Senate Republicans Warn: House Dems Could Get Hoodwinked into Catastrophic Votes

From WashingtonPost.com: But reconciliation rules seem to indicate that the House will have to pass the Senate bill first. Depending on how the Senate parliamentarian rules, Obama may even have to sign the legislation into law before the Senate can consider the House fixes.

Democratic leaders huddled Tuesday night in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office for the first of what will probably be many strategy sessions, as Congress tries to complete the year-long health-care reform debate before the Easter recess begins March 26.

Participants said that once the Congressional Budget Office delivers a final cost estimate on the fixes bill, possibly this week, Democratic leaders would begin lining up House and Senate votes.

“We have more information to go forward, but we have more questions,” Pelosi (D-Calif.) said after the meeting, adding, “We’re going to pass a bill.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) raised the House Democrats’ worst-case scenario: hurrying to pass the Senate bill by the White House’s deadline of March 18, only to watch the fixes stall in the Senate — leaving House Democrats on the record as supporting the side deals.