Advice to House Dems

Advice to House Dems: Get It in Writing

Where health care stands in the House and Senate.

JOHN FUND

Some clarity on where the latest Democratic push to pass health care is going came over the weekend.

House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer told CBS he believes the House must "go first" to pass a health care bill -- namely the version the Senate approved on Christmas Eve. That contradicts the House leadership's previous insistence that the Senate must go first because House Democrats didn't want to vote on an unpopular bill only to see it die in the procedural maelstrom of the Senate -- as happened with last year's climate change bill.

Aides report that House leaders are now contemplating insisting that key Senate leaders, or perhaps even 51 Democratic Senators, sign a letter attesting to the fact that the Senate will use budget reconciliation procedures to ram through a bill to the liking of House liberals. Such a letter wouldn't be legally binding, of course, but would give assurances to nervous House members.

No one should underestimate Ms. Pelosi's task, despite her prowess in strong-arming members. "I just don't know where they get the votes in the House," Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire, a Democrat who voted against the health care bill, told Politico.com. "It's a huge challenge because . . . the people who voted 'yes' would love a second bite at the apple to vote 'no' this time because they went home and had an unpleasant experience as a result of their 'yes' vote. I don't know if there is anybody who voted 'no' that regrets it."

That's why many House Democrats took heart from last week's Wall Street Journal report that the Obama administration was preparing a fallback "Plan B" in case comprehensive health care can't make it through both houses. Democratic leaders deny such a plan is in the works, but then you can't expect them to acknowledge a fallback until it's absolutely clear that passing a sweeping bill is no longer a realistic prospect.

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