To: joefromspringfield who wrote (112039 ) 9/6/2011 4:48:18 PM From: Paul V. Respond to Joe, good points. The only concern for the Senators, what decisions they take has the tendencies to cut both ways, with positive and negative consequences. As we have learned those not in power want to have some degree of control over those in power and visa versa. Knowing various Legislators, and their personalities I can not think at the present time that the Republicans would want to give up the minority power they now have as the Senate minority. four alternatives: 1. Reconciliation Because it's important for Congress to pass a budget in order to keep the federal government running, the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act allows for a special procedure called "reconciliation" to move a bill forward without it being subjected to a filibuster. In that case, a simple majority of 51 senators is all that would be needed for passage. Over the years, the majority party has used reconciliation to pass controversial legislation that otherwise might have fallen to a filibuster. In keeping with that tradition, Democrats have considered using the procedure to advance their health care bill in the Senate. The problem? An obscure rule named for Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.), which requires that bills and amendments considered under reconciliation directly apply to the budget. In the case of health care reform, large swaths of the bill do relate to federal spending, but the bill might have to be broken in two in order to be considered under the reconciliation process. And though his opinion is nonbinding, Democrats would still probably need political cover in the form of support from the Senate Parliamentarian before using the procedure to pass health care reform. In other words we could have a mess!!! The reconciliation process would break the tradition that has been established in the Senate. With the polarized positions in Congress all hell could break loose even to the point of shutting down the government - then we would really have a financial crisis. This would be true of the nuclear option and locking the doors as well. The last option of 67 votes on anything in the Senate would be next to impossible.
