As health care reform officially hits its one-year mark this week, the process of getting legislation passed has boiled down to one simple question: can leadership in the House of Representatives muster the votes?
Over the past few days, officials in both chambers of Congress and the White House have surveyed the landscape and come to a rather dispiriting conclusion. As things stand now, there isn’t a majority of Democratic representatives to support the bill as written. The count should change once amendments are presented but currently top aides in the House concede that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) is short by anywhere from six to 12 members.
To convince these lawmakers, House leadership is preparing a whip operation described as “all hands on deck.” Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) will dispatch loyal lieutenants to help rub elbows and twist arms. Once the party settles on a final set of reconciliation changes, leaders in the labor community are set to launch a major campaign to help with the whipping, officials say.
Through it all, the administration will offer substantial assistance, sending its legislative team, including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, to the Hill and bringing lawmakers to the White House to meet with the president.
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