The House Wednesday approved the fiscal 2010 budget, endorsing President Barack Obama’s agenda and locking in a provision granting Democrats extraordinary powers to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by the end of the year.
The House passed the $3.6 trillion, nonbinding measure 233-193. Not a single Republican voted for it.
The Senate was expected to clear the budget resolution later Wednesday.
Republicans criticized the bill for its high cost and attacked the health care provision, which would eliminate the Republicans’ ability to block a health care bill through the use of filibuster.
The provision, known as reconciliation, would allow a health care bill to pass in the Senate by simple majority, rather than the 60-vote supermajority required to cut off debate in that chamber.
The Democrats now control 59 votes. Sen. Arlen Specter, of Pennsylvania, announced Tuesday he is switching from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. But he would not pledge to vote with his new party on every issue.
“I’m going to vote the way I see it,” Specter said. “I’m going to take my chances.”
Democrats are awaiting a recount of the Senate race in Minnesota, where Democrat Al Franken is expected to prevail. That would give them the votes to avoid filibuster, barring defections.
In addition to Specter, there are moderate Senate Democrats who may stand in the way of some of the more liberal health care reform proposals, such as a government-run health care option.
Senate Democratic leaders said they plan to use reconciliation as a last resort if they are unable to reach some kind of agreement by mid-October. But Republicans say they fear their party will be shut out of any real say in putting together legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, R-Nev., said he met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and pledged to include Republicans in the process.
“We are going to try to do this on a bipartisan basis,” Reid said. “We certainly should be able to do a bipartisan bill by that time.”
The reconciliation provision was pushed by the Obama administration. It initially met resistance in the Senate, where key Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said it would exclude the minority and fuels partisanship. But Baucus and Conrad were overruled by Reid and the White House.
