Circumventing the Constitution: Congress can do better

It looks like nothing – not even the U.S. Constitution – will stop Democrats from trying to takeover health care.

When it became clear that they didn’t have enough votes to pass their legislation under ordinary rules, they first turned to an obscure tactic known as “budget reconciliation.” Created during the Nixon administration, this procedural tool was intended to provide a way for lawmakers to modify spending programs. Rarely used over the past few decades, reconciliation appeals to Democrats now because measures considered under the procedure require only 51 votes in the Senate for passage – not the usual 60 that are required to end debate.

But Democrats in the House are so worried about voting for the Senate bill’s “Cornhusker Kickback,” “Louisiana Purchase” and Florida “GatorAid” buy-offs that they’re ready to write new rules just to avoid taking a stand on these shameless giveaways. At a time when Americans need real leadership, Democrats are looking for legislative loopholes to avoid being held accountable for this package of backroom deals.

Essentially, the House is looking to “deem” the Senate bill as “passed” by approving a separate measure that makes changes to the underlying legislation – without it ever becoming law first. A recorded House vote on the controversial bill would never actually be taken.

Sounds un-Constitutional, doesn’t it?

From our civics classes, we all know that both houses of Congress must approve a bill before it’s sent to the President. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution clearly spells out that straightforward process. And to ensure that lawmakers are held accountable, the Senate and House are required to record how their members vote.

It should surprise no one that the Democrats’ takeover of health care, secured with sweetheart deals for wavering Senators, will ultimately be decided in Congress’ back rooms. But that doesn’t make it any more acceptable.

And as if a $1 trillion government takeover of health care doesn’t grow government fast enough, the Democrat leadership on Capitol Hill is ready to include a reorganization of student loans in the broader legislation. The rationale for this move couldn’t be clearer: Democrats know that once they ram their massive health care overhaul through Congress, they will have no credibility left with the American people. Passing the remainder of their liberal agenda will be impossible.

Closed-door meetings. Special agreements negotiated outside the public view. Political pay-offs for votes. Incomprehensible legislative maneuvering. Stuffing new policies into completely unrelated bills. These moves represent the politics of the past – and they’re a major reason why Americans have lost confidence in government.

Paul Hodes refuses to tell New Hampshire where he stands on the House leadership’s parliamentary hijinks. And he’s flat wrong for wanting to takeover health care through reconciliation, a tactic that shouldn’t be abused to advance a bill that the majority of New Hampshire residents don’t want. It doesn’t take a Congressional parliamentarian to understand that major legislation to effectively reshape 17% of our economy should be considered under normal rules and in full public view. By short-circuiting the process, Democrats are admitting that they don’t have the necessary popular backing for their plan. Even worse, they don’t care.

Upending standard procedure and circumventing the Constitution to muscle through this legislative hodge-podge is more than just bad policy. It’s a throw-back to old-fashioned machine-style politics that Democrats promised to end.

Congress can begin to restore public confidence by hitting the reset button on the entire health care debate. By starting with a clean sheet, we can take an incremental approach to reform focused on ideas that don’t add trillions of dollars to our already out of control national debt. That’s what the American people want. And when I sit down at the negotiating table, I’ll be fighting for common sense solutions – like tort reform and allowing for the purchase of insurance across state lines – that can be voted on without trampling the Constitution.

Kelly Ayotte, of Nashua, is New Hampshire’s former Attorney General. She is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.