Democrats hoping to ‘ping-pong’ Republicans right out of final health care reform negotiations

Now that the House and Senate have both passed separate health care reform bills, the legislative process shifts to ironing out the differences. This typically involves having a formal conference committee containing members of both the House and the Senate. The goal is to reconcile the two bills, creating a final bill that both chambers will vote on. In a surprise turn, according to Jonathan Cohn of the New Republic, Democrats intend to employ an obscure tactic, informally known as "ping-pong," to shut Republicans out of the final negotiations and speed the bills toward completion. In "ping-pong" the legislation is bounced back and forth between the House and the Senate, controlled by just the Democratic leadership in each chamber and the White House, until a final agreement can be reached.

It's "almost certain," according to a pair of senior congressional staffers Cohn spoke to, that the Democratic leadership will seek to avoid a formal conference committee and its procedural steps. The formal process and additional votes would have offered multiple additional opportunities for the Republicans to slow or obstruct the bill's process, as they did throughout the fall.

As one might expect, Republicans in Congress are aghast over the move. Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Minority leader John Boehner, told Yahoo! News that such a tactic would break President Obama's campaign promise of health care debate transparency. He labeled the strategy a "disgrace":

"Something as critical as the Democrats' health care bill, with its Medicare cuts and tax hikes, shouldn't be slapped together in a shady backroom deal. Skipping a real, open conference shuts out the American people and breaks one of President Obama's signature campaign promises. It would be a disgrace - to the Democratic Leaders if they do it, and to every Democratic Member who lets them."


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