Clyburn: Reconciliation use appropriate for healthcare

If the controversial budget reconciliation process was an appropriate tactic to pass President Bush’s tax cuts, then it is certainly appropriate to ensure a healthcare plan, the third-ranking House Democrat argued Tuesday.

“We complained more about the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that he used reconciliation to get,” Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said during an appearance on MSNBC. “And so if we think it’s good enough to give tax cuts to billionaires, then it’s good enough to give healthcare to people who need it.”

Clyburn called reconciliation a “backstop” for Democratic priorities in Congress — namely an energy bill, a healthcare plan, and education reform — should Republican opposition prove to be an obstacle, particularly in the Senate.

“Reconciliation” is a tactic under budgetary rules that force a simple majority vote on elements of the plan, avoiding the threat of filibuster in the Senate.