Political Ping Pong

Closed Doors on Capitol Hill

To avoid a possible Senate filibuster on selecting "conference committee" members to reconcile their healthcare bill with that passed by the House, Democratic leaders have decided to hammer it out themselves in a process they call ping-pong... The President didn't order them to use the method. but it's the best way to get a final bill on his schedule.



C-SPAN's chief Brian Lamb made his Dec. 30 request to congressional leaders public on Tuesday after a copy appeared on Politico.com.

Lamb told The New York Times that C-SPAN has covered final negotiations on many bills and wanted to follow the issue to the end.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office released a statement saying Senate Democrats are "committed to transparency in the legislative process," but it did not respond to Lamb's request.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed to laugh off Obama's campaign promise by simply saying: "There are a number of things he swore on the campaign trail."

Again, it's not the President's call.