05/01/2009 - US Sen Reid: Health Bill Easier To Pass Than Climate Change

By Patrick Yoest
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., expressed optimism Friday that the Senate could pass health care legislation, but sounded more cautious notes about writing legislation intended to address global climate change.

On health care, Reid predicted that the Senate would pass legislation without using a fast track legislative tactic known as reconciliation, which would let Democrats pass a health bill without threat of a filibuster. Reid made the remarks at an event organized by the National Journal Group.

Use of reconciliation means that Democrats would only need 51 votes to pass health care legislation in the Senate, rather than the 60 votes ordinarily needed to advance legislation. Reid sounded bullish about the prospects of attracting Republican support for the bill, and noted that he would only need one Republican to reach 60 votes because of Sen. Arlen Specter's party switch to become a Democrat.

With Specter on their side, Democrats now control 59 votes in the Senate to the Republicans' 40 votes.

"I think we can do a bipartisan bill," Reid said at the event. "I think health care reform is easier than all this global warming stuff, so health care may jump ahead of that."

While Reid said he supported the creation of a public insurance option to compete with private health insurers as part of health care legislation, he declined to say whether he would support taxing health benefits as a way to pay for universal health care.

"I think that we would be making a huge mistake by setting boundaries of what we would do or wouldn't do," Reid said.

Reid sought to tamp down expectations for climate change legislation, which he named as the issue that would cause him the most headaches before the 2010 elections. He said he expected that the Senate would have legislation written - but not necessarily passed - by the time a climate change conference in Europe takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

"I don't know whether we'll have the bill passed by that time, I'm not too sure," Reid said. "It will have passed the house. I think we'll have probably the committee work done."

Reid outlined the process by which he expected the Senate to consider climate change legislation, saying Senate committee would take up legislation passed by the House. Committee with jurisdiction over the bill would include Environment and Public Works, Energy and Natural Resources, Foreign Relations, Commerce and Finance panels, Reid said.

He suggested the House would have an easier time passing climate change legislation than the Senate.

"I can't guarantee I can get things done," Reid said.

The Senate is currently in a work session that will continue until Memorial Day. Reid said he expected to finish housing legislation currently under debate and take up a bill that would crack down on credit card companies, as well as a bill that would crack down on credit card companies, as well as a bill that strips longstanding antitrust exemptions for the freight railroad industry.

But said that a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco likely would have to wait until after the Memorial Day recess.

"I don't think we'll be able to get the tobacco thing done until the next work period," Reid said.

-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com