Chairman Refuses Vote on Health Care Verification in the House
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Cali.) refused to allow consideration of an amendment offered by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) that would have added a verification requirement into the House version of health care reform.
Rep. Deal offered a verification amendment during the committee's markup of the bill in July, but the amendment was defeated 28-to-29. The committee passed the bill without any verification just before adjourning for the summer recess.
The bill was passed with more amendments still on the table, but Chairman Waxman assured the Committee they would hold a separate hearing to consider the remaining amendments. The amendments passed during the second mark-up would then be recommended to the Rules Committee as possible additions to attached to the larger bill.
During the new hearing, Rep. Deal added his verification language to another amendment offered by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). However, since the Rogers' amendment hadn't been proposed in the summer, Rep. Waxman ruled the amendment out of order thereby preventing a vote.