Got this in an email just now

A message to all members of Tea Party Patriots

This is a huge ruling and puts an one small obstacle into passing the healthcare bill. We MUST keep the pressure up on the targeted Congressmen...It is having an impact. We must continue the pressure to vote no on the healthcare bill..We can not let up!! The supporters of this bill will be fighting harder than ever now..


This ruling means that the House would have to pass the Senate Healthcare bill as is and President Obama would have to sign the bill into law before any changes can be made. Once it is signed into law, there can be some changes using the reconciliation process. The House would have to trust the Senate to come back and make changes after the bill is signed into law.



http://cdn.rollcall.com/media/44110-1.h ... :&st=email



March 11, 2010, 2:30 P.M.
By David M. Drucker
Roll Call Staff
The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress’ original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package, senior GOP sources said Thursday.

The Senate Parliamentarian’s Office was responding to questions posed by the Republican leadership. The answers were provided verbally, sources said.

House Democratic leaders have been searching for a way to ensure that any move they make to approve the Senate-passed $871 billion health care reform bill is followed by Senate action on a reconciliation package of adjustments to the original bill. One idea is to have the House and Senate act on reconciliation prior to House action on the Senate’s original health care bill.

Information Republicans say they have received from the Senate Parliamentarian’s Office eliminates that option. House Democratic leaders last week began looking at crafting a legislative rule that would allow the House to approve the Senate health care bill, but not forward it to Obama for his signature until the Senate clears the reconciliation package.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) moved Thursday to put Senate Republicans on the defensive over health care, sending a letter to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in which he dared the GOP to vote against reform.

Reid also defended the Democrats’ use of reconciliation to get a final health care reform bill to the president’s desk, noting that the bulk of health care reform was approved under regular order via the package that cleared the Senate on Christmas Eve. Reid also emphasized that Republicans have used the procedure several times over the years.

However, Reid also promised in the letter that Republicans would have ample opportunity to amend the reconciliation package.

“Reconciliation is designed to deal with budget-related matters, and some have expressed doubt that it could be used for comprehensive health care reform that includes many policies with no budget implications. But the reconciliation bill now under consideration would not be the vehicle for comprehensive reform — that bill already passed outside of reconciliation with 60 votes,â€