Nashville Adult Entertainment: House healthcare passage on track
24 03 2010The day’s first battleground was the House Rules Committee, which began meeting in the morning. Republicans repeatedly accused the Democrats of trying to avoid a politically charged vote on the Senate bill through a parliamentary maneuver called “deemed to have passed.”
Originally, leaders were considering incorporating the Senate version of the healthcare bill that was passed before Christmas into the package of amendments. This process — commonly used in prior Congresses — would “deem” the Senate bill passed without a debate that the GOP would like to have for its own political reasons in this midterm election year.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) urged rules Committee Chairwoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.) to pass an open rule instead of the “deemed to have passed” version so that policy differences between Democrats and Republicans could be openly debated.
“This process corrupts and prostitutes the system,” he said.