I must say that I was excited about the prospect of using the reconciliation process to push through a robust health care bill without having to worry about Lieberman, Nelson, etc, etc.
Then I read a very informative article about the process of reconciliation and my heart sunk way down into the pit of my stomach.
Here is an excerpt from the article by Jeff Davis over at "The New Republic".
But the problems with reconciliation are legion. The restrictions laid down by the Budget Act, the annual budget resolution, and the Senate’s "Byrd Rule" prohibiting non-budgetary items combine to make Alan Frumin, the Senate Parliamentarian, the de facto editor of a reconciliation bill. In particular, he determines which parts of the bill have to be jettisoned in order to keep the bill qualified for the 51-vote fast-track instead of the 60-vote cloture process, and he determines which amendments to the bill require a simple majority for passage and which require a 60-vote supermajority.
The process is not as quick as some have made it out to be. In order to qualify for reconciliation, three committees in the House and two committees in the Senate have to mark up provisions within their jurisdiction. Since there are no time limits on committee markups, these would last until recalcitrant Republicans drop from exhaustion and stop offering amendments. Then the committees in each chamber have to give their work product to the Budget Committees, which are then required to hold their own markups of the bill (amendment-free, this time) and report reconciliation bills to the chamber without substantive change (after waiting two extra calendar days in the House to allow Republicans to file minority views). Under the budget resolution, each committee’s portion of the bill must lead to a net reduction of the deficit of at least $1 billion over five years.
The above noted snippet from the article is just the tip of the iceberg. Reconciliation is a very complex, very unpredictable process with no outcome being certain.
It's no wonder so many at The White House and in Congress have not pursued it more aggressively.
Please read the entire article by clicking right here.