This was one of the more lively moments on the House floor during the health care bill debate. Rep. David Dreier tries to throw cold water on the notion that Harry Reid can be trusted to have fifty votes to get the fixes that the House wants reconciled. Rep. Louise Slaughter was having none of it.
Dreier: Is it not true that the only thing that we know with absolute certainty, if in fact that it passes is that the Senate bill will become public law? We have heard all about this reconciliation package and the gentlewoman seems to be certain of its passage. But is it not true that this rule guarantees that the only thing that will be law for sure is the Senate bill which has the cornhusker-kickback, the Louisiana purchase and those other items?
Slaughter: Mr. Dreier it’s absolutely true that the Senate bill does contain those things. It has already been passed and requires no further action in the Senate. What we will do today is pass the bill which will then be sent to the President and become law. We will this afternoon pass the…
(crosstalk)
Slaughter: Please let me answer. […]
Dreier: Madam Speaker we now know with certainty that the only thing… (crosstalk)
Slaughter: No you don’t. No you don’t! No! You don’t know that!
Dreier repeats his point that the only thing they know is the Senate bill will become law. Slaughter goes on to explain the reconciliation process they’ve agreed to with the Senate. This was followed by Darrell Issa asking if Rep. Slaughter broke a House rule “lobbying the Senate” from the House floor. Slaughter came back and explained that she wasn’t addressing the Senate.
This was pretty much par for the course with that we saw from both Issa and Dreier for the better part of the day.
