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TAX NEWS - DECEMber 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senate plugs away on health care as Reid hopes for pre-Christmas voteThe Senate took a brief break December 18 from health reform to complete the pending defense appropriations legislation as it awaits word about cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on its latest health reform proposal. Reid's initial manager's amendment, which included a public option and an expansion of Medicare, received a cool reception from some members of his own caucus when it was unveiled before the Thanksgiving holiday. Since then, he has been working to revise the draft to garner the 60 votes needed for passage. Once Reid has a CBO report in hand, which could become available as early as December 19, it is expected that he will unveil his latest compromise manager's amendment and move to end debate. Senate leadership has indicated that Reid would file three cloture motions, setting the stage for a vote on final passage late in the week of December 21. Filing the motions at once would enable a more expeditious voting process; but the 30 hours of debate for each motion would run consecutively, which, assuming the vote on each motion is successful, could mean a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day vote on final passage. With time running short, Reid will need to file cloture no later than December 19 or risk missing his target date for passage. For his part, Reid maintains that work will be wrapped up before Christmas, despite opposition from all Senate Republicans and at least one Democrat. As of late December 17, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., insisted that he could not vote for Reid's latest compromise without more restrictive language regarding funding for abortion coverage. Unless Reid can secure Nelson's support or win over at least one Republican, the vote for cloture would fail. Republicans have also indicated that they intend to request the manager's amendment be read in full on the Senate floor, a move that could delay work for an additional 12 hours. Whether or not the Senate can complete health care reform legislation before Christmas is likely to be clear early next week. Passage of a final bill in the Senate before Christmas would pave the way for conference negotiations with the House when Congress returns from the holiday recess in January. There are significant differences between the two chambers on tax and nontax provisions. Among the notable differences on the revenue side, the House bill would be paid for primarily through a surtax on high-income individuals, while the Senate bill relies on an excise tax on high-cost group health insurance plans, new fees targeting health-related industries, and a payroll tax increase for high-income individuals. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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