ISN'T IT TIME FOR THE LITTLE LADY TO DO WHAT SHE'S TOLD?:

Democrats Face Challenge in Merging Health Bills (ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN, 12/22/09, NY Times)

In the House, advocates and opponents of abortion rights and conservative Democrats have made clear that they object, for different reasons, to the Senate’s compromise language on abortion. Interest groups on both sides of the spectrum — Planned Parenthood on the abortion rights side, Catholic bishops for the anti-abortion rights camp — also oppose the abortion provision in the Senate bill, leaving Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a challenge in rounding up the votes she needs in the House.

Ms. Pelosi’s room for maneuvering is limited because any changes to the language in the Senate bill could unravel the deal that provided Democrats with the 60 votes they need to get the legislation through the Senate.

Ms. Pelosi, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and the White House will have to find a way forward on abortion even as they confront other big differences between the House and Senate bills, including how to pay to expand insurance coverage to more than 30 million Americans and whether to include a government-run plan to compete with private insurers.

The Senate has already made it clear that the duty of the lesser body is to accept the Senate bill unchanged.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 22, 2009 6:51 AM