Dear Bureaupat,

I've been watching the health care reform debate unfold. Now that it appears it will pass the Senate, is it a done deal?

Dear "I'm just a Bill,"

Don't hold your breath, the debate on health care reform is like the Energizer Bunny...it keeps going and going.

While I can't predict the outcome, I can give you and our readers a basic civics lesson on the remaining hurdles lawmakers must overcome before delivering a health care reform bill to President Obama's desk.

Remember, the House narrowly passed its health care reform bill on November 7, by a margin of 220 to 215. In the Senate, the bill still needs 51 out of 100 votes to be passed, although Republicans can filibuster and essentially stop the legislation if the Democrats can't get 60 votes to end debate and call for a vote.

When, and if, a Senate bill is passed, both chambers will meet in conference to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions. Lawmakers will then produce a conference report, which must be approved by both chambers.

That is, the same bill must pass the Senate and the House before it goes to President Obama.

If the president approves of the legislation, he will sign it into law. This is almost a guarantee on the health care bill. But in the event he does not approve, he must return the bill, unsigned, within ten days (excluding Sundays) to the house of the United States Congress in which it originated while the Congress is in session.

Note, the president is constitutionally required to state his objections to the legislation in writing, and the Congress is constitutionally required to consider them, and to reconsider the legislation. This action, in effect, is a veto. The balance of power then swings back to Congress, which gets a chance to trump the president by overriding the veto.

Congress needs a two-thirds majority in each house to override a veto. If the House and Senate can muster the votes, the bill becomes law without the president's signature. Otherwise, the bill fails to become law unless it is presented to the president again and he chooses to sign it.

One last note: a bill can also become law without the president's signature if, after it is presented to him, he simply fails to sign it within the ten days noted. If there are fewer than ten days left in the session before Congress adjourns, and if Congress does adjourn before the ten days have expired in which the president might sign the bill, then the bill fails to become law. This procedure, when used as a formal device, is called a pocket veto.

Whether you're an advocate or critic of the health care legislation, you have plenty of time to voice your support or opposition to your elected officials.

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

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