Last night there was a report that the White House was going to allow it. Today Sam Stein hears they may not.
House Republican aides have insisted that they won’t back a bill that is wiped clean of all of their policy declarations, such as defunding Planned Parenthood, restricting the amount of money used to implement health care reform, and stripping the Environmental Protection Agency’s capacity to regulate power plants.Last night from AP (via Kevin Drum) we read this:
Democratic officials have agreed to keep some of the riders in the bill, but not the bigger, more controversial items.
What qualifies as a major or minor rider isn’t entirely clear. On the Hill, several Democrats fretted that language regarding Planned Parenthood and health care reform wouldn’t be in the final product but that the EPA language might. The aforementioned Senate aide, however, insisted that “the White House wouldn’t stomach that.”
A Democratic lawmaker familiar with a meeting Wednesday between Obama and members of the Congressional Black Caucus said the administration made it clear that some House GOP proposals restricting the Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory powers would have to make it into the final bill....It's not clear which proposals the White House might accept, but those backed by Republicans would block the government from carrying out regulations on greenhouse gases, putting in place a plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and from shutting down mountaintop mines it believes will cause too much water pollution.Let's hope Sam's sources are right.
