House Scheme: Approving Health Care Without a Vote?

It seems that with each day comes a new legislative scheme in an effort to ram a dangerous, pro-abortion health care plan through Congress.  Now, House Speaker Pelosi appears to be turning to what can only be described as an unconstitutional scheme to get health care through.

It's become increasingly clear that the Speaker cannot find enough votes to pass the Senate health care bill, and now with the pressure intensifying to meet President Obama's self-imposed deadline of next week, Speaker Pelosi appears to be turning to a new legislative gimmick.  This one is dubbed the "Slaughter Solution" - a tactic put forward by House Rules Chairman Louise Slaughter (D-NY).

While the details of this proposal are complex and can be confusing, the bottom line is really very simple:

Speaker Pelosi is trying to get the pro-abortion Senate bill signed into law without having the House of Representatives ever vote on the actual bill.

This would be accomplished by having the House vote to pass a Rule that would "deem" the Senate bill "as passed."  The Speakers hope is that this would allow the bill to become law without House members having to actually cast a vote for it.  That's right - approving a massive health care bill representing one-fifth of our economy - without actually voting on the measure.

Of course, in order to comply with the Constitution, she will have to simultaneously argue that a vote on the Rule is indeed a vote on the bill, because Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution requires that all bills be voted on by both the House and the Senate.

So, the question facing Speaker Pelosi - which is it?  Would a vote on the "Slaughter Solution" be a vote on the Senate bill?  Or would it not be?  The Constitution does not allow her to have it both ways.

This kind of legislative maneuvering is exactly why you need to register your opposition to this flawed health care plan - a plan that should not be approved. 

If you haven't done so already, please add your name to our petition - Your voice is making a difference!

We'll also have the latest developments on this whole health care debate on Jay Sekulow Live!