Trouble Ahead

Will the House Kill Health Care?

Pelosi may lack votes, but Clyburn disagrees.

Health-care reform advocates were happy to see President Obama endorse the use of reconciliation to pass legislation on Monday. “The release of [Obama’s health-care plan] mark the end of the Scott Brown election and the resumption of the health-care process,” writes Ezra Klein. But even if the Senate passes the bill through reconciliation, could it still fall apart in the House? Jake Tapper looks at the troubling numbers: Since the House passed its bill in November 220-215, one “yea” vote has retired, another has died, and a third—Republican Joseph Cao (R-LA)—has said he won’t vote for the final bill. That means Pelosi is starting with a bare majority of 217 votes in the 433-member House. One White House official says Pelosi believes passing the bill is “possibly doable, but she may ultimately decide the math is impossible.” However, the Majority Whip Jim Clyburn is predicting that the House will pass the new legislation by a greater margin than it did the first time around.