Democrats in both the House and Senate are planning to bypass traditional routes as they reach a final compromise on healthcare legislation. The Republican leadership has made it clear that its goal is to kill the legislation, not to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions.

Although a House-Senate conference committee usually tries to reconcile the differences between the chambers’ bills, this time the final compromise talks will be a three-way negotiation involving top Democrats in the House, Senate, and White House. This method allows Democrats to remove time-consuming procedural steps in the Senate, and prevent Republicans from using the process to delay negotiations. According to an unofficial timetable, Democrats hope to pass the bill by the time President Obama delivers his State of the Union address, possibly in February.

January 8, 2010