US Tax: House to consider health bill in Saturday session

The House of Representatives is poised to hold a rare Saturday vote November 7 on comprehensive health care reform legislation that is financed largely through a 5.4 percent surcharge on joint-filing taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (AGI) above $1 million, and on other taxpayers with AGI above $500,000.

As currently drafted, the Affordable Health Care for America Act also contains revenue raisers that, among other things, would codify the economic substance doctrine, impose a limitation on treaty benefits for deductible related-party payments, impose an excise tax on medical device manufacturers, place restrictions on certain health-related employee savings plans, and expand information reporting requirements. Furthermore, a manager's amendment that is expected to be added to the bill would raise additional revenue by making "black liquor" ineligible for the cellulosic biofuel credit.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., unveiled the measure – a compilation of separate bills approved by the Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Energy and Commerce committees – on October 29. Democratic leaders followed up on November 4 with a manager's amendment making several tax and nontax changes to the bill.

The bill up for a vote is a result of months of intense discussion and negotiations over the largest of President Barack Obama's legislative initiatives to date. Hinting that some issues remain unresolved, Pelosi said November 5 that she did not have 218 votes in support of the bill, but was confident that she would pass that benchmark on Saturday. The president will meet with House Democrats on November 7 to lobby for the bill.

As expected, Republican support for the measure is practically nonexistent, as the party has had longstanding opposition to various aspects of the legislation. GOP leaders have been given the opportunity to offer a full substitute amendment to the bill, which will be debated on Saturday. The substitute is unlikely to be approved, and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, RVa., said November 5 that he is certain no Republicans will vote for the Democratic measure.


Senate outlook

In the Senate, committees with jurisdiction over health care reform – the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the Finance committees – have finished their respective markups and negotiators have merged the two components together, although the combined bill has not yet been made public. The Congressional Budget Office is preparing a cost estimate of the combined bill, which is expected to be completed the week of November 9.

Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said November 3 that the Senate should aim to pass its health care measure before the end of the year. That same day, however, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., refused to guarantee that the Senate would complete its work by that point, saying that his chamber will not be "bound by any timelines." A White House spokesperson said November 5 that the administration has imposed a "deadline" of December 31 for completion of a joint health care bill in the House and Senate.