In an endeavor to break the existing deadlock in Congress over the fiercely debated Health Care Reforms, President Obama has stepped in, and asked the Democrats to bypass the objections of GOP, even if it amounted to resorting to “budget reconciliation”. 

Although he stopped short of referring to “budget reconciliation” – a parliamentary tactic of fast tracking any disputed bill in the senate by attaching it to the budget bill, which requires a more comfortable majority of 51 votes, rather than the 60 required to overcome any opposition. But his silence in this regard is more potent than any words.

Democrats, clearly divided on the merit of this strategy in the coming fall congressional elections, have no other alternative. This presidential directive to Democrats to bulldoze any republican filibuster in the congress could adversely affect their fortunes in the coming elections. President Obama while calling for an “up or down vote” in the Senate, is determined to see through his cherished health care reforms, at the earliest. For him, another year of negotiations would neither clear the confusion nor would help the Americans. Enacting the health reform legislation at the earliest is his paramount interest at the moment, leaving the debate of political implications of such tactical decimation of the republican opposition for a later speculation.

While speaking before a select audience of White House guests, few of them in medical coats, Obama expressed his anguish over the prevailing deadlock on the issue of health care reform. He said “We have debated this issue thoroughly, not just for the past year but for decades”. He pointed towards several previous occasions when majority party in senate has used budget reconciliation to pass bills, as important as welfare reform and tax cuts.

President’s statement, an audacious demonstration of will and desire to provide leadership and direction, to the embattled health care reform bill, has been welcomed by the Democrats. It has been widely felt amongst some Democrat legislators that the President needs to demonstrate more audacious leadership. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat senator of Rhode Island, pointed towards repeated use of filibuster by the Republicans to stall legislative process. Realizing that the lawmakers were on a dead-end road to resolve the long pending health reform legislation, he fully appreciated the President’s initiative for bypassing the Republican opposition.

Republicans being anxious about their ability to stall the legislative process through the time tested tactic of filibuster are wishing American voters to admonish the Democrats in coming elections. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was quick to assert that “American people are watchful of this deliberate attempt to bypass Senate on such important issues of public interest”.

Democrats, on the other hand, are divided over the political impact of this new found audaciousness in President’s leadership. While they are scared of facing elections without any tangible progress on health reforms, they also don’t want to be seen as systematic abuser of their “delicate” majority in the Congress.

The current deadlock emanates from the surprise victory of Republican Scott Brown in the senate election to fill the seat vacated by the Democrat Edward M. Kennedy. This defeat denied the Democrats much needed 60th vote in the senate to demolish any Republican filibuster. Prior to this election, the future of the health reform legislation was precariously placed in both the chambers. The Senate and The House has already passed bill separately, albeit in different form, but needs to arrive on a compromise measure of merging the bill, and pass it again separately in both the chambers.

Democrats were counting on this 60th vote to bull doze Republican opposition in Senate and persuade the law makers in both the houses on a compromise text of health reforms. The defeat has left the budget reconciliation measure as the only viable option for the Democrats to navigate the bill through both the chambers.

Lawmakers in The House are being cajoled to pass the bill in its existing form and later Senate would pass it through budget reconciliation tactic. The House majority leader- Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, asserted that it would be an act of blind faith for the House Democrats to vote for a previously Senate-approved legislation, based on a promise of later maneuvering in the Senate through the budget reconciliation.

The situation is further complicated due to prevailing bitterness within The House for the way Senate has “ignored” their vote on some of the controversial pieces of legislation last year – a climate bill, a Wall street regulatory overhaul, and the health care. New York Democrat representative Anthony Weiner expressing his anguish said “We’ve passed about 290 bills here on spec. We’re about done with that”.

Obama has launched an aggressive campaign of public speeches to provide a moral foundation to the law makers to push through the disputed bill. Listing the advantages of the proposed reform in front of a sympathetic White House audience, he pointed towards the new curbs on the insurance industry and the reduced premiums as a driving factor in inducing an expansion of coverage to 31 million new American people.

He has already accepted few suggestions from the Grand Old Party on medical fraud and waste to garner the elusive support of some Republicans on the proposed reforms. Although it has failed to impress Republican Senator Judd Gregg, who was adamant to assert that “it does not change the basic premises of the bill”.

President Obama is further intending to continue the public canvassing in his health care speeches in Philadelphia and St Louis, both states with contested Senate seats. Democrat Representative John Tierney fully endorses President’s newfound audacity in campaigning for the health reforms to convince American electorate about the necessity of suggested simple-vote mechanism in the Senate.

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Health Care Reforms Obama, Health Care Reforms pros and cons,  Obama Health Care Reform, Republican Opposition, Health Reforms Deadlock.