat and its getting harder & harder

to keep it afloat.

Does it matter what kind of health insurance plan they will

have for all of us when so many people are out of work and

cannot afford insurance at all?

I think they are spinning their wheels and should be concentrating on getting people back to work with real

wages, wages that we can actually live on.

If they put half the effort they have used on this health

reform bill to get people back to work we might actually be

seeing the economy improve for us regular joe's. They have

completely forgotten about us regular people. If we dont have

a job we cant afford to buy insurance can we?

L of ID 5:12PM March 18, 2010

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