Wow Redux!

Staffers say this is probably the most drama they ever remember on the Hill. We've never had more calls to the office. Staff and members are listening to the media and constituent input to get a pulse of how the country feels. Members voting against leadership direction, sometime even against their own instincts.

I wonder how clearly this complex situation has been explained across the country. I'm concerned that the public and even the media don't understand the potential impact of the "bailout", "buy-in" or whatever it's named (and clearly labels matter) on "Main Street" as well as "Wall Street." We're all connected here, just like our environmental actions on the planet and our economy.

By now you know all of this already. Everyone's been getting as much as information as possible about what the best solution is, how the market would react to different solutions, and who supports different scenarios. Lots more posturing, guessing, candidates suspending (?) campaigns, flying in, being told to go away, and then the big vote on Monday.

We're watching the House floor votes come in, and on another tv screen we're watching the floor of the NY Stock Exchange. Then the tv station split screens, to the House floor! Everyone's watching the vote, watching the Dow, watching the vote, watching the stock market. We're all guessing who's the NV (no vote), and then the measure gets defeated! What an unexpected outcome! Now we're wondering personally what to do with any money we may have in a retirement account in the stock market (sell? sit tight?).

Then the spin. Blame it on the WH (White House) for not alerting Congress weeks ago about the magnitude of the risk. Blame it on Paulson and pals, for refusing to show up for hearings planned by Congress. Blame it on the Speaker for her speech (she must have more persuasiveness than I thought, if Republicans would change their vote just to spite her, and therefore, the nation). Blame it on the House "whips" (I still hate that term) for not counting their votes accurately (supposedly leadership knows how the vote will come out before hand, or they won't call for a vote on a measure they think will be defeated). Blame it on the greed of executives, on the subprime mortgages, on people taking on more risk and debt than they can afford. Whomever!

Regardless, it's down for the count. The Senate breathed a short-lived sigh of relief, as now they wait for the next proposal from the House. Remember that all spending bills originate in the House and then go to the Senate, so while we're still thinking about solutions and in negotiations with the House, the ball remains in their court.

In the meantime, people can't get credit for mortgages or college. Businesses can't get credit for payroll or expansion. One trillion dollars "evaporates" and other countries scold our leaders for putting personal ambition above altruism. As if our morale standing in the world wasn't scarred enough right now.

I think the whole country needs Rosh Hashanah, where we stop working, ask and pray for forgiveness, think about how to make ourselves and the world whole, and breathe deeply.

If we can think a bit further upstream, remember that the leading cause of people losing their homes is lack of health care/insurance. I would have hoped that improving access to health services could have been seen as part of a longer-term solution. And if housing were more affordable, maybe more people could hold onto it, and wouldn't be in a position of losing a roof over their heads. Where's the social justice in our solutions?

And when will we make a big investment in alternative energy/fuels to kick-start our economy, and make a big investment in health promotion/disease prevention, and keep people healthy and productive? Why isn't this obvious? And the long-term savings in these approaches could cover the "pay for" required with new spending bills (not to increase the deficit, new spending needs to find an offset in savings to be budget neutral).

And even before this mess, Congress was thinking about how to accomplish health care reform next year. According to Anna Edney from the Washington Journal:

Senate Democrats are bouncing around the idea that, come next year, when they attempt to overhaul health care, they might resort to a filibuster-proof process to steamroll Republicans and pass legislation.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus mentioned the possibility of using reconciliation as a way to maneuver around opposition. "The preference is to do a major bill without reconciliation, that's the preference." Baucus said. By including reconciliation instructions for healthcare changes in next year's budget resolution, Democrats would need just 51 votes to pass legislation, rather than the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster, could limit debate and narrow the scope of potential amendments.

Republicans used the approach to pass President Bush's tax cuts during his first term.

But experts say there are some hurdles for Democrats if they want to use it to revamp the healthcare system. One is that because it is a budget process, reconciliation is limited to legislation that has a fiscal impact, and many healthcare policy changes might not fall into that category.

Democrats wanted to use reconciliation to pass children's health insurance legislation two years ago, but hit a wall because it did not meet the fiscal implication requirement.

Baucus said health care is losing some ground as a pressing issue as economic crises, higher gas prices and climate change battle for the attention of lawmakers and presidential campaigns.

Reconciliation also is limited to legislation that does not increase the long-term deficit. Experts said this means health reform either would have to be permanently paid for or sunset in 10 years.

While reconciliation instructions for committees must be included in the annual budget resolution, an expert said lawmakers could change the rules.

Lawmakers typically begin drafting the budget resolution in March, leaving little time for Democrats to negotiate with Republicans on a possible health reform compromise before they have to decide if they will include reconciliation instructions in the spending outline.

Baucus said he plans to release a white paper next year that will outline basic goals for health reform.

So there you have it, just another quiet week in Congress. L Shana Tova.