Liberals Begin Pushback Against GOP Threats To Delay Reform

Liberal Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin said Senate Democrats are prepared to initiate an intense schedule in order to get health care reform legislation passed by the end of the year and to thwart Republican attempts to filibuster a reform bill.

It’s a sign that liberal Democrats are becoming more unified behind reform that has often left them balking at legislation that they say favored moderates but also a hint that some Democratic leaders are preparing for a vote without 60 sure-fire votes to pass it without a filibuster.

Harkin, a leading proponent of reform,  said on Monday that Senate leaders are “planning to do something that would require Republicans to be there 24 hours a day” if they wanted to delay reform legislation as it is debated in the full Senate.

Harkin said Democrats expect Republicans will try to stall the debate by asking for the entire bill to be read on the Senate floor. If that happens, Harkin said, the majority party is likely to use a procedural maneuver to keep the Senate in session this weekend.

“If the Republicans want to stay here this Saturday and Sunday to read the bill, then let them stay here,” Harkin said, adding that Democrats would hold a “live quorum,” where the sergeant at arms requests the presence of all absent senators.

“I’ll tell you, we’re going to do something like that,” Harkin said. “We are planning to do something that would require Republicans to be there 24 hours a day, and if they leave the floor, we’ll ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading, and that’ll be the end of it.”

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