When the health care bill was finally passed, it was done using a technique called deem and pass. This is because, with the election of Scott Brown, Harry Reid lost his filibuster proof majority in the Senate. The House could not amend the bill, or it would be filibustered by the Senate. The only way to get the bill to President Obama's desk was to pass the Senate version of the bill, which the House was loathe to do. To avoid an embarrassing vote, the House decided to"deem" that the Senate bill had passed, rather than actually passing it.
This has caused me to wonder: If the Republicans do win control of the House in November, would it be possible for them to nullify this vote by "deeming" that the Senate bill had NOT passed. This probably won't happen, not is it likely to be tried, but it would seem to a layman such as me that something that has merely been deemed to have passed should not have the same force of law as it would if an actual vote had taken place.
Leaving Microsoft
12 years ago
