President Obama was on the road again on Monday, selling his healthcare overhaul plan one last time as Congress began the process that is expected to lead to a bill being signed within weeks, if not days.
As Obama told his audience near Cleveland how the Republicans have blocked almost every attempt to bring about reform, someone at the back shouted to him, "Courage!"
The president's eyes lit up and he spontaneously added the word to his rhetoric.
“We need courage!. Did you hear what somebody just said there – that’s what we need that’s why I came here today, we need courage”
He was clearly on a roll. He went on:
“It’s been such a long-time since we made government on the side of ordinary working folks, where we did something for them.”
The President wants to extend affordable healthcare to more than 30 million Americans, stop insurance companies dropping clients when they get sick, and prevent firms from denying healthcare because of pre-existing conditions.
THIS IS THE WEEK
Now, after more than a year of debate in Congress, this may turn out to be the key week for Obama's reform plans and his presidency.
But it won't be straight forward. The loss of the Democratic Supermajority in the Senate means the Republican minority has enough votes to block any contentious legislation they don’t agree with.
So ruling Democrats must rely on a complicated reconciliation process - which cannot be filibustered or talked out - to get their prized healthcare reform.
Here’s how it works.
1. First the House votes on the Senate bill that was passed in December.
2. Next the House votes to fix things about the Senate version that it doesn’t like - triggering the reconciliation process.
3. Then the President signs the Senate bill if it gets passed
4. The Senate votes on the changes proposed by the House through reconciliation
5. Finally the President signs into law the reconciliation bill.
BUSH USED RECONCILIATION
The reconciliation route has been used on approximately 20 occasions to drive legislation through – most recently the two massive tax cuts signed into law by President George W. Bush early in his first term and again in October 2004.
Here in DC the House Budget Committee began the process on Monday of preparing the House for a vote on the Senate healthcare reform bill and the package of changes that House members want to see. The Democratic leadership in the House say the can't guarantee the votes they need right now but they're working on it.
Meanwhile, President Obama who postponed a trip to Asia in order to be here in Washington to counsel any members of his own party still harbouring doubts about healthcare reform, will be hoping the numbers begin to stack up before the end of this week.
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